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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 7h

“Amid the smoke bombs and screams that ricocheted throughout a South Shore building last month during a massive military-style immigration raid, one man heard a knock on his door.

On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.”

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid, one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before t...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Ⓐnarky Rules 🏴 @anarkyrules.bsky.social · 1d

The right can't commerce.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21h

Can you think of a single movie in which there is a video from the government denouncing its political opponents playing on a loop in public spaces in which that government was the good guy?

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 21h

A new Noem video is being played at airports trashing Democrats.

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David Noll @david.noll.org · 1d

interesting that if you say the constitution creates a separation of powers systems in which there are no kings, they think you hate america

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Emmer: "This is about one thing and one thing alone -- to score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set to hold a hate America rally in DC next week."

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Chevron @lachevron.bsky.social · 21h

I think they believe eventually everyone will get worn down and accept an authoritarian King thinking there will never be a Marie Antoinette moment.

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 1d

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says he has been denied 4 times to see what is going on inside the Broadview, IL ICE facility:

"Something's going on in there that they don't want us to see. I don't know what it is, but all Americans should be asking the same question."

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Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 1d

oh no

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Sagittarius A* @sagastar.bsky.social · 22h

weird, it went from "she was throwing shit at homeland security" to "she was obstructing" to "no charges filed" all in an afternoon

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Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 22h

An update from WGN on Debbie Brockman: "Earlier today, a WGN-TV creative services employee was detained by ICE. She has since been released, and no charges were filed against her. Out of respect for her privacy, we will have no further statements about this incident.”

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 1d

This morning, masked Border Patrol agents violently pinned a longtime WGN-TV producer to the ground after detaining another unidentified male in Chicago, eventually arresting her and hauling her off in an unmarked silver van.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

WGN-TV producer violently detained during Chicago ICE enforcement action

A DHS spokesperson said that Debbie Brockman was placed under arrest for ‘assault on a federal law enforcement officer,’ claiming the WGN employee threw objects at the agent.

www.independent.co.uk

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook)

Follow @heartlandsignal for more.

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

I think it’s pretty easy to see the gap in the logical progression between paragraphs 6 and 7 that will doom the case.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 2d

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

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Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social · 1d

JUST IN: ICE official testifies Eswatini hasn't agreed to take Kilmar Abrego Garcia and US didn't ask until last day or 2.

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Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

It's almost like Trump is hollowing out the entire middle-class... www.inquirer.com/business/iro...

Iron Hill Brewery has officially filed for bankruptcy, saying it has $125,000 in cash and owes creditors $20 million

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office is monitoring consumer complaints about Iron Hill gift cards that were purchased and cannot be used.

www.inquirer.com

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Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

Elizabeth McPeak, first VP of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 34, which represents IRS employees across Western PA, said furloughed staff were told to pick up & go home midday Wednesday. www.unionprogress.com/2025/10/10/n...

Nearly half of IRS workforce furloughed amid government shutdown, leading to office closures across Western Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh Union Progress

About half of the approximately 500 Internal Revenue Service employees in Western Pennsylvania have been furloughed and walk-in offices from Erie to Uniontown are shuttered because of the federal gove...

www.unionprogress.com

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Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

Moses Johnson & JimBoy Thune have committed a coup right in front of our eyes.

Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me again how much is going to be left to save by November 2026.

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Jared Wiener @jaredwiener.com · 1d

This morning, so far....

- Qatar will build an Air Force facility in Idaho: www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth...

- The First Lady announces she has an "open channel of communication" with Vladimir Putin. www.forth.news/whpool/CTyp4...

- Federal workers are being laid off www.notus.org/trump-white-...

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Jason Linkins @dceiver.bsky.social · 1d

this is only "leverage" if Democrats, watching the administration continue to play this hand badly, choose to rescue them

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 1d

BREAKING: White House budget office says "substantial" firings of federal workers have started as the Trump administration exerts shutdown leverage.

Budget office says 'substantial' firings of federal workers have started in government shutdown

The White House budget office says that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

bit.ly

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Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 1d

News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."

One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."

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Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

Is ANYBODY ok with Trump handing over a piece of our country to the Qataris?

Is this what a free airplane costs?

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Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

SO, Melanie's big announcement is... she's in a thruple?

Just who is handling WHO around here? JFC...
www.cnn.com/2025/10/10/p...

Melania Trump says she has an ‘open channel’ to Putin on Ukrainian children, and some have been reunited with family | CNN Politics

First lady Melania Trump said Friday that Russia has allowed eight Ukrainian children to reunite with their parents, following months of private discussions between Russian officials and the first lad...

www.cnn.com

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Pixburghgrrl @pixburghgrrl.bsky.social · 1d

They're already renting out office space... that $1B isn't going to spend itself, yano.
www.npr.org/2025/09/18/g...

Trump administration rushes to rent space for immigration officers conducting raids

Employees at the General Services Administration are scrambling to lease offices to accommodate a rapid increase of immigration enforcement officers carrying out widespread raids across the country.

www.npr.org

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Sasha Abramsky @sashaabramsky.bsky.social · 1d

My Nation column on how Trump wants to send more troops into Democratic cities and how populations on the ground are pushing back. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

The Resistance to Trump’s Military Occupations Just Keeps Growing

In Illinois, California, and Oregon, residents and attorneys general are pushing back against the deployment of federal troops in their cities. So far, it’s working.

www.thenation.com

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Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 1d

The Senate voted 77-20 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last night, before leaving town until Tuesday, Oct. 14. Still no deal to break the government funding impasse. The House hasn't been in session since Sept. 19. Shutdown continues.

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