andrew van dam

The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and that more than 400,000 U.S. troops died fighting against in World War II, as a hate symbol, according to a new policy that takes effect next month.

Now that’s a lede.

Story by @taracopp.bsky.social and @michelleboorstein.bsky.social.

Read here: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

This project was fueled by RAGE

RAGE whenever I read or heard about (another) abuse of power by faculty

RAGE whenever I was asked to discuss a paper about gender wage differentials that attributed gaps to "preferences" with no consideration of how "preferences" are formed

The mysterious rise of cancer among young adults in the Corn Belt Communities across the Corn Belt are confronting a rise in cancers among young adults — and few clear explanations.

The great @dtkeating.bsky.social is retiring after 25+ years as a data reporter at the Post. He published his last story today, and true to form, it was a banger. With reporting from @arianaec.bsky.social, @lmelgar.bsky.social & Jahi Chikwendiu:
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

This should go double for posts I have already "liked"! It's pretty clear I've already seen those!

Some personal news: I'm now a visual reporter covering AI for the @washingtonpost.com tech team.

I'm a hacker/journalist with a comp sci background. Expect analysis, explainers and experiments on how AI really works and what it means for us. If that interests you, give me a follow/RT? 🙏

Few social media sites labeled fake videos as AI-generated After uploading the same Sora 2 video to each site, The Post checked whether its Content Credentials data was preserved and whether any label indicated use of AI.

Tech giants keep touting a system they built to label AI-generated content. But it only works if everyone uses it.

So I checked. They're not using it.

🎁 wapo.st/4qokjaC

if anyone has the standing to sue autocorrect makers, it's Alanis Moistest

Column | The cities where home prices have changed the most (and least) over the past 130 years Did your grandparents and great-grandparents really pay less for their homes than you did, even after inflation? The Department of Data might have the answer.

Thrilled to work with @andrewvandam.bsky.social on this piece!

wapo.st/46ZuESX

The lead story on The Washington Post today is about the No Kings rallies, and it’s already drawn 5,000-plus comments.

I was browsing the top replies, which come from all over the country but hit similar notes: the rallies were peaceful, unifying and focused on protecting democracy and rule of law.

Column | Why this one area of cities is usually the poorest The Department of Data went looking for geographic patterns in poverty, and stumbled upon a surprising culprit.

“Past pollution explains up to a fifth of the differences in neighborhood socioeconomic status.

Fascinating analysis from @andrewvandam.bsky.social on the geography of urban poverty.

Column | The real height at which a hill becomes a mountain, according to data We found a dataset that allows us to measure what separates a hill from a mountain, and maybe even see if it changes as you go west.

"If it looms less than 800 feet above than the lower points of interest nearby, it’s probably a hill. Anything taller than that gets to be a mountain. That is, until you get to 5,000 feet, when high places get to be peaks."

via @andrewvandam.bsky.social

Column | The real height at which a hill becomes a mountain, according to data We found a dataset that allows us to measure what separates a hill from a mountain, and maybe even see if it changes as you go west.

Ever wondered about "The real height at which a hill becomes a mountain?"
@andrewvandam.bsky.social from @washingtonpost.com gives an answer in a good read
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Last year a @merrillcollege.bsky.social grad student told me she wanted to build a news app about evictions in DC. Given the schedule and amount of work, it was an ambitious project.

Taylor Nichols not only did it but got it published by a DC news org!

streetsensedc.github.io/evictions-ap...

Most American Jews say Israel has committed war crimes

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

TSLA continues its gradual descent as a percent of EV registrations in NYS:

Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting. USAID antimalarial and HIV supplies valued at nearly $140 million were delayed in the first half of the year or not delivered at all due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid pause, The Post found...

Vital, devastating reporting from @megkelly.bsky.social @joyceshlee.bsky.social & co. on the human consequences of President Trump's suspension of foreign aid
wapo.st/46GSwcv

He "is not a big fan of cellphones" and tries to limit his sons' exposure to them, said a person who has worked closely with him. He usually puts his phone in a box when he gets home and rarely answers it after hours, according to two former officials who worked with him.

Sure. Cool. Wait, your job is what—you’re the acting head of FEMA?? wapo.st/46BGTDU Crazy exclusive from WaPo about the guy Lewandowski installed to run FEMA, who was reportedly unreachable during the deadly Texas flood in July (gift link)

Will I recently saw some derpy meme about "ruin a song by adding the word literally to the title" and this song was my first thought. Gotta go wreck some linguistic sticklers' lives by teaming up their two least favorite words

fred graph of gas prices showing they're not even at their lowest level this year.

that's such a goofy claim!! i can't see any contortion of the data that would justify it?

A scatterplot, including a line of best fit, showing that the average length of presidents' surnames went from between 7 and 8 characters between 1800 and 1930 to between 4 and 5 characters after 2000.

Presidents’ names are getting shorter. Why?

incredible investigation by @andrewvandam.bsky.social and @alyssafowers.bsky.social

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

I just appealed for special dispensation on your behalf, and I'm delighted (??) to announce the R is back!

Gift link: wapo.st/4oLF7Is

ICE documents reveal plan to double immigrant detention space this year Internal documents reveal ICE’s plans to double immigrant detention to more than 100,000 beds, including new detention centers for families.

WashPost on Trump plan to massively increase U.S. prison capacity: The government will be "opening or expanding 125 facilities this year. By January, ICE will have the capacity to hold more than 107,000 people, internal agency documents show."

Trump’s Pick to Lead Labor Data Agency Adds to Fears of Political Interference

Trump's firing of the BLS commissioner after a weak jobs report drew condemnation from economists across the political spectrum who were worried about the politicization of government data. His choice of replacement has only added to those concerns. #EconSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...

tar lion!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terva_L...!

This gender difference is largely driven by the preferences of non-LGBTQ Republican men. Most in this group (66%) say they want children someday. Far fewer Republican women (42%), Democratic men (43%) and Democratic women (38%) say the same. (Republicans and Democrats include those who lean toward either party.)

A much higher share of childless Republican men - who are desperately trying to get back to “traditional gender norms” where women do most of the childrearing - want to have a child compared to Republican women, Democrat men, or Democrat women. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Anas al-Sharif: Four Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike near Al-Shifa hospital Al Jazeera had condemned a "campaign of incitement" by the IDF against its reporters, but the military claims one of the journalists was part of Hamas.

An entire team of journalists, outside a hospital in a tent for journalists, killed by Israel. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Goldman: “The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will publish a preliminary estimate of the benchmark revision to March 2025 nonfarm payrolls on September 9th. We estimate a downward revision on the order of 550-950k”

It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

Fear changed to loathing. “The DOGE team wasn’t what I expected,” says a current government employee who’s interacted with Farritor and other core members of DOGE. “Marketed as tech geniuses, yet they could barely keep up with basic tasks. In reality, they were overconfident, drunk on power and utterly clueless. They giggled and asked me how my day was going—right as they hit the keys to obliterate nearly a decade of my work. There wasn’t even a flicker of understanding or care. It wasn’t just the loss that gutted me. It was the audacity of their casual cruelty.”

www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work Early resignation offers and other programs have reduced the workforce, but critics say the moves are also wasting money.

Latest in a string of stories you can read only/first from the @washingtonpost: The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work right now, under the Trump admin's resignation program w/ @merylkornfield.bsky.social @laurameckler.bsky.social
wapo.st/3IRXIlK