Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 1/15

[SVPete]

Report: First Responder Called ICE Watch Mob to PROTECT Tren De Aragua Gangsters in Portland Shooting

https://pjmedia.com/victoria-taft/2026/01/14/somebody-calls-out-the-ghouls-of-ice-watch-after-tda-shooting-in-portland-n4948283

Like Minneapolis, Portland has multiple anti-ICE groups. You've seen these larpers for months rioting and protesting outside the ICE facility in Portland. They want to stop the feds from deporting rapists, murderers, and other bad guys from the country in the name of nobility.

The shooting occurred when the Tren de Aragua member, who was ordered deported in 2024 (this is called "due process"), used his prostitution colleague's Toyota Tacoma truck to repeatedly ram the Border Patrol officers who were trying to arrest them. Both the driver, Luis Nino-Moncada, and his prostitution colleague, Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, the passenger, got away — but not before the officers fired a few rounds to stop them from mowing them down.
...
Right after the shooting, one of the first responders reportedly alerted PDX ICE Watch to gather a mob at the scene to protect the Tren de Aragua gangsters from Border Patrol officials. The TdA mobsters were running a prostitution ring in Portland and were wanted in connection with at least one other Oregon shooting incident.

Reporter Andy Ngo discovered that a first responder — an ambulance driver or EMT — alerted Portland ICE Watch to do what they do: gather a mob, protest, block ICE, and protect the bad guys.

At this point the sourcing seems to be annoymorous, so consider the story rumor-grade at this point.

[SVPete]

MUST WATCH: Karoline Leavitt Destroys MSM 'Journalist' Over ICE Question

https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/01/15/must-watch-karoline-leavitt-destroys-msm-journalist-over-ice-question-n4948341

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, and she was on fire, especially when it came to answering one "journalist" from The Hill. Let's just say he had a question about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, but he kind of already had the answers — or, at least, his version of them — prepared in his head, and Leavitt didn't let it go.

Leavitt called on Niall Stanage, who asked: "Earlier, you were just defending ICE agents generally....Secretary [Kristi] Noem spoke to the media and she said, among other things, that they are doing everything correctly — 32 people died in ICE custody last year, 170 US citizens were detained by ICE, and Renee Good was shot in the head and killed by an ICE agent. How does that equate to them doing everything correctly?"

"Why was Renee Good unfortunately and tragically killed?" Leavitt responded

"Oh, you're asking my opinion," Stanage replied, seemingly caught off guard by the question. 

When Leavitt confirmed that she was, indeed, asking his opinion, he said confidently, "Because an ICE agent acted recklessly and killed her unjustifiably." 

Wrong answer.

"Oh, okay, so you're a biased reporter with a left-wing opinion," she replied

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Stanage asked. But Leavitt would not be interrupted.

Yeah, because you're a left-wing hack. You're not a reporter. You're posing in this room as a journalist, and it's so clear by the premise of your question. And you and the people in the media who have such biases but fake like you're a journalist, you shouldn't even be sitting in that seat.

 But you're pretending like you're a journalist, but you're a left-wing activist. And the question that you just raised and your answer proves your bias. You should be reporting on the facts.
...
You should be reporting on the cases. Do you have the numbers of how many American citizens were killed at the hands of illegal aliens who ICE is trying to remove from this country? I bet you don't. I bet you didn't even read up on those stories. I bet you never even read about Laken Riley or Jocelyn Nungaray, or all of the innocent Americans who were killed at the hands of illegal aliens in this country.

And the brave men and women of ICE are doing everything in their power to remove those  heinous individuals and make our communities safer. And shame on people like you in the media who have a crooked view and have a biased view, and pretend like you're a  real, honest journalist.

It amazes and amuses me how, despite months of seeing every one of years of Trump Press Secretaries being prepared and giving better than they got, MSM folk continue to under-estimate Trump Press Secretaries. Thinking that Leavitt would not notice and call out the, "Have you stopped beating your wife," conclusion-assuming in the "question" was monumentally dumb.

[SVPete]

Colorado Democrats Introduce Bill to Strip Parents of Rights on the Transing of Kids

https://pjmedia.com/tim-o-brien/2026/01/15/colorado-democrats-introduce-bill-to-strip-parents-of-rights-on-the-transing-of-kids-n4948321

To understand what leftists really mean, you always have to think in terms of opposites. They often say the exact opposite of what they mean or intend. This is to disarm you into potentially supporting them. This is the case in the naming of Senate Bill 26-018 in Colorado, dubbed the “Legal Protections for Dignity of Minors” bill.

The four Democrat sponsors of the bill are state senators Katie Wallace and Chris Kolker, and state representatives Meg Froelich and Lorena Garcia.

Their bill, if passed into state law, would allow a child to change his or her name, suppress records documenting a name change, and allow the court to strip away parents’ rights if they do not “affirm” their child's name change.

IIRC, a similar law was recently struck down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Colorado is not in the Ninth Circuit, but if CA AG Rob Bonta appeals to and loses in the USSC, this law might get struck down as a consequence.

[SVPete]

Feds Charge 20 Men in College Basketball Point Shaving Scheme

https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2026/01/15/feds-charge-20-men-in-college-basketball-point-shaving-scheme-n4948333

... According to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as ESPN reported, "Twenty men have been charged in a point-shaving scheme involving 39 college basketball players on 17 NCAA Division I teams, leading to 29 games being fixed."

Anyone who has seen the rise of legalized sports betting, how both professional teams and colleges have embraced the billion-dollar companies making bets on games, and the ease with which players, coaches, and officials can be sucked into these gambling rings, is not surprised by this latest scandal at all.

The Athletic:

Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, two men who were indicted in a federal district in New York in October, worked with Blakeney and a number of others to manipulate college basketball games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, according to an indictment brought by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prosecutors said Hennen and Fairley worked with others to recruit college players with bribes and then asked them to help fix games so their teams would not cover the spread — the number of points by which a sportsbook predicted a team would lose its game. The players, prosecutors say, were offered between $10,000 to $30,000 for each game to be a part of their gambling ring.

If convicted, will the NBA have the courage to ban these players?