Watch now   Award-winning journalist targeted for deportation: His ACLU attorney speaks out Mario Guevara could be imminently deported to El Salvador, which he fled decades ago. Adam Klasfeld and Scarlet Kim Sep 20 This may be the most important free speech story that you haven’t heard of this week. In a week saturated with coverage of threats to free expression, the case of an Emmy Award-winning journalist facing possibly imminent deportation for filming law enforcement struggled to penetrate the news cycle. Earlier this year, journalist Mario Guevara was arrested covering a “No Kings” protest for MG News, an independent outlet that he founded last year following a decades long career in journalism. He is the only known journalist detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on U.S. soil. His case immediately caught the attention of press freedom advocates and major publications like the New Yorker, which ran a profile of him. But the breaking development in his case barely resonated outside local outlets in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Ga., his longtime home since moving to the United States from El Salvador in 2003. His American Civil Liberties Union attorney Scarlet Kim said that his case demonstrates the Trump administration’s use of immigration enforcement as a tool of censorship. “I think just an under-told piece of that story is how it also uses immigration enforcement to suppress speech,” Kim said in a Substack Live interview on Saturday. Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called filming immigration agents an act of “violence,” and Guevara’s case shows the consequences of that false and unconstitutional idea. Since the “No Kings” protest on June 14, Guevara has spent nearly 100 days in custody, first awaiting criminal charges that quickly disintegrated and then in ICE lockup. To block his release, the Trump administration explicitly argued that Guevara’s taping law enforcement made him a danger to the community. “Because of the government's refusal to release him on the basis that it is his reporting and live streaming that is dangerous, which are core First Amendment protected activities, we then filed a habeas petition in federal court in August seeking his release from immigration detention,” Kim said. The ACLU says that Guevara has spent much of his time in solitary confinement with little contact with his wife and three children, who live far away from the facility where he is being held. In the video, Kim describes more about Guevara’s career, his case, and possible action items for concerned members of the public. Read Guevara’s letter from an ICE detention facility here, in the publication The Bitter Southerner. Photo of Mr. Guevara courtesy of MG News. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get more from All Rise News in the Substack app Available for iOS and Android A guest post by Scarlet Kim

FOCUS: Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern | This Is the Most Withering Indictment of the Supreme Court Ever By a Sitting Judge

 

 

20 September 25

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FOCUS: Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern | This Is the Most Withering Indictment of the Supreme Court Ever By a Sitting Judge
Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern, Slate
Excerpt: "I think this takes the crown for the most scathing written critique of the Roberts court by a sitting judge."

 

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Kimmel censorship: Free speech group denounces scheme to 'extort' ABC The FCC chair threatened the network: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Adam Klasfeld and MeidasTouch Network Sep 20 Written by Adam Klasfeld. For more legal reporting from Adam, follow All Rise News on Substack When ABC announced the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show, most public commentary focused on the network’s sensitivities in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting. Now, the brazen hand of government censorship has come into clearer view. Shortly before Kimmel’s benching, Donald Trump’s Federal Communication Commission chairman Brendan Carr delivered a Mafioso-type warning to the network on a right-wing podcast: “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Kimmel’s monologue criticized certain segments of the “MAGA gang” for their eagerness to ascribe political beliefs to Kirk’s suspected killer Tyler Robinson before they became known, but the debate over Kimmel’s comments elided the government machinations playing out in the backdrop. Possible action item: Calling your reps The most popular topic for calling U.S. lawmakers on the app 5 Calls is “Stop the Assault on Our Freedom of Speech,” demanding oversight hearings on Carr’s actions. In an interview, First Amendment lawyer Adam Steinbaugh from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) explained why that type of pressure campaign on the major broadcasters is par for the course for Carr, who openly threatened to block Paramount’s multibillion-dollar merger before its subsidiary CBS settled with Trump earlier this year, sparking bribery accusations. “They say, ‘Hey, nice network you got here. Wouldn't it be a shame if something were to happen to it?’” Steinbaugh said in an interview with All Rise News on the MeidasTouch Network’s Legal AF. Note: You can watch the full interview below. Carr gave his not-too-dissimilar warning on the podcast of Benny Johnson, a disgraced journalist and serial plagiarist turned MAGA influencer with a close relationship to Trump, and Johnson gleefully took credit for Kimmel’s suspension. “We had FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on the show to announce investigations into ABC and Disney for letting Kimmel lie to millions about Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” Johnson posted. “Hours later, Kimmel was gone. It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.” Asked for comment on Kimmel’s suspension for CNN, Carr sent the network’s media analyst Brian Stelter a celebratory meme. In a statement, FIRE said that the network “caved.” “Another media outlet withered under government pressure, ensuring that the administration will continue to extort and exact retribution on broadcasters and publishers who criticize it,” the group wrote. “We cannot be a country where late night talk show hosts serve at the pleasure of the president. But until institutions grow a backbone and learn to resist government pressure, that is the country we are.” Before the broader network announced the suspension, Nexstar dropped Kimmel’s show on ABC-affiliated stations on its network. Nexstar is currently pursuing a $6.2 billion merger to acquire TEGNA Inc., which will require FCC approval. “Cancel culture part of the tragedy cycle” Across the TV landscape, the Center for American Rights, a right-wing advocacy group, brought more pressure to bear with FCC complaints against three major broadcasters: ABC, NBC, and CBS. To date, two of those complaints appear to have achieved their purpose. For Steinbaugh, it’s a storm of government pressure. “First you have the president of the United States in July saying, ‘Jimmy Kimmel is next,’ and then you have an organization filing a complaint about Jimmy Kimmel with the FCC,” Steinbaugh said. “And just hours before he was suspended from his show, you have Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman, saying ‘we can do this the easy way or the hard way.’” Free speech advocates describe that sort of pressure campaign as “jawboning.” “Jawboning is sort of a concept of instead of the government saying you are prohibited from hosting the speech — or this speech is prohibited, and if you do this, you're going to go to jail or a particular regulatory action will follow,” Steinbaugh noted. Since Kirk’s death, FIRE has been vigilant about a nationwide campaign to punish those accused of mocking the killing, describing it as the “cancel culture part of the tragedy cycle.” “As free speech advocates, it places us in a painful position,” one of the group’s executives wrote. “Charlie Kirk’s assassination was an attack on free speech and open discourse. In a free society, we must not be afraid to express our views, no matter how strongly some might oppose them. That’s the point of free speech. But it is precisely for that reason why we must not respond to mockery of Kirk’s assassination by canceling everyone who offends us: because that too creates a society where people are afraid to express themselves.” Representing a nonpartisan group opposing threats to speech across the political spectrum, Steinbaugh said that FIRE’s ethos is particularly important now: “I think it sends a more important message when someone can say, ‘You know what? I really find this speech offensive. I really dislike this, but the alternative of allowing the government to pick winners and losers is much worse.” For more from Adam Klasfeld, subscribe to All Rise News here. Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. A guest post by Adam Klasfeld Editor in Chief and owner of All Rise News. Fearless reporting about the law, your rights, and your powers to effect change in the Trump era.

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Dear friend, In Elkhart County, Indiana, two cats suffered a horrific death when Jayco RV employees threw them into a trash compactor. Yet instead of seeking justice, the prosecutor dismissed the felony cruelty charges against the perpetrators. We believe that was the wrong decision — and we refuse to stay silent. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has urged the prosecutor to reconsider this incorrect decision. Allowing such cruelty to go unaddressed not only denies justice to these cats — it sends the message that animals can be abused whenever it’s convenient. Cats are living beings who feel fear, pain, and suffering — just as these cats most likely did in their final moments. Crushing them in a trash compactor is cruelty, plain and simple. We’ve written a letter asking the prosecuting attorney to do the right thing, fight for justice for these cats, and hold their abusers accountable. By adding your name in support of our letter, you can show Prosecuting Attorney Becker that this decision does not reflect the values of our society — or of compassionate people like you who believe animals deserve protection under the law.

Please add your name today to demand justice for these cats

Thank you for always standing with vulnerable animals. Together, we can make sure Indiana’s cruelty laws actually protect animals from harm — and that justice is sought when animals are cruelly treated. For the animals, Lora Dunn Director of Criminal Justice

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Trump's New $100k Price Tag For H-1B Visa's And Decimation of The CDC is a GOLDEN Opportunity For Canada - Here's Why Making Canada the global standard for disease research/prevention and hoovering up top talent that can't won't pay Trump's new visa extortion fee should be at the top of Carney's "to-do" list Dean Blundell Sep 20 Let’s say it plainly: the United States just put a $100,000 price tag on keeping a single scientist. That’s the new H-1B fee. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. It turns a work permit into a luxury item—and tells researchers they’re not welcome unless somebody can pay a ransom. At the same time, America is playing politics with vaccines and the public institutions meant to protect people. That isn’t leadership. It’s a warning sign. Here in Canada, we don’t treat science like a partisan plaything. We build public institutions, we trust evidence, and when our neighbours stumble, we help. This is our moment to do what Canada does best: open the door, roll up our sleeves, and lead with competence and kindness. And yes—the Canadian government is already scoping a supplementary intake to catch stranded H-1B students and researchers, and exploring a global CDC-style centre in Toronto or Ottawa. That’s exactly right. Now let’s make it real—and fast. Step 1: Open the door—and make it easy Canada already has the tools. Use them like we mean it. Two-week work permits are available for scientists, clinicians, data specialists, and lab leads. Permanent residence pathways that put down roots—because stability builds breakthroughs. A revamped H-1B route to attract the individuals the U.S. has just priced out. Family-friendly by design: spouse work permits, school placements, and welcome teams in the city they choose. A one-stop “Science Safe Haven” portal that enables labs and universities to relocate entire teams without getting lost in paperwork. This isn’t theoretical. The brain drain from the U.S. is already happening. People want safety, stability, and a government that respects facts. Canada offers all three—and we do it with a smile and decent healthcare. Step 2: Build what the world needs—the Canadian Centre for Disease Research & Control (CCDRC) Put the HQ in Toronto or Ottawa (with nodes across the country). Make it independent by law. And don’t start from zero—we already have the backbone: National Microbiology Laboratory (Winnipeg) for top-tier containment science. VIDO (Saskatoon) to develop and manufacture vaccines on Canadian soil. CIRN to run gold-standard vaccine trials across the country. GPHIN to spot disease signals early—modernize it with language coverage and smart tools. University & hospital hubs (U of T, McMaster, Ottawa, UBC, Laval, Dal, and more) to take discoveries from lab to clinic. What CCDRC does (in plain English): Find problems early. Watch the world for unusual outbreaks and share what we see. Build solutions fast. Turn lab ideas into real vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments—right here in Canada. Guide immunization with honesty. Run clean, transparent studies and publish the results—good, bad, or meh. Show up when it counts. Train and deploy rapid-response teams so communities aren’t left waiting. A global PR tool that helps keep the world safe, while leaving America’s disinterest in humanity behind. How we keep politics out: Establish CCDRC through an Act of Parliament, appoint a fixed-term, arm’s-length Chief Science Officer, publish meeting notes, and enforce conflict-of-interest rules. Sunlight is non-negotiable. Cost & timeline: $2.5–3.0B over five years. “Go live” in 12–18 months by connecting what exists, not building empires. By Year 2, produce Canadian-made vaccine batches for at least two priority threats. Step 3: Speak with Canadian confidence “Your U.S. visa costs $100,000 a year. In Canada, it’s two weeks and a welcome letter.” “No politics in our labs.” We legislate independence and publish the receipts. “We help the world because we’re Canadians.” That’s not bragging—it’s our brand. America’s disinterest is yet another INCREDBLE Canadian opportunity. It’s not just an opportunity to elevate Canada’s standing as we continue to decouple from the Trump Regime’s perverted version of America; it’s an opportunity to attract the most intelligent people in the world to a country that is emerging as the new leader of the free world. Why this matters (and why we’re perfect for it) When science is bullied, families lose doctors, hospitals lose staff, and kids lose trust. Canada can fix that—not by dunking on America, but by quietly doing the work and doing it well. We’ve always been the neighbour who brings soup, coordinates the block party, and knows which breaker to flip when the lights go out. That’s leadership. That’s Canada. This is bigger than public health. It’s who we want to be in the world. The U.S. under Trump is in it for itself. Canada is in it for our communities, our allies, and anyone who needs a steady hand. We can host the world’s outbreak nerve centre, train the next generation of scientists, and make sure lifesaving tools are built on Canadian ground, with Canadian values. It’s time to take the role people thought America would play—and play it better, not with swagger, but with service. Service is something we take seriously in Canada across all political and ideological chasms. It’s in our DNA. Canada is hope. Canada is help. Canada is ready. Canada is moving forward, so let’s do what we do best: Rise to the occasion for the betterment of humanity, democracy, and the Canadian people. Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. #Canada #BuildCanada #GlobalHealth #PublicHealth #Science #Immigration #H1B #BrainDrain #CDCRC #PHAC #VIDO #NML #GPHIN #CIRN #Toronto #Ottawa #Democracy #Vaccines #Outbreaks #Biosecurity #ProudlyCanadian Want a matching thumbnail and a spicy three-tweet promo thread to go with this? I can spin those up right now.