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Juan Salinas II

@4nsmiley.bsky.social

4.7K followers 380 following 890 posts

A 20-something who covers politics in America’s heartland for @nebraskaexaminer.com. | Past gigs: Texas Tribune, KERA news, and Fort Worth Report | 💌: [email protected] Signal: x4nsmiley.91

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 6d

Scoop: Labor populist Dan Osborn raised over $1 million for Nebraska U.S. Senate race against Sen. Pete Ricketts The seven-figure haul is the latest indication that Osborn can once again raise enough to mount a serious challenge

My latest @nebraskaexaminer.com

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/02/d...

Dan Osborn raises more than $1 million for second Nebraska U.S. Senate race against Ricketts • Nebraska Examiner

The haul is the latest indication that Dan Osborn can once again raise enough to mount a serious challenge to a sitting U.S. senator.

nebraskaexaminer.com

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 12h

Linking is not hard, well, maybe for some people.

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 12h

Link to story:
wacobridge.org/2025/10/06/d...

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 1d

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen says he would be open to redrawing the state’s congressional maps in the middle of the decade.

The caveat is that his embrace of the idea appears less bullish than his pushes for winner-take-all.

My latest @nebraskaexaminer.com

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/10/06/n...

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen ‘open’ to mid-decade redistricting • Nebraska Examiner

Support from the governor comes as talks of redistricting Nebraska from the White House have cooled — for now.

nebraskaexaminer.com

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 3d

I must have taken a wrong turn to the state capital.

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 5d

“both parties are running out of new things to talk about. they’re litigating a Democratic proposal that has no hope of passing but includes just enough ammunition to fuel Republican outrage.”

Republicans’ shutdown strategy: All ‘illegals,’ all the time

t.co/Ef0Obrj3Y4

https://www.semafor.com/article/10/02/2025/the-gops-shutdown-strategy-all-illegals-all-the-time

t.co

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 6d

Dan Osborn raises more than $1 million for second Nebraska U.S. Senate race against Ricketts • Nebraska Examiner

The haul is the latest indication that Dan Osborn can once again raise enough to mount a serious challenge to a sitting U.S. senator.

nebraskaexaminer.com

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Reposted by Juan Salinas II

Robert Downen @robertdownen.bsky.social · 6d

"Religion doesn’t live outside of politics. It lives downstream.”

Charlie Kirk's death has fueled new pressure on churches to not only speak on politics - but reaffirm what their congregants already believe. I spoke to one pastor caught in the middle.

A Texas Church Strove to Be Apolitical. Then Charlie Kirk Was Killed.

In the wake of political violence and deepening division, high-profile Christian leaders—and church congregants—are pressuring pastors to take a stand from the pulpit.

www.texasmonthly.com

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 6d

Well, is it?

Reposted by Juan Salinas II

Jennifer Shutt @jennifershutt.bsky.social · 7d

Federal government shutdown begins, with no easy exit in sight

w/ @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

www.newsfromthestates.com/article/fede...

Federal government shutdown begins, with no easy exit in sight

This report has been updated.WASHINGTON — The federal government started shutting down early Wednesday after Congress failed to approve a funding bill before the beginning of the new fiscal year — res...

www.newsfromthestates.com

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 7d

As the federal government is likely to shut down tonight, the Nebraska federal delegation stays on message, blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

+ Nebraska Rep. Mike Flood told me yesterday that he could see Republicans returning to D.C. on Friday or Monday.

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 7d

“You got mail” is no more. AOL's dial-up internet service ends after today. Via NPR

"In some ways, it was kind of like the sound of the 1990s”

www.npr.org/2025/08/12/n...

Say bye-bye to the beeps and boops of AOL's dial-up internet service

AOL debuted the service in 1989. Dial-up has largely been replaced by broadband internet.

www.npr.org

Reposted by Juan Salinas II

ProPublica @propublica.org · 8d

The DOGE team was acting like “a bunch of people who didn’t know what they were doing, with ideas of how government should run — thinking it should work like a McDonald’s or a bank — screaming all the time,” former SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek said.

The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security

DOGE has ignored urgently needed reforms and upgrades at the Social Security Administration, according to dozens of insiders and 15 hours of candid interviews with the former acting chief of the agenc...

www.propublica.org

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 8d

I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion. But I do not work for the governor.

I mention in the story that the push for school vouchers is because of a push to have more religion in public schools.

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 8d

Check out my photos that didn't make the cut as I endlessly try to make Nebraska politics look cool.

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 8d

When reporters brought up that Nebraska voters rejected the state’s voucher program last year.

Gov. Jim Pillen pushed back.

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 8d

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and U.S. Reps. Adrian Smith and Mike Flood took a political victory lap as the state joined a federal voucher program that was in Trump‘s tax and budget bill.

My latest @nebraskaexaminer.com

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/29/n...

Nebraska gets a private school tax credit — thanks to Trump • Nebraska Examiner

Gov. Jim Pillen and school choice supporters get a victory as the state opts into federal scholarship credit from ‘Big Beautiful Bill'

nebraskaexaminer.com

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 8d

After Charlie Kirk's assassination, young Nebraska Republicans vowed to make sharper efforts to organize as campus conservatives and liberals try to turn down the temperature

My latest @nebraskaexaminer.com

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/29/n...

Nebraska’s college students learning to talk again after Kirk's death • Nebraska Examiner

Young Republicans vow to continue engaging with ideas as campus conservatives and liberals try to turn down the temperature.

nebraskaexaminer.com

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 11d

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen rejected proposed regulations that would relax rules on physical touch in strip clubs in the state.

More fallout from the federal indictment of the former Liquor Control Commission director.

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/26/p...

Pillen tosses new liquor regulations after indictment of former director • Nebraska Examiner

Gov. Jim Pillen rejected proposed regulatory changes he said had been pushed by a former director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.

nebraskaexaminer.com

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 12d

Texas Democratic Party’s move to Dallas prompts top staff exodus, roils organization ahead of 2026 via Texas Tribune

“Insiders said the way the move was handled…undercuts rhetoric about winning back working class voters”

www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/t...

Texas Democratic Party’s move to Dallas prompts top staff exodus, roils organization ahead of 2026

Party insiders said the way the move was handled undercuts Chair Kendall Scudder’s rhetoric about winning back working class voters, who lurched to the right in 2024.

www.texastribune.org

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 13d

YouTube to Reinstate Users Banned for Misinformation About 2020 Election and COVID via Variety

Lawyer for parent company Alphabet says Biden administration sought to 'dictate' COVID-related content policies

variety.com/2025/digital...

YouTube to Reinstate Users Banned for Misinformation About 2020 Election and COVID

YouTube will soon let creators back on the platform who were previously banned over now-retired content policies -- including those prohibiting misinformation about the 2020 U.S. presidential election...

variety.com

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 14d

I chatted with the Nebraska governor at the governor's mansion yesterday.

I thought y'all might enjoy a pig statue.

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 15d

The Texas Tribune is trying to get 500 new members for its fall membership drive. If you can, support the godfather of non-profit news.

The Tribune has a special place in my heart; they saw potential in me and showed me the ropes of political reporting

support.texastribune.org/donate?insta...

Support Us | The Texas Tribune

Members make our journalism possible. Support The Texas Tribune with a donation today.

support.texastribune.org

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 15d

Micro-level in this: Nebraska’s secretary of state Bob Evnen is seeking reelection in 2026.

He been trying to do a balance act of trying to defend the state’s elections while also addressing concerns of some Republicans and Trump over election integrity

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Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 15d

A voting advocacy group has sued to block Nebraska’s secretary of state from sharing voter registration data with the DOJ. The state agency had until Monday to hand over the data.

My latest @nebraskaexaminer.com

nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/22/v...

Voting advocacy group sues to block Nebraska from giving voter data to feds • Nebraska Examiner

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking states for information that Nebraska declined to give during Trump's first term.

nebraskaexaminer.com

Juan Salinas II @4nsmiley.bsky.social · 15d

Interesting tidbit from his kickoff campaign speech: Ricketts acknowledges the race against Dan Osborn will be “tough.”