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Abby Vesoulis

@abbyvesoulis.bsky.social

29K followers 2.5K following 230 posts

Currently: National Politics reporter at Mother Jones magazine. Previously: TIME Magazine. Always: Trying my best. Sometimes: Coming up short. Encrypted contact info: Signal: abbyvesoulis.09 Proton Mail: [email protected]

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Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Dec 4

Usually, we learn about the fall of media organizations retrospectively, in postmortems. I wanted to see one in its liminal moment between bustling existence and relative extinction. So I spent Election Day in the Scripps News offices. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Watching the media reckoning unfold in a now-shuttered broadcast newsroom

Scripps sought to dominate national breaking news. Instead it became a paradigm of a broken industry.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Anna Rogers @jollyette.bsky.social · 7d

Just because federal employees aren't surprised doesn't mean they aren't mad. "I liked the fact that I still had the capacity for disappointment,” said one furloughed worker.

My first story for @motherjones.com: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

For furloughed workers, Trump's partisan shutdown jabs are just the latest slight

“Not only is it insulting to the standards we’re all supposed to abide by, but it’s also insulting to our intelligence.”

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Jacob Rosenberg @jacobrosenberg.bsky.social · 7d

Russell Vought, Trump's shutdown hero, lives in a neighborhood where "everyone knows someone who lost their jobs."

. @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social talked with a few of them about the shutdown

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Russ Vought is Trump’s shutdown hero. His neighbors think his work is "abhorrent."

The people living near Trump's "grim reaper" of government cuts have put up signs letting him know they stand with federal workers.

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 10d

One last note: Many of these cases involve charging pregnant women with child abuse or endangerment after a positive drug test — even just THC. With Trump pushing supposed Tylenol–autism links, will moms soon face prosecution for taking acetaminophen? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

When miscarriages become crimes

412 women faced criminal charges for pregnancy outcomes. This is what fetal personhood looks like.

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 10d

My story breaks down new research on 412 pregnancy-related prosecutions catalogued by @pregnancyjust.bsky.social between 2022-2024, as well as a handful of more recent charges.

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 10d

Pregnancy is unpredictable. Miscarriage is extremely common. But when state laws frame a fetus as a “person,” the loss of one can become criminally suspect.

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 10d

My latest piece for @motherjones.com looks at how the push for fetal personhood is leading to real women being investigated, prosecuted, and punished for pregnancy loss.

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 10d

What happens when a miscarriage is treated like a crime?
That’s not a hypothetical anymore. It’s happening in the U.S. right now. 🧵 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

When miscarriages become crimes

412 women faced criminal charges for pregnancy outcomes. This is what fetal personhood looks like.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social · 16d

This is really great reporting from Mother Jones - the "godfather" of evidence-based medicine disavows the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine for misusing his work. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trans health care "skeptics" lost a key ally—now they're having a meltdown

The godfather of evidence-based medicine on rejecting anti-trans "misuse" of his work.

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 21d

As corporate media caves to Trump, independent media is more important than ever. The only people we answer to are our readers & listeners—not politicians or billionaires. As a bonus, contributions between now and Sept. 30 will be matched by a generous donor! secure.motherjones.com/flex/mj/key/...

Support Nonprofit Journalism - Donate to Mother Jones

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

secure.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 24d

sure, but I think it's dangerous to contextualize violence as coming from a particular political party when the suspect wouldn't necessarily identify as belonging to that political party themself!

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 24d

"It is often the case that the individuals who commit political violence in this country have incoherent ideological backgrounds. They don’t have clear manifestos, nor do they come from a background that signals attachment to one party or the other." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Both the Left and Right are targeted by political violence. Who perpetrates it?

"What really connects these folks is not a coherent ideology."

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 24d

New from me: The left and right are both targeted by political violence. But the story of who carries it out is more complex. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Both the Left and Right are targeted by political violence. Who perpetrates it?

"What really connects these folks is not a coherent ideology; it's mental illness."

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 25d

Experts tell @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is being weaponized to serve the interests of MAGA.

That means dismissing cases about trans and nonbinary people—while transforming the agency into a “grievance apparatus for white, straight, Christian people.”

Right-wing fanatics are weaponizing America's anti-discrimination agency

How the White House made the EEOC a "grievance apparatus for white, straight, Christian people."

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 28d

oops! idle**

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · 28d

I went to DC's courts this week to see what's being prosecuted under Trump's crime crackdown. Yes, there were serious charges (shootings, child porn, etc). But in between: LOTS of charges over petty things like shoving, scrapes, idol threats, & smoking joints. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Shoulder-checks and smoking weed: The petty crimes being prosecuted under Trump’s DC crackdown

"We are in the DC Superior Court pretty much every day and have seen enormous changes under Trump. None of them good."

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Sep 10

This is one of those moments when, if you don't have anything nice to say, you might be better off not saying anything at all.

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Sep 8

You've heard about Project 2025. But now Trump and his allies are turning to Project 2026, their brazen plan to undermine free and fair elections and rig the midterms for the GOP. ow.ly/jOJ850WTk0z

Project 2026: Trump's plan to rig the next election

From nationalizing voter suppression to flooding the streets with federal agents, the president and his allies are using all the tricks in the authoritarian playbook to tilt the midterms in their favo...

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Sep 4

A bill the House GOP is reportedly considering would impose criminal penalties—a $500 fine or prison for up to 30 days—for camping on public property in DC. I don't see ANY scenario in which this would reduce the # of homeless people. They'd just relocate... maybe in DC maybe just outside of it.

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Henry Carnell @hencarnell.bsky.social · Aug 28

"To blame the unnerving prevalence of mass shootings in America on the existence of trans people here isn’t just a dangerously stigmatizing, politically motivated take. It’s also bad math." - @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social

Mass Shooters Are Not Disproportionately Transgender

Most mass shootings are carried out by cisgender men.

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Aug 28

Mass Shooters Are Not Disproportionately Transgender

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Mass Shooters Are Not Disproportionately Transgender

Most mass shootings are carried out by cisgender men.

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Aug 27

"As someone who once [allegedly] conducted an autopsy on a whale..."

Screenshot of NYT article headline that reads: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Sawed the Head Off a Whale and Drove It Home, Daughter Says"

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

LaraVP7 @laravp7.bsky.social · Aug 23

Love how Nextdoor is now being utilized as an ICE warning system in DC, LA & other targeted communities.

“The DC resistance
[is] an array of ordinary DC residents documenting what’s happening in their neighborhoods & mobilizing pop-up actions based on the information being shared.”

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Aug 22

Yesterday, Politico reported a “lack of street-level backlash” to Trump’s DC takeover. There IS backlash—it’s just a less formal version of it, carried out by Washingtonians with iPhones & spare time rather than by politicians marching the streets with TV cameras. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The resistance is active in DC—you’re just not looking closely enough

It's not massive protests on Pennsylvania Avenue, but happenstance hecklers and Nextdoor posts.

www.motherjones.com

Abby Vesoulis @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social · Aug 22

Yesterday, Politico reported a “lack of street-level backlash” to Trump’s DC takeover. There IS backlash—it’s just a less formal version of it, carried out by Washingtonians with iPhones & spare time rather than by politicians marching the streets with TV cameras. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The resistance is active in DC—you’re just not looking closely enough

It's not massive protests on Pennsylvania Avenue, but happenstance hecklers and Nextdoor posts.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · Aug 19

Control of the Senate could be decided in Maine. This oyster farmer is vying to unseat Susan Collins.

Control of the Senate could be decided in Maine. This oyster farmer is vying to unseat Susan Collins

Marine and Army veteran Graham Platner dives into one of the most closely watched races of 2026.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Abby Vesoulis

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · Aug 19

A Marine and Army vet, Graham Platner says he’s running his Democratic campaign on a message to “claw back wealth that was created by the labor."

First, he'll need to win the party’s primary against at least two candidates. If successful, Platner will face an even greater challenge: Susan Collins.

Control of the Senate could be decided in Maine. This oyster farmer is vying to unseat Susan Collins

Marine and Army veteran Graham Platner dives into one of the most closely watched races of 2026.

www.motherjones.com