Gail Webster

Indiana University To Discontinue More Than 100 Academic Programs Indiana University-Bloomington is ending 116 academic programs in a restructuring that comes after Indiana passed a law requiring a review of low-enrollment programs.

The GOP war on higher ed continues apace. Gutting public uni systems that state residents have long relied on as drivers of cultural advancement and social mobility.

Iran threatens to release 100GB of Trump aides' emails: What to know An Iran-linked hacking group said it has stolen emails from President Donald Trump's aides, including Roger Stone and Susie Wiles.

Iranian-linked hackers say they’ve stolen 100 gigabytes of internal Trump campaign and GOP emails.

U.S. cybersecurity officials have confirmed the group is real. The breach happened. The leaks are expected soon.

And they’re threatening to publish everything.

www.newsweek.com/iran-hackers...

Washington, D.C., has a population roughly equivalent to Alaska's.

And it has zero senators. If D.C. had senators, the GOP megablil bill would have failed today.

Instead, Murkowski got carve-outs and money for Alaska, and then voted to subject DC to the bill

250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR bill The bill mandates disposal of over 2 million acres of BLM and National Forest lands; public lands eligible for sale in the bill encompass over 250 million acres, including local recreation areas, wild...

"The bill directs what is likely the largest single sale of national public lands in modern history..."

www.wilderness.org/articles/med...

We could see one of the largest fire sales of public lands in our nation’s history affecting nearly 3 million acres and 120 national parks. The Senate reconciliation bill also slashes funding for park staffing and prioritizes oil & gas drilling. Act now: www.npca.org/notforsale

120 million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR budget reconciliation package The bill mandates disposal of over 2 million acres of BLM and National Forest lands; public lands eligible for sale in the bill encompass over 120 million acres, including local recreation areas, wild...

This would be the largest public lands sell-off in modern U.S. history and it's happening with no hearings, no debate, and no public input.

See what public lands would be available for sale:
www.wilderness.org/articles/med...

A photo of Senator Padilla being apprehended.

A black and white photo of John Lewis being apprehended.

How a discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR - Richmond Scientific A discovery in Yellowstone National Park led to the development of PCR, the gold-standard COVID-19 tests used to fight the global pandemic.

Reminder: Nobel-prize winning PCR (1983), used in basically all genetic tech today, was only possible because of extremophile bacterium discovered in 1964 in Yellowstone funded by a small ~$80k NSF grant with no obvious application at the time. #science 🧪
www.richmondscientific.com/how-a-discov...

There are only 14,393 comments submitted as of this moment! That's waaaay too few, considering the number of people who are affected by or rely on NIH/NSF funding.

Frost: Tonight the people stealing are not folks with tattoos and hoodies but people wearing suits and ties and congressional pins sitting in the capitol now, not in some alley wrapped in darkness but the United States congress wrapped in the flag. It is disgusting and we will never forget this.

Map of local National Weather Service office "areas of responsibility" modified (using polygons with black outlines and red fill) to indicate where recent/expanding cuts to NOAA/NWS have resulting in understaffing so extreme that some offices can not longer operate on a 24/7 basis.

I just created a quick map depicting which portions of the United States are now (as of today) or will imminently be (by early June) without 24/7 local National Weather Service coverage (per Washington Post reporting). #CAwx #CAfire #CAwater #ORwx #AKwx #WYwx #KSwx

Republicans have just proposed defunding Planned Parenthood nationwide.

In doing so, they are telling women and people across the country that our healthcare doesn’t matter and that we are undeserving of care.

It’s time to stop this bill in its tracks.

The summer fight for science. The time is now. Join the fight at standupforscience.net.

☀️THE SUMMER FIGHT FOR SCIENCE☀️

🫵 WHO: You + all our friends

🧪 WHAT: Share science with your neighbors and tell them about the impact of proposed budget cuts.

🇺🇸 WHERE: Your local community

🏖️ WHEN: Now to Sept 30th

🔬 WHY: The 9/30 budget vote will determine the future of science in America.

Alsobrooks: You’ve cut the Special Olympics

RFK Jr.: No we didn’t

Alsobrooks: You’ve cut all of the funding for it.

"You get two dolls and some pencils. I get a golden 747 jumbo jet. See? You get more things than I do. When was the last time you said 'Thank you, Mr. President'?"

Donald Trump is the most corrupt government official in American history. That’s what happens when a felon gets elected.

Thank you 🇨🇦 🍁

Economists warn Trump's research cuts could have dire consequences for GDP President Trump has proposed slashing federal scientific funding. Economists say the long-term consequences could be dire.

Economists warn: Trump’s science cuts threaten the U.S. economy.

Slashing funding for NIH, NSF, and NASA hurts every American. These cuts are killing jobs, stalling innovation, and shrinking our economic future.

We all pay the price when science is defunded.

www.npr.org/2025/05/08/n...

Nooooooo!!!!! She's the best!!!!

Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund

🧪Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions | @science.org | @aaas.org
You cannot say you want innovation in America and then act in this way - it’s incompatible and absurd. www.science.org/content/arti...

President Trump fired our nation’s Librarian, Dr. Carla Hayden, by email at 6:56pm tonight, taking his assault on America’s libraries to a new level. Over the course of her tenure, Dr. Hayden brought the Library of Congress to the people, with initiatives that reached into rural communities and made the Library accessible to all Americans, in person and online. While President Trump wants to ban books and tell Americans what to read – or not to read at all, Dr. Hayden has devoted her career to making reading and the pursuit of knowledge available to everyone. Be like Dr. Hayden.

BREAKING: President Trump just fired our nation's Librarian. My statement here:

In a fractal sense, this is similar to all the care work (often women's work) that goes unnoticed in a household or a community. Until someone stops doing the dishes and picking up the socks its almost like it happens by magic, has always been there, will always be there.

When a government tries to ban scientists from competitive research funding because they teach at a university out of favor with the Executive Branch, we have descended into fascism

ALERT: Reports of upcoming ICE activity in DC targeting restaurant & food delivery workers. May 6 - 10. Remember: Do NOT answer any questions Do NOT sign anything Do NOT provide false documents Do NOT run or flee Do stay silent - you have the right to remain silent Do carry with you proof of status and a form of local ID or proof of living here for over 2 years Do make sure a trusted friend/relative knows your correct A-Number and country of birth Do make sure a trusted friend/relative has a copy of your important documents Do follow this emergency planning guide for you & your family: familiesuniteddcmetro.org

Did you see ICE in your neighborhood? Do you know someone detained by ICE in DC, Maryland, or Virginia? These organizations can help. Call one of our free hotlines for more information and resources. CASA, Maryland & Virginia: (888) 214-6016 Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid (MSMA), DC & Maryland: (202) 335-1183 Immigration Rapid Response Hotline Virginia Network: (855) 298-3271 Scan this qr code for a list of available legal, direct service, and mutual aid resources in the DC, MD, and VA area. bit.ly/migrant-resources-dmv

🚨 ALERT: Reports of upcoming ICE activity in DC targeting restaurant & food delivery workers. (May 6-10) 🧵

“It found 90% of respondents think federal investment in STEM education is important for future economic prosperity, and the majority of respondents from both parties are concerned about policy changes that might make it harder for the U.S. to attract and retain top scientists.”

GM! 🌅 We keep hearing: "with all that's been lost, how can we ever build back up?"

The destruction's real, but when (not if) this regime falls, we have a chance to rebuild something better. A public health system that serves everyone. A society that works for all.

That keeps us going. Stay tuned!

If you have time and a way with words this is a great way to resist from your couch ❤️

"WE'VE ARRANGED A society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don't know anything about it?" "Science is more than a body of knowledge, it's a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we're up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along."

I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.

🚨 Breaking: The next round of NSF grant termination just started today (confirmed report).

No word yet on how exactly how many are happening today though.