Carolyn Barber, MD
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Carolyn Barber, MD
@cbarbermd.bsky.social
Emergency Med physician (25 yrs) & science journalist | Contributor
@Fortune @TIME @SciAm. Author: Runaway Medicine. Championing evidence, truth & democracy. https://www.carolynbarbermd.com/
Trump is a global wrecking ball,” European security experts warn.
The U.S., once the chief architect of the post-1945 order, now led by its most determined demolition man.
80+ years of global structure—under destruction.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w... #BlueSky #LawSky #PoliSky
Trump Is a Global ‘Wrecking Ball,’ European Security Experts Say
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 8:20 PM
JUST IN — At a closed House Oversight deposition, Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth—again. Lawmakers still don’t know what she said to Todd Blanche that led to her transfer to minimum security. Instead, they got another clemency pitch: testify if pardoned. Donald Trump could end this now 1/2
February 9, 2026 at 7:59 PM
New DHS data undercuts the “worst of the worst” claim: less than 14% of ICE arrests in Donald Trump’s first year back involved violent crimes—nearly 40% had no criminal record.

~2% were tied to gangs
<2% to homicide or sexual assault.

So who, exactly, is this crackdown really? #BlueSky #PoliSky
Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump's 1st year back in office had violent criminal records, document shows
The official DHS statistics, which had not been previously reported, provide the most detailed look yet into who ICE has arrested during the Trump administration's crackdown.
www.cbsnews.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:26 PM
3 insurers control ~40% of health insurance. 3 PBMs control ~80% of drug benefits.

In Congress, CEOs admitted they’re not just insurers — they own the doctors, clinics, pharmacies, and PBMs. “So, we’ve established on the record….they’re increasingly controlling every aspect of our healthcare system
5 Key Moments from Ways and Means Committee Hearing with Health Insurance CEOs - Ways and Means
CEOs of the nation’s largest health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) appeared before the Ways and Means Committee to...
waysandmeans.house.gov
February 9, 2026 at 5:44 PM
“You deserve to spend the rest of your life in a jail cell. Trapped forever like you trapped your victims.”

The family of Virginia Giuffre wrote directly to Ghislaine Maxwell. #BlueSky #LawSky #epsteinfiles
February 9, 2026 at 4:28 PM
“Since I got to this center all you will feel is sadness and mostly depression.” — 14-year-old detained by ICE

A 🌈 . A 💖 . A plea 🙏 : “Please get me out of here.”

Letters from children detained at Dilley describe fear, sickness, and missing school.

They’ve been here too long.
February 9, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Lindsey Vonn: “I’m still here. I can fight. I will try.”

“One in a thousand,” they said.
A accident. Mid-air. Spinning.

She came to a stop with her skis facing opposite directions.
A fractured femur. Two surgeries.

She didn’t just crash — she chose to fight back.

When
Skiing great Vonn underwent dual operations in Italy following horror crash
U.S. skiing great Lindsey Vonn has had two operations in Italy after a serious leg fracture, a source said, to stabilise her after a horrific crash 13 seconds into one of the most hotly anticipated ra...
www.reuters.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:13 PM
$1 million buys you access to Trump. Millions more in taxpayer money follow.

The 250th anniversary of the United States is being turned into a personal brand, donors get VIP treatment, and the public gets the bill. All of it layered on top of billions already pulled in over the past 1/2
For $1 Million, Donors to U.S.A. Birthday Group Offered Access to Trump
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:43 PM
A sitting president suing the government he runs for $10 billion is audacity on steroids.
The demand equals over 80% of the IRS’s annual budget — paid by taxpayers.
Critics ask what “true harm” justifies that price tag.
Even Republicans call it “weird.”

As Adam Schiff put it: “You have to
How Trump's $10 billion suit against his own government could go sideways
Any number of developments in and out of the courtroom could sidetrack a payout arising from the president's complaint, experts, lawmakers and ethics specialists told NBC News.
www.nbcnews.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:30 PM
🇺🇸❄️ HISTORY MADE ❄️🇺🇸

Breezy Johnson just did THAT.
From a brutal crash that cost her the 2022 Olympics… to GOLD on the same Cortina course. 🥇

Grit. Redemption. Tears. Smiles.
America has a new downhill queen.

BREEZY. JOHNSON. OLYMPIC. CHAMPION. 🔥
#BlueSky #MedSky #SkiSky #SportsSky
American Breezy Johnson wins gold in women's downhill at Winter Olympics
Breezy Johnson collected her first career Olympic medal, taking gold in the women's downhill at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.
www.usatoday.com
February 8, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic comeback ended in a violent crash.

Thirteen seconds into the downhill, she went off a jump, clipped a gate midair, landed sideways, and slammed into the snow. The race was paused as she was airlifted off the mountain.

“When you see the stretchers, it’s not a good sign,”
Lindsey Vonn crashes in Olympic women’s downhill, airlifted off course
Vonn crashed during Sunday’s Olympic women’s downhill and was airlifted off the mountain. Her status is unclear.
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
A note thrown over the fence at Otay Mesa Detention Center describes life inside: 290 days with no fruit. Freezing cold. Food so bad it makes people sick. Detainees say they’re held in one massive room—no doors, no windows, no sunlight, no trees—constantly ill.
Former detainees allege 1/
February 8, 2026 at 6:50 AM
Love this woman! Go win gold🥇 @lindseyvonn ! #SportsSky #BlueSky #MedSkt #OrthoSky #SkiSky #olympics
February 7, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Federal prosecutors began investigating Renee Good’s killing. They had a warrant.

Washington ordered them to stop — fearing a civil-rights probe would contradict Trump’s claim that Good “violently, willfully, and viciously” ran over the ICE officer who shot her.

When prosecutors
February 7, 2026 at 9:38 PM
A 19-yo college student.
No criminal record.
Lived in the U.S. for a decade.

A judge ordered her return after her deportation was blocked.
A federal prosecutor says the govt “respectfully declines” bringing her back from Honduras.

Her dream: college.
The government’s choice: defy the 1/2
Trump administration declines judge’s request to return college student who was deported over Thanksgiving break
A federal prosecutor said Friday that government will not return a 19-year-old college student who was deported despite a court order blocking her removal.
abcnews.go.com
February 7, 2026 at 6:43 PM
JUST IN: Pentagon cuts ALL ties with Harvard—ending military training, fellowships, and programs.
Pete Hegseth: “We train warriors, not wokesters.”
After months of threats and funding pressure, the Trump admin is using federal power to enforce ideological conformity, branding 1/2
Pentagon to cut ties with Harvard over ‘wokesters’, ending training, programs and fellowships
Move by Pete Hegseth marks latest escalation by Trump administration against the Ivy League school
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:13 PM
NEW: Congress will be able to view the unredacted Epstein files next week. On DOJ computers. No phones. No copies. Notes only.
3 million files. 6 million exist.

Transparency shouldn’t come with a blindfold and If the Epstein files are safe for Congress but not the public, the question 1/2
Members of Congress will be able to view unredacted Epstein files next week
Lawmakers will be able to review the files on computers at the Justice Department starting Monday, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. They can take notes but can't have electronic devices.
www.nbcnews.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:45 AM
"I fired five rounds, and she had seven holes. Put that in your book, boys.”

That’s Border Patrol agent Charles Exum, texting after shooting U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez—no body cam. He later said he was “proud” of his shooting skills. A federal judge just okayed releasing the texts, 1/2
Border Patrol agent's texts after he shot a Chicago woman five times will be released, judge rules
The text messages a Border Patrol agent sent to colleagues and family after he shot a Chicago woman five times can be released to the public, a federal judge ruled.
www.aol.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:08 AM
The @nytimesoped.bsky.social just raised its autocracy warning for the U.S.
Minnesota this winter followed the autocrat playbook:
Dubious policy → protests → intimidation → force → blame the victims → lie about it.

Federal immigration agents killed U.S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti and 1/2
February 6, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Leaked ICE forum tells the real story:

• 3-week virtual “academy”
• No planning, no training, no equipment access
• Forced deployments with <24h notice
• False arrest reports to juice numbers
• Vehicle rammings despite a no-pursuit policy

Agents call it a train wreck, led by “some of the worst
Inside the ICE Forum Where Agents Complain About Their Jobs
“I'm all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter,” writes one forum user.
www.wired.com
February 6, 2026 at 7:55 PM
White House posts AI video depicting the Obamas as apes. Defends it. Faces backlash. Deletes it hours later. Then blames a “staffer error.” Appalling, where’s the apology? #BlueSky #MedSky #PoliSky
February 6, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Breaking: Trump reportedly offered to unfreeze $16B for NYC rail if Penn Station & Dulles Airport get renamed after him.

Context: Kennedy Center. Institute for Peace. "Trump Class” battleships. TrumpRx

Senators call it arrogant and illegal. Hold the trains hostage. Slap your name on the station. 🚆
Trump wants Penn Station, Dulles Airport named after him in deal, sources say
Sources told ABC that Schumer rejected Trump's offer.
www.yahoo.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Racist imagery has a long, ugly history. Posting a video portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as apes is a deliberate act of dehumanization—and it tells us exactly who Donald Trump is.
#BlueSky #PoliSly #LawSky
February 6, 2026 at 11:18 AM
BREAKING: A 5-year-old, Liam Conejo Ramos, just got home after being illegally detained with his father. Now the federal govt appears to have it out for his family—filing a motion to end their asylum case & expedite deportation.

“The government is moving many pieces… doing everything possible to do
February 6, 2026 at 6:46 AM