GM: Charisma check. Mamdani: [rolls natural 20] GM: that’s a d6 how did you Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊

A federal court cleared way for us @democracydefendersfund.org to depose Elon Musk over the unconstitutional shutdown of USAID Our case now moves into discovery As our Legal Director Tianna Mays explains: accountability starts w/ facts👇 - TN

Four people have died and three others have required a liver transplants after eating the death cap mushroom that is proliferating in California following a rainy winter.

According to an organizer, “all signatories are full-time employees, and nearly 30% are Google Cloud workers.”

The ProPublica workers do great work; they need a fair contract. They’re prepared to strike. (For a link to support their strike fund, see thread.)

2025 was another great year for African short fiction! Author @wtalabi.com recommends 10 highlights across science fiction, fantasy, and horror, from "magic-for-wealth schemes" to an unsettling religious organization (in space). And if there's some ties in there...? We're not complaining.

Child at the podium: “A woo woo woo.” Mamdani: That’s how I felt when we came up with this plan. Together, we will expand the idea of what is possible in our city—and what sounds and noises we can make at a press conference.

The awards presentation is over, but the finalists are still listed, and there are a bunch of neat puzzle games there that I hadn’t heard of.

The other day, I made hummus for the first time. It went well, and the result is tasty! I used this recipe: www.inspiredtaste.net/15938/easy-a...

Startpage: “The world’s most private search engine.” …I don’t know anything about this company beyond what’s on their website; I’m not endorsing them. It looks like most searches result in three non-personalized ads, followed by search results. 1/2

In Iran, “doctors on the ground [say] at least 16,500 protesters have died and 330,000 have been injured, most of them in two days of utter slaughter in the most brutal crackdown by the clerical regime in its 47-year existence.” (Article from Jan. 17.) www.thetimes.com/world/middle...

“FDA Adds More Cookware Brands to Its Lead Contamination Warning, Bringing Total to 21” “the newly identified products were flagged after state partners detected significant lead transfer from certain aluminum and brass pans.” (Article from Jan. 15.) www.foodandwine.com/fda-adds-2-c...

“The New Cold War in the Arctic” Long but interesting article (from 2023) about international relations in Greenland over the past 70 years, and especially how things have been changing recently. 1/

“149 Million Login Credentials Exposed In Leak — Including An Estimated 48 Million Gmail Accounts” “this is not a new breach of the services involved, and most likely is a database made up of data from past breaches and infostealer logs.” www.forbes.com/sites/daveyw...

“Verdict anticipated soon in Stanford pro-Palestinian protester case” This is the case that I was called to jury duty for (but I wasn’t selected to be on the jury). jweekly.com/2026/02/02/v...

We are delighted to announce the selection of two new Otherwise Fellows: illustrator and animator Aude Abou Nasr @ahlanmydarlings.bsky.social and author Ayida Shonibar @ayidashonibar.bsky.social . otherwiseaward.org/2026/02/anno... #SFF #illustration #fantasy #childrenslit #sciencefiction #horror

I’ve heard the chant “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” at protests (usually also with the English translation “The people united will never be defeated”), but didn’t know it was from a Chilean protest song. About the song: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_pueb... 1/2

“Starting with Firefox 148, which rolls out on Feb. 24, you’ll [be able to] block current and future generative AI features in Firefox.” “This lets you use Firefox without AI while we continue to build AI features for those who want them.” blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/a...

Hey, if you're a writer struggling to make your next idea fully come together, this online one-off course with @benjaminrosenbaum.com looks fantastic: secure.clarionwest.org/nx/portal/ne... I have wonderful memories of brainstorming with Ben at the writing workshop where we met. He's so good at it!

BREAKING: Judge blocks Noem's second attempt to keep members of Congress out of immigration facilities. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued a temporary restraining order on Monday morning. New, at Law Dork:

The people who are saying shit like "well it's either this or the borders are totally open" are doing their best to convince America that we should have completely open borders.

I may have a stroke. Someone said protests don’t belong in church and it took every ounce of self-censure within me not to say “Deborah you are literally a Protestant.” A PROTESTant. I assume they think Luther was nailing Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons to the door.

"There are more right wing state laws forbidding trans girls from playing high school sports in the US than there are recorded cases of trans girls trying to play high school sports." – @volts.wtf www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-...

“AI companies are purchasing physical copies of books in order to scan and use them for training,” so now Ingram is letting authors “opt out of … knowingly selling your products to AI companies through wholesale channels for model training purposes” www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

A rooster’s crow at normal speed, and then repeated at slower and slower speeds. (Via James N.) (1-min video, but the visual is just an audio icon.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccPs...

Mainers, I know ICE is hitting Portland right now. Maine's ICE Watch Hotline is ☎️ 207-544-9989. More info here: maineimmigrantrights.org/mirc-resourc...

Democrats Condemn ICE For Murdering Without Proper Warrants https://theonion.com/democrats-condemn-ice-for-murdering-without-proper-warrants/

The plan to use AI has alarmed some at DOT, which regulates everything from air travel to pipelines. Why, some staffers wondered, would the government outsource the writing of critical standards to a new technology notorious for making mistakes? By @jessecoburn.bsky.social

An excellent point. I’ve now contacted my senators to say essentially this. Also to point out that abolishing ICE has become a mainstream American position (per recent polling), and that Senate Dems shouldn’t settle for less.

“55% of Americans say they have very little confidence in ICE, an increase of 10 percentage points since mid-December Confidence in ICE has declined most among Independents: 67% now say they have very little confidence in the agency, up from 49% in December” today.yougov.com/politics/art...

“Fox News published a poll showing that 59% of registered voters believe that ICE has been too heavy-handed in its operations. That is a 10-point increase since July of last year. Moreover, 55% said they disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration, an issue that was once his strongest.”

“The focus of immigration raids has turned away from Los Angeles and shifted to Chicago and Minnesota but arrests in L.A. have continued, with federal agents deploying new tactics.” 1/2

"Few will […] bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. … 1/

“What if you were so blinded by your own perceived power that you thought guns and bullets were the only way to fight back? What if you failed to see… 1/2

Moniquill Blackgoose’s _To Ride a Rising Storm_ (sequel to _To Shape a Dragon’s Breath_) is now available for purchase! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706012...

Chaya Raichik, who runs the social media account Libs of TikTok, has spent the days following Alex Pretti’s killing doxxing ordinary working people — teachers, nurses, school board members — for speaking out against federal immigration officials or expressing sympathy for Pretti.

Sorry to hear that Blossom True Value Hardware, in Mountain View, is closing this year after decades of being a locally owned hardware store. I don’t know any details about exactly when or why they’re closing.

Tomorrow in the US: “On Friday, January 30, join a nationwide day of no school, no work and no shopping.” nationalshutdown.org See also “What We Know About Calls for a General Strike Over the Immigration Crackdown in Minneapolis”: time.com/7358581/ice-...

The bill will likely be vetoed but is almost certainly going to be overridden. The bill invalidates current drivers licenses and birth certificates of trans people who have amended them previously to align with their gender identity. This is one of the most extreme bill to pass.

I’ve seen references to the supposed lost continent of Lemuria since I was a kid, but today I learned why it was called that: “The hypothesis was proposed as an explanation for the presence of lemur fossils on Madagascar and the Indian subcontinent but not in continental Africa or the Middle East.”

"'We lost all trust,' a current ICE official added. 'I’m not sure I can see how we exist three years from now.'” If an ICE official can see there being a world without ICE, there's no reason any of us shouldn't be able to do the same thing. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

The creator of this device describes it as a “functional LEGO typewriter,” but I would say it’s more like a LEGO version of a mini Linotype machine. Either way, pretty cool. (17-min video) www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIWT...

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has said that the federal officers who shot and killed Alex Pretti have been put on administrative leave, marking a reversal from previous statements as the agency faces increased pressure and a funding battle in Congress.

🚨 I've obtained a list of secret watchlists the Department of Homeland Security uses to keep tabs on American citizens www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ices-secre...

“Families in Maine scramble to halt ICE’s transfer of detainees out of state” “[habeas] petitions must be filed in the same jurisdiction where a detainee is in custody. If a detainee is moved quickly, lawyers lose the opportunity to challenge their detention.” 1/2

ICE is also attacking Maine. (Indirectly via KTO.) substack.com/@shaystewart...

Lauren Thoman writes, on Threads: “ Begging everyone to work on holding more than one truth at a time. For example: 1. Alex Pretti was not at a protest AND we have the right to peacefully protest in the U.S. ” 1/

For @forward.com, I wrote about Anne Frank, ICE, and what we risk in making - and in refusing to ever make - comparisons forward.com/opinion/8009...