Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

NBC4 Columbus

@nbc4i.com

For the second day in a row, Republican lawmakers have proposed new legislation to prevent child care fraud. https://tinyurl.com/2eb5ndnk?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_

January 16, 2026 at 2:20 AM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

Robin Knabel - Inky Bones Press

@robinknabel.bsky.social

Nice to see Of Beasts & Bones making its debut on the Best Sellers in Horror Collections & Anthologies this morning!

COMING APRIL 28, 2026 - it’s available now for pre-order.

Keep an eye out for more info!
🎉🖤📚😱

Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGLKYS91

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/24...

Screen shot of the Amazon Top 100 new Best Sellers in Horror Anthologies and Collections including my new upcoming anthology Of Beasts & Bones

January 15, 2026 at 5:52 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

I know it was never really used, but can’t beat this banger

January 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

I have a story in this anthology, edited by
@robinknabel.bsky.social, now available for pre-order!
a.co/d/bw6yqGV

Of Beasts & Bones

Of Beasts & Bones - Kindle edition by Knabel, Robin. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Of Beasts & Bones.

a.co

January 14, 2026 at 3:27 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

NBC4 Columbus

@nbc4i.com

The Senate has agreed to display a plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.

Missing Jan. 6 plaque will finally be displayed in Capitol

This week, senators stepped up after learning the plaque, which had been approved by Congress more than three years ago, was nowhere to be found at the Capitol.

www.nbc4i.com

January 9, 2026 at 8:00 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

NBC4 Columbus

@nbc4i.com

As anger and outrage spilled out onto Minneapolis’ streets, a new shooting by federal officers in Oregon left two people wounded and sparked additional protests.

Protests over ICE operations after shootings in Minneapolis and Portland

As anger and outrage spilled out onto Minneapolis’ streets over the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a new shooting by federal officers in Oregon left tw…

www.nbc4i.com

January 9, 2026 at 7:30 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

NBC4 Columbus

@nbc4i.com

A bipartisan resolution on the War Powers Act to block President Trump from using military force against Venezuela advanced in the Senate.

Senate advances resolution to block Trump from using military in Venezuela

Five Senate Republicans voted Thursday to advance a bipartisan resolution on the War Powers Act to block President Trump from using military force against Venezuela, a proposal that if enacted woul…

www.nbc4i.com

January 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

NBC4 Columbus

@nbc4i.com

Community members and advocacy groups mobilized within hours for a protest and candlelight vigil for 37-year-old Renee Good, the woman killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.https://nbc4i.co/4suKM7B?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_

January 8, 2026 at 12:30 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

Alex Baumhardt

@alexbaumhardt.bsky.social

A friend in Minneapolis just sent me this video. Looks like thousands have come together for a vigil after an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. This was my neighborhood for several years before coming to Portland.

January 8, 2026 at 1:05 AM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

Columbus Underground

@colsunderground.bsky.social

The story (so far): columbusunderground.com/city-v-sanct...

City v. Sanctuary: A Year Inside The Sanctuary Night Case—Part 2 - Columbus Underground

In April of 2025, the City of Columbus sued a Franklinton drop-in center for victims of sex trafficking called Sanctuary Night as a public nuisance. This narrative has been reconstructed from public r...

columbusunderground.com

January 4, 2026 at 3:28 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

Always love when @colsunderground.bsky.social basically admits “we don’t always know what Jesse’s talking about but we just let him spin his wheels and sometimes it works.”

January 5, 2026 at 2:41 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

Earlier this month, President Trump issued an executive order limiting the ability of states to regulate AI. Ohio lawmakers seem poised to move forward on AI regulations anyway.

NBC4 Columbus @nbc4i.com · 17d

When state lawmakers return in the new year, they will consider several bills related to artificial intelligence and how it should and should not be used. https://nbc4i.co/49b9h0Q?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_

December 31, 2025 at 2:17 AM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

"You Americans have killed a lot of sand. The sand was...very evil..."

Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 22d

"tell me we didn't just fire a dozen $500,000 missiles at a $200 camel"

"sir, no evidence of any camel present, sir!"

December 26, 2025 at 7:59 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

I keep expecting to be tired of Stranger Things but this season has been pretty great.

December 22, 2025 at 11:51 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

"Government silence is a statement, not a VETO," Alfonsi wrote in the email. "If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a 'kill switch'' for any reporting they find inconvenient."

NPR @npr.org · 26d

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment on allegations of abuses at an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants. n.pr/4pagOTD

CBS News chief Bari Weiss pulls '60 Minutes' story, sparking outcry

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a 60 Minutes segment on allegations of abuses at an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants.

n.pr

December 22, 2025 at 2:20 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

NBC4 Columbus

@nbc4i.com

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released the names of 10 allegedly undocumented people arrested as part of its increased enforcement across central Ohio. https://nbc4i.co/3Y3ldwB?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_

December 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

Governor DeWine has said multiple times he did not want any changes to Ohio’s voting laws. Today he signed a bill into law doing just that.

NBC4 Columbus @nbc4i.com · 29d

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law Friday afternoon that changes state rules on mail-in voting and voter registration. https://nbc4i.co/4s7XxEQ?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_

December 19, 2025 at 11:00 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

So many things one could say about Rob Reiner, but I always appreciated that he was a living, breathing refutation of the notion that directors have to treat their actors like shit in order to get a good performance.

December 15, 2025 at 10:46 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

Sahil Kapur

@sahilkapur.bsky.social

Scrolling through the comments on that truth social post

December 15, 2025 at 3:41 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

Max Berger

@maxberger.bsky.social

Started, going

December 15, 2025 at 4:23 PM

Reposted by Jesse Bethea

Mark Joseph Stern

@mjsdc.bsky.social

This is really incredible. The government's battle to deport Abrego Garcia has apparently been based on a lie from the start. Not even the "gang affiliation" lie or the "human smuggling" lie, but the more basic assertion that he was ordered to be deported in the first place.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Dec 11

🚨Judge Xinis finds that, incredibly, Mr. Abrego Garcia was never ordered deported in 2019. She notes that every since this saga began all the way back in March, the government has NEVER been able to produce any evidence that the immigration judge actually issued a removal order.

B. No Order of Removal Exists for Abrego Garcia
No such order of removal exists for Abrego Garcia. When Abrego Garcia was first
wrongly expelled to El Salvador, the Court struggled to understand the legal authority for even
seizing him in the first place. At the first hearing in Abrego I, the Court inquired of Respondents’
counsel:
The Court: I want to ask, though, the very specific question, if there is a final order of removal, what . . . document got this process started? There is no warrant for his arrest by an order of removal. There is no statement of probable cause. There’s no charge. There’s no report that says that anyone saw Mr. Abrego Garcia doing anything illegal or criminal. So what is the actual document that gave these officers the authority to start this process?
Counsel: That is not in the record, and the government has not put
that into the record. And that’s the best I can do.
Abrego I, ECF No. 33 at 21:11–22.
The Court continued to press counsel about the existence of a removal order and was told plainly that none can be found:

The Court: Okay. So if there’s a Title 8 removal order, there would be an order of removal that’s being executed, and we don’t have one for Mr. Abrego Garcia, right? . . . Do you have that order? . . . Is it in the record? Counsel: I do not have that order. It is not in the record. Id. at 23:7–24:4. Since that time, Respondents have never produced an order of removal despite Abrego Garcia hinging much of his jurisdictional and legal arguments on its non-existence. ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 68–69; ECF No. 32 at 10, 15–17, 27; ECF No. 87 at 11–12. Indeed, Respondents twice sponsored the testimony of ICE officials whose job it is to effectuate removal orders, and who candidly admitted to having never seen one for Abrego Garcia. See ECF No. 107 at 30:16–22 (testimony of Cantú) (“Q: Based upon your many years of experience you described to us, you know what a final order of removal looks like, right, sir? Cantú: I do. Q: And have you seen a final order of removal in regard to Mr. Abrego Garcia? Cantú: I have not.”). See also Abrego I, ECF No. 234 at 46:6–12 (testimony of interim Assistant Director for ICE Removal Operations, Thomas Giles (“Giles”)) (“Q: You have not seen the final order of removal, have you, sir? Giles: What do you mean by that? Q: I mean, you have not seen a piece of paper that represents the final order of removal vis-a-vis Mr. Abrego Garcia, correct? Giles: No, I have not.”).15 Based on this, the Court concludes that no order of removal exists.

December 11, 2025 at 4:16 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

The city may very well close case against Sanctuary Night at the next status conference on Friday. This is the first in my investigative series on how City Attorney Zach Klein's office decided to take the drop-in center to court in the first place.

Columbus Underground @colsunderground.bsky.social · Dec 9

“A year before court proceedings began, the city already knew there were serious problems at Sanctuary Night.”

MORE: columbusunderground.com/city-v-sanct...

City v. Sanctuary: A Year Inside The Sanctuary Night Case—Part 1 - Columbus Underground

In April of 2025, the City of Columbus sued a Franklinton drop-in center for victims of sex trafficking called Sanctuary Night as a public nuisance. This narrative has been reconstructed from public r...

columbusunderground.com

December 9, 2025 at 4:23 PM

Jesse Bethea

@jessecbethea.bsky.social

I recently FOIA'd documents from the city on why and how City Attorney Zach Klein's office decided to sue Sanctuary Night as a public nuisance. Here's the first in what will be an ongoing series documenting what I found.

@colsunderground.bsky.social

columbusunderground.com?p=1512508