Trump Rages at Bad Bunny—and Accidentally Exposes a Big MAGA Weakness

MAGA’s hatred of the Super Bowl halftime performer reflects a hubris about what parts of the culture are “theirs.” But those assumptions are proving more wrong every day.

The New Republic

How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo

The emails show the “anti-woke” crusaders are afraid of accountability.

The Verge

Trump Using A ‘Softer Touch’ With ICE In Minnesota? Residents Say Don’t Be Fooled.

Two weeks after Alex Pretti’s killing, federal agents have shown no signs of backing down. The resistance definitely hasn’t.

Huffpost

ICE plans to build mega warehouses for immigration detention spark growing concern

Sources at two government contractors told NBC News they were worried that new warehouses — and the large numbers of immigrants who would be housed in them — would present safety problems.

NBC News

The disappearing art gallery in your post office

The U.S. Postal Service is home to thousands of historic works of art in post offices nationwide. Hundreds have been lost, sold or destroyed.

The Washington Post

Exclusive: Detention Center Captives Are Throwing Lotion Bottles Wrapped With Notes to Organizers Outside Otay Mesa Facility

“For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh,” an Otay Mesa captive communicated through handwritten note. “We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick.”

LA Taco

For $1 Million, Donors to U.S.A. Birthday Group Offered Access to Trump

A new organization blessed by the president is raising money for events and projects that will put a Trumpian spin on the nation’s semiquincentennial.

The New York Times

Why Some Want to Hide the Racist Motivation of Medgar Evers’ Killers

Whitewashing his motivations avoids a critical conversation

Medium

Why trans suffering is more palatable than trans ambition

We are most readily accepted when framed as victims

Washington Blade

Evangelicals wrestle with faith and politics as ICE surge continues in Minnesota

Small cracks may be emerging among followers known for their staunch support of MAGA.

The Minnesota Star Tribune

The Only Thing That Will Turn Measles Back

How many deaths might tip vaccination rates back upwards?

The Atlantic

Parents brace for tighter SNAP work requirements

As parents face tighter restrictions in order to qualify for food aid, some are trying to make do with less. Others are even taking on second jobs

Prism

State officials worry protections against Trump are eroding

Election officials say the lesson of 2020 was not that the system is invulnerable, but that it can be strained in ways that cause lasting damage long before courts step in. While it’s unclear whether Trump’s latest demands — and possible future actions— would lead to the same level of disruption, legal experts say some of the backstops that ultimately stopped him last time are now weaker, leaving election officials to absorb even more pressure.

AlterNet

Rightwing critics blame Mamdani as New York snow fails to melt

Murdoch tabloid leads charge as big freeze persists – could the mayor please do something about the weather?

The Guardian

The Secret History of the Deep State

In the avalanche of official disclosure that defined the 1970s, what remained so sensitive that even the special prosecutors wouldn’t touch it?

The answer fills an important gap in the record of the Nixon era — and carries significance for our own. The classified portion of the grand jury transcript, obtained by Times Opinion, bears directly on allegations by President Trump and his supporters about the existence of what was once called the permanent bureaucracy, better known today as the “deep state.”

The New York Times

The Coming Conservative Turn Against Israel Goes Much Deeper Than You Realize

It’s not just about politics. It’s also about theology. And it’s going to have a massive impact on Zionism, U.S. foreign policy — and even the place of Jews in America.

NotUs

What Will the World Look Like at the End of Trump’s Second Term?

In his first year back in office, Trump has demolished the fundamental geopolitics that upheld US hegemony for eight decades.

Inkstick

An Injury to Immigrant Workers Is an Injury to All Workers

The Trump administration claims that its assault on immigrants will protect American workers. But its masked, armed federal agents are creating hostile environments for all workers, not just immigrants.

Common Dreams

The Clear Labels Act Would Change What You Know About Your Prescription Medication

The bill, introduced by Sens. Rick Scott and Kirsten Gillibrand, follows a bipartisan investigation that cited ProPublica’s reporting on dangerous foreign drugmakers and the medicine they continued to sell in the U.S.

ProPublica

America lost $35 billion in clean energy projects last year — thanks to Trump

For more than a decade, the clean energy economy has been on a steep growth trajectory. Companies have poured billions of dollars into battery manufacturing, solar and wind generation, and electric vehicle plants in the U.S., as solar costs fell sharply and EV sales surged. That momentum is set to continue surging in much of the world — but in the United States, it’s starting to stall.

AlterNet

I Grew Up Wanting to Be Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I’m Coming of Age Under Trump.

As Jan. 20 approaches—the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration—I find myself taking stock of what has shifted in that first year of his return to power. The political climate that once felt abstract or distant now shapes my classrooms, my friendships and my sense of what adulthood will demand of me.

Ms. Magazine

The Young Have It Rough in Trump’s America, But They’re Ready to Fight for Their Future

Tending to real-time crises while preparing for the long haul will require leadership from many in both Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Common Dreams

Party bigwig says New Labour led to ‘perversion & paedophilia’

As if this wasn’t bad enough, party rivals have now branded Blairism as the political wing of international paedophilia.

There is no coming back from this.

The Canary

Why US-Iran talks matter for Turkey

Setting aside the nightmare scenario of a fresh influx of refugees, the risk of a new Kurdish separatist front in Iran is prompting much worry in Ankara.

Al Monitor

Iran Threatens Missile Attacks, Hoping Trump Sees Strength Not Weakness

The U.S. is demanding that Iran restrict its missile program as part of a deal to avert new clashes, but Tehran has refused so far

The Wall Street Journal

Trump’s Greenland Threats Spill Into Another Danish Territory

Many people in the Faroe Islands, a tiny archipelago in the North Atlantic, want to be their own state. The crisis over Greenland, Denmark’s other territory, has complicated that, for now.

The New York Times

Daniel Noboa is desperate and blames Colombia

Hounded by the crisis and worn down by political erosion, Daniel Noboa blames Colombia and escalates the conflict between the two countries.

Latinoamerica 21

Moving Iran talks from Turkey to Oman deepens Ankara’s PKK concerns

Ankara is brushing off Tehran’s venue switch to Oman, but fears Iran’s nuclear-only stance is shrinking diplomatic space and heightening the risk of US military escalation.

Al Monitor

Israel imposes control over more than half of Gaza; one million Palestinians trapped in displacement

At a moment when the ceasefire was meant to open a path back to normal life in the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces continue to impose military control over more than half of the territory. This policy has emptied the declared truce of substance, kept civilians under constant threat, and prevented hundreds of thousands of people from returning to their homes.

The Canary

Conflicting views on belief in Davos: Milei and Carney

Carney is betting on an uncomfortable political formula: If the world stops believing in Washington-dominated economic institutions, its power erodes.

LatinoAmerica21