Natalie Compton

Any Americans flying into the U.S. from abroad today?

Has anyone tried using Mobile Passport or seen whether the lanes are still in use with Global Entry/TSA PreCheck shut down?

Turned in the badge today.

My colleagues and I will stay on the beat, but in a new way. The work continues.

Danlamothe.30

I’m a big fan of @nataliecompton.bsky.social, and she did a great job capturing the challenges and joys we have making our TV shows. Check out her @washingtonpost.com article at wapo.st/4oKkUTl — and join us behind the scenes as my crew and I film our London special, coming soon to public TV!

Follow @nataliecompton.bsky.social's advice and go to Slovenia — skip Lake Bled (touristy) and head to the Julian Alps, gorgeous, rustic, everything that Switzerland or Austria is but without the crowds.

📷 My trip in 2022

www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/...

Summer is coming for national parks. Will there be enough workers? Federal workers who were fired from national parks don’t know whether they’ll reclaim their jobs. In the meantime, travelers can shoulder more responsibility.

National Parks saw record visitor numbers in 2024 but recent federal layoffs — even if most are overturned by the courts — raise questions over preparedness for visitors this summer.

It gives a whole new meaning to Leave No Trace for visitors, writes @nataliecompton.bsky.social.

Hi Mary, I'm a reporter with the Washington Post trying to find a good email to reach you. Can you shoot me a DM?

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The last year has been death by a thousand private equity cuts for Southwest Airlines, ever since Elliott Investment Management bought a $1.9 billion stake in the company.

🔗 https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-southwest-airlines-gets-worse-with-end-of-free-bag-policy-21906895 

Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service Agency considers ending phone program that helps with claims processing and is used by millions of elderly and disabled Americans.

SCOOP: Social Security, facing pressure from DOGE, weighs big cuts to phone service. Agency considers ending phone program that helps with claims processing and is used by millions, by @hannah_natanson @FedGirlWaPo @lizzadwoskin @faizsays www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Last night in Yosemite National Park

DOGE targets child support database full of income data The U.S. DOGE Service’s attempt to access a federal database with sensitive information has provoked yet another internal disagreement.

New WaPo reporting:

DOGE staff have sought access to a database of nearly all US workers’ earnings kept by the health department’s child support office, setting off another disagreement with career staff over demands for legally protected records

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah | Substack On writing, fighting, and beauty. Click to read The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

Thank you to all who reached out about the situation at The Washington Post—I appreciate the support.

No matter what, I’m committed to speaking truth to power and helping us navigate these hard times.

Subscribe to my audio columns at The Karen Attiah Podcast.

open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...

What airports are on Bluesky? I've got @bwiairport.bsky.social and @flytucson.bsky.social so far.

Elon Musk, who has said the beneficiaries of federal spending are a "parasite class," runs businesses that have pocketed $38 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies, loans and contracts www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

Using my “personal liberties” to repost this

DOGE to cancel government contracts that help veterans, records show Records show among the 875 contracts were arrangements to help medical services, fund cancer programs, recruit doctors and provide burial services to veterans.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas A. Collins took to social media to tout sweeping cuts to contracts that he said would save the department nearly $2 billion.

But the 875 contracts on the chopping block help cover medical services, fund cancer programs and provide burial services to veterans.

Just a reminder that the opinion section is walled-off from the newsroom and is home to about a tenth of Post journalists. I have had so many conversations with folks who canceled their subs, urging them to reconsider and stressing that ownership doesn't interfere in newsroom. That's still true.

As a hard-news journalist at The Washington Post, there's no shortage of important news to cover. I will keep digging in.

As I've stated before:

Nothing changes. We ask hard questions and hold those in power to account. That's the job, whether those in power like it or not.

Tickets are up for Fyre Festival 2 in Mexico. We have questions. Eight years after the infamous, fraudulent Fyre Festival, organizer Billy McFarland has announced details for a sequel in Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Eight years, two documentaries and one prison sentence later, Fyre Festival promoter Billy McFarland is back. Here’s what we know about Fyre 2 at this point:

www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2025/...

Pentagon to fire 5,400 civilian employees in ‘initial’ purge The dismissals will begin next week, officials said, and could expand to include tens of thousands of other workers throughout the Defense Department.

Note: These firings will come this week. If you're affected or work with someone who is and want to share what you know, please reach out via DM or Signal at danlamothe.30.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

‘Seconds cost lives’: Don’t tune out flight attendants on your next trip Travelers may want to ignore them, but recent disasters show how flight attendants play the most critical role in an emergency.

“We’re trained to respond to medical emergencies, to fight fires, to respond to a decompression… major severe turbulence — all kinds of emergencies. That is really the reason that we’re there.”

Listen to cabin crew, it could save your life. @flyingwithsara.bsky.social @nataliecompton.bsky.social

Judge Orders Mississippi Newspaper to Remove Editorial, Alarming Press Advocates The owner of The Clarksdale Press Register said he planned to challenge a judge’s order against an editorial that criticized city officials.

Judge Orders Mississippi Newspaper to Remove Editorial, Alarming Press Advocates
The owner of The Clarksdale Press Register said he planned to challenge a judge’s order against an editorial that criticized city officials.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/u...

😦

Last night the National Symphony Orchestra played in our neighborhood rec center, organized by the Kennedy Center. It was wonderful — and I hope the program continues.

National Park Service to fire 1,000 employees — but rehire 5,000 seasonal workers The two decisions underscore the confusing — and at times contradictory — nature of the new administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.

"The Trump administration has directed agency heads to fire most trial and probationary staff across the federal government. Park Service leaders briefed park superintendents on the staffing moves during calls Thursday."

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

The Rich Tourists Who Want More, and More, and More Can anything satisfy the guests of "The White Lotus"?

For the ultrarich characters of “The White Lotus,” the casual exploitation of others is central to their pursuit of leisure, writes Hannah Giorgis:

“One staffer who lost her job worked in the department’s office of special education, helping students with disabilities. In an interview, she said she had moved across the country with her partner to take the position last summer, spending all her savings in the process.”

Texas Judge Fines New York Doctor and Orders Her to Stop Sending Abortion Pills to Texas (Gift Article) It is the first ruling in a case challenging “shield laws” intended to protect doctors in states that support abortion rights who send abortion pills to states with bans.

Where the U.S. abortion fight is going. Texas court sanctions NY doctor for sending pills across state lines, setting up a battle that probably goes to the Supreme Court.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/h...

Major airlines urge Trump administration to abandon passenger compensation review Major U.S. airlines on Tuesday asked the U.S. Transportation Department to abandon a review launched by the Biden administration over whether carriers should be required to pay passengers compensation over flight disruptions.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing American, Delta, United and others, is urging the Trump administration to drop the ongoing review over whether carriers should have to pay passengers cash for flight disruptions.

via @reuters.com:

www.reuters.com/business/aer...

An Unexpected Writer Shows Us One Way Out of Our Current Hellscape Wallop your norms!

Fabulous article about Rick Steves' new book. “Travelers learn that fear is for people who don’t get out much; that culture shock is the growing pains of that broadening perspective; that we’re all children of God—and by traveling, we get to know the family.” slate.com/culture/2025...