Rebecca McCray
@rebeccakmccray.bsky.social
reporting/writing/engaging
https://www.rebeccakmccray.com/
Previously: audience engagement
@themarshallproject.org via
@djnf.bsky.social
https://www.rebeccakmccray.com/
Previously: audience engagement
@themarshallproject.org via
@djnf.bsky.social
Pinned
The Problem With Screening the Mail in Prisons
New York’s controversy over scanning mail in prisons reflects a national debate involving security and privacy.
www.themarshallproject.org
The NY prison system started scanning legal mail for contraband after the COs strike. The new process has been far from seamless, echoing a national controversy over scanning & screening prison mail. I wrote about it w/ Jamiles Lartey for @themarshallproject.org
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
After Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on federal death row last year, the Trump administration is retaliating by sending them to the supermax. Prisoners are locked in cells smaller than a parking space 22-24 hours a day.
One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive.
My latest:
One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive.
My latest:
Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Brace for "Living Hell" Under Trump - Bolts
Trump officials are retaliating by imposing the harshest conditions in the entire federal prison system, including near total isolation.
boltsmag.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:36 PM
After Biden commuted the sentences of 37 men on federal death row last year, the Trump administration is retaliating by sending them to the supermax. Prisoners are locked in cells smaller than a parking space 22-24 hours a day.
One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive.
My latest:
One prisoner told me he fears he won't make it out alive.
My latest:
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"It seems like a marvel of financial engineering: Meta is building a $27 billion data center in Louisiana, financed with debt, and neither the data center nor the debt will be on its own balance sheet."
AI Meets Aggressive Accounting at Meta’s Gigantic New Data Center
Favorable treatment off the balance sheet hinges on some convenient assumptions.
www.wsj.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
"It seems like a marvel of financial engineering: Meta is building a $27 billion data center in Louisiana, financed with debt, and neither the data center nor the debt will be on its own balance sheet."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"Students are afraid to fail, and AI presents itself as a savior. But what we learn from history is that progress requires failure. It requires reflection. Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
Beautifully written & reasoned 3 min read. “To my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”
Commentary from a cool prof in 🧵
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
Commentary from a cool prof in 🧵
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:29 PM
"Students are afraid to fail, and AI presents itself as a savior. But what we learn from history is that progress requires failure. It requires reflection. Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
NEW: The exodus of corrections officers from federal prisons to ICE comes amid shortages of critical supplies, from food to personal hygiene items, for both staff and inmates.
It threatens to make the already grim conditions in these prisons even worse.
It threatens to make the already grim conditions in these prisons even worse.
As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Leave in Droves for ICE
Many of the problems the agency is facing now are not new, but staff and prisoners fear an exodus of officers could make life behind bars even worse.
www.propublica.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: The exodus of corrections officers from federal prisons to ICE comes amid shortages of critical supplies, from food to personal hygiene items, for both staff and inmates.
It threatens to make the already grim conditions in these prisons even worse.
It threatens to make the already grim conditions in these prisons even worse.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
I wrote about the man Florida plans to kill tonight and how the death penalty impacts people in ways we might never imagine.
At 17, She Gave Up Her Son. Sixty Years Later, She Found Him on Death Row.
Richard Randolph, now Malik Abdul-Sajjad, is scheduled to die tonight. His biological mother will never get a chance to meet him.
theintercept.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I wrote about the man Florida plans to kill tonight and how the death penalty impacts people in ways we might never imagine.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
The "men would rather do X than go to therapy" meme but for America not just reducing its use of fossil fuels
November 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
The "men would rather do X than go to therapy" meme but for America not just reducing its use of fossil fuels
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
For my newsletter, I wrote about Olivia Nuzzi and the older men who have taken advantage of her her whole life. www.burnsnotice.com/olivia-nuzzi...
Olivia Nuzzi is an Embarrassment to Journalism
She seamlessly landed a plum role at Vanity Fair and got a sweetheart book deal after breaking a fundamental journalistic ethics rule.
When my co-host Christine Grimaldi and I recorded our October 20...
www.burnsnotice.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
For my newsletter, I wrote about Olivia Nuzzi and the older men who have taken advantage of her her whole life. www.burnsnotice.com/olivia-nuzzi...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
EXCLUSIVE: A forced detransition policy had disastrous effects in one Georgia prison, according to the manager of the medical unit there.
The policy is on hold due to a court order requiring prisons to re-start hormone treatments for incarcerated people in GA.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
The policy is on hold due to a court order requiring prisons to re-start hormone treatments for incarcerated people in GA.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
EXCLUSIVE: Forced Detransitions ‘Nearly Toppled’ Medical Unit in Georgia Prison During Care Ban — Assigned
In the midst of a lawsuit, a Georgia prison resumes gender affirming care for trans inmates.
www.assignedmedia.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:57 AM
EXCLUSIVE: A forced detransition policy had disastrous effects in one Georgia prison, according to the manager of the medical unit there.
The policy is on hold due to a court order requiring prisons to re-start hormone treatments for incarcerated people in GA.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
The policy is on hold due to a court order requiring prisons to re-start hormone treatments for incarcerated people in GA.
www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
The NYC Department of Investigation has put out an open call for information about how the NYPD responds to protests and is using an online portal to gather more from people who have their own accounts of the incidents.
DOI seeking public’s assistance with reviewing how the NYPD polices protests
The NYC Department of Investigation has put out an open call for information about how the NYPD responds to protests.
amsterdamnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:11 PM
The NYC Department of Investigation has put out an open call for information about how the NYPD responds to protests and is using an online portal to gather more from people who have their own accounts of the incidents.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
Trump's Chicago deportation blitz has hinged on aggressive and forceful policing tactics: Shootings, takedowns, chokeholds, car chases, chemical munitions, etc.
To get a better sense of the scope and the impact, we mapped incidents, spoke to those affected and analyzed policy.
tinyurl.com/3nrkaw55
To get a better sense of the scope and the impact, we mapped incidents, spoke to those affected and analyzed policy.
tinyurl.com/3nrkaw55
Tear gas, car crashes, rubber bullets: Risky tactics have driven Trump’s Chicago deportation ‘blitz’
Law enforcement experts say federal agents have displayed a lack of training and restraint. “They’re out of control,” ex-police Supt. Garry McCarthy says.
tinyurl.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Trump's Chicago deportation blitz has hinged on aggressive and forceful policing tactics: Shootings, takedowns, chokeholds, car chases, chemical munitions, etc.
To get a better sense of the scope and the impact, we mapped incidents, spoke to those affected and analyzed policy.
tinyurl.com/3nrkaw55
To get a better sense of the scope and the impact, we mapped incidents, spoke to those affected and analyzed policy.
tinyurl.com/3nrkaw55
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
BREAKING: Tremane Wood, who was moments away from being executed for a killing his brother admitted to committing, received a last minute clemency grant from Gov. Kevin Stitt www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...
Tremane Wood Spared From Execution In Shocking Decision
His case marks only the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death sentence since entering office in 2019.
www.huffpost.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
BREAKING: Tremane Wood, who was moments away from being executed for a killing his brother admitted to committing, received a last minute clemency grant from Gov. Kevin Stitt www.huffpost.com/entry/treman...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
The dual strikes on Sunday bring the total number of known attacks up to 19 and the death toll to at least 75 people since the Trump administration launched a campaign against drug trafficking in South American waters. https://to.pbs.org/43o3x1F
U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats kill 6 in the eastern Pacific
The dual strikes on Sunday bring the total number of known attacks up to 19 and the death toll to at least 75 people since the Trump administration launched a campaign against drug trafficking in Sout...
www.pbs.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:32 PM
The dual strikes on Sunday bring the total number of known attacks up to 19 and the death toll to at least 75 people since the Trump administration launched a campaign against drug trafficking in South American waters. https://to.pbs.org/43o3x1F
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
Gael Gomez and his family are all but certain to leave the country this week, upending the lives they’ve built in D.C.
But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:
But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:
Mount Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer might have to leave his home
But Gael Gomez wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
51st.news
November 4, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Gael Gomez and his family are all but certain to leave the country this week, upending the lives they’ve built in D.C.
But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:
But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:
“If I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die protecting my people,” said Jorge, a former day laborer. “I’ve got blood family, but these are my people, too. These are my neighbors.” h/t @hammerandhope.bsky.social
Immigration Raids at This Home Depot Got More Aggressive but Less Effective. The LA Tenants Union Knows Why.
The union’s daily presence tries to give the city’s most vulnerable immigrant workers a measure of safety and gum up Trump’s deportation machine.
hammerandhope.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:22 PM
“If I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die protecting my people,” said Jorge, a former day laborer. “I’ve got blood family, but these are my people, too. These are my neighbors.” h/t @hammerandhope.bsky.social
"We’re not getting enough affordable housing and all the infrastructure [Julie Won] negotiated, we needed that infrastructure anyway. Why is needed public infrastructure contingent upon massive market-rate rezonings?" asked Jenny Dubnau of the Western Queens Community Land Trust.
Council Clears Queens for New Housing and Gives Bronx Armory Another Go
In closely watched rezonings pressed by Mayor Adams, Council members secure local gains — and say it makes the case for them to keep power.
www.thecity.nyc
October 31, 2025 at 1:27 PM
"We’re not getting enough affordable housing and all the infrastructure [Julie Won] negotiated, we needed that infrastructure anyway. Why is needed public infrastructure contingent upon massive market-rate rezonings?" asked Jenny Dubnau of the Western Queens Community Land Trust.
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"If everyone has to cobble together their own constellation of individual creators $5 at a time? That’s not a media ecosystem. It’s a privatized patchwork of tip jars. Counting on people who pay you directly isn’t the same as not having a boss. You have 100 and can’t afford to piss off any of them."
Patron-Supported Journalism Can’t Be the Future of News
Writing about the failure of patron-supported journalism is itself a kind of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 27, 2025 at 7:59 PM
"If everyone has to cobble together their own constellation of individual creators $5 at a time? That’s not a media ecosystem. It’s a privatized patchwork of tip jars. Counting on people who pay you directly isn’t the same as not having a boss. You have 100 and can’t afford to piss off any of them."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
In a given week, OpenAI estimated that around .07 percent of active ChatGPT users show “possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania” and .15 percent “have conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”
Here's How Many People May Use ChatGPT During a Mental Health Crisis Each Week
OpenAI released initial estimates about the share of users who may be experiencing symptoms like delusional thinking, mania, or suicidal ideation, and says it has tweaked GPT-5 to respond more effecti...
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:08 PM
In a given week, OpenAI estimated that around .07 percent of active ChatGPT users show “possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania” and .15 percent “have conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH"
well that clears everything up phew
well that clears everything up phew
New: The Pentagon confirms to CNN it will funnel $130M from an anonymous Trump “friend” toward military pay.
Asked about the donor’s identity and any foreign or domestic entanglements, the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...
Asked about the donor’s identity and any foreign or domestic entanglements, the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH
www.cnn.com/2025/10/24/p...
Pentagon to use $130 million donation from anonymous Trump ‘friend’ to pay military members | CNN Politics
The Trump administration plans to funnel a $130 million donation from an anonymous ally of President Donald Trump toward paying military service members during the government shutdown, the Defense Dep...
www.cnn.com
October 25, 2025 at 12:53 AM
"the WH referred questions to DoD. DoD then referred questions back to the WH"
well that clears everything up phew
well that clears everything up phew
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
Federal agents are staging a massive operation downtown near Canal street. Show of force with reportedly dozens of agents from agencies including ICE, FBI, IRS, DEA, etx
October 21, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Federal agents are staging a massive operation downtown near Canal street. Show of force with reportedly dozens of agents from agencies including ICE, FBI, IRS, DEA, etx
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
"When Microsoft opened a data center in central Mexico last year, nearby residents said power cuts became more frequent. Water outages, which once lasted days, stretched for weeks. The shortages led to school cancellations and the spread of stomach bugs in the town of Las Cenizas..."
From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 11:05 AM
"When Microsoft opened a data center in central Mexico last year, nearby residents said power cuts became more frequent. Water outages, which once lasted days, stretched for weeks. The shortages led to school cancellations and the spread of stomach bugs in the town of Las Cenizas..."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
“.. They are the asylum seekers, the rule followers. They go into the federal building holding papers .. hoping for a measure of due process. Some leave the courthouse with a hearing date set months or years from now. Others disappear into ICE’s prison system.”
@nymag.com
nymag.com/intelligence...
@nymag.com
nymag.com/intelligence...
October 20, 2025 at 6:07 PM
“.. They are the asylum seekers, the rule followers. They go into the federal building holding papers .. hoping for a measure of due process. Some leave the courthouse with a hearing date set months or years from now. Others disappear into ICE’s prison system.”
@nymag.com
nymag.com/intelligence...
@nymag.com
nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
NEW: New York Focus reporters have had their public records requests take as long as 1,266 days — and counting.
Despite promising greater transparency, Hochul vetoed a bill to speed up New York's notoriously slow public records process.
Despite promising greater transparency, Hochul vetoed a bill to speed up New York's notoriously slow public records process.
Hochul Promised Faster Public Records. She Just Vetoed The Fix.
Governor Hochul vetoed a measure to speed up New York's public records process, which is among the slowest in the nation. We asked our reporters about…
nysfocus.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:15 PM
NEW: New York Focus reporters have had their public records requests take as long as 1,266 days — and counting.
Despite promising greater transparency, Hochul vetoed a bill to speed up New York's notoriously slow public records process.
Despite promising greater transparency, Hochul vetoed a bill to speed up New York's notoriously slow public records process.
"Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer. That includes four who were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened."
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 6:37 PM
"Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer. That includes four who were held for weeks with their undocumented mother and without access to the family’s attorney until a congresswoman intervened."
Reposted by Rebecca McCray
Here’s the story a Latina US citizen told me about being surrounded by masked agents who demanded her papers and, when they got them, told her she “doesn’t look like” a Greeley. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/13/i...
ICE tickets Chicago man with legal residency $130 for not having his papers on him: ‘It’s not fair…I’m a resident’
Under federal law, registered foreign nationals must carry proof of registration with them at all times. But prior to a second Trump administration, it was rarely enforced.
www.chicagotribune.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Here’s the story a Latina US citizen told me about being surrounded by masked agents who demanded her papers and, when they got them, told her she “doesn’t look like” a Greeley. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/13/i...