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jacob biba

@jacobbiba.bsky.social

700 followers 310 following 470 posts

helene recovery reporter at asheville citizen times [email protected] [email protected] https://jacobbiba.tumblr.com

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jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · Apr 3

“People like to start fires,” said Robert Scheller, a professor at North Carolina State University’s department of forestry and environmental resources. “We’re really good at that.”

www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

No stranger to wildfires, a Helene-ravaged WNC now faces a complicated future battling them

“People like to start fires,” said Robert Scheller, a forestry and environmental resources professor at N.C. State. “We’re really good at that.”

www.citizen-times.com

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The News & Observer @newsobserver.com · 16h

A 2023 records request to get the Durham County Jail policy manual has spurred a years-long legal dispute.

NC nonprofit still pushing for Durham County sheriff to release jail policies

A 2023 records request to get the Durham County Jail policy manual has spurred a years-long legal dispute.

bit.ly

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Reposted by jacob biba

Drew Magary @drewmagary.bsky.social · 6h

Holy shit this thread bsky.app/profile/olli...

Ollie Connolly @ollieconnolly.bsky.social · 7h

Per sources: Bill Belichick has discussed buyout options with North Carolina’s hierarchy. Belichick has signaled a willingness to trigger his own $1 million buyout if he can find a soft landing with another team or in media

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Seth Stern @sethstern.bsky.social · 1d

A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said, Megan Crepeau and @benjaminpenn.bsky.social report

news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Two Chicago-Area ICE Protesters

A federal grand jury declined to indict two people charged with assaulting law enforcement agents outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility, an attorney for one of the defendants said.

news.bloomberglaw.com

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Blue Ridge Public Radio @blueridgepublic.bsky.social · 1d

Read more: www.bpr.org/education/20...

Are the kids alright? Mental health problems spike for students post-Helene

A year after Helene, students are wrestling with heightened mental health challenges, from anxiety and depression to an uptick in sleep issues and “externalizing behaviors” like aggression and substan...

www.bpr.org

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Blue Ridge Public Radio @blueridgepublic.bsky.social · 1d

A year after Helene, students and teachers across Western North Carolina are wrestling with heightened mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression, sleep issues, aggression and substance use.

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 1d

A new draft Trump memo argues that furloughed federal workers aren't guaranteed compensation for their forced time off during the government shutdown.

Those who represent federal workers or advocate on their behalf say the White House is misreading the clear intent of the law.

Scoop: White House memo says furloughed federal workers aren't entitled to backpay

A move to deny backpay to up to 750,000 furloughed workers would dramatically escalate Trump's pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown.

www.axios.com

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The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 2d

Shutdown Politics Has G.O.P. Singing Government’s Praises

As Republicans try to pin blame for shutdown damage on Democrats, they are hailing a federal bureaucracy they normally bash as wasteful and overreaching. Via Carl Hulse of NYT Politics:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

Shutdown Politics Has G.O.P. Singing Government’s Praises

www.nytimes.com

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jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 2d

!!!
www.nytimes.com/1979/07/12/a...

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jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 2d

Seems like a job for Julian zelizer

jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 2d

wlos.com/news/local/n...

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Sydney Haulenbeek @shaulenbeek.bsky.social · 2d

A Wake Forest athletic trainer has sued NC Rep. Pat Harrigan after he made posts that she was fired over her comments on Charlie Kirk. She was not terminated, and claims that he exposed her to "ridicule, hatred, contempt, and safety threats."

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Colin Campbell @raleighreporter.bsky.social · 2d

Crazy NC growth numbers here:
-Raleigh has now passed 500,000 residents
-Cary has way more people than Wilmington or Asheville
-Wendell's population grew by 73% in just four years
-Apex has more people than Chapel Hill

www.osbm.nc.gov/blog/2025/10...

Raleigh surpassed 500,000 people in 2024

Latest population estimates show rapid population growth in Triangle municipalities continues

www.osbm.nc.gov

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jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 2d

www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 2d

That and most craft beer tastes like garbage

jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 3d

2016

jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 3d

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/b...

Craft Breweries Struggle as Sales and Appetites Wane

www.nytimes.com

jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 3d

“E.R. staff are under mounting pressure to discharge patients as fast as they can: Cynics among them call their job ‘moving the meat.’”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/w...

It’s Just a Virus, the E.R. Told Him. Days Later, He Was Dead.

www.nytimes.com

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Elon Green @elongreen.bsky.social · 4d

🚨 @rachelmonroe.bsky.social 🚨

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 5d

New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, has allocated $20 million to build reproductive-health clinics. “I want more primary-care access for women and their families,” she said.

How New Mexico Became a Sanctuary State for Health Care

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the number of abortion clinics there has doubled. With strong protections for gender-affirming treatment, and now universal child care, the state is betting on a prog...

www.newyorker.com

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Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 6d

If you want to understand open adoption, it makes sense to start with birth parents—yet studies of them are few. 2+ yrs ago, I began talking w/ birth mothers to try to understand what living in an open adoption is like for them, and what rights or options they might have if challenges were to arise.

When Adoption Promises Are Broken

Many birth mothers hope to maintain contact with their child. But their agreements with adoptive parents can be fragile.

www.theatlantic.com

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Blue Ridge Public Radio @blueridgepublic.bsky.social · 5d

Haywood County offered more services in Spanish for its Latino community during Helene than it had in past emergencies. The community’s experience demonstrates the challenges counties have in meeting the needs of all their constituents.

www.bpr.org/helene-recov...

‘Try harder.’ How one WNC county improved Spanish outreach during natural disasters

Haywood County offered many more services in Spanish for its Latino community during Helene than it had in past emergencies. The community’s experience demonstrates the challenges counties have in mee...

www.bpr.org

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 5d

CHOTINER: Until what time?
RICHIE: Nearly 4 in the morning! It was absolutely wild and
CHOTINER: So not actually all night long.
RICHIE: Look, uh, artists take liberties. This is — can we stop for a sec

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 5d

In a new interview, Lionel Richie discusses the lessons he learned from talking to artists like Tina Turner and Marvin Gaye. “Don’t say much. Just listen. And they’ll teach you the whole navigation of this crazy world we’re living in,” he said.

How Lionel Richie Mastered the Love Song

The artist discusses touring with Tina Turner, what he learned from Marvin Gaye, and the “most important note” to hit—in music and in life.

www.newyorker.com

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jacob biba @jacobbiba.bsky.social · 6d

“Losing objective evidence required for sound program design and accountability, undermines our ability to make data-driven decisions and respond to changes in community need.”

www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

Termination of USDA survey will make addressing hunger more difficult, NC health dept. says

The now-terminated USDA hunger survey was how the state determined it had one of the highest rates of senior food insecurity in the nation.