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Reposted by Ian Vandewalker

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 12h

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 1d

www.cityandstateny.com/politics/202...

Citizens Union reports concludes even-year elections would benefit NYC

Voters in New York City will have a chance to weigh in this November on whether to move local elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years.

www.cityandstateny.com

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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 1d

Why most polls overstate support for political violence
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/most-polls...

Why most polls overstate support for political violence

Misperceptions about the popularity of violence increase public support for it — but you can help change that.

www.gelliottmorris.com

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 2d

"Candidates and outside groups have already raised and spent more than $8 million in this year’s race, making it Pennsylvania’s most expensive retention election ever. That includes more than $5 million in spending by outside groups on ads featuring some of the court’s key decisions."

Douglas Keith @douglaskeith.bsky.social · 2d

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's jurisprudence is... complicated! But with nearly half the court up for retention election next month, the money is still pouring in. More @statecourtreport.org: statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Everything You Need to Know About Next Month’s High-Stakes Supreme Court Elections in Pennsylvania

Three justices will face an up or down vote in November, the outcome of which is likely to impact the midterms.

statecourtreport.org

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 5d

MAJOR NEWS: Prosecutors in Tallahassee are convening a grand jury relating to the Hope Florida scandal, the Herald/Times has learned. This is the charity started by Casey DeSantis that used FL legal settlement funds to campaign against medial marijuana amendment.

Grand jury summoned in Hope Florida criminal probe

In May, State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office confirmed that a criminal investigation was underway relating to information about the Hope Florida Foundation, the charity spearheaded by first lady C…

www.orlandosentinel.com

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Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 7d

BREAKING

The Trump admin is using the government shutdown to try to pause Kilmar Abrego Garcia's habeas corpus case, which has a hearing scheduled next week.

Abrego's lawyers oppose.

Doc storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 7d

SCOOP: Federal workers are being told to blame democrats for the shutdown. At SBA workers got an email suggesting they set out-of-office replies blaming Democrats for the shutdown and at HUD internal systems have a pop-up blaming "the Radical Left."

@wired.com

www.wired.com/story/govern...

Federal Workers Are Being Told to Blame Democrats for the Shutdown

Workers at one agency were given unhinged, partisan language to use when setting out-of-office replies.

www.wired.com

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 7d

Expenditures (and attacks) are heating up in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention election. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/09...

PA Supreme Court mailer uses misleading redistricting claims

The PAC behind the misleading mailer is part of a network connected to PA's richest person. The goal: convince voters to reject new terms for three PA Supreme Court justices.

www.spotlightpa.org

Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 11d

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

National Weather Service at ‘breaking point’ as storm approaches

The National Weather Service is struggling to maintain its weather forecasting operations due to significant staffing cuts under the Trump administration.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 12d

NEW: Kristi Noem has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA's response to natural disasters.

But she fast-tracked $11 million+ to fix a Florida tourist attraction — after one of her big donors reached out. www.propublica.org/article/kris...

Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened

The DHS chief has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA’s response after natural disasters. Texts and emails obtained by ProPublica point to an effective way to get help faster: have one of Noe...

www.propublica.org

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 12d

"An inexperienced prosecutor loyal to Pres. Trump, in the job for less than a week, filed criminal charges against one of her boss’s most-reviled opponents...at Mr. Trump’s direct command [and] against the urging of both her own subordinates and her predecessor..." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/u...

Trump Gets the Retribution He Sought, and Shatters Norms in the Process

www.nytimes.com

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Dr Emma L Briant 🇬🇧 in 🇺🇸 @emmalbriant.bsky.social · 13d

Who's paying for the White House ballroom and what's in it for them www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-w...

Who's paying for the White House ballroom and what's in it for them

President Trump has so far raised $200 million for a new White House ballroom from some of the nation's biggest companies.

www.cbsnews.com

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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 15d

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site

As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

www.miamiherald.com

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 20d

After judges from across the political spectrum found that Trump administration policies were likely illegal or unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has frequently reinstated those policies without any explanation. bit.ly/4mzvX0p

Supreme Court Must Explain Why It Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor

The Court has repeatedly halted lower court orders and allowed administration policies to go forward via its “shadow docket” without any explanation.

www.brennancenter.org

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 21d

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

Political Donors Should Not Be Above the Law

The line between public service and private gain continues to blur as financial elites secure pardons and regulatory leniency following campaign contributions.

www.brennancenter.org

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daniel a. smith @electionsmith.bsky.social · 21d

"Assisting the vote? Disability as a cost of voting" is now out at Electoral Studies www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Assisting the vote? Disability as a cost of voting

Tens of millions of voting-eligible Americans live with disabilities, many of whom need a form of assistance when casting ballots. Drawing on publicly…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 21d

Corruption scandals have occurred in past administrations, but the scale and brazenness of pardons and other favorable legal treatment under the second Trump administration stands out.
bit.ly/3Ic6tHo

Political Donors Should Not Be Above the Law

The line between public service and private gain continues to blur as financial elites secure pardons and regulatory leniency following campaign contributions.

www.brennancenter.org

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DBdant @dbdant.bsky.social · 22d

Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily put on hold proposed new social studies standards for K-12 public school students that include conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Oklahoma court stops social studies standards with 2020 election misinformation from taking effect

The Oklahoma Supreme Court is putting on hold proposed new social studies standards for K-12 public school students that include conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

apnews.com

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · 22d

The cruel stupidity continues…

NPR @npr.org · 22d

RFK Jr.'s hand-picked panel of vaccine advisors is expected to vote to delay the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Doctors warn that could fuel a return of a disease virtually eradicated in U.S. kids.

Kennedy's vaccine panel expected to recommend delaying hepatitis B shot in children

RFK Jr.'s hand-picked panel of vaccine advisors is expected to vote to delay the hepatitis B shot for newborns. Doctors warn that could fuel a return of a disease virtually eradicated in U.S. kids.

n.pr

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · Sep 5

Is this the henhouse being guarded by the fox, or more like the person who loudly denies that chickens exist? www.votebeat.org/arizona/2025...

Activist who questioned some 2020 results now leads election integrity at DHS

Heather Honey is listed as a deputy assistant secretary at the department.

www.votebeat.org

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Ian Vandewalker @ianvan.bsky.social · Sep 5

A modest proposal...

Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · Sep 4

Florida Decided There Were Too Many Children

The state’s elimination of vaccine mandates is a courageous first step toward decluttering itself of any excess kids.

www.theatlantic.com

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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · Sep 4

For today's bonus "One First," I wrote about the increasingly noisy claim that legal constraints don't really matter in the current moment—why it's utterly belied by what's actually happening on the ground (and by what law can actually *do*); and why, in many respects, it's affirmatively dangerous:

Bonus 176: Law, Lawlessness, and Doomerism

Law is not—and never will be—a perfect constraint on government action. But claims that legal limits have become wholly irrelevant to the current administration are not just wrong; they're dangerous.

www.stevevladeck.com

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ProPublica @propublica.org · Sep 4

“My concern is that there is going to be a large outbreak of not just measles, but other vaccine-preventable diseases as well, that’s going to end up causing a lot of harm, and possibly deaths in children,” said Dr. Anna Durbin of @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social.

(Published April 2025)

“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline

While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak, experts warn that whooping cough and other preventable diseases could get much worse with falling vaccination rates and Trump’s ...

www.propublica.org

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Jason "Red5" Lyall @jaylyall.bsky.social · Sep 4

Nine grafs deep into the article and we find out:

"Pentagon officials were still working Wednesday on what legal authority they would tell the public was used to back up the extraordinary strike in international waters."

Trump Administration Says Boat Strike Is Start of Campaign Against Venezuelan Cartels

www.nytimes.com

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Michael Piccorossi @michaelooch.bsky.social · Sep 4

New @kff.org / @washingtonpost.com poll shows most parents nationally and in Florida – including MAGA Republicans – want schools to require vaccines bit.ly/3VBVNVi

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