The Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

“You have coroners that literally have a pocket notebook where they're writing a name and a date of birth.” In Missouri, the burden sometimes falls on coroners to tell families how their loved one died behind bars. That’s because corrections officials often fail to share basic information with families about the final moments of those who die in their custody. Some frustrated families have turned to elected coroners for more details. But not all coroners across the state keep the same standard of record keeping. Now, there's a nationwide push to require licenses for anyone performing prison death investigations. From The Marshall Project - St. Louis newsroom, TMP’s Ivy Scott has our story. The Marshall Project

Fallout from the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. Recent arrivals from Afghanistan fear for their future after President Donald Trump halts asylum proceedings. The New York Times Remembering National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, a young victim of gun violence. NBC News The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, showed signs of depression and “dark isolation” in the months before the shooting. The Associated Press Related analysis: “Ironically, deploying more National Guardsmen to increase the force protection for National Guardsmen is a very Afghanistan-style military error.” The Atlantic The president’s latest rant about immigrants and crime is unsupported by evidence. The Guardian

Misrepresentation nation. Trump administration lawyers made false claims to the U.S. Supreme Court in October in an attempt to to justify the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago. The New York Times New details about the recent deposition of Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official responsible for immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles and Chicago. The session was marked by constant bickering between attorneys as Bovino evaded questions. Chicago Tribune Related: Justice Department officials say it was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who ordered the deportation of 100 Venezuelan men to a Salvadoran prison after a federal judge ordered them held in the U.S. Politico

Fusing “personal vendettas with a drive for cultural and political dominance.” The Trump administration’s unprecedented campaign of retaliation against the president’s perceived political enemies has already targeted at least 470 people and institutions. Many have been fired or otherwise punished. Others have been threatened. Some have been coerced into submission. Reuters It’s not just Democrats who have been targeted by Trump and his allies. Republican legislators in Indiana say they have been threatened and harassed by those upset with the lawmakers’ opposition to Trump’s plan to redraw congressional districts to favor Republican candidates in the 2026 and 2028 federal elections. The Atlantic

Family values. Trump administration officials are arresting the spouses of U.S. citizens during scheduled interviews that are part of the green card application process. The New York Times Federal agents have arrested and detained recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program even though “Dreamers” have legal rights to live in the U.S. The Texas Tribune Federal Emergency Management Agency officials pulled staff back from surveying flood damaged neighborhoods in Chicago because of ICE operations there. The Washington Post A freshman at Babson College was trying to surprise her parents with a Thanksgiving trip. She was deported to Honduras instead. The Boston Globe

Issue 21 of News Inside is here. This edition of The Marshall Project’s print publication, available in hundreds of prisons and jails across the U.S. embodies themes of survival and resistance behind bars. Using the Sean Combs trial as a lens, Joseph Wilson explains how victims of childhood sexual abuse can appear complicit when they are instead trapped in dangerous relationships. Dorsey Nunn offers a timely Christmas story of redemption, and Rebecca McCray explores how AI could reshape prison life. The Marshall Project

Indigenous actor Elaine Miles was stopped and harassed by four masked ICE agents in Redmond, Washington. During the encounter they called her valid tribal identification card a fake. The Seattle Times A federal judge in Colorado ruled last week that ICE agents must stop making unlawful warrantless arrests in the state. The Colorado Sun Anti-ICE protesters foiled a raid in New York City on Saturday. Some protesters were arrested. The New York Times

Jimmie “Chris” Duncan walked out of a Louisiana prison the day before Thanksgiving after spending nearly three decades on the state’s death row. His 1998 murder conviction was overturned earlier this year after judges concluded it was based on the junk science of forensic bite-mark evidence. The Associated Press

Ralph Menzies spent 37 years on death row in Utah for a 1986 murder. He was once days away from an execution by firing squad. He suffered from vascular dementia and died last week at a hospital near his prison. He was 67. The Salt Lake Tribune

More details on the administration’s plans to establish an ICE facility in Newport, Oregon. An ICE contractor is seeking up to 200 hotel rooms for one year. The Oregonian Residents and local officials aren’t happy with the federal government’s plans or the lack of communication and notice they’ve received from immigration officials. The New York Times

Prosecutors in New York say they’ll retry Pedro Hernandez for the 1979 murder of 6-year-old Etan Patz. Hernandez was convicted of murdering Patz in 2017 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. His conviction was overturned in July by a federal appeals court which ruled that the trial judge in his case improperly instructed the jury. NBC News

“Sometimes, life gives you a second chance to understand someone you once condemned.” A prosecutor begins to see shades of grey where she once only saw black and white and comes to accept the rehabilitative promise of a man she prosecuted decades ago. The Washington Post

Collective blame for individual acts of violence is never the right answer. “Tens of thousands are building new lives here in peace and are contributing to their communities. They shouldn’t be blamed for the violent act of one man. Collective punishment of all Afghans in the U.S. won’t make America safer and it might embitter more against the United States.” The Wall Street Journal

There’s been a war crime. Who is going to be held accountable for it? “There can be no conceivable legal justification” for the U.S. Special Operations Forces decision to kill the survivors of a strike on an alleged drug boat off the coast of Trinidad. Executive Functions

Sen. Mark Kelly becomes a target of the Pentagon for stating the obvious. The Arizona Democrat is likely to succeed in blocking Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth’s retaliatory move to punish him for reminding military personnel not to follow unlawful orders. But it won’t likely be easy and it won’t likely be quick. The Atlantic

Getting away with it. Donald Trump, on his way to becoming the most corrupt president in U.S. history, will most likely escape prosecution when he leaves office. The New York Times Related: Georgia prosecutors dropped their election interference case against Trump stemming from his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. NBC News

“The order was to kill everybody.” New details about a military strike ordered by Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth against suspected drug smugglers suggests the Pentagon chief either may have committed murder or a war crime when he told subordinates to kill two men who had survived an initial missile attack and were clinging to the wreckage of a boat in the ocean near Trinidad. The Washington Post More: The Pentagon’s explanation and justification for the military strikes contradicts Trump’s claims about them. The Guardian

Anatomy of a smear. A right-wing conspiracy theory targeted an innocent woman, a federal security officer, accusing her of trying to set off pipe bombs during the Jan. 6 insurrection. The FBI has now publicly ruled her out as a suspect. CBS News

Federal grand juries are not a rubber-stamp in the age of Trump. Retaliatory investigations and dubious charges have convinced federal grand jurors that they don’t have to go along with the Justice Department’s partisan priorities. The Washington Post

“You can’t run your mouth off to people. That makes you look bad. People are allowed to film us. That’s the law. Got to deal with it.” The scion of an NYPD family reflects on policing in New York City as a new mayor prepares to take office. The Wall Street Journal

The fruits of “Operation Not Forgotten.” An FBI initiative to try to solve more violent crimes in Indian Country has resulted in more than 1,100 arrests and the recovery of more than 300 weapons. Among the beneficiaries is Vangie Randall-Shorty, whose son, Zachariah Shorty, was killed in 2020. The feds just charged three people in Shorty’s death. The Associated Press