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Chris McDaniel

@csmcdaniel.bsky.social

News Producer at Last Week Tonight. Previously an investigative reporter at BuzzFeed News. Winner, 2011 PAX East Super Smash Bros. (N64) Championship. Signal: csmcdaniel.89

67 Posts1020 Follower741 Folgt
Adam Serwer@adamserwer.bsky.social · last mo.

5-4 for what it explicitly says in the constitution is incredible. They were this close to undoing the civil war entirely. bsky.app/profile/mjsd...

Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · last mo.

The Supreme Court strikes down Trump's attack on birthright citizenship. By a 5–4 vote, it holds that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to children born of unauthorized and temporary immigrants. Roberts and Barrett join the three liberals. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Dan Vergano@danvergano.bsky.social · last mo.

Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.com

Springer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature

Strategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development

group.springernature.com

Tessa Duvall@tessaduvall.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The KY Dept of Corrections was not a fan of this woman's piece. On June 13, four days after her story published, a correctional officer woke Taira Beller around midnight to hand her a disciplinary report. A DOC spokesperson did not respond to the H-L when asked specifically what Beller did wrong.

A KY inmate published a story about sexism in prison. Now she faces discipline

The Kentucky Department of Corrections says it takes issue with a state inmate’s story published online in the Prison Journalism Project.

kentucky.com

Prison Journalism Project@prisonjournalism.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Over 40 years ago, a federal court ordered Kentucky to treat incarcerated women the same as men. So why hasn’t it happened yet?

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 3mo ago

BREAKING: Federal judge finds that Presidential Records Act is likely constitutional, issues preliminary injunction requiring compliance with the law. Judge Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, opens his opinion with an Orwell quote.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION et al., Plaintiffs, V. DONALD TRUMP et al., Defendants. Civil Action No. 26-1169 (JDB) FREEDOM OF THE PRESS FOUNDATION et al., Plaintiffs, V. DONALD TRUMP et al., Defendants. Civil Action No. 26-1402 (JDB) MEMORANDUM OPINION "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past."! Perhaps with that lesson in mind, Congress enacted laws to ensure that government records are created, preserved, and made available to the public. Among those is the Presidential Records Act (Records Act), which mandates the preservation of materials related to the official responsibilities of the President. In so doing, the Act democratizes the history of an indispensable institution. Access to those records allows future Presidents to pick up where their predecessors left off, Congress to identify inefficiency and misfeasance, and the public to learn from the mistakes of the ' George Orwell, 1984 37 (Penguin Classics 2000) (1949) (citation modified).In sum, the relevant separation of powers principles all indicate that the Presidential Records Act is likely constitutional. The Act serves a legitimate legislative purpose, is carefully crafted to those ends, and does not impose a substantial burden on Executive Branch activities. Accordingly, it likely does not impermissibly encroach upon the President's authority. Because Congress has the enumerated power to regulate presidential records, and because the Presidential Records Act does not unduly tread on core executive power, the law is likely constitutional. The President is not free to disregard valid laws. His actions doing so, therefore, are in excess of his constitutional authority and in violation of federal law, so plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims.
Melissa Sanchez@melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 3mo ago

1/ Last fall, as we were interviewing immigrants detained during a dramatic immigration raid at an apartment complex in Chicago, we kept hearing about a Nigerian man whose leg was mauled by a police dog. 🧵:

Radley Balko@radleybalko.bsky.social · 5mo ago

ICE has arrested and detained a Nashville journalist who reported stories critical of ICE. She’s married to a U.S. citizen and has been seeking asylum here after fleeing death threats in Colombia because of her journalism there. They’ve already sent her to Louisiana.

ICE detains reporter Estefany Rodríguez in Nashville - Nashville Banner

Reporter Estefany Rodríguez, detained by ICE with no arrest warrant, may face deportation. Her attorneys seek immediate review of the legality of her case.

nashvillebanner.com

Kim Bellware@bellwak.bsky.social · 6mo ago

My time with The Washington Post is up. I was laid off with hundreds of folks I am so honored to call my colleagues. I covered it all at The Post (really), so now I'm looking for my next adventure. ➡️ kbellware [at] gmail dot com Website update coming soon @postguild.bsky.social forever

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning I was sent this video of agents at her door:

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Update: In the evidence preservation lawsuit, the current Civil Chief at the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office (who appears to be Ana Voss, based on the letter), refused to accept email service of the lawsuit last night and then refused to accept in-person service until Monday. Ridiculous behavior.

Our office represents Plaintiff Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in this case. I write to provide an update on our efforts to notify and serve Defendants and to request that the Court consider them sufficient to comply with its direction that Plaintiffs serve Defendants by 9 a.m. this morning: • Yesterday at 7:27 p.m. our office sent an email to the Civil Chief at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota informing her that we would be filing a suit, seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) relating to preservation of evidence, and asked her to confirm receipt and advise who will be handling the suit as soon as possible. • Yesterday at 9:10 p.m. (immediately after the case was filed) our office emailed courtesy copies of our filings (with the exception of the word count certificate and hearing notice, which were provided at 9:44 p.m.) to the Civil Chief, again asking that she confirm receipt and advise who will be handling the case. • The Civil Chief responded to our first email at 9:34 p.m. last night. At 11:00 p.m. she informed us that she would look for coverage for the case but would not accept service by email • At 11:11 p.m. our office emailed the Civil Chief a copy of the TRO entered by the Court. Shortly thereafter we asked if, given her office's refusal to accept service by email, if we could effect personal service in the morning before 9 a.m. The Civil Chief responded that the office would not be open to accept service until Monday. • At 7:39 a.m. this morning, our office emailed courtesy copies of the pleadings and TRO to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division at the U.S.Department of Justice, to the Office of General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, and to the Office of Chief Counsel at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We intend to formally serve Defendants tomorrow, January 26, 2026, consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i) and to personally serve the Summons, Complaint, and TRO papers when the U.S. Attorney's Office reopens. The actions we have already taken comply with Rule 65(b)(1)'s requirement that we attempt to provide "written or oral notice to the adverse party." We request that the Court consider these efforts sufficient to comply with its Order that we serve Defendants by 9 a.m. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Respectfully, s/ Joseph Richie JOSEPH RICHIE Special Counsel PETER J. FARRELL Deputy Solicitor General Attorneys for Plaintiff Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension CC: Clare Diegel, Esq. Ana Voss, Esq.
Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 6mo ago

NEW: The ICE killing of Alex Pretti, the second in Minneapolis, prompts quick legal action. After ICE agents killed Alex Pretti on Saturday, lawyers responded quickly — leading to one TRO issued before the night's end aimed at preserving evidence of the killing. My report at Law Dork:

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6mo ago

You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.

1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground.7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes.13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bearwitness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social · 6mo ago

JUST IN: Lawyers file declaration in federal court from first-hand witness to immigration agents' shooting of a US citizen onlookers today. Minneapolis Mayor Frey said details would be used to bolster case for ousting ICE from city. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Lawrence Hurley@lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Bari Weiss does not seem to have a good understanding of what's been going on with the Alien Enemies Act, including that courts -- including SCOTUS -- have repeatedly faulted the administration for failing to give detainees a meaningful opportunity to challenge being sent to El Salvador.

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Liam Scott@liamjscott.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Read the full email Sharyn Alfonsi sent her team about CBS pulling their segment on the Trump admin’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants

BildBildBild
Scott Nover@scottnover.bsky.social · 8mo ago

CBS News postponed a "60 Minutes" segment Sunday because it lacked a Trump admin interview, per an email we obtained from correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who said the decision by EIC Bari Weiss gave the White House a "kill switch." with @liamjscott.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Liliana Segura@lilianasegura.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New @theintercept.com: I wrote about the oral argument in Hamm v. Smith, digging a bit deeper to trace how the case ended up at SCOTUS. It's another example of far-right conservatives leaning on the court to burn down its case law to advance their agenda (more executions, less 8th amendment).

Alabama Begs Supreme Court to Make It Easier to Execute People With Intellectual Disabilities

The bizarre oral argument in Hamm v. Smith shows how decades of case law rooted in science is now under siege at the Supreme Court.

theintercept.com

Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector editor in chief@journalist-sherman.bsky.social · 9mo ago

An extraordinary admission: "The Sheriff’s Office wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record" #ksleg

Anna Kaminski@anna-writes.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Breaking: Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, express regret kansasreflector.com/2025/11/11/m...

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 9mo ago

NEW: Judge Gettleman just ordered ICE to improve "serious conditions" inside its Broadview facility in Chicago. Yesterday, people testified in court that they were crammed into overcrowded and filthy cells for days, with little access to lawyers, and pressured into deportation.

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER This matter came before the court on plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order. On November 4, 2025, the court heard argument and considered the written filings by both sides, along with testimony presented by plaintiffs. Based on the record currently before it, the court finds that plaintiffs and members of the putative class have suffered, and are likely to suffer, irreparable harm absent the temporary relief granted herein, that they are likely to prevail on the merits of their claims, that the balance of the equities tips in their favor, and that the public interest lies in issuing a temporary restraining order to address the serious conditions demonstrated to exist at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) Broadview, Illinois facility (“Broadview”). Consequently, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 9mo ago

WOW. A federal judge says he's going to issue a Temporary Restraining Order requiring ICE to make changes at the Broadview facility in Chicago, a facility that until January was only for stays under 12 hours "absent exceptional circumstances," but has become, in Judge Gettleman's words, "a prison."

Lee Hedgepeth@leehedgepeth.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Just over an hour after 3 Supreme Court justices warned that Alabamian Anthony Boyd would suffer psychological torture, he was subjected to the longest nitrogen gas execution in US history, gasping for air more than 225 times. Read my eyewitness account: www.treadbylee.com/p/after-just...

After justices warned of prolonged suffocation, Alabama subjected Anthony Boyd to the longest nitrogen execution in U.S. history.

Boyd was the chairman of Project Hope, a death row-led nonprofit. Its members are left reeling in the wake of their leader's suffocation execution.

treadbylee.com

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Unanimous First Circuit takes pains to emphasize that this was an incredibly easy case to decide, despite writing a very long opinion knocking down every ridiculous argument the Trump admin made.

The analysis that follows is necessarily lengthy, as we must address the parties' numerous arguments in each of the cases involved. But the length of our analysis should not be mistaken for a sign that the fundamental question that these cases raise about the scope of birthright citizenship is a difficult one. It is not, which may explain why it has been more than a century since a branch of our government has made as concerted an effort as the Executive Branch now makes to deny Americans their birthright.
Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 10mo ago

BREAKING: The First Circuit rejects Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. In the New Jersey-led multistate case, the appeals court, in a 100-page ruling, keeps the nationwide scope of the injunction blocking the EO in place. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Government now asks us to reverse the preliminary injunctions in these cases. We see no reason to do so. The Government is right that the Framers of the Citizenship Clause sought to remove the stain of Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 119 How.) 393 (1857), which shamefully denied United States citizenship to "descendants of Africans who were imported into this country, and sold as slaves," even when the descendants were born here. Id. at 403. But the Framers chose to accomplish that just purpose in broad terms, as both the supreme Court in United States . Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), and Congress in passing § 1401(a) have recognized. The Government is therefore wrong to argue that the plaintiffs are not likely to succeed in showing that the children that the EO covers are citizens of this country at birth, just as the Government is wrong to argue that various limits on our remedial power independently require us to reverse the preliminary injunctions.?
Democracy Now!@democracynow.org · 10mo ago

Update: The Committee to Protect Journalists says Mario Guevara was deported from the United States early Friday. www.democracynow.org/2025/10/3/ma...

Prominent Atlanta Journalist Deported After Covering Anti-Trump Protest

UPDATE: Mario Guevara was deported from the United States early on October 3, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara may be deported to El Sal...

democracynow.org

Democracy Now!@democracynow.org · 10mo ago

“Attack on Free Speech”: Journalist Mario Guevara Faces Deportation After Covering Anti-Trump Protest - https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/3/mario_guevara_deportation_freedom_of_press

Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · 10mo ago

"This Court has listened carefully to the reasons given by Öztürk’s captors for masking-up and has heard the same reasons advanced by ... ICE. It rejects this testimony as disingenuous, squalid and dishonorable. ICE goes masked for a single reason—to terrorize Americans into quiescence."

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Young’s opinion, which rules that the Trump admin illegally targeted pro-Palestinian students for deportation, is absolutely scathing. “In all our history we have never tolerated an armed masked secret police…ICE brings indelible obloquy to this administration and everyone who works in it.”