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Democracy Now!
- Supreme Court Appears Poised to Uphold State Bans on Trans Student Athletes
When Becky Pepper-Jackson started middle school, she wanted to join her school’s track and field team. Like many girls her age, she was excited to make new friends and cultivate a passion for a sport. But unlike the other girls on her school’s track and field team, Pepper-Jackson is trans. And because she lives in West Virginia, a state which has banned transgender girls from participating in public school sports, Pepper-Jackson was excluded from what for her classmates is a normal childhood experience. Pepper-Jackson sued, and her case is now before the conservative-majority Supreme Court — which, after oral arguments Tuesday, appears likely to uphold similar laws throughout the country. “The states have attempted to justify these […]
- ICE Detention Expands Dramatically; 70,000 Immigrants Now Jailed, Deaths Increase
A new report finds the number of people in ICE detention has nearly doubled in Trump’s first year back in office, driven by indiscriminate arrest policies that have locked up more and more people without criminal records, “an unprecedented situation for immigration detention.” We break down the numbers with Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, which published the report. Reichlin-Melnick explains that ICE’s annual budget has approximately quintupled, even as 2025 marked the agency’s deadliest year so far. Four more people have already died in detention in just the first two weeks of 2026. “Crucially, all of this has been slower than they wanted,” he adds. “Their hope was to have over […]
- "ICE Is OK with Renee Good's Killing": Journalist Ken Klippenstein on ICE Tactics & Recruitment
Reporter Ken Klippenstein’s latest investigation into the inner workings of the Trump regime finds that immigration enforcement agencies ICE and Border Patrol have relaxed recruitment and deployment guidelines in an effort to fill the administration’s sweeping deportation goals. “There’s splits within the agency about the shooting [of Renee Good] and the general mission,” says Klippenstein, whose reporting is based on leaked documents and interviews with officials from the Department of Homeland Security. Because “they’re worried about sending more experienced agents there who might not agree with the mission,” he explains, DHS is heavily recruiting volunteers with little vetting or training to carry out its deportation […]
- Journalist Tests ICE Recruitment; Surprised to Find Herself Hired with No Background Check
“They didn’t ask very many questions.” Independent journalist and U.S. military veteran Laura Jedeed recounts how she was hired as a deportation officer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a six-minute interview at a job fair in Texas, despite never signing any paperwork, not having completed a background check, likely failing a drug test, and publicly sharing her opposition to the Trump administration and its anti-immigrant crackdown. “It seems like the answer to the question, 'Who are they hiring?' is: They don’t know.”
- "Federal Invasion": Minnesota Officials Condemn Violent ICE Raids, Arrests
Trump’s immigration enforcement surge continues to rock Minnesota, just a week after the ICE shooting of Renee Good, a mother of three and U.S. citizen in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the number of federal agents now in Minneapolis and Saint Paul outstrips the 10 largest Twin Cities metro police departments combined. “We don’t want ICE in our neighborhoods. They are violent, they are creating chaos and terrorizing our immigrant neighbors, and they are not keeping anyone safe,” says vice president of the Saint Paul City Council, Hwa Jeong Kim, who comments on the city’s new lawsuit against the Trump administration, the loss of temporary protected status for thousands of Somali immigrants in the United […]
Anthropocene
- Researchers turn avocado toast into biodegradable food packaging
A strong yet degradable bioplastic made from avocado peels and stale bread tackles two global challenges: food waste and plastic pollution
- A tree’s bark can take a staggeringly large bite out of climate change
The trillions of microbes inhabiting tree bark can suck up planet-warming gases, scientists have discovered.
The Guardian
- US health officials reverse course and reinstate $1.9bn to mental health and substance use
Health department unexpectedly announced nearly $2bn in program cuts Tuesday before rolling back decisionUS health officials reversed course and began reinstating nearly $2bn in cuts to mental health and substance use programs on Wednesday night, one day after they unexpectedly announced the immediate shutdown of programs.The reversal is a blow to the agenda of Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, who has made aggressive and legally contested cuts to health agencies in the first year of the Trump administration and has proposed folding the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa) into a new agency he would call the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). […]
- Trump imposes 25% tariff on Nvidia AI chips and others, citing national security
The order follows a nine-month investigation and includes broad exemptions for data centers and consumersDonald Trump on Wednesday imposed a 25% tariff on certain AI chips, such as the Nvidia H200 AI processor and a similar semiconductor from AMD called the MI325X, under a new national security order released by the White House.The proclamation follows a nine-month investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and targets a number of high-end semiconductors meeting certain performance benchmarks and devices containing them for import duties. The action is part of a broader effort to create incentives for chipmakers to produce more semiconductors in the US and decrease reliance on chip manufacturers in places like […]
- Our American Queen review – ambition and allegiance on the eve of 1864 US election
Bridewell theatre, LondonThomas Klingenstein’s account of the formidable Kate Chase’s political plotting during the civil war has dense dialogue and a limited scope‘Sometimes she understands things better than I,” says Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury, Salmon P Chase, about his politically savvy, social heavyweight of a daughter, Kate.Kate Chase has a lot on her plate. She is helping Salmon prepare to challenge Lincoln in the 1864 elections – managing alliances and optics, and planning a party to announce his campaign, plus a lucrative marriage to finance it, despite her deep connection with Lincoln’s secretary, John Hay. Continue reading...
- Has Joe Rogan fully soured on Trump’s presidency?
With a huge audience and serving as an avatar for millions of centrist Americans, Rogan compares ICE raids to GestapoJoe Rogan’s comparison of US immigration raids to Gestapo operations, made during a podcast episode earlier this week, has sparked speculation about whether the wildly popular podcaster, who endorsed Donald Trump in 2024, has fully soured on Trump’s presidency – and what that might say of the millions of mainly young men who listen to Rogan’s show.Rogan’s views, as expressed in the podcast discussion, were more complicated than the Gestapo remark taken alone might make them seem. Yet even his more measured skepticism about ICE immigration raids feels somewhat significant, given Rogan’s cultural status and the […]
- Renaming US defense department the Department of War could cost $125m
Congressional Budget Office analysis says renaming – which Congress must approve – would cost US taxpayers millionsRenaming the Department of Defense the Department of War could cost US taxpayers as much as $125m depending on how broadly and quickly the change is made, according to an analysis released Wednesday from the Congressional Budget Office.Donald Trump signed an executive order in September that authorized the Department of War as a secondary title for the Pentagon. At the time, Trump said the switch was intended to signal to the world that the US was a force to be reckoned with, and he complained that the Department of Defense’s name was “woke”. Continue reading...
Aeon
- Red tape on a blue planet
All our laws and rules to protect coral reefs now stand in the way of radical action to save them from heat death- by Irus BravermanRead on Aeon
The Conversation
- Searching reporters’ homes, suing journalists and repressing citizen dissent are well-known steps toward autocracy
President Donald Trump’s threats against independent media and free speech look a lot like the actions of autocrats elsewhere intent on undermining the institutions meant to keep them in check.
- Climate engineering would alter the oceans, reshaping marine life – our new study examines each method’s risks
Some methods being tried to counter climate change shift the ocean’s biology or chemistry. Others would deflect solar radiation. All have consequences for marine life.
- For some Jewish women, ‘passing’ as Christian during the Holocaust could mean survival – but left scars all the same
Some women adopted non-Jewish identities to support the resistance. For most, though, it was simply a strategy for survival – one with constant risk of exposure and execution.
- Broncos say their new stadium will be ‘privately financed,’ but ‘private’ often still means hundreds of millions in public resources
Rarely are sports stadiums financed entirely with private funds.
- Reddit and TikTok - with the help of AI - are reshaping how researchers understand substance use
Chatter in social media communities sheds light on a hidden population of substance users.
Inter Press Service
- The Iranian Military Is the Only Institution Capable of Catalyzing the Downfall of the Regime
Unlike ever before, Iran’s Islamic regime is facing a revolt led by a generation that has lost its fear. Young and old, men and ...
- What Next? United States Exits Key Entities, Vital Climate Treaties in Major Retreat from Global Cooperation
President Donald Trump has escalated efforts to further distance the United States from international organizations and entities focused on climate, the environment, and energy. ...
- Gaza: Physicians Call For Unimpeded Aid To Restore Reproductive Healthcare
Israel must lift all restrictions on medicine, food and aid coming into Gaza, rights groups have demanded, as two reports released today (Jan 14) ...
Sludge
- GOP Leader’s Family Buys xAI Stock Days Before Pentagon Integration
House Republican Conference chairwoman Lisa McClain disclosed the purchase made just days before the Pentagon announced a major integration with xAI.
Grist
- This tech could keep EVs from stressing the grid — and save everyone money
Instead of lots of EVs juicing up their huge batteries all at once, "active managed charging" distributes the load throughout the night, helping stabilize the grid.
- These Finnish homes are being heated by a surprising source: Bitcoin
Can the reuse of crypto mining’s waste heat redeem its carbon footprint?
- Why almost none of the homes burned in LA have been rebuilt since last year’s fires
The wildfires destroyed 13,000 homes. In Los Angeles County, just seven have been rebuilt.
Truthout
- Free Press Advocates Decry FBI Search of Washington Post Reporter’s Home
“It’s hard to interpret this as anything other than an attempt to squash the freedom of the press,” one critic said.
- Trial Over Missouri Abortion Regulations May Affect Access Across Midwest, South
The decision could hamper access for nearly everyone in the state — or greatly broaden it in ways not seen in decades.
- DOJ Push to Investigate Renee Good’s Widow Sparks Mass Resignation
Rather than open an investigation into Good’s killer, top DOJ officials want to look into her grieving widow.
Labor Notes
- Fifteen Thousand New York City Nurses Strike
Fifteen thousand nurses across 10 campuses in New York City’s three biggest hospital systems are on an open-ended strike. It’s the city’s largest nurse strike in decades. Picket lines stretched for blocks at Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and New York Presbyterian hospitals on January 12, thronged with nurses plus Teamsters, hotel workers, and university staff showing solidarity.
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