uh holy SHIT?

The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

ICYMI: I asked DHS' public affairs office if it considered recording or following law enforcement to be obstruction of justice, and they said "that sure sounds like obstruction." reason.com/2025/12/22/d...

NEW: California plans to start re-issuing commercial drivers licenses this week after acknowledging it pulled thousands of immigrants' licenses who actually had valid docs amid pressure from the White House. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

SCOOP: The Trump administration is providing the names of all travelers passing through U.S. airports to immigration officials in search of people with deportation orders, a substantial expansion of government efforts to draw on data to hunt down immigrants. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/u...

Another fiery order from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ordering Trump to return control of CalGuard to Gavin Newsom: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Fairly remarkable article here: ICE's acting director is publicly demanding that a parish in Massachusetts remove its nativity scene because it offends the administration. www.masslive.com/news/2025/12...

They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.

Saw Wicked for Good and Zootopia 2 this weekend and it’s almost like they’re both heavy-handed allegories about the person in power demonizing others to enrich himself and cling to power.

The D.C. shooting comes after months of warnings from Democratic officials that Trump's National Guard deployments would inflame tensions and endanger residents and troops. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Three Venezuelan siblings waited years for their asylum hearing. On Friday, the judge hearing their case was fired mid-hearing. Tears flowed throughout the courtroom, and now they're stuck in limbo. www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/j...

These 20 House Democrats just joined Republicans in voting to fully repeal DC's police reform laws. Wiping off the books critical laws on use of force, transparency, and preventing violent cops from getting rehired. They think that they should have more say over DC police than the people of DC.

NEWS: Rep. Eric Swalwell is running for governor - and @joegarofoli.bsky.social was backstage at Jimmy Kimmel as it all went down. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

SCOOP from @sophiabollag.bsky.social: As part of the FBI's probe of Gov. Gavin Newsom's ex-chief of staff, it intercepted comms from within the governor's office. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Crypto bros spent millions of dollars in California's Senate race against Katie Porter. Now, as she runs for governor, she's winning some of them over. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joe...

A federal judge has granted an injunction against the Trump administration blocking it from freezing or revoking grant funding and attempting to extort UCLA. bsky.app/profile/bigc...

BREAKING: Xavier Becerra confirmed to @sfchronicle.com he is the public official whose campaign funds were allegedly stolen. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Judge rules that police images taken by Flock’s AI license plate-scanning cameras are public records that can be requested as part of normal public records requests

NEW: ProPublica examined months of Fox News’ coverage and reviewed over 700 videos posted on social media. The network used five-year-old footage, mislabeled other dates and implied footage from elsewhere was in Portland.

Nothing like a proposal for a modest amount of lower-income housing nearby to find out who your neighbors are.

NEWS: Nancy Pelosi is retiring after 20 terms in Congress. “There has been no greater honor for me than to stand on the House floor and say, ‘I speak for the people of San Francisco,'” Pelosi said. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

BREAKING: Alex Padilla tells reporters in DC he will not run for governor of California in 2026. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Prop 50 is widely expected to win Tuesday, but there will still be plenty to watch for in the hours, days and weeks following California’s special election.

NEW: Trump’s chief immigration enforcer honed his controversial tactics in California -- w/ @saralibby.bsky.social www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

One of the more surprising and welcome developments has been watching an ecumenical Voltron assemble against ICE.

Once more with feeling: "It matters when the government lies, because a democratic government that destroys the presumption that it's accountable for its actions will soon either stop being democratic or stop being a government." reason.com/2025/10/22/h...

For everyone billing Scott Wiener's congressional bid as a challenge to Nancy Pelosi ... she has repeatedly refused to say whether she is running . I don't think this is the race everyone is making it out to be (at least not yet!) www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joe...

USC rejects Trump demands. www.latimes.com/california/s...

BREAKING from PP We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens* The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied: Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado www.propublica.org/article/immi... by @nicolefoy.bsky.social

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

BREAKING: U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the Trump admin's firings of federal workers is illegal, and has halted the dismissals. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

NEW: Court filings lay out the chaos and errors of the government's rush to fire workers amid the shutdown. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

Honestly shocked that the New York Times let him say this without pushing back that this is illegal. They cannot be cops. A federal judge ruled that they *were* used as cops in Los Angeles -- illegally!

The Trump admin on Friday has filed to delay proceedings in the cases of the National Guard deployments and the UCLA extortion case (possibly others, these are just ones I'm monitoring), because Justice Department lawyers are not working during the shutdown.

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

Reporter's notebook: I actually began working on this story shortly after footage of the incident showed up last month. But by the time I finally got ahold of folks, the story grew: 2 *other* faith leaders I spoke with *also* reported being shot w/pepper balls while protesting this ICE facility.

BREAKING: 14 California National Guard troops were sent to Chicago last night to train troops there. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

"Not one speaker among the roughly 500 attendees expressed support for the compact, which calls on universities to follow President Trump’s views on admissions, diversity and free speech, among other areas." www.latimes.com/california/s...

The habeas petition for Byron Rovidio Marin (the guy held w/o charge in a hospital for 37 days after ICE broke his leg) has been unsealed. @davidjbier.bsky.social @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

New filing: "U.S. v. Comey (criminal case)" Doc #15: ORDER - The arraignment of Defendant James B. Comey, Jr. shall begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, in Courtroom 600 on the Sixth Floor of the… [full entry below 👇] Download PDF | View Full Case #CL71459121

We have all the details on the emergency Sunday night hearing blocking the Trump admin from sending *any* state's National Guard troops to Portland: www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

SCOOP from @sophiabollag.bsky.social: Donald Trump is sending California National Guard members to Portland. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he's weighing another lawsuit over it. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...

I love when student journalists break a crazy story, especially about their own school. This one is extraordinarily macabre. www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2025/10/01/u...

4 tracks in, it’s got the storytelling of folklore but the bops of 1989

A great dispatch from the mean streets of Portland from @joegarofoli.bsky.social, where Oregonians are not interested in taking Trump's bait. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joe...

Reporters Susie Neilson and Megan Fan Munce were honored by the Barlett & Steele Awards for revealing the flawed insurance system that leaves homeowners unprotected when the worst happens.

BREAKING NYT:   Trump just fired a U.S. attorney who insisted on following a court order.   Michele Beckwith, the top federal prosecutor in Sacramento, was fired hours after she reminded a Border Patrol chief to abide by court-ordered restrictions on immigration raids.

In the battle over redistricting in California, supporters led by Gov. Gavin Newsom have amassed a huge network of more than 65,000 individual donors, campaign finance filings released Friday show, compared with about 130 donors reported by opponents. www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...