U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, in her November 20 opinion in a case over the federal government’s treatment of protesters and press in Illinois, warned us — warned America — that Wednesday was coming. My overnight report at Law Dork:

For those keeping score, Bellingcat, The New York Times Visual Investigation Team, & Washington Post's Visual Forensic team have all published analysis showing the ICE shooter wasn't in the path of Renee Nicole Good’s vehicle when he shot her, contradicting statements by the President & his cronies

This part has really stuck with me: www.thehandbasket.co/p/kavanaugh-...

I spoke to the owner of a Trump Store in the Philly suburbs who is closing up shop due to declining sales. www.inquirer.com/business/tru...

as a teacher who did this with HS Seniors in Dallas, I learned 2 things: 1, this needs to be a unit every single year, K-12, across disciiplines, because it's that difficult to teach well and, 2, kids actually like spotting fakes and really get into this if you give them the skills to do so

I moved around a lot in my 20s, and have traveled to a lot of professional conferences. tenpages.github.io/us-level/us....

The flu surge in the last week of the year was really something else (see the line chart in the story). "About 5,000 people have died of the flu so far this season, including 9 children, as the Trump administration pulls back on advice to get kids vaccinated." www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

three bylines, six months late, almost zero new information we hadn't reported months ago. lowercased our name and mentioned deep in the story. no link to us. said they couldnt find the govt privacy document (we did). good job wall street journal

Enough is enough. I just saw this clanker run a train crossing and narrowly avoid a collision with a Metra train. Who knows what would’ve happened.

ICYMI over holidays: 3,800 children, including infants, were held in immigrant detention in 2025. Families report children are so distressed they are hitting themselves in the face and soiling themselves, despite being potty-trained. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

Sorry for limited skeets; frozen fingers! Large Chicago crowd has hit the streets in protest of the U.S. bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of President Maduro.

The protest continues to grow, now spilling further back into Federal Plaza and across the street in front of the city's federal courthouse. Police hanging out nearby but the atmosphere is calm so far.

"The breathtaking use of military force against a sovereign state has no legal justification." Editorial from @inquirer.com: www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

I wrote about Grok's CSAM problem and how journalists keep fumbling the story www.readtpa.com/p/grok-cant-...

Strong Towns Chicago deployed my location crash report dashboard 🤝 @strongtownschicago.bsky.social Use this to generate crash reports for intersections, corridors, or your own ward. Best experienced on desktop 🗺️ www.strongtownschicago.org/chicago-cras...

2026's First Light. This morning's sunrise in Chicago to start off the new year.

📣 We’re hiring an editor in chief to lead our award-winning editorial team. Check out the full job posting and apply here: buff.ly/jKsWWgE

10 years since I graduated with my masters from CUNY with this crew!

EXCLUSIVE: @laurenweberhp.bsky.social & I have spent the last year collecting school+county-level vaccination data from across the US and found that only about 28% of counties now have herd immunity for kindergartners from measles—that leaves about 5.2mn kids unprotected. Gift link: wapo.st/49zDc43

OPINION: "When a gunman attacked my classmates, school active shooter drills proved useful to me. It's a skill I wish I never had to learn." — CJ Lair

Our favorite visual stories from the past twelve months

The Black Zine Fair needs funds to happen. We pay workshop facilitators, it costs us thousands to rent tables and chairs, we feed exhibitors & volunteers & more. Please help us to raise the funds needed: gogetfunding.com/black-zine-f...

“Ramírez didn’t fully understand her legal options, and she says she wanted to escape the difficult conditions inside Broadview. She signed the self-deportation form.” “Ramírez says she wanted to get out; there was little food and water, and she was unable to shower.”

That was a fun Green Bay drive to watch, at least. #Packers

✶✶ How closely did you follow Chicago local news in 2025? ✶✶ Take the quiz to find out! 📰 🏙️ 🤓 lauriemerrell.com/chicago-news...

Chicago Christmas map by the Illinois Office of Tourism, 1982

Everyone looking for some Chicago Christmas history, from heart-warming to heartbreaking, check @backwardsriver.bsky.social tonight.

As many of us begin Christmas meal prep, allow me to share the advice that my ER nurse sister puts in the chat every year: A dropped knife has no handle. Jump away. Let it fall. You can pick it up and wash it.

NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

In case you missed this on Friday, at @unbreaking.org we updated our trans healthcare explainer with a timeline (100+ events) and a totally rewritten explainer (20k words, 150+ footnotes) to help people understand the many diverse attacks on gender affirming care, and where they currently stand:

The Sun-Times Sports Sunday cover, featuring the Bears, whose miracle finish stuns the Packers in overtime, by @patfinley.bsky.social. trib.al/C3qjdju

If divine intervention ever played a role in a football game, it happened tonight. Leo da Pope had something to do with this Bears win 🙏 🏈🏈🏈🏈

...and all my snarky remarks from the first three quarters of the Packers-bears game will remain in drafts. Glad I held off on posting now.

NEW — Ahead of tonight's game, we wanted to know how Black Chicagoans can somehow choose the Green Bay Packers over the Bears. These three men shared their origin stories with us. "The Packers have mostly been better than the Bears in my lifetime," one fan said. thetriibe.com/2025/12/i-do...

Just rebranded an open-face toasted PB&J as "PB&J pizza" in order to get my 4-year-old kid to eat it. Success.

Maria has been accused over the years of fabricating her story that she had gone to the FBI. After finding the document in the trove, I called her. She broke down in tears. “I’ve waited 30 years. I can’t believe it. They can’t call me a liar anymore.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...

As I wrote today: www.readtpa.com/p/watch-rep-...

Rough times to love and care about a trans person, of any age.

the full speech is something to see & is one of the reasons it is good to have a trans member of congress youtu.be/5LqVMCW4e0c?...

ICE just moved through Rogers Park, headed north into Evanston. The RP community response has not gotten slower in the winter. A lot of folks were out in the streets the moment they got off Lake Shore Drive. Everyone on the North Side is on high alert today. Stay ready.

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!

I'm not sure if people realize the murder strikes are taking place across a large region. It's quite staggering. www.newsweek.com/map-us-strik...

It feels extra cruel and intentional for CBP and Bovino to come back to Chicago, especially hard hit immigrant nhoods, one week before Christmas. These are strategies to abduct people but also about psychological terror meant to keep vulnerable community members afraid.

A church "was hosting a holiday food giveaway with crowds bundled up outside waiting for food when Border Patrol agents showed up," and "Students ... were escorted back into the building by teachers who put up barricades as crowds formed around agents’ vehicles, @blockclubchi.bsky.social reports

The situation right now is developing fast; Border Patrol is detaining people across SW side. Community members are following their caravan. Agents are threatening people who film with pepper ball and tear gas dispensers. It's going to take time for rapid response to tally arrest totals.

Excited to see that @inquirer.com made the "Best" part of this list. www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

A large CBP presence is back in Chicago this morning, with sightings and arrests reported across the southwest side and Cicero. Bovino is also here.

Small-scale, fiercely independent journalism rarely gets recognition when awards are handed out, but it's vital in our communities—especially this year. So I made an award and am thrilled to announce @unraveledpress.com and @lataco.bsky.social as the inaugural winners. dansinker.com/posts/2025-1...

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

An ICE Air flight carried migrants from Alexandria, LA, to the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay today—the first migrants held at GTMO since October 17.