Chris Gelardi
@chrisgelardi.bsky.social
Justice desk chief, @nysfocus.com. Also The Intercept, The Nation, many more. He/him. Send tips ⬇️ https://linktr.ee/chrisgelardi
This is horrifying. New report finds Cuba's infant mortality rate increased 148% from 2018 to 2025, and the likely reason is the significant expansion of US sanctions.
US Sanctions and the Sharp Rise in Infant Mortality in Cuba
New research links intensified US sanctions to Cuba’s sharp rise in infant mortality and a deepening health care crisis.
cepr.net
NEW: I found two "news" websites active on X and other platforms—Al-Fassel and Pishtaz News—that are in fact U.S. government-operated anti-Iranian military propaganda mills. Both appear tied to U.S. Central Command. theintercept.com/2026/04/20/p...
These Middle Eastern News Sites Are Actually U.S. Government Propaganda Operations
Al-Fassel and Pishtaz News publish pro-U.S. coverage about the war on Iran and the Trump administration’s plan to redevelop Gaza.
theintercept.com
April 2: guards cut all phone access in the housing units without warning. When detainees protested, CRS officers allegedly punched a man, threw another to the ground, kicked him in the head, and pinned him by the neck. A third detainee's wrist was broken. The entire cage was pepper-sprayed.
Alligator Alcatraz phones were cut off. Then the beatings began, court docs say
Attorneys say the Trump and DeSantis administrations are disregarding a court order requiring access to phones and attorneys for detainees.
miamiherald.com
NEW: The Trump administration has hit a grim milestone with its 50th strike on a civilian boat in the waters off Latin America. theintercept.com/2026/04/14/t...
The U.S. Is Still Routinely Killing Civilians in Boats
The Trump administration has hit a grim milestone with its 50th strike on a civilian boat in the waters off Latin America.
theintercept.com
Last summer, an incarcerated woman in Missouri had a hot flash while we were on the phone. Since then, I've been talking to people around the country about what it's like to go through perimenopause and menopause in prison. Here's the result, co-published by @themarshallproject.org and @19thnews.org
What Menopause Is Like in Prison
Limited information, health care challenges, hot flashes and mood swings make this an especially difficult life transition.
themarshallproject.org
Yep. They're calling it “Operation Total Extermination”
Nick Turse@nickturse.bsky.social · 4mo agoThe U.S. just killed five more people in its latest boat strikes. The death toll of these extrajudicial killings is almost 170 civilians. And more deaths are on the horizon. Pentagon Reveals Attacks in Latin America Are Just the Beginning theintercept.com/2026/03/23/t...
Where in the world has Trump made war? We're keeping count!
Nick Turse@nickturse.bsky.social · 4mo agoWorld War Trump An analysis by The Intercept reveals that the “peace” president has embroiled the U.S. in more than 20 military interventions, armed conflicts, and wars. theintercept.com/2026/03/30/t...
The Houthis have tapped in. You thought it was bad when Iran throttled the Strait of Hormuz? (They’re only closing it to American coalition-flagged ships.) The Houthis have already proven they can keep the Red Sea closed despite a year of US Navy skirmishing.
@nysfocus.bsky.social 💜 @hellgatenyc.com Read about our joint investigation into really dark shit: nysfocus.com/2026/03/17/l...
I am, with a heavy heart, planning to cancel my WaPo subscription. I don't want a NYT subscription rn. I already subscribe to lots of alternative, ideological, and specialized media. What do I do to get my big mainstream newspaper fix?
For a president who ran for office promising to keep the United States out of wars, Trump has already launched attacks during his second term in: Ecuador Iran Iraq Nigeria Somalia Syria Venezuela Yemen and on civilians in boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Nick Turse@nickturse.bsky.social · 5mo agoU.S. Military Joins Drug War in Ecuador: “It Wasn’t Going to Be Just Boat Strikes Forever” Two government officials told The Intercept that the joint U.S.–Ecuador military action won’t just be a one-off raid. theintercept.com/2026/03/04/u...
Blumenthal: "I have emerged from classified briefings deeply concerned and very fearful that we're on the precipice not only of an escalating conflict that in region, but also putting troops on the ground b/c that is almost inevitably the path the admin has chosen by its current tactical approach"
"Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made multiple private calls to Trump over the past month advocating a US attack [on Iran], despite his public support for a diplomatic solution..[he + brother Khalid bin Salman] warned about downsides of not attacking" www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Push from Saudis, Israel helped move Trump to attack Iran
President Trump launched a wide-ranging attack on Iran after weeks-long lobbying by an unusual pair of U.S. allies in the Middle East: Israel and Saudi Arabia.
washingtonpost.com
Exclusive: Prior to Iran attacks, CIA assessed Khamenei would be replaced by hardline IRGC elements if killed, sources say reut.rs/4l9SCAs
Exclusive: Prior to Iran attacks, CIA assessed Khamenei would be replaced by hardline IRGC elements if killed, sources say
In the run-up to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Saturday, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency assessed that even if Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the operation, he would likely be replaced by hardline figures from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), two sources briefed on the intelligence said.
reut.rs
Mississippi prison officials told Mary Anderson her uncle died of a heart attack while incarcerated. A year later, the FBI is investigating his death as a homicide. He was reportedly beaten to death by prison guards. My latest for @themarshallproject.org www.themarshallproject.org/2026/02/24/m...
FBI investigating Mississippi Prison Death Involving Guards
Melvin Cancer was killed by guards beating him inside the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, a new report shows.
themarshallproject.org
Fantastic reporting from @chrisgelardi.bsky.social who easily found a former New York prison chef accused of sexual assault, after the state insisted in legal filings that he did not exist.
Hell Gate *subscribe today!*@hellgatenyc.com · 6mo agoThe state asked a judge to dismiss a prison sexual abuse lawsuit — lawyers said couldn’t find record of the alleged abuser. We found him. New report in partnership with @nysfocus.bsky.social hellgatenyc.com/prison-sex-a...
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive. In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive. New from @airwars.bsky.social and @theintercept.com theintercept.com/2026/02/17/b...
U.S. Sent a Rescue Plane for Boat Strike Survivors. It Took 45 Hours to Arrive.
In seas that could kill a person within an hour, it took nearly two days for a rescue plane to arrive.
theintercept.com
The U.S. conducted more extrajudicial killings in the Eastern Pacific today We’re tracking the civilian toll @theintercept.com theintercept.com/2025/11/17/t...
The U.S. Has Killed More than 100 People in Boat Strikes. We’re Tracking Them All.
The Intercept is keeping count of all publicly declared U.S. attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean and the number of civilians killed.
theintercept.com
Do you work at an OCFS secure or limited secure facility? Do you have a loved one incarcerated in one of the facilties? Were you incarcerated yourself? New York Focus wants to hear from you. Email reporter Chris Gelardi at chris@nysfocus.com or message him on Signal at @cgelardi.42.
Staff at Youth Prison Recount Lockdowns, Turmoil, 24-Hour Shifts
A yearslong staffing crisis at state-run facilities has taken its toll on incarcerated kids and the workers who watch over them.
nysfocus.com
New York's youth prisons are a disaster. Kids locked in solitary for days at a time. Staff forced to work 24-plus-hour shifts. Crisis after crisis. "I'm a human rights violator," one whistleblower told me. They recounted the nightmare at one facility: nysfocus.com/2026/02/04/o...
Staff at Youth Prison Recount Lockdowns, Turmoil, 24-Hour Shifts
A yearslong staffing crisis at state-run facilities has taken its toll on incarcerated kids and the workers who watch over them.
nysfocus.com
Hochul hopped on the anti-ICE train with some new, two-pronged legislation. One proposal, to ban jail contracts, would be big. The other... maybe not so much. I've said it before: 287(g) is the red herring of local ICE collaboration. From @liv-veazey.bsky.social and @sammellins.bsky.social:
Hochul hopped on the anti-ICE train with some new, two-pronged legislation. One proposal, to ban jail contracts, would be big. The other... maybe not so much. I've said it before: 287(g) is the red herring of local ICE collaboration. From @liv-veazey.bsky.social and @sammellins.bsky.social:
BREAKING: We spoke to a witness of the fatal shooting in Minneapolis, who confirmed that the victim was an ICE-watch observer and not a target of immigration enforcement. W/ @jsweetli.bsky.social via @theintercept.com theintercept.com/2026/01/24/m...
Man Feds Killed in Minneapolis Was an Observer, Eyewitness Says
The killing marked the second fatal shooting by federal agents in the city in less than a month.
theintercept.com
*New in @nysfocus.bsky.social: Juvenile detention centers in New York are keeping youth in small cells without sinks or toilets, often for upwards of 23 hours a day, for days or weeks at a time, a lawsuit alleges. nysfocus.com/2026/01/09/o...
New York Keeps Children in Solitary Without Toilets, Suit Alleges
Office of Children and Family Services facilities are violating state regulations governing the treatment of children in their care, the lawsuit claims.
nysfocus.com
The US press learned nothing from Bush and has learned nothing from Trump
Trump claimed early Saturday that the U.S. had carried out airstrikes on Caracas and spirited Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of the country and taken him into custody, marking a dramatic escalation in his administration's regime change efforts. interc.pt/4aCyy6t
U.S. Captures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Strikes Caracas, Trump Says
Trump claimed early Saturday the U.S. had carried out a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela and captured the country's leader and his wife.
theintercept.com
