Work begins on planned ICE detention facility near Gilroy as Santa Clara County threatens lawsuit

Work is underway on a planned ICE detention facility near Gilroy, prompting Santa Clara County officials to threaten legal action and raising new questions about federal detention capacity in Northern California.

The Mercury News
Republicans are fumbling on affordability as voters worries mount, with inflation the worst since 2023 for consumers and 2022 for producers. “All we’ve done since July is stand around sucking on our teeth" - Senator Kennedy GIFT LINK #giftlink www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Republicans Fumble on Affordab...
Important story here. "The Ukrainian drones were hundreds of kilometres away from the humans who launched them when they changed direction and struck an empty fuel depot in the city of Rezekne." #GiftLink 🎁 www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/90e3098...

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5tiku4jvbfzpilgehok6kbgs/post/3mlufnxv3wc2y

Not only is the investigation into the school bombing supposedly remain under investigation, Brad Cooper also claims there were no other incidents that need investigation at all.

This is about as credible as the Russians claiming they only hit strictly military targets

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/us/politics/civilian-deaths-strikes-iran.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ilA.rlsn.goAt4KrHQQ4a&smid=url-share

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

A Top U.S. Commander Dismisses Reports of Civilian Deaths in Iran

Adm. Brad Cooper said a strike on an Iranian school may have been the only civilian casualty incident of the war.

The New York Times

Election deniers being put in positions overseeing elections is obviously bad on its own, but also says a lot about how the bureaucracy has been completely co-opted Trumpists. Most of these people are deeply incompetent cranks whose *only* qualification is being election deniers

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/05/elections-deniers-maga-trump/687134/?gift=AwR_TGzSRSLueG5W7xh0RZmIBJeFrMsNjZvaTdc38GA

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

MAGA Is Winning Its War Against American Elections

The universe of people pressing debunked theories is so broad that it’s a feature of the system.

The Atlantic

I can only imagine how frustrating it must have been for Amy Friduss to try and get the other people on board of the doomed boat 'Over the Moon' to put on life jackets.

Except for her and her mother, everybody else drowned even though they were less than 100 yards from the shore of Lake Tahoe. Nobody was over the legal blood alcohol limit either.

#GiftLink 🎁https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/13/lake-tahoe-boat-tragedy-final-desperate-minutes-detailed-in-police-report/?share=a2lmhrcfbectnysteits #tahoe

Lake Tahoe boat tragedy: Final desperate minutes detailed in police report

Victims chose not to put on life jackets as water began to fill boat.

The Mercury News
"The Ford government’s keenness to put in place this new water regime — while disguising the fact that it involves privatization — raises the question: whose interests is the government serving in doing this?," writes @[email protected]. #GiftLink 🎁 #OnPoli www.thestar.com/gift-redeem?...

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4r4ojsme2z2sbd77t4bdntva/post/3mlt27w3dr22o

"The Trump administration is suing the D.C. Bar Association over its recommendation to disbar Jeffrey Clark" - I predict the judiciary will set a very high bar for DOJ to succeed here

https://wapo.st/4tDIfaH

#GiftArticle #GiftLink

DOJ sues D.C. Bar, escalating fight over discipline for Trump administration attorneys

The suit is part of an effort by the Trump administration to push back on ethics investigations into federal government lawyers.

The Washington Post

"Gorka is a mediocrity who holds a job for which he is not qualified. The poor quality of this putative strategy is a reminder of what happens when unserious people are asked to undertake a serious job." #giftlink

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/trump-sebastian-gorka-counterterrorism/687148/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweKVdIVL1qvdi_JTU6-hcNq4

The Trump Counterterrorism Strategy Makes America More Vulnerable

The policy is unfocused, run by amateurs, and concerned more with the president’s many grievances than with the security of the United States.

The Atlantic

The worlds largest invasive animal making headlines once again:

„The Fight to Euthanize Pablo Escobar’s Hippos in Colombia“ 🇨🇴 🦛

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/world/americas/pablo-escobar-hippos-colombia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.iFA.VI58.NFF_IoX8zKkR&smid=nytcore-ios-share

#Giftlink 🎁
#science 🧪
#ecology 🌎

The Fight to Euthanize Pablo Escobar’s Hippos in Colombia

Colombia is planning to cull a population of wild hippos, the offspring of the drug lord’s pets, dividing a town where hippos are the main draw.

The New York Times