JUST IN: Former DoD spokesperson and NBC DOJ correspondent Pete Williams backs NYT lawsuit over rules change that led most Pentagon reporters to turn in their press passes. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

🎧🎙️On @npr.org All Things Considered discussing @thelap.bsky.social judicial misconduct complaint against Judge Sarah Merriam with @carriejohnson.bsky.social one.npr.org?sharedMediaI...

Nonprofit files misconduct complaint against federal judge www.npr.org/2025/12/30/g...

Noticing a modest decline in the federal prison population at close of 2025 sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/12/31/n...

Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.

Warm wishes to anyone traversing the airport today

Happy Christmas, all. “I’ve got a feeling / This year’s for me and you.”

Judge Aileen Cannon rejects motions from @knightcolumbia.org and @weareoversight.bsky.social asserting statutory, common law, and constitutional rights of access to Jack Smith's report about Trump's hoarding of classified docs at Mar-a-Lago. knightcolumbia.org/documents/r1...

Please read this

By my count, Cristal Caballero would be the 14th Operation Midway Blitz defendant to have criminal charges dropped, with 17 defendants remaining. No convictions so far.

This award recognizes extraordinary journalism done in the face of ethical challenges. We know how often such challenges arise while doing important work. Enter yours!

Morning listen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1tM...

For the past several months @emilyrsiegel.bsky.social and I have been analyzing 40 federal civil rights cases filed since 2017 by students who said they were strip searched at school. We found some disturbing patterns. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/s...

Hanukkah is a modest holiday. But I value it I tell my kids light offers hope amid discouragement and illuminates possible paths when the way seems obscured All the more important after a heartbreaking weekend the lights offer the possibility of light in days ahead

We went to Greg Bovino’s mountain hometown and his last posting along the Mexico-California border — and also traced his family tree. Here’s the American story of an immigrant coal miner’s great-grandson turned scourge of foreigners chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

A Justice Department in turmoil - How the rapid turnover has affected the work of the DOJ www.npr.org/2025/12/13/n...

Trump attacks quickly turn to threats: www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

A holy terror

Imprisoned former House Speaker Michael Madigan has become the latest high-profile Illinois Democrat to officially ask President Donald Trump for clemency on a corruption conviction.

I don’t write the headlines but I do like this one (post-Slaughter argument roundtable for @nytimes.com with @stevevladeck.bsky.social & @williambaude.bsky.social) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...

Steve Cropper, who co-wrote classics including "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" and "In the Midnight Hour" during his years playing guitar at the legendary Stax Records in Memphis, has died. He was 84. n.pr/48zf0gD

Timeline cleanse.

"Homelessness today isn't just the person sleeping outside a Walmart. It's often the cashier or worker stocking the shelves inside." I joined @pbsnews.org to talk about There Is No Place for Us and the staggering rise of the "working homeless": www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Let the snow day mischief begin

I just emerged from the underworld.

Tomorrow morning, the DC Circuit will consider whether Trump violated the First Amendment by ejecting @apnews.com from the White House press pool after it refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. Very glad that the AP is fighting this. knightcolumbia.org/blog/the-fig...

The US Marshals have posted updated data on threats to federal judges. Comparing FY2025 to the year prior, more judges reported threats, and the total number of reported threats increased by over 10%. About 16% of all judges--1 in 6--were targeted. The rise in threats continues so far in FY2026.

NEW: Federal prison workers are jumping ship & heading to ICE for better pay + bonuses. Already BOP lost >1400 people this year, reversing all of 2024’s staffing gains. It’s an unintended consequence of Trump’s push for mass deportations My 1st for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

This is a thread detailing a series of incidents where federal Judge Ellis rules that Gregory Bovino and his agents lied or misrepresented what was happening on the streets of Chicago. In this one, she says body cam footage suggests they brake checked to cause accidents

For the 40th anniversary of “The Super Bowl Shuffle,” HBO and NFL Films partnered to produce the documentary “The Shuffle,” which gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at how the song and video came together, including Samauri Mike’s schooling.

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NEW — An investigation by a group of Chicago-area newsrooms and independent journalists found that federal agents used chemical weapons on protesters at least 49 times across 18 incidents across Chicago and the suburbs since October 1. thetriibe.com/2025/11/feds...

Find something you love the way Archie loves a bully stick

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Thread

My new one @slate.com: The Supreme Court Just Took a Scary Voting Case That Has Trump Salivating. He Might Be Disappointed. slate.com/news-and-pol...

The piece I’ve been waiting to read

What a joy to find that the geeat Sharon Begley had written an advace Watson obit. Her genius shines from beyond the grave in this lively, smart and unsparing piece. www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j... via @statnews.com

“Within days of her arrival at a Texas prison camp in early August, Ghislaine Maxwell gushed in emails to her friends and family over the cleanliness and safety of her new surroundings… Maxwell was moved days after meeting with Deputy AG Todd Blanche in July.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

😍

Thank you to @jessicahorton.bsky.social and the dozens of clerks who helped me report this story. Couldn’t have done it without you.

Just left the latest hearing in Jim Comey's criminal case. It did not go well for DOJ The magistrate judge scolded them for an "indict first, investigate second" posture and ordered them to turn over reams of material — including all grand jury info — to Comey's team Details TK

Jury selection about to be underway in DC sandwich guy case, which judge says is the simplest in “the history of the world.” www.npr.org/2025/11/03/n...

Judge sentences former Jan. 6 defendant for hoax threat near Obama's home www.npr.org/2025/10/30/g...

Few amicus briefs move the needle. Kudos to @martylederman.bsky.social for being the exception. And in such an important case.

That’s what I’m talking about

NEW: In Rahimi, the Supreme Court said the 2nd Am lets govt disarm those found to be a credible threat, but left open whether other kinds of restraining orders permit disarmament under fed law. Yesterday, the 9th Cir said yes they do, at least on the facts here. cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...