Jonathan Weisman

Bipartisan group launches latest effort to remove partisanship from how Illinois legislative boundaries are drawn For the third time since 2014, a bipartisan group wants to amend the Illinois Constitution to affect how state legislative boundaries are drawn.

Just in time for Trump's efforts to gerrymander every single Republican state, here comes bipartisanship in Illinois. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/30/i...

A Scion of Democratic Politics Defeats the Upstarts in an Arizona Primary

"Mamdani momentum withered in the deserts of southern Arizona on Tuesday night." Jack Healy on Adelita Grijalva's convincing win in Tucson against the upstarts who called for a new face and name to succeed Raul Grijalva in the House. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/u...

Update from Ernesto Londoño

Watch this story line. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said a National Weather Service advisory issued Thursday “did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.” Officials and residents have said they were caught off guard. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07...

After Mamdani Mania, the Next Democratic Test Comes to Tucson

Tiring in Tucson of voting for Grijalvas. Jack Healy looks at the race to succeed the deceased Raul as the next test for Democrats. Elect his daughter? Move to the center to appeal to Hispanic men? Go full Mamdani with Deja Foxx, the Gen Z influencer? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/u...

Planned Parenthood at Risk of Losing Millions in Federal Funding

An element of the Big Beautiful Bill: a soft abortion ban for blue states. The bill could force Planned Parenthood to halt abortions nationally by cutting off funding for all other women's health services, impacting low-income women. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/u... www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/u...

By all means, look at this story and be angry at ... the New York Times.

Remarkable.

An enjoyable paragraph from Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper in the NYT.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/26/u...

And so it begins, from freshman Rep. Lauren Gillen in the Long Island suburbs: “Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City. His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs."

A Plan to Sell Federal Land Near This Colorado Town Looks Dead. Here’s Why.

Sen. Mike Lee's proposed federal land sale looks just about dead in reconciliation. Jack Healy went to Summit County, Colo., to show why, and just how hard it would have been to actually build the affordable housing Lee said he wanted if the sales had gone forward. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/u...

Former Astronaut Launches Texas Senate Run by Hitting Both Parties

Terry Virts might be a longshot in the campaign to unseat John Cornyn in Texas, but the astronaut's launch video shows two things: Democratic outsiders are hungry to take on Trump, and they're going to do it by attacking both parties. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/u...

Also proof that only Bluesky users think those columns are very influential, ergo we'd better expend a lot of energy on them.

There's a misconception that all the federal land that the reconciliation bill would put on the block is remote. Look at Colorado. Many cherish the green space, but the land between Colorado Springs and Denver is not remote and could alleviate housing shortages. www.arcgis.com/apps/mapview...

There's a misconception that all the federal land that the reconciliation bill would put on the block is remote. Look at Colorado. Many cherish the green space, but the land between Colorado Springs and Denver is not remote and could alleviate housing shortages. www.arcgis.com/apps/mapview...

Here we go again: It is a failure of journalism to do X, which we all remember and don't actually need to be walked through again. Why do people on Bluesky insist consumers of journalism are THIS stupid?

From CBO, re: Trump budget biil: Households would see an increase in the resources available to them. In general, resources would decrease for households twd bottom of the income distribution. Resources would increase for households in the middle and top. www.cbo.gov/system/files...

White House Pushes Texas to Redistrict, Hoping to Blunt Democratic Gains

SCOOP: Trump's political operation is pressing Texas Republicans to redraw House lines in the state, hoping to pick up 2-3 seats in the midterms and blunt Democratic gains. Some Texas Republicans worry it could backfire in a wave year. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/u...

O Canada was so lound in Edmonton you could hear it from outside the arena. www.instagram.com/reel/DKhfrBC...

Texas’ Migrant Tuition Break Blocked After Texas Joins D.O.J. to Kill It

For more than 20 years, with bipartisan support, Texas offered its undocumented students in-state tuition to its universities. On Wednesday, the Justice Department sued to stop it, the Texas attorney general agreed and a federal judge overturned the law. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/u...

Amazed how badly I want the Canadians to beat the Sunrise Panthers. Go Oilers!

‘Carol,’ Whose Detention Rattled Her Small Missouri Town, Is Released

‘Carol,’ whose detention brought the reality of Trump's immigration crackdown to the Trump-loving small town of Kennett, Mo., has won her release. But her fight to stay in the United States is far from over. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/u...

So no cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, yet the largest "mandatory" spending cuts ever. Hmmm.

A Missouri Town Was Solidly Behind Trump. Then Carol Was Detained.

"This is Carol!" 80% of Dunklin County in Missouri's boot heel voted for Trump, but after a beloved mother of 3 in Kennett, Mo., was detained for deportation, a community finds itself asking, are we for Trump or are we for Carol? www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...

Trump’s Attacks Have Helped Heal a Deeply Divided Harvard

“We will not allow our identities to be invoked to undermine institutions of higher education,” Jacob Miller, a Jewish student and frequent Harvard critic, said. Yet we've had utter silence from major U.S. Jewish organizations, on happenings both at home and abroad. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...

Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner

"A judge had justified the incarceration by declaring that there 'is not a get-out-of-jail-free card' for the rich." Well, actually ... www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...

Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mother Attended $1 Million Dinner

File under "I can't even." @kenvogel.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...

Native Tribes to Sue U.S. Over Abuse and Deaths at Boarding Schools

Two Native tribes will file what they called the first major lawsuit against the U.S. government’s notorious system of Indian boarding schools, which for decades splintered families and stripped Indigenous children of their language and culture. Jack Healy. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...

Judge Dismisses ‘Trespassing’ Charges Promoted by Trump in Border ‘Defense Area’

Another 'oops’ for Trump. The administration created a narrow strip of 'military' land along the border so migrants could be charged with trespassing. A judge in New Mexico is dismissing the charges, saying migrants could not know they were in a 'defense area.' www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/u...

The Pentagon’s Culture Wars Strike West Point

Are there 2 sentences that better sum up the moment? The professor said she knew her resignation was unlikely to make a difference at West Point. “I could set myself on fire in the middle of the parade grounds and it would be forgotten about tomorrow,” she recalled. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/u...