Brent Staples
@bstaples.bsky.social
Garden guy. Fellow, Society of American Historians. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for writing on the legacies of slavery “with extraordinary moral clarity.”
Reposted by Brent Staples
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.
"Please get the truth out about our son."
"Please get the truth out about our son."
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.
"Please get the truth out about our son."
"Please get the truth out about our son."
Reposted by Brent Staples
Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.
January 24, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.
Reposted by Brent Staples
The work being done by these observers of ICE to document, illuminate, and share what is being done in Minneapolis, in below freezing temperatures, given all that has transpired is so remarkably courageous. They are being killed for that courage, as ICE further reveals their cruelty and cowardice.
January 24, 2026 at 9:19 PM
The work being done by these observers of ICE to document, illuminate, and share what is being done in Minneapolis, in below freezing temperatures, given all that has transpired is so remarkably courageous. They are being killed for that courage, as ICE further reveals their cruelty and cowardice.
Steaming fish soup (with crab, lobster etc) on a frigid day. cc: @theferocity.bsky.social
January 24, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Steaming fish soup (with crab, lobster etc) on a frigid day. cc: @theferocity.bsky.social
Reposted by Brent Staples
Been in Minneapolis the past week ish. Here are some photos I took while I was here.
January 24, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Been in Minneapolis the past week ish. Here are some photos I took while I was here.
Reposted by Brent Staples
this guy is a terrible liar who genuinely believes he is great at lying
CNN put together a clip of JD Vance claiming ICE agents have "absolute immunity" followed by him two weeks later claiming "I didn't say that officers who engage in wrongdoing would enjoy immunity"
January 24, 2026 at 3:20 AM
this guy is a terrible liar who genuinely believes he is great at lying
Reposted by Brent Staples
Danes, tired of being pushed around by Donald Trump, are turning to mobile apps to boycott everyday products associated with the US.
Trump-Weary Danes Turn to Technology in Boycott of US Brands
Vegemite, the yeasty spread from Australia, gets a passing green checkmark. So does a French bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. But Diet Coke, a favorite of President Donald Trump? To that, a popular new mobile app in Denmark assigns a failing red X — a message to shoppers to put that American stuff back on the shelf.
bloom.bg
January 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Danes, tired of being pushed around by Donald Trump, are turning to mobile apps to boycott everyday products associated with the US.
Reposted by Brent Staples
Tragic farce in the late-stage decay of a superpower. My column. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/t...
The Soviet Lessons for Trump’s Greenland Gambit
A 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia offers a key to understanding how Trump’s adventurism plays out.
foreignpolicy.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Tragic farce in the late-stage decay of a superpower. My column. foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/23/t...
Time for split pea soup - flavored with ham hock or smoked turkey.
January 24, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Time for split pea soup - flavored with ham hock or smoked turkey.
Reposted by Brent Staples
🚨🚨🚨 "At least 63 times since 2007, data from some of the 28 human genomic repositories that the N.I.H. controls was improperly released to researchers, used for unapproved purposes or made vulnerable to theft..." (Gift Link) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
Genetic Data From Over 20,000 U.S. Children Misused for ‘Race Science’
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:19 PM
🚨🚨🚨 "At least 63 times since 2007, data from some of the 28 human genomic repositories that the N.I.H. controls was improperly released to researchers, used for unapproved purposes or made vulnerable to theft..." (Gift Link) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
Reposted by Brent Staples
Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026
January 23, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026
Cause I’m built for comfort/
I ain’t built for speed/
I ain’t built for speed/
January 24, 2026 at 1:04 AM
Cause I’m built for comfort/
I ain’t built for speed/
I ain’t built for speed/
Reposted by Brent Staples
Anyway what’s amazing is that it’s a vampire movie but the real monster is the inescapable labyrinth of the Jim Crow economy. www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...
The Jim Crow Economy Is the True Horror in 'Sinners'
The film illustrates the near-impossibility of upward mobility during the segregation era.
www.theatlantic.com
January 22, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Anyway what’s amazing is that it’s a vampire movie but the real monster is the inescapable labyrinth of the Jim Crow economy. www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...
“I, too, am American” - Langston Hughes
January 22, 2026 at 1:16 PM
“I, too, am American” - Langston Hughes
Reposted by Brent Staples
Today Dallas County declared Tommy Lee Walker innocent of a 1953 murder for which he was wrongfully executed 70 years ago. Arrested at 19, executed within 3 years. A life stolen. Justice much delayed. Awed by the Walker family's persistence. So proud of this @innocenceproject team.
BREAKING: 70 years after his wrongful execution, Tommy Lee Walker is declared innocent.
“The court’s declaration today provides some semblance of belated justice to Mr. Walker’s legacy, and to his son, our client Edward Smith,” said Chris Fabricant. https://bit.ly/3LVoOKA
“The court’s declaration today provides some semblance of belated justice to Mr. Walker’s legacy, and to his son, our client Edward Smith,” said Chris Fabricant. https://bit.ly/3LVoOKA
Tommy Lee Walker Declared Innocent 70 Years After His Execution
Dallas County Commissioners Court posthumously proclaimed Mr. Walker’s innocence in the 1954 racially-fueled capital murder case.
innocenceproject.org
January 21, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Today Dallas County declared Tommy Lee Walker innocent of a 1953 murder for which he was wrongfully executed 70 years ago. Arrested at 19, executed within 3 years. A life stolen. Justice much delayed. Awed by the Walker family's persistence. So proud of this @innocenceproject team.
Reposted by Brent Staples
Trump, who turns 80 this year, repeatedly mixes up Greenland and Iceland in Davos speech even as he argues that one of them should be part of the United States. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/u...
Trump Confuses Iceland and Greenland in Davos Remarks
www.nytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:52 PM
Trump, who turns 80 this year, repeatedly mixes up Greenland and Iceland in Davos speech even as he argues that one of them should be part of the United States. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/u...
Reposted by Brent Staples
BREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.
Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge's warrant, memo says
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press reveals that the agency allows immigration officers to forcibly enter homes to make arrests without a judicial warrant.
bit.ly
January 21, 2026 at 9:32 PM
BREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.
Reposted by Brent Staples
David Ellison bought Bari Weiss’s The Free Press for $150 million, then handpicked her to lead CBS News. He “wanted to hire Bari as a symbolic gesture to Donald Trump”—who needed to approve Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount—a media executive said. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/9ZpkWr
January 21, 2026 at 2:30 PM
David Ellison bought Bari Weiss’s The Free Press for $150 million, then handpicked her to lead CBS News. He “wanted to hire Bari as a symbolic gesture to Donald Trump”—who needed to approve Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount—a media executive said. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/9ZpkWr
Close the drapes, ya’ll
January 21, 2026 at 12:31 AM
Close the drapes, ya’ll
Reposted by Brent Staples
Federal immigration agents forced open a door and detained a U.S. citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led him out onto the streets in his underwear in subfreezing conditions, according to his family and videos reviewed by The Associated Press.
US citizen says ICE removed him from his Minnesota home in his underwear after warrantless search
Federal immigration agents have detained a U.S. citizen in Minnesota at gunpoint without a warrant. That's according to ChongLy “Scott” Thao, who says agents forced open his door, entered with guns drawn and led him outside in his underwear in freezing conditions.
bit.ly
January 20, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Federal immigration agents forced open a door and detained a U.S. citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led him out onto the streets in his underwear in subfreezing conditions, according to his family and videos reviewed by The Associated Press.
Reposted by Brent Staples
They’re trying to make “contempt of trump” a federal crime www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u...
Prosecutors Subpoena Minnesota Democrats as Part of Federal Inquiry
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 7:49 PM
They’re trying to make “contempt of trump” a federal crime www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u...
Reposted by Brent Staples
Looks like Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger is wasting no time in rolling back the last vestiges of public recognition of the Confederacy.
January 20, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Looks like Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger is wasting no time in rolling back the last vestiges of public recognition of the Confederacy.
Reposted by Brent Staples
"You asked us to go. We went": Danish soldiers died in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting America's wars. Now Trump's America is threatening to go to war against Denmark. Danes feel betrayed and bewildered. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/w...
Bleak Times in Copenhagen: Danes Feel Betrayed and Bewildered by Trump
www.nytimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:32 PM
"You asked us to go. We went": Danish soldiers died in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting America's wars. Now Trump's America is threatening to go to war against Denmark. Danes feel betrayed and bewildered. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/w...