A senator's warning before his arrest On Sen. Alex Padilla's detention by the Trump regime — and the speech that put him in the crosshairs; The Ink, June 12, 2025

The Ink; A senator's warning before his arrest

On Sen. Alex Padilla's detention by the Trump regime — and the speech that put him in the crosshairs

"This afternoon Donald Trump’s aspiration of a police state came one step closer.

A sitting United States senator, Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, was arrested at a Los Angeles press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

As Noem told the press that the federal government was "going to liberate the city from the burdensome leadership, mayor and governor," Padilla interrupted, saying, “I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary," and was then shoved repeatedly out of the room by plainclothes agents, where he was then dropped to the ground, then handcuffed and detained. He has since been released.

This comes as the White House has increasingly dismissed the authority of Congress, and just a day after New Jersey Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was indicted on charges of “assaulting, resisting, impeding, and interfering” with federal officers as she tried to defend Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during an inspection of an ICE facility. 

And it comes a day after Padilla — the first Latino senator to represent California — delivered a speech calling out and condemning the lawlessness of the federal response in his home state and city — and making it clear why it matters to every American.

These words were the senator’s final warning before the Trump regime arrested him. Because they probably don’t want them to spread, we are printing them in full here."

'Completely inappropriate': Kristi Noem opens up after Democratic senator removed from event; Fox News, June 12, 2025

 Martha Maccallum, Fox News ; 'Completely inappropriate': Kristi Noem opens up after Democratic senator removed from event

[Kip Currier: Kristi Noem is lying when she says Sen. Alex Padilla did not identify himself. Padilla clearly and unequivocally identifies himself. Noem's conduct on Fox News is Orwellian.

Fox News anchor Martha Maccallam acquiesces to the inaccurate statement of Noem.

Watch and listen to the recording.

Listen for the person saying "there's no recording allowed in here" while Padilla is handcuffed.]

Senator Alex Padilla Forcibly Removed and Handcuffed After Interrupting Noem; The New York Times, June 12, 2025

Shawn Hubler and Jill Cowan, The New York Times; Senator Alex Padilla Forcibly Removed and Handcuffed After Interrupting Noem

"Gov. Gavin Newsom of California denounced the action. The senator “is one of the most decent people I know,” Mr. Newsom wrote in a social media post. “This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.”

Word swiftly reached Washington, where Mr. Padilla’s colleagues saw video of the incident.

Senators in both parties raised strong objections to the treatment of Mr. Padilla. “I think it is very disturbing,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who acknowledged she was unsure what led up to the confrontation. “It looks like he is being manhandled and physically removed. It is hard to imagine a justification for that.”

Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, addressed the Senate floor regarding treatment of Mr. Padilla.

“I just saw something that sickened my stomach,” he said. “The manhandling of a United States Senator. We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.”

Video: U.S. Senator Alex Padilla shoved, handcuffed at DHS Kristi Noem's news conference; Fox KTVU, June 12, 2025

 Fox KTVU; Video: U.S. Senator Alex Padilla shoved, handcuffed at DHS Kristi Noem's news conference

"U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) was physically shoved out of the room Thursday during a news conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, where he was also briefly put into handcuffs by the FBI. 

The confrontation was caught on video by dozens of journalists and later took the internet by storm at the sight of a U.S. senator being taken down to the ground by federal agents after asking a question, even if he interrupted Noem as she was speaking.

Padilla, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, was then let go and led to a private room with Noem for 10 minutes, who was in Los Angeles to address the ongoing demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump's immigration policies.

"I will say this, if this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country," Padilla said to reporters at a hastily called news conference of his own."

Ken Jennings: Trivia and ‘Jeopardy!’ Could Save Our Republic; The New York Times, June 5, 2025

Ken Jennings , The New York Times; Ken Jennings: Trivia and ‘Jeopardy!’ Could Save Our Republic

"How do we understand the seeming anachronism of “Jeopardy!”? In a dark time, my secret optimism is that our viewers’ love for quiz games is a sign of what can eventually save us: a practical belief in fact and error that is more fundamentally American than the toxic blend of proud ignorance and smarter-than-thou skepticism that’s brought us to this point.

It stands to reason, then, that making government run more like a quiz show can only be a step in the right direction. In May at a congressional hearing, Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to define habeas corpus, a bedrock common-law protection under fire from the administration.

Ms. Noem wasn’t even close. “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country,” she answered.

“That’s incorrect,” noted Ms. Hassan, sounding as much like a quizmaster as a senator.

Later that week on “Jeopardy!” a category, “definitions of legal terms,” happened to pop up in the first round. The game was taped months in advance, so it was by sheer coincidence that one of the five clues concerned the definition of, yes, habeas corpus.

The “Jeopardy!” contestant, you’ll be relieved to hear, responded correctly."

Dismay as cross-border library caught in US-Canada feud: ‘We just want to stay open’; The Guardian, April 13, 2025

Leyland Cecco , The Guardian; Dismay as cross-border library caught in US-Canada feud: ‘We just want to stay open’

"For weeks, curious onlookers, outraged supporters and gaggles of media have descended on both Stanstead, Quebec, and Derby Line, Vermont, after US officials announced the main entrance to the library, which sits in Vermont, would soon be cut off to Canadians. They cited drug traffickers and smugglers “exploiting” the accessibility and said the closure meant “we are ending such exploitation by criminals and protecting Americans” without providing evidence...

Under the new rules which go into effect in October, Canadians will need to go through a formal border crossing before entering the library.

The news, met with disbelief from patrons and staff, followed a closely watched visit by the US secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem, in March. Touring the library, Noem said “USA number one!” and then hopped over the black tape separating the two countries and said “51st state” when she landed in Canada. She repeated the joke – echoing Donald Trump’s recent fixation on annexing Canada – three times...

Of the thousands of books tucked into the library’s stacks, one author has emerged as a patron favourite: Louise Penny, the bestselling Canadian novelist and creator of the detective Armand Gamache. Her novels are by far the most borrowed and the celebrated writer, whose works have repeatedly topped the New York Times bestseller chart, is also a frequent visitor to the library.

“It’s very hard to not go immediately to the dystopian novels. What’s the first thing a despot or a tyrant does? They target libraries. They target writers. It targets books. Targets anyone who could read and think and become a dissenting voice,” she said. “Nothing good is going to come of this. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.”

The tour for Penny’s forthcoming book Black Wolf, which coincidentally imagines plans to force Canada into becoming the 51st state was due to start at the Kennedy Center in Washington. But a recent decision by Trump to fire the previous board of the Kennedy Center for its support of “woke” programming, and to install himself as board chair, has prompted widespread artistic backlash."