Samantha Michaels

Berkeley

Senior Reporter at Mother Jones

Senior reporter at @MotherJones covering criminal justice. Send tips to [email protected]

Articles

Scientists deem Trump’s latest funding freeze a “slow-moving apocalypse”

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

The hits to science, and scientists, keep coming under the Trump administration. This week, the National Science Foundation (NSF), a government agency that funds research across the country, told staffers that “until further notice,” it will stop payments on grants it has already awarded for studies—and stop awarding new ones. That’s according to a scoop from the science journal Nature, which got its hands on an internal NSF email.
The immigrant families Trump separated years ago are getting another raw deal

1 month ago | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

The immigrant families separated at the US-Mexico border during Trump’s first administration have gotten some bad news: Essentially, Trump’s second administration is taking away their lawyers and giving them new ones. The new ones work for the government. Put another way, the Trump administration, which has the power to deny immigrants’ applications to stay in the United States, will also be helping them fill out those applications.
A whistleblower says Trump sent the US Marshals to try to “intimidate” her

2 months ago | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

A whistleblower who testified in Congress today is accusing the Trump administration of trying to “intimidate” her with help from the US Marshals Service, the law enforcement agency of the federal judiciary.
What the hundreds of Venezuelans Trump sent to El Salvador are up against

2 months ago | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump used the Alien Enemies Act to deport 238 Venezuelans from the United States—sending them not to their home country, but to a prison in El Salvador notorious for its harsh conditions. The administration accuses them of belonging to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but some of them deny the allegations, with witnesses and experts to back them up.
Trans people in prison sue Trump over their right to medical care

2 months ago | lgbtqnation.com | Samantha Michaels

This article first appeared on Mother Jones. It has been republished with the publication’s permission. Six days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, Alishea Kingdom went to a medical appointment at the federal prison in New Jersey where she’s incarcerated. It was time for her to take the hormonal medication she’d been prescribed years before to treat her gender dysphoria.
A Federal Judge Blocked DOGE’s Access to Treasury Systems-for Now

Feb 8, 2025 | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from looking at the Treasury Department’s payment and data systems, citing a risk of “irreparable harm” because the systems contain some of the federal government’s most sensitive information, including bank account details.
Lateefah Simon, on Track to Be a New House Dem: “I’ve Never Shied Away From Any Fight”

Nov 6, 2024 | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

Inside a museum in Oakland, not far from where Kamala Harris launched her first bid for the presidency back in 2019, Lateefah Simon, a Democrat whom Harris mentored, declared victory in her congressional race on Tuesday night. Early ballot returns showed her with 63 percent of the vote, though results were still coming in Wednesday morning.
Oakland's merchant of bad vibes

Nov 5, 2024 | oaklandside.org | Samantha Michaels

This story was originally reported and published by Mother Jones magazine. The Oaklandside republished the story with permission. I was doom-scrolling on X a few months ago when a video about Oakland, California, caught my eye: “Do you know your recaller?” it asked, before an image of a talking white-haired man with a yellow tie flashed across the screen.
Oakland’s merchant of bad vibes

Nov 4, 2024 | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

I was doom-scrolling on X a few months ago when a video about Oakland, California, caught my eye: “Do you know your recaller?” it asked, before an image of a talking white-haired man with a yellow tie flashed across the screen. “Let’s find out.”I’d been curious about the recalls in Oakland for a while: Mayor Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price, both progressive women of color, face elections that could drive them out of office.
Has San Francisco gotten too tough on teen crime?

Oct 15, 2024 | motherjones.com | Samantha Michaels

In early September, Peterson Harter was working the lunchtime rush in his sandwich shop on San Francisco’s Haight Street when in walked prosecutor Ryan Khojasteh, sporting slicked-back hair and circular glasses. The year before, Harter had been punched in the face by a man who’d been urinating outside his shop. He posted a video of his black eye on Instagram, and it went viral.