Actual history teachers: um, no

Gotta love how Hegseth gathered senior military officials to tell them "no fatties."

The vast percentage of roles in the modern US military are *not* in combat. Who cares if your mechanic can do 100 pushups? If your cook can run a sub-6 minute mile? If your intelligence analyst can deadlift 300 pounds? And who cares if your Sec of Defense is great at PT if he cannot think or lead?

Two decades ago, the FBI used immigration as leverage to recruit an imam as a spy. He refused, and avoided deportation. Then the Trump administration rounded him up. His story is a Kafkaesque saga linking the FBI’s post-9/11 informant machine to today’s immigration dragnet. 🧵

Breaking news narratives shape our memories of major events as media cycles evolve. Learn the real stories by watching and listening to these Peabody-recognized works highlighted in our latest #PeabodyFinds newsletter. ➡️ peabodyawards.com/stories/reth... @wnyc.org @trevoraaronson.bsky.social

@trevoraaronson.bsky.social and his team raise important questions about public narratives and the politicization of memory once reports came out after the 2016 shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people and wounded 53.

They Criticized Musk on X. Then Their Reach Collapsed. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I'm honored to share that Pulse: The Untold Story, my Audible Original documentary series, has been nominated for a Peabody Award in the Podcast/Radio: Documentary category. #PeabodyAwards #Peabody85 🧵

It always boggles my mind that I, a journalist, am expressly forbidden from trading stocks, but members of Congress, with vastly greater knowledge of market-moving news, are allowed to profit by front-running markets, and so may profit by in essence stealing from the public they represent.

One man just wiped out $10 trillion in wealth, is destroying centuries-old legal protections, and seems determined to unravel humanity’s greatest public health achievement. In 3 months. I don’t know how we get out of this. But if we do, one person can never have that kind of power again.

A trade war is brewing, markets are tumbling, and economists are warning of a recession — yet this is the lead story on Fox News' website right now.

The Department of Government Efficiency, for example

The government’s statement is a flex, not a confession of error. The important elements of the flex are these: 1. We send enemies to brutal foreign labor camps. 2. We decide who enemies are. 3. We may decide you are an enemy based on a secret informant, or our view of your tattoos. /1

Between this guy's pardon and Carlos Watson's commutation, the message is clear: In America, the bigger your financial crime, the safer you are.

A very old Soviet joke, from an especially dark time: Foxes are fleeing the USSR in droves. Q: Why are you running away? Fox: The Soviets passed a new law that they’re going to arrest all camels. Q: But you’re foxes! Fox: Yeah, why don’t *you* try proving to the NKVD that you’re not a camel.

Think a Venezuelan gang is invading the U.S.? My story today in @theintercept.com is about how that panic really started — not with a crime wave, but with an alleged slumlord in Colorado and a PR firm in Florida. (1/7) 👇

Six employees said the scope and scale of the list is unprecedented and highly unusual. (My first time working with the wonderful @anniewaldman.bsky.social !)

Seems fitting.

C'mon, at least make the metaphors a little less obvious. bit.ly/3F9QLe1

Yeah. This is the other point that's so important. We *need* decentralized systems across the board to protect democracy. We need people to have the power to control their online experiences, rather than oligarchs.

Being able to drop a quarterly US GDP prediction by 5.1% from +2.3% to -2.8% in a single week is one of the most impressive economic developments in the history of the world.

On July 4, 2022, a gunman opened fire on a parade outside Chicago, killing seven and wounding dozens. "Into the Madness," my new Audible series out today, uncovers the story behind the attack — and how conspiracy theories fueled the violence. 1/6

See here's how to do a headline. fortune.com/2025/02/13/e...

Several former FBI agents, all aligned with Kash Patel, attempted to ease my concerns about Trump's nominee to head the nation's top law enforcement agency. bit.ly/40nlA6X

Just read this. www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...

Interested in some of the backstory about the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria? My Audible series from 2021, "American ISIS," tells the story of an American who traveled to Syria, joined the Islamic State group, and fought against the Syrian government. bit.ly/3XwX4zj

"Chinese state media is reportedly troubled by the latest exodus of X users flocking to Bluesky." bit.ly/3Zq5fOz

Donald Trump will soon control the FBI in a way he couldn't during his first term. Some within the bureau are holding out hope for reform. Others worry it will become a weapon under his command. Starting January 7, I'm going to be covering this weekly. bit.ly/3Cw2QJc

NEW: Legislation that would bar the United States government from spying on journalists—except under rare, specific circumstances—is currently stalled in Congress. Now, with only weeks left to legislate, press advocates are urging Senate Democrats to pass the bill, known as the PRESS Act.