Stephanie Leavitt

Can Mamdani Deliver? “Yes! It’s an Unqualified Yes!” Dean Fuleihan, Mamdani’s incoming first deputy mayor, speaks exclusively about how the mayor-elect will make his agenda a reality.

Dean Fuleihan has 47 years of experience as an budget expert and counselor to mayors, governors.

Asked if his decision to serve as NYC’s 1st Deputy Mayor signals a belief that Mamdani’s policy goals can be achieved, Fuleihan told The Nation:

“Yes, the answer is ‘yes.’ It’s an unqualified ‘yes!’”

Experts Say Blue States Can Stop Paying Federal Taxes. There’s Precedent If we could use nullification for people to get high, why can’t we use it to protect human rights and stop fascism?

Soft secession

Legislation creates a Federal Tax Escrow Account in the state treasury. Instead of employers forwarding collected federal taxes to Washington, they send them to the state. The state holds the money in escrow. A legislative panel reviews federal spending for constitutional compliance.

Because the dollar has sunk so much, US stocks have not risen in real value by international standards

Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches

Fascinating. So Congress knows how to write a bill allowing people to sue federal officers?! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...

Supreme Court to Decide if States Can Count Late-Arriving Mail Ballots The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots, a target of President Donald Trump.

NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over whether states can count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day.

The RNC and the Libertarian Party are challenging a Mississippi law that allows ballots to be counted so long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.

Mark Wolf, appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan, writes that he is resigning as a judge to have the freedom to speak out against the president’s assault on the rule of law.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

if you are food insecure for both the humans and pets in your household there is a tool called Pet Help Finder that can help locate pet food banks nearby and other free or reduced price assistance and supplies for pets.
no one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, should have to give up their pet bc of this.

Trump's tariffs are hurting us in two ways:

First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.

Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.

WOLFERS: “.. I can’t tell you why the president lies, but I can tell you that everything he has said about prices being lower is a lie. .. I’m starting to think that he doesn’t actually care about the cost of living.”

@justinwolfers.bsky.social @svdate.bsky.social
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from using furloughed employees’ email accounts to broadcast partisan messages about the shutdown.

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

a penguin wearing a pirate hat holds a map ALT: a penguin wearing a pirate hat holds a map

Scavenger hunt, gov’t-edition—

If you visit a USG facility (base exchange, gift shop), please check if they’re selling any Trump merchandise.

Yes/no reports both useful. Photos that show proof of location a huge plus.

DMs open. Also z_everson@protonmail.com or 202.804.2744 (Signal/mobile).

6/

It's a sad #JobsDay

At 8:30 am ET, BLS was scheduled to deliver one of the most-important signals abt how economy is changing.

Prior government shutdowns never prevented a month's household data collection. This one has.
#EconSky #NumbersDay #JobsDay

(Forbes) - The Trump Organization’s second-term push to monetize Donald Trump’s presidency has reached the aisles of military exchanges, as Coast Guard-run stores .. have stocked Trump-branded wine and cider. 🤡

@zacheverson.com
www.forbes.com/sites/zachev...

CNN: "A brand new report is out showing layoff announcements hit their highest level for October in over 20 years. It's painting a picture of a job market that is really hurting. US-based employers announced 150,074 job cuts in October, more than any October since 2003."

We’re hiring!

Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda.

Could that be you? Apply using the link below.
transition2025.com/apply

(Bloomberg) - US companies announced the most job cuts for any October in more than two decades as artificial intelligence reshapes industries and cost-cutting accelerates ..

@bloomberg.com #Challenger
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Page One.

@theguardian.com #ICE

He’s Been Charged With Dozens of Crimes. Nobody Knows His Name.

This is an astonishing story. 🎁🔗

findhelp.org by findhelp - Search and Connect to Social Care Search and connect to support. Find financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost help in your area, anywhere in the US.

This is a great resource in precarious times.

Tried it for my city and it pulled up all the things I know about + more I didn’t. It finds food pantries, but also stuff like legal help and housing assistance.

For those of us more fortunate, great way to find volunteer and donation opportunities.

Labor activist takes on Teamsters leader allying with Trump: ‘He doesn’t represent the workers’ Richard Hooker Jr is running to replace Trump ally Sean O’Brien as president of the Teamsters International union

I spoke with Richard Hooker Jr., who leads Teamsters Local 623 in Philly, about his run against Sean O'Brien for President of the Teamsters

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Kennedy Center ticket sales have plummeted since Trump takeover Nearly nine months into Trump’s oversight, sales for the three largest performance venues are the worst they’ve been since the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis.

Kennedy Center ticket sales have plummeted since Trump’s takeover

Nearly nine months into Trump’s oversight, sales for orchestra, theater and dance performances are the worst they’ve been since the pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis.

“.. for those of us who, in our younger years, revered America as a shining city upon a hill, .. this is quite a painful period.

“..’America has lost its moral bearings; as a result, it has also lost its moral standing in the world.”

@peter-wehner.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

JPMorgan flagged $1B in ‘suspicious’ Epstein-linked deals to Trump administration Over 4,700 transactions, including wire transfers to Russian banks raised red flags in 2019, new documents reveal

When JPMorgan alerted the Trump administration to the existence of $1 billion in funds Epstein held which were clearly connected to child trafficking, Trump responded by suppressing the information. Why?

This change in mail service needs to be shared widely. USPS will stop evening mail pickups from post offices more than 50 miles from a regional processing facility & will be postmarked/delivered at least 1 day later than before. Voters mailing a ballot close to the election could be disenfranchised.

“.. A top US military official has ordered the national guards of all 50 US states .. to form ‘quick reaction forces’ trained in ‘riot control’, including use of batons, body shields, Tasers and pepper spray, according to an internal Pentagon directive ..”

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Screenshot of a one-pager of text under the heading "Casey Means Deserves a Surgeon General WARNING" with a logo from the group Advancing American Freedom Foundation.

The Case Against Casey: Former Vice President Mike Pence's organization has put out a one-pager giving reasons Trump's surgeon general nominee (whose confirmation hearing is tomorrow) is "fundamentally unqualified" for the job.

Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva has now been waiting 36 days to be sworn in to office — setting a new record that any member of Congress has had to wait following a special election.

Zohran Mamdani's proposals for NYC build off city's progressive foundation: Experts While some critics decry Zohran Mamdani's vision for New York City as far-fetched, experts noted that they build off progressive foundations laid by past policies.

"Mamdani's proposals, such as freezing the rent for some New York tenants, free buses and free child care, are not only feasible but also build off the foundations of previous New York City laws, political analysts told ABC News."

The Republican Plan to Reform the Census Could Put Everyone’s Privacy at Risk A little-known algorithmic process called “differential privacy” helps keep census data anonymous. Conservatives want it gone.

US census data is carefully anonymized for good reason. Now Republicans want to change that -- and their plan could put the data of every person living in the US at risk.

Important reporting from @telliotter.bsky.social