Thomas Jefferson in 1787: “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” www.wsj.com/opinion/a-la...

Well, I was laid off at The Washington Post today. It's been an honor to work with some of the best journalists in the business. I'm hoping to continue reporting, producing videos and finding long-forgotten archival footage. If you have any openings, reach out.

Exclusive: Homeland Security has used what’s known as an administrative subpoena, a legal tool that federal agencies can issue without an order from a judge or grand jury. Under President Trump, DHS has weaponized the tool to strangle free speech.

A government lawyer expressed frustration in a courtroom on Tuesday over ICE not complying with court orders to release people detained. “I wish you would just hold me in contempt of court so I can get 24 hours of sleep. The system sucks, this job sucks" www.fox9.com/news/federal...

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has shifted its immigration enforcement rhetoric and tactics following the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. My latest supercut for @washingtonpost.com:

New Economist/YouGov Poll: Do you think people who are licensed to carry a concealed handgun should be allowed to do so at a protest? Overall 43% Yes 39% No Democrats 48% Yes 33% No Republicans 38% Yes 48% No d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/ec...

The University of Illinois chapter of College Republicans has been placed under Title VI review after it posted an image on social media that appeared to reference the killing of Alex Pretti. dailyillini.com/news-stories...

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth heaped praise on Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin in a visit to the space venture’s facility...the company has signaled recently that it’s narrowing its focus to the work it’s contracted to do for the federal government." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

WSJ reports a whistleblower complaint filed in May against Tulsi Gabbard is so classified it has resulted in months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress. The IG is generally required to share complaints found credible within three weeks. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Trump wants to build a 250-foot-tall arch, dwarfing the Lincoln Memorial www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

We are now 43 days beyond the statutory deadline for the FULL release of the Epstein files Yesterday, the Justice Dept released approximately HALF of the potentially responsive pages Hundreds of thousands of those pages are redacted

NEW: Howard Lutnick, the billionaire who serves as President Trump’s commerce secretary, planned a visit to Epstein’s island in 2012. Lutnick previously claimed that he was so revolted by Epstein that he had cut ties with him years earlier. 1/6 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

Breaking news: Federal authorities arrested journalist Don Lemon Thursday evening, accusing him of breaking federal law during a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies at a church in Minnesota this month.

“President Donald Trump sued the US Treasury and IRS for at least $10 billion over an unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns to the press during his first term in office, potentially putting American taxpayers on the hook for a massive payout.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Interesting: Per a new report from the Congressional Budget Office, the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. (now up to 2,950 troops) cost $223 million from August-December, and will cost $55 million per month onwards. That means up to *$880 million* through the end of 2026.

FBI executes search warrant seeking ballots from Fulton County’s 2020 election www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

(Reuters) - ICE officers in Minnesota on Wednesday were directed to avoid engaging with "agitators" as they carry out President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, according to internal guidance reviewed by Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/ice-of...

VA leaders have barely acknowledged Alex Pretti’s death, workers say www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The chief federal judge in Minnesota said ICE had violated nearly 100 court orders stemming from its crackdown in the state and had disobeyed more judicial directives in January alone than "some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...

The Trump administration's effort to shape the narrative around Alex Pretti ran up against contradictory visual evidence. WaPo analyzed how that rhetoric shifted in the 72 hours after Pretti's death. w/ @sarahellison.bsky.social & @ence.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

‬ The day Alex Pretti was shot, right-wing influencers and Republicans called him a "domestic terrorist" on social media. But two days later, tone had shifted: the same group was calling his killing a "tragedy". Video evidence made the difference, per our timeline (🎁 link) wapo.st/4qHFxA5

D.H.S. Review Does Not Say Pretti Brandished Gun, As Noem Claimed www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/u...

"Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs filed a protest with the U.S. Embassy after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents tried to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission Tuesday." apnews.com/article/immi...

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) Assaulted During Town Hall Meeting youtu.be/Sr7Ath7YjZY

The Trump administration repeatedly shifted its story on the shooting of Alex Pretti in the 72 hours following his death. My latest supercut for @washingtonpost.com:

"State senators took the first step toward renaming 'Palm Beach International Airport' as 'Donald J. Trump International Airport' on Tuesday by unanimously advancing legislation to carry out the change in the Committee on Transportation." www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Q: Do you think he was acting as an assassin in Minneapolis? TRUMP: Who was that? Q: Mr. Pretti. Your deputy chief-of-staff said that. TRUMP: No. ... With that being said, you know, you can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns, you just can't.

DHS officers have fired shots during enforcement arrests or at people protesting their operations 16 times since July. In each case, the Trump administration publicly declared their actions justified before waiting for investigations to be completed. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

A New York Times frame-by-frame breakdown of the shooting of Alex Pretti shows that as Pretti fell to the ground, he had his phone in one hand and his glasses in his other hand. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

"A Trump administration lawyer assured a federal judge Monday that investigators have preserved body-camera footage and other evidence from the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, but stopped short of promising to share that evidence with state investigators." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

NYT reports over 100 refugees with no criminal record from about a dozen countries have been arrested in Minnesota by immigration agents in recent weeks & flown to Texas detention centers. Some were later released, leaving them to find their own way home. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/u...

Iranian security forces gunned down dozens of protesters trying to escape a devastating blaze in the Caspian Sea city of Rasht during a nationwide uprising earlier this month, according to witness accounts provided to The Post.

Trump on Minneapolis shooting: “I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it. But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

"Federal agents who were wrestling a man to the ground in Minneapolis early Saturday secured a handgun he was carrying moments before shooting him multiple times, according to a Washington Post analysis of videos from several angles." www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Donald and Melania Trump on Saturday night hosted a private screening of “Melania,” a new documentary about the first lady. The Hollywood Reporter and Reuters reported that executives from Apple, Amazon and other major tech companies were invited. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Since July, I've tracked at least 2,300 cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process. This is one that stands out: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

On tonight’s White House agenda: Trump and guests will get a private screening of MELANIA, the documentary about the First Lady, @thr.com reports. Attendees include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Mike Tyson, per the article.

The head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said federal agents barred state investigators from the scene of Saturday’s shooting. The agency then obtained a search warrant to access the scene on a public sidewalk but were stymied. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/us...

“Senate Democrats will block a government funding package next week because of concerns over funding ICE Chuck Schumer said Saturday…The govt will partially shut down at the end of the day Friday if Congress doesn’t pass a funding package or extension” www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

Many ICE officers are still not wearing body cameras, even though ICE’s cameras were supposed to have been fully operational by September, per a 2024 DHS report. The Trump administration proposed cuts to ICE’s body camera program for this fiscal year. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

A city official said the victim had died. This is the third shooting incident in Minneapolis involving federal immigration agents and took place just blocks from where Renée Good was killed. Follow for more live updates here: wapo.st/3M62eyV

ICE detained a 2-year-old girl and her father on Thursday in Minneapolis and flew them to Texas, despite a judge ordering the toddler's release. On Friday, the girl was reunited with her mother. Attorneys for the family say they were asylum seekers. www.startribune.com/agents-detai...

Breaking News: Rejecting decades of science, the chair of the federal panel that recommends vaccines for Americans said that shots against polio and measles — and perhaps all diseases — should be optional. The vaccines are credited with preventing disability and millions of deaths worldwide.

An FBI field office leader tells The New York Times that during Kash Patel's first director's call with the heads of all of the field offices, he told officials that he didn't read briefing materials: "I don't read." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The Oregonian reports ICE arrested and detained a family, including a 7-year-old child, outside a Portland hospital last week as the child's parents sought emergency medical care for her. The family have a pending asylum claim and no criminal history. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

"Tech companies issued a record $108.7b in corporate bonds in the last 3 months of 2025..the largest total for any quarter and roughly double that of the previous 3 months..[another] $15.5b in bonds were issued in the first two weeks [of 2026] alone." www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

100 clergy arrested at airport protest as Minnesotans strike against ICE www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

On four different occasions over the past year, Donald Trump has reversed or pulled back his tariff threats whenever markets have dropped. My latest supercut for @washingtonpost.com:

NEW: Kennedy's plan to study Hep. B vaccine in African babies has been suspended by Guinea-Bissau. Experts say the trial is unethical in a nation where 1 in 5 kids are exposed to Hep. B, which can take decades off their lives. HHS: the trial is "paused." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/h...