Alexander Cohen
@capitolmuckrakr.bsky.social
Investigative data journalist. Native Washingtonian, garage rock ❤️. Past work: Bloomberg, CNN, Center for Public Integrity, Reuters. Aspiring Butlerian Jihadist. Teach me. Mostly doesn’t follow soapboxers, meanies. He/him. Signal: capitolmuckrakr.01
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
A new investigation reveals $28B in dirty money laundered through crypto exchanges, while the US weakens oversight.
We'll discuss today on Your Call w/ @spencerwoodman.bsky.social & Sam Ellefson @icij.org.
Tune in @kalwradio.bsky.social 10am PT or stream live!
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
We'll discuss today on Your Call w/ @spencerwoodman.bsky.social & Sam Ellefson @icij.org.
Tune in @kalwradio.bsky.social 10am PT or stream live!
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
ICIJ investigation exposes crypto industry’s $28b in dirty money
As the crypto industry has become less regulated, billions in funds from scammers, money launderers, and other criminal groups have flowed onto major crypto exchanges.
www.kalw.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:39 PM
A new investigation reveals $28B in dirty money laundered through crypto exchanges, while the US weakens oversight.
We'll discuss today on Your Call w/ @spencerwoodman.bsky.social & Sam Ellefson @icij.org.
Tune in @kalwradio.bsky.social 10am PT or stream live!
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
We'll discuss today on Your Call w/ @spencerwoodman.bsky.social & Sam Ellefson @icij.org.
Tune in @kalwradio.bsky.social 10am PT or stream live!
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Gosh, one quick search will show a dozen of these cases.
Former Florida police officer accused of using federal databases to prowl for women
The FBI is investigating a former Florida police officer accused of using federal databases to pursue women romantically. Officials say 36-year-old Leonel Marines tracked down hundreds of women with d...
www.ktvq.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Gosh, one quick search will show a dozen of these cases.
“Overall, after reviewing all the evidence, the Court finds that Defendants’ widespread misrepresentations call into question everything that Defendants say they are doing.”
The feds repeatedly lied and misled the public during Chicago's immigration crackdown, a federal judge ruled in a scathing opinion. blockclubchi.co/3JVoFWJ
November 26, 2025 at 2:32 PM
“Overall, after reviewing all the evidence, the Court finds that Defendants’ widespread misrepresentations call into question everything that Defendants say they are doing.”
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Eleventh Circuit affirms $1 million sanctions award against Trump attorneys, led by Alina Habba, for frivolous "racketeering" lawsuit against Hillary Clinton (among many others): storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 26, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Eleventh Circuit affirms $1 million sanctions award against Trump attorneys, led by Alina Habba, for frivolous "racketeering" lawsuit against Hillary Clinton (among many others): storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
“If she [Leavitt] were to help in any way, if she were willing to do anything to help us, she would have reached out by now. She has my phone number. We’ve been family for the last 13 years.”
“After Ferreira was detained, Dos Santos Rodrigues said Michael Leavitt Sr. and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out to her.”
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
‘Brazil is not her home.’ Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, brought to US as child, detained by ICE. - The Boston Globe
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was brought to the United States as a child in 1998. She is now in removal proceedings in Louisiana.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:18 PM
“If she [Leavitt] were to help in any way, if she were willing to do anything to help us, she would have reached out by now. She has my phone number. We’ve been family for the last 13 years.”
An anonymous spokesperson really solidifies that ongoing presence
They’re still here? federalnewsnetwork.com/it-moderniza...
DOGE and its long-term counterpart remain, with a full slate of modernization projects underway
A DOGE spokesperson confirmed DOGE still exists as a temporary organization within the U.S. DOGE Service, and that Amy Gleason remains the acting head of USDS.
federalnewsnetwork.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
An anonymous spokesperson really solidifies that ongoing presence
They’re still here? federalnewsnetwork.com/it-moderniza...
DOGE and its long-term counterpart remain, with a full slate of modernization projects underway
A DOGE spokesperson confirmed DOGE still exists as a temporary organization within the U.S. DOGE Service, and that Amy Gleason remains the acting head of USDS.
federalnewsnetwork.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:42 PM
They’re still here? federalnewsnetwork.com/it-moderniza...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Big, yearlong investigation from @NBCNews.com landed today:
"Dozens of pregnant women locked up in county jails described excruciating pain, saying their cries for help were ignored as they miscarried or gave birth into cell toilets or on filthy jail floors."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
"Dozens of pregnant women locked up in county jails described excruciating pain, saying their cries for help were ignored as they miscarried or gave birth into cell toilets or on filthy jail floors."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
'Why won't you help me?' Pregnant women and their babies are dying in jail
Dozens of pregnant women locked up in county jails described excruciating pain, saying their cries for help were ignored as they miscarried or gave birth into cell toilets or on filthy jail floors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Big, yearlong investigation from @NBCNews.com landed today:
"Dozens of pregnant women locked up in county jails described excruciating pain, saying their cries for help were ignored as they miscarried or gave birth into cell toilets or on filthy jail floors."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
"Dozens of pregnant women locked up in county jails described excruciating pain, saying their cries for help were ignored as they miscarried or gave birth into cell toilets or on filthy jail floors."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Just published a deep look at where open social networks stand in 2025: Mastodon’s leadership change, Bluesky’s trajectory, AT Protocol, ActivityPub, cross-network tools, and more. For newsrooms and public service orgs, this moment really matters. werd.io/the-state-of...
The State of the Open Social Web
A comprehensive look at Mastodon, Bluesky, and the growing ecosystem of open, interoperable social networks.
werd.io
November 18, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Just published a deep look at where open social networks stand in 2025: Mastodon’s leadership change, Bluesky’s trajectory, AT Protocol, ActivityPub, cross-network tools, and more. For newsrooms and public service orgs, this moment really matters. werd.io/the-state-of...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination
Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
"We found that 74% of homeowners affected by the Marshall Fire were underinsured, and 36% were so severely underinsured that their policy covered less than 75% of the rebuild cost."
theconversation.com/many-colorad...
theconversation.com/many-colorad...
Many Colorado homeowners are underinsured − here’s what to do before the next fire
Paying attention to the sticker price doesn’t always result in the best insurance coverage.
theconversation.com
November 18, 2025 at 9:17 PM
"We found that 74% of homeowners affected by the Marshall Fire were underinsured, and 36% were so severely underinsured that their policy covered less than 75% of the rebuild cost."
theconversation.com/many-colorad...
theconversation.com/many-colorad...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
There’s also a $150 record player that shows the unaltered presidential seal
3/
3/
November 15, 2025 at 3:34 PM
There’s also a $150 record player that shows the unaltered presidential seal
3/
3/
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
“A Native American girl was nearly deported from her own country because ICE saw brown skin and assumed ‘illegal.’ This isn’t security — it’s racial profiling and state intimidation. These are Gestapo-style tactics happening in America right now.”
azmirror.com/2025/11/12/a...
azmirror.com/2025/11/12/a...
November 13, 2025 at 10:44 PM
“A Native American girl was nearly deported from her own country because ICE saw brown skin and assumed ‘illegal.’ This isn’t security — it’s racial profiling and state intimidation. These are Gestapo-style tactics happening in America right now.”
azmirror.com/2025/11/12/a...
azmirror.com/2025/11/12/a...
They better not even touch Rothko. wapo.st/4oDLgWx
Phillips Collection will sell O’Keeffe and other masterpieces, sparking backlash
The Phillips Collection will sell at auction artworks by Georgia O’Keeffe, Georges Seurat and Arthur Dove, drawing a debate over deaccessioning.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:21 PM
They better not even touch Rothko. wapo.st/4oDLgWx
According to a recent analysis by JPMorgan Fundamental Research, “AI products would have to create an additional $650 billion a year, indefinitely, to give investors a reasonable 10% annual return…This equates to every iPhone owner in the world paying an extra $35 or so a month.”
When AI Hype Meets AI Reality: A Reckoning in 6 Charts
Record capital expenditures and data-center planning are running up against the ground truths of physical infrastructure.
www.wsj.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
According to a recent analysis by JPMorgan Fundamental Research, “AI products would have to create an additional $650 billion a year, indefinitely, to give investors a reasonable 10% annual return…This equates to every iPhone owner in the world paying an extra $35 or so a month.”
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
“Housing shortage – Jews to blame," letter sticker, German Reich, 1938
zwangsraeume.berlin/en/context
zwangsraeume.berlin/en/context
November 14, 2025 at 2:16 AM
“Housing shortage – Jews to blame," letter sticker, German Reich, 1938
zwangsraeume.berlin/en/context
zwangsraeume.berlin/en/context
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
🚨🚨
🧵1/6 #FedFam, reporters - urgent help needed
🚨CDC Museum (a Smithsonian affiliate) is being shuttered🚨
Staff are being “un-RIFed” just to close the museum permanently — then RIFed again in Jan
This is bureaucratic cruelty & cultural vandalism
CDC Library is a national treasure
#SaveCDCLibrary
🧵1/6 #FedFam, reporters - urgent help needed
🚨CDC Museum (a Smithsonian affiliate) is being shuttered🚨
Staff are being “un-RIFed” just to close the museum permanently — then RIFed again in Jan
This is bureaucratic cruelty & cultural vandalism
CDC Library is a national treasure
#SaveCDCLibrary
The David J. Sencer CDC Museum: In Association with the Smithsonian
Free museum exhibiting public health topics and the history of CDC.
www.cdc.gov
November 13, 2025 at 7:09 PM
🚨🚨
🧵1/6 #FedFam, reporters - urgent help needed
🚨CDC Museum (a Smithsonian affiliate) is being shuttered🚨
Staff are being “un-RIFed” just to close the museum permanently — then RIFed again in Jan
This is bureaucratic cruelty & cultural vandalism
CDC Library is a national treasure
#SaveCDCLibrary
🧵1/6 #FedFam, reporters - urgent help needed
🚨CDC Museum (a Smithsonian affiliate) is being shuttered🚨
Staff are being “un-RIFed” just to close the museum permanently — then RIFed again in Jan
This is bureaucratic cruelty & cultural vandalism
CDC Library is a national treasure
#SaveCDCLibrary
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
This makes sense: genAI, being built to generate stuff, replaces jobs in art and writing by generating slop art and slop writing. Many of us find its outputs repulsive, but companies don't seem to care.
How is AI *really* impacting jobs?
Henley Chiu, the CTO of Revealera, a jobs data analysis firm, analyzed 180 million jobs listings in 2024 and 2025, in an effort to find out. Chiu found an:
-8% drop in all jobs postings
-~30% drop in art, photography, writing jobs
-22% drop in journalism jobs
Henley Chiu, the CTO of Revealera, a jobs data analysis firm, analyzed 180 million jobs listings in 2024 and 2025, in an effort to find out. Chiu found an:
-8% drop in all jobs postings
-~30% drop in art, photography, writing jobs
-22% drop in journalism jobs
What’s really going on with AI and jobs?
Record-breaking layoff reports, Amazon's mass firings, and a slump in entry level employment. Is AI behind it all?
www.bloodinthemachine.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:44 PM
This makes sense: genAI, being built to generate stuff, replaces jobs in art and writing by generating slop art and slop writing. Many of us find its outputs repulsive, but companies don't seem to care.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
“This points to a potentially troubling legacy of the pandemic— neurological sequelae that could impair children’s cognitive outcomes and quality of life long after recovery from the initial infection”
Getting covid is bad for everyone, even kids
bioengineer.org/neurological...
Getting covid is bad for everyone, even kids
bioengineer.org/neurological...
Neurological Impacts of COVID and MIS-C in Children
The emerging landscape of COVID-19 has revealed a stark contrast in how the virus manifests across different age groups, particularly highlighting a unique and alarming phenotype in children. Unlike
bioengineer.org
November 13, 2025 at 8:48 PM
“This points to a potentially troubling legacy of the pandemic— neurological sequelae that could impair children’s cognitive outcomes and quality of life long after recovery from the initial infection”
Getting covid is bad for everyone, even kids
bioengineer.org/neurological...
Getting covid is bad for everyone, even kids
bioengineer.org/neurological...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Sometimes headlines massively undersell a story in a way that leaves you completely blown away
Jesus Christ: "Ultimately, between the money she made from her interactions with men and in the food services industry she was able to save up enough money to get braces."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
In Matt Gaetz Scandal, Circumstances Left Teen Vulnerable to Exploitation
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Sometimes headlines massively undersell a story in a way that leaves you completely blown away
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just took the bench for this status hearing in the case dealing with use of force against protesters and journalists in Chicago.
Ahead of a status (3pm CT) in Judge Sara Ellis' case involving the feds' use of force against protesters and journalists, plaintiffs have filed a new notice of alleged violations.
This excerpt addresses the claim that someone opened fire on agents last weekend:
This excerpt addresses the claim that someone opened fire on agents last weekend:
November 13, 2025 at 8:59 PM
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis just took the bench for this status hearing in the case dealing with use of force against protesters and journalists in Chicago.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Now in the courtroom of District Judge Sara Ellis in Chicago for the start of a scheduled status hearing in the class action accusing federal immigration agents of abusing press, clergy and the public in the Chicago area.
Ellis entered an injunction order limiting feds' use of force last week.
Ellis entered an injunction order limiting feds' use of force last week.
Ellis sets a status hearing for 3 pm next Thursday, Nov. 13.
More issues to be covered then, including how to handle possible court order violations plaintiffs have already raised.
More issues to be covered then, including how to handle possible court order violations plaintiffs have already raised.
November 13, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Now in the courtroom of District Judge Sara Ellis in Chicago for the start of a scheduled status hearing in the class action accusing federal immigration agents of abusing press, clergy and the public in the Chicago area.
Ellis entered an injunction order limiting feds' use of force last week.
Ellis entered an injunction order limiting feds' use of force last week.
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
President Trump's claims about murder rates and illegal immigration fit red states more than blue states chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Trump's claims about murder rates and illegal immigration fit red states more than blue states
As federal immigration agents carry out the president's “Operation Midway Blitz” in Democrat-led Illinois — a "blue state" — a WBEZ and Sun-Times analysis shows other Republican-led "red states" have ...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
President Trump's claims about murder rates and illegal immigration fit red states more than blue states chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Alexander Cohen
Made a new video demonstrating my process for upgrading a Datasette plugin using uv and an OpenAI Codex bash one-liner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy4ci7AoF9Y
Here are detailed notes to accompany the video on my blog: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/6/upgrading-datasette-plugins/
Here are detailed notes to accompany the video on my blog: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/6/upgrading-datasette-plugins/
Video + notes on upgrading a Datasette plugin for the latest 1.0 alpha
I’m upgrading various plugins for compatibility with the new Datasette 1.0a20 alpha release and I decided to record a video of the process. This post accompanies that video with detailed …
simonwillison.net
November 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Made a new video demonstrating my process for upgrading a Datasette plugin using uv and an OpenAI Codex bash one-liner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy4ci7AoF9Y
Here are detailed notes to accompany the video on my blog: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/6/upgrading-datasette-plugins/
Here are detailed notes to accompany the video on my blog: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Nov/6/upgrading-datasette-plugins/