John Michaels

Non-cat (human) legal professional. My tweets are not legal advice. I double-space after periods. #TeamTwoSpace. No DMs please.

[NBA @NBA]

The NBA family mourns the passing of Stacey King, a three-time NBA champion and longtime Chicago Bulls television analyst. Stacey made his mark on the game as a player, coach and commentator. For more than 20 years on Bulls broadcasts, his passion, knowledge and unmistakable energy resonated with generations of fans. We extend our deepest condolences to Stacey’s family and friends and the Bulls organization.

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

BREAKING: Scott Pelley Just Made A Pretty Stunning Allegation.

According to Pelley, CBS leadership wanted a story about the killing of ICE protester Renée Good changed to better match Trump's version of events.

Pelley says he was told management wanted protesters portrayed as more violent and wanted Good described as driving toward the officer who shot her. He says the video evidence showed otherwise.

Then came the admission.

"There was a thumb on the scale for the president's version of events."

A veteran journalist with 37 years at CBS is alleging political pressure was applied to change the facts of a story.

That's a remarkable accusation.

[KoogsLaw @Koogslaw]

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
— Sir Winston Churchill

Please join me in helping those facing hunger by donating to Feeding America. 🙏🏼

https://t.co/00kI8CwTdW

[KoogsLaw @Koogslaw]

Sudanese volunteers providing lifesaving aid to more than 4 million people suffering in a devastating conflict and resulting famine need your help in the face of catastrophic funding cuts.

👇

SUDAN MUTUAL AID COALITION

https://t.co/YnmfICTDLM

[John Michaels @JLM_Law]

@sonalibasak

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

Her name was Betty Ong.

And for 23 minutes on September 11, 2001, she became the calmest voice in America.

Betty was 45 years old.
A flight attendant from San Francisco.
Known to coworkers simply as “Bee.”

That morning, she was working aboard American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles.

She had picked up the trip because she planned to continue home to San Francisco afterward and then fly to Hawaii for a vacation with her sister.

At 7:59 a.m., the plane took off.

Twenty minutes later, Betty picked up a phone at the back of the aircraft and called American Airlines operations.

The reservations agent who answered heard a calm voice say:

“I think we’re getting hijacked.”

Nobody had ever made a call like that before.

Betty stayed on the line for the next 23 minutes.

While chaos unfolded around her, she remained composed and methodical.

She reported that the cockpit wasn’t responding.
That flight attendants had been stabbed.
That passengers were struggling to breathe after something resembling Mace had been sprayed.

She even gave seat numbers for the suspected hijackers.

Everything she observed was passed from American Airlines to the FAA and air traffic control in real time.

Her call helped authorities understand something horrifying:

This wasn’t an accident.

This was coordinated.

This was an attack.

People later falsely described Betty as hysterical during the call.

The woman who spoke with her directly said the opposite was true.

“She was calm, professional, and poised.”

Betty never stopped doing her job.

Even in the final minutes of her life.

At 8:46 a.m., Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

The line suddenly went silent.

The agent on the other end waited a moment and quietly asked:

“Betty… are you there?”

No answer came back.

Months later, Betty’s family fought to obtain the recording of her final call.

When they finally heard it, her brother explained something that stayed with many people afterward:

Betty never called home.

Not because she didn’t love her family.

Because in that moment, she believed her responsibility was to the passengers and crew around her.

That’s who she was.

Today, Betty Ong’s name is memorialized at Ground Zero and throughout San Francisco’s Chinatown.

But what makes her unforgettable isn’t only the tragedy.

It’s the extraordinary calm she showed while facing unimaginable fear.

She was heading to Hawaii.

Instead, she picked up a phone and helped the world understand what was happening while there was still time to warn others.

That is what courage sometimes looks like.

Not loud.
Not dramatic.

Just a steady voice doing its job until the very end.

[Angelica Shalagina🇺🇦 @angelshalagina]

If Ukraine has taught the world anything,
it should be this:

Freedom matters.

[Marc E. Elias @marceelias]

Justice Sonia Sotomayor blasted the court’s conservative majority for a ruling that “debases the democratic process” by allowing Alabama to use a congressional map that the justices had previously found intentionally discriminated against Black voters. https://t.co/ahoPNpCSNd

[Angelica Shalagina🇺🇦 @angelshalagina]

Alive.
Tired.
Grateful.
Ukrainian🇺🇦

[Marc E. Elias @marceelias]

Another really long day. I am doing everything I can to spread the word about the threats to democracy and how to fight back.

You can help me by subscribing to Democracy Docket for free and sharing its content. Thanks. https://t.co/0StGlWz45f

[Neera Tanden🌻 @neeratanden]

Many of the CEOs, university presidents, law firm partners buckled, but Scott Pelley, other fired CBS reporters, Alex Pretti, Rene Good and countless other Americans stood their ground.
Boycott CBS
End your Paramount stream.
It's the least you can do.

[Chris “Law Dork” Geidner @chrisgeidner]

This is truly one of the worst things the court has done — both in terms of legitimacy and in terms of the law — since I have been covering the court.

[Joyce Alene @JoyceWhiteVance]

“Republican friendly” is just a sanitized way of saying racist here https://t.co/2n53dwOofQ

[Neera Tanden🌻 @neeratanden]

Cancel your Paramount stream
Cancel Showtime
End watching CBS
It's the least you can do

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

Russia Is a Terrorist State.

[Neera Tanden🌻 @neeratanden]

Boycott CBS

[Angelica Shalagina🇺🇦 @angelshalagina]

I cried today.

Not because I’m weak.

Not because I can’t handle it.

But because no human being was meant to live through years of war and remain untouched.

Sometimes tears are not a sign of weakness.

They are proof that your heart is still alive.

[Lucas Sanders 👊🏽🔥🇺🇸 @LucasSa56947288]

RETWEET if you support Scott Pelley after CBS News has just fired him.

[Michael Beschloss @BeschlossDC]

Michael Beschloss delivers 2026 Commencement Address at University of Pennsylvania--video link:
https://t.co/sWXfMM2G1k

[KoogsLaw @Koogslaw]

WHAT!??? 😳

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

“at the Minnesota GOP convention, … delegates held a moment’s silence for convicted murderer Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd in 2020….”

https://t.co/lmXttl54jZ