Why this Octavia Butler page-turner is the ultimate book club pick Octavia E. Butler’s 'Parable of the Sower' topped our 101 Best Book Club Picks survey. The owner of Octavia's Bookshelf, Nikki High, discusses why this prophetic novel is more vital than ever.

Octavia Butler's 'Parable of the Sower' just topped the LA Times book club list. Why is this book such a page-turner? www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books...

A 9-year-old was found locked in a van since 2024, malnourished and unable to walk A 9-year-old boy has been rescued from his father's utility van in eastern France, where he was locked up for a year and a half.

A 9-year-old boy has been rescued from his father's utility van in eastern France, where he was locked up for a year and a half.

Netanyahu Criminal Trial Will Resume After Iran Ceasefire—But He Wants To Delay Testimony Netanyahu’s lawyer claimed Friday the leader can’t testify due to “classified security ​and diplomatic reasons” connected to the Iran War.

Netanyahu’s lawyer claimed Friday the leader can’t testify due to “classified security ​and diplomatic reasons” connected to the Iran War.

SNL's Weekend Update host Colin Jost besides a screenshot of a ProPublica headline that reads: "Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts." Below the text is an image of Noem in a cowboy hat riding a horse, against the backdrop of Mount Rushmore.

Did you catch a mention of ProPublica's reporting on "SNL" Weekend Update last night? 👀

Read the full investigation here: https://propub.li/4bhyCXX

A tote with redacted book names and red handles lays on the back of a chair with yarn in the background.

We just added a super cute banned books tote to our bookish totes collection! This is a new style along with our best selling composition notebook and library card totes. Find it at Hartfordyarnworks.com under “other goodies“

#Bookish #Totes #Subversive #SmallBusiness #ShopSmall #Books #ProjectBag

It was going on one, two in the morning, and we were shooting what I felt was an important scene for me, when he makes an attempt to be quote-unquote straight, in a suit, and at the end of it he gets emotional and locks himself in the other room. And I felt like, I’m not getting what I want—I’m not happy with it. Mike was happy with it. He called me the next day and said, “I know you weren’t happy with the scene last night. Believe me, we wouldn’t have gone home if I had felt we weren’t getting it.” And then he sort of became my psychiatrist and said, “You find it difficult to be happy, don’t you? You find it difficult to enjoy things.” And I said, “Well, sometimes. Last night was about feeling too tired and not feeling I was reaching what I needed to reach for the scene.” He talked to me then about when he was making, I don’t know whether it was Virginia Woolf or The Graduate. He said, “I didn’t enjoy it for a second. I was worried about so many things.” And then he said, “You know, this is never going to happen again quite this way. You should try to allow yourself to enjoy this more. Take a minute a day, and then add a minute the next day, and another minute. Pretty soon, you’ll have hours of happiness.”

The Birdcage opened thirty years ago today, so in its honor, I want to share one of my favorite stories about Mike Nichols that didn't make it into my biography. This is from an interview I did with Nathan Lane.

ICE has stopped paying for detainee medical treatment ICE halted payments in October, and the situation will persist for at least several more months

1. ICE has STOPPED PAYING for medical treatment for its 73,000 detainees

ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals

Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care

🧵

school being canceled because the president sent armed thugs to harass and imprison the populace for voting against him should be the biggest domestic scandal in american history

Using public voter files, Peter Lutz takes a first-of-its-kind look at partisan registration among pro athletes by league.

Trump’s Davos trip delayed due to Air Force One electrical issue

Having seen several abductions up close, it is really hard to convey how much the thing they’re doing is roaming in military convoys until they see someone who is alone and isn’t white, and then jumping out in large numbers, pulling them into a van, and screeching off, all in 90 seconds or so.

The NewsGuild strongly condemns FBI’s raid of Washington Post reporter’s home | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA “The Guild is alarmed and appalled by federal law enforcement’s search and seizure of reporter Natanson’s property and personal devices,” the Post Guild said.

“Journalists have the right to do their jobs without fear of government interference,” said President Jon Schleuss.

“Today’s FBI raid on a journalist’s home is a direct assault on the 1st Amendment and a threat to every working journalist.

@postguild.bsky.social

newsguild.org/the-newsguil...

this one weird trick will let you make a talk show but not have to pay union rates

FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move Agents searched Hannah Natanson’s Virginia home and seized devices in inquiry tied to a classified materials case

More: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Stars and Stripes job applicants are asked if they back Trump policies People seeking jobs at Stars and Stripes, which Congress guaranteed editorial independence, are being asked how they would advance administration priorities.

People seeking jobs at military newspaper Stars and Stripes, which Congress guaranteed editorial independence, are being asked how they would advance administration priorities.
Reporting from @liamjscott.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

US suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries | CNN Politics The United States is indefinitely suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries in another expansion of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

"The United States is indefinitely suspending immigrant visa processing from 75 countries"
www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/p...

From my post to Facebook: “A friend said those of us who live in Minneapolis should write about what's going on here for folks who live elsewhere. You need to know that whether you're a Republican, Independent or Democrat, the Constitution is being violated by our federal government. This is not about catching criminals, or even deporting people. It is about punishing an entire state, including citizens, for not supporting the president. Everyone in my part of Minneapolis is affected. On our streets, ICE is stopping people of color and demanding their papers. In America. US citizens do not have to prove citizenship to ICE. Yet people are being intimidated, some cases beaten up and detained, for requiring ICE to follow the law. ICE needs a judicial warrant to enter homes. Yet there are documented cases of them ignoring the law - violating a bedrock constitutional principle. Americans of color are staying home, afraid to go to work, school, to grocery shop, or fill their cars with gas. This isn't just "illegals" or immigrants with valid work permits, it is citizens who have had their cars rammed by ICE for merely looking Hispanic. Businesses are closing. Schools are 50 percent full. When they are open, fascists are calling in bomb threats because the president decided to make us a meme. After a daycare teacher with a valid work permit (through 2030) was snatched from her workplace, parents (and grandparents) have had to organize to watch their SCHOOLS, to make sure conditional rights are observed. This is being repeated throughout Minnesota. Imagine trying to do your job or live you life while also taking volunteer shifts to make sure the federal government doesn't act extrajudicially. Because of ICE's documented abuses, neighbors have organized to monitor federal actions. This observation is legal, as long as it doesn't interfere with a valid action. Yet since ICE killed Renee Good, they are increasingly stopping this observation, breaking car windows and …

The great @usefulnoise.bsky.social made a request that we all write something about what life in Minnesota is like for folks who live elsewhere or might be outside our normal neighbothis-Bluesky footprint. So I went to cursed Facebook and wrote this. Maybe it will help you share your own thoughts.

The Washington Post Guild is alarmed and appalled by federal law enforcement’s search and seizure of reporter Hannah Natanson’s property and personal devices. Hannah is a valued member of our union whose work covering the federal workforce has been essential (1/3)

Can Hollywood do for paid leave what Congress hasn’t? TV once made designated drivers mainstream, and 'Will & Grace' changed hearts on marriage equality. Now an effort is underway to get caregiving on screens — and perhaps influence paid family leave pol...

Can Hollywood do for paid leave what Congress hasn’t? 19thnews.org/2025/10/holl... via @19thnews.org

"Graphic from the NRA with a red border and dark blue background. White and yellow text states: 'The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law abiding Americans to purchase, possess and use firearms. NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process.' The NRA logo is at the bottom. The tweet caption reads: 'The Second Amendment isn’t up for debate.'"

Oh my god, Trump actually got the NRA to come out to defend trans people owning a gun.

The FDA Let Substandard Factories Ship These Medications to the U.S. ProPublica identified more than 150 products that were exempted from import bans since 2013. Our list provides the names of the drugs or ingredients and their manufacturers, many of which are no longe...

The FDA Let Substandard Factories Ship These Medications to the U.S. - @propublica.org

www.propublica.org/article/fda-...

The Trump Administration Is Turning ICE Raids and Protests Into Reality TV Whether creating its own memes or working with celebrities like "Dr. Phil" McGraw, the government is treating a volatile situation in Los Angeles like content.

As ICE officers conducted a series of raids targeting Latino communities in Los Angeles, reality star Phil “Dr. Phil” McGraw embedded with immigration officials. Later, Merit TV announced in a press release that its footage will be aired throughout a “2-Night Television Event."

‘Wildly underprepared’: National Guard troops seen sleeping on floors in exclusive photos State troops sent to Los Angeles by the Trump administration, without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, were expected to sleep on floors or outdoors, a source told the Chronicle.

State troops sent to Los Angeles by the Trump administration, without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, were expected to sleep on floors or outdoors, a source told the Chronicle.

If you're a disabled person whose mobility devices are damaged at anti-ICE protests by the police etc and you have evidence of it, I'm always interested in you contacting me for a potential @motherjones.com story at jmetraux@motherjones.com or signal: juliametraux.49.

Iran expands dog-walking ban beyond Tehran Dogs are vieved as "unclean" by Islamic officials, but ownership is rising as a form of quiet rebellion.

Dog-walking now banned in 19 Iranian cities | BBC www.bbc.com/news/article...

Hegseth is now threatening to send the Marines to LA to suppress protesters against ICE’s brutal assault on immigrant garment workers.

Just process that: Sending in the *military* to crack down on protesters.

We’re now at severe risk of martial law. That’s what they’ve wanted all along.

Correct. This should be *THE* national story right now.

This is the second day in a row that federal agents shot us both

Screenshot from the linked Rolling Stone article: The president can request, but not order, a governor to deploy their state’s National Guard. The governor can refuse the request, and Trump would not be allowed under the Constitution to send National Guard troops to California from other states. However, the Trump administration has previously mulled invoking the Insurrection Act, which could allow the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically, federalize the National Guard, and send in troops to quell uprisings or civil disorder.

But from @rollingstone.com today:

www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...