Jake Blumgart
@jblumgart.bsky.social
Reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer https://www.inquirer.com/author/blumgart_jake/
"Still, nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to, according to a New York Times analysis of his schedule...Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
"Still, nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to, according to a New York Times analysis of his schedule...Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Has this discourse cured anybody else's imposter syndrome?
I'm not that smart but I have never had medieval peasant brain. No, the fucking computer isn't a person!
I'm not that smart but I have never had medieval peasant brain. No, the fucking computer isn't a person!
That smells great
November 25, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Has this discourse cured anybody else's imposter syndrome?
I'm not that smart but I have never had medieval peasant brain. No, the fucking computer isn't a person!
I'm not that smart but I have never had medieval peasant brain. No, the fucking computer isn't a person!
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Russia has gained less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory this year.
But President Putin said Russia is ready to keep fighting if Kyiv refuses to discuss a draft peace plan that demands deep military cuts and the ceding of territory Russia hasn’t yet taken.
But President Putin said Russia is ready to keep fighting if Kyiv refuses to discuss a draft peace plan that demands deep military cuts and the ceding of territory Russia hasn’t yet taken.
Russia’s tiny advances in 2025 sold Putin on inevitable victory in Ukraine
Grinding progress for Russia on the battlefield this year has resulted in thousands of casualties but enough progress for Putin to refuse any compromises in diplomacy.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Russia has gained less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory this year.
But President Putin said Russia is ready to keep fighting if Kyiv refuses to discuss a draft peace plan that demands deep military cuts and the ceding of territory Russia hasn’t yet taken.
But President Putin said Russia is ready to keep fighting if Kyiv refuses to discuss a draft peace plan that demands deep military cuts and the ceding of territory Russia hasn’t yet taken.
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Breaking news: Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) will not seek reelection, a seismic decision in D.C. politics that will bring to a close more than a decade in leadership.
D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term
Bowser, who has led D.C. over a turbulent decade, will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision bound to open up a highly competitive mayoral race.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Breaking news: Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) will not seek reelection, a seismic decision in D.C. politics that will bring to a close more than a decade in leadership.
"The D.C. business community recently launched an effort to 'draft' Bowser for a fourth term, saying it was not the time for 'on-the-job training,' but by then Bowser had largely made up her mind."
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term
Bowser, who has led D.C. over a turbulent decade, will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision bound to open up a highly competitive mayoral race.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:36 PM
"The D.C. business community recently launched an effort to 'draft' Bowser for a fourth term, saying it was not the time for 'on-the-job training,' but by then Bowser had largely made up her mind."
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here: penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here: penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here: penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here: penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
“.. This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are — a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
November 25, 2025 at 1:21 AM
“.. This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are — a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Two years after Vermont passed a huge investment in childcare, more programs opened than closed for the first time since officials started keeping track www.sevendaysvt.com/news/educati...
Vermont’s Bold Investment in Childcare Is Largely Paying Off
Passed in 2023, Act 76 has increased state funding to help create more than 1,700 new childcare slots and enroll more than 4,000 additional kids in the state’s financial-assistance program.
www.sevendaysvt.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Two years after Vermont passed a huge investment in childcare, more programs opened than closed for the first time since officials started keeping track www.sevendaysvt.com/news/educati...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
NEW: Gov. Josh Shapiro is sending $220 million to SEPTA to help repair fire-prone Silverliner IV Regional Rail cars and a damaged overhead power system in the trolley tunnel.
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
Gov. Shapiro allocated $220 million to SEPTA to get Regional Rail back on track
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
www.inquirer.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
NEW: Gov. Josh Shapiro is sending $220 million to SEPTA to help repair fire-prone Silverliner IV Regional Rail cars and a damaged overhead power system in the trolley tunnel.
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
Feds suspect arson: "Two days before an apartment complex once hailed as a shining example of Philadelphia’s urban renewal went up in flames, its owner, embattled city landlord Phil Pulley, transferred the vacant property to a New York investment firm."
www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
Landlord Phil Pulley transferred ownership of West Philly apartments days before suspected arson, records show
Property records show the notorious landlord signed a deed transfer two days before the June 2025 fire. The new owners are now demolishing the building.
www.inquirer.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Feds suspect arson: "Two days before an apartment complex once hailed as a shining example of Philadelphia’s urban renewal went up in flames, its owner, embattled city landlord Phil Pulley, transferred the vacant property to a New York investment firm."
www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
This could be a problem for Mayor Parker's housing initiative www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
HUD to cut funding for permanent housing for people who are homeless
Trump's plan is designed to "restore accountability" by cutting funds for permanent housing by two-thirds. Philadelphia received $47 million in housing aid from the federal government last year.
www.inquirer.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM
This could be a problem for Mayor Parker's housing initiative www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
“In 2025, America built fewer homes per 100,000 people than it did in 2005, 1995, 1985 or 1975.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | America’s Housing Crisis, in One Chart
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:54 PM
“In 2025, America built fewer homes per 100,000 people than it did in 2005, 1995, 1985 or 1975.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
What a headline www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
Patel Under Scrutiny for Use of SWAT Teams to Protect His Girlfriend
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
What a headline www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
"Costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Even though the inflation rate is below its recent 2022 high, certain essentials like coffee, ground beef and car repairs are up markedly this year."
www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
The Middle Class Is Buckling Under Almost Five Years of Persistent Inflation
Workers are growing tired of an economy in which everything seems to get more expensive.
www.wsj.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:21 PM
"Costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Even though the inflation rate is below its recent 2022 high, certain essentials like coffee, ground beef and car repairs are up markedly this year."
www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
Fetterman: "Don’t assume that uncharismatic people have hidden depths...One can be dull and inept." www.ft.com/content/68ee...
The Labour government will deteriorate from here
Starmer and Reeves are unfit and their likeliest usurpers are worse
www.ft.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Fetterman: "Don’t assume that uncharismatic people have hidden depths...One can be dull and inept." www.ft.com/content/68ee...
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Philadelphia developers may soon benefit from a 20-year property tax abatement to convert large, underutilized properties into residences.
20-year tax abatement to help turn schools into homes may soon be legal in Philly
Buried in the state budget is a provision allowing for the new abatement. It is now up to City Council and Mayor Parker to craft city legislation to support it.
www.inquirer.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Philadelphia developers may soon benefit from a 20-year property tax abatement to convert large, underutilized properties into residences.
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
The Philadelphia Art Museum has named Daniel H. Weiss as its new CEO and director. His resume includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art and local colleges.
Philadelphia Art Museum names a new director and CEO
Daniel H. Weiss was president of Haverford College and, for eight years, leader of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
www.inquirer.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
The Philadelphia Art Museum has named Daniel H. Weiss as its new CEO and director. His resume includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art and local colleges.
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
SEPTA's Zero Fare program could end next year. Advocates are pushing to save it.
Free SEPTA fares for low-income riders could end next year. Advocates are pushing to save it.
The Zero Fare program needs permanent funding, argue advocates and some elected officials.
www.inquirer.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:36 PM
SEPTA's Zero Fare program could end next year. Advocates are pushing to save it.
Really interesting analysis www.semafor.com/article/11/1...
View: What Donald Trump likes about Zohran Mamdani
It suits both men to cast themselves as enemies of a corrupt system.
www.semafor.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Really interesting analysis www.semafor.com/article/11/1...