Ruth Murai

Alabama's poet laureate reckons with personal and political grief In her new book, Ashley M. Jones builds a monument for her late father, Alabama, and Black people in America.

"I think to heal politically, we really just need to pause and understand that the truth is helpful, even if it might hurt. In the end, it’s going to help to know it."

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Alabama's poet laureate reckons with personal and political grief In her new book, Ashley M. Jones builds a monument for her late father, Alabama, and Black people in America.

"I hope people understand that the grieving process is lonely, but that nobody is alone in it."

In her new book, Ashley M. Jones, Alabama's poet laureate, builds a monument for the state, her late father, and Black people in America.

Rightwing influencer accompanied Ice agents during raids in Chicago Ben Bergquam was with Ice agents during a raid on Sunday and yelled at protesters that they were ‘the enemy within’

New from me: A rightwing influencer did ride along with Ice as they detained four people on Sunday in Chicago

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

How we've failed the promise of making “genocide” a crime The lawyer Raphael Lemkin hoped to use international law to curb abuses of power. But his efforts were curtailed from the start.

How we've failed the promise of making “genocide” a crime

A sister as well as a friend of Neri Alvarado Borges confirm that he is now back in Venezuela.

Neri's wrongful imprisonment attracted international attention. He is the 25-year-old with an autism awareness ribbon tattooed on his leg. This is him leaving the plane.

CONFIRMED: Arturo Suárez, the musician imprisoned by the Trump admin without due process in El Salvador for 4 months is FREE.

A video shows him telling his brother that while they were imprisoned, they were beaten daily by guards. Remember: this is the first ever mass release from CECOT.

"We were kidnapped" On Friday, more than 200 Venezuelans disappeared to a megaprison in El Salvador returned home. The horror stories are already emerging.

"The bitterness is still there. The anger about what happened to him is still there.”

After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.

"We were kidnapped" On Friday, more than 200 Venezuelans disappeared to a megaprison in El Salvador returned home. The horror stories are already emerging.

NEW: We spoke with the families of some of the men returned to Venezuela tonight after Trump disappeared to El Salvador in March. Horror stories are already emerging.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Her husband is trapped in a Salvadoran prison. She has no idea how to get him back. Ripped apart by Trump, one Venezuelan family endures another hell: silence.

Earlier today, the mother of Julio Zambrano, one of the Venezuelans sent to CECOT, was told to go to Caracas for some "good news." She's at the airport in anticipation of her son's arrival after four long months. @nlanard.bsky.social and I are in touch with other families as they wait for more news.

Funder, pilot, survivor, physician: Inside the network assisting abortion journeys And some women who took them.

To mark the 3-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision, I published a guide on all the ways doctors, nonprofits, pilots, and ordinary people are helping people from banned states access reproductive healthcare. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The parental Rights movement has a big day at the Supreme Court Conservative justices seem poised to declare that kids' exposure to LGBTQ books can violate a parent's religious expression.

“What’s the big deal about allowing them to opt out?” Justice Sam Alito asked yesterday about a district not allowing parents to opt their children out of LGBTQ storybooks. The big deal, educators warn, is that today, it’s LGBTQ books. Tomorrow, it’s evolution. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program

Want to apply to our Ben Bagdikian Fellowship program but not sure where to start?

Join us on April 17, 1:00 p.m. EST for a virtual Q&A where our editors will talk about what the role looks like, how it can help you grow, and answer any questions you have.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Editorial Fellowship Q&A. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join us for an information session on our Editorial Fellowship. We'll talk about what the role looks like, how it can help you grow, and answer any questions you have. For more information, or to fi...

For those interested in the @motherjones.com fellowship, there's a webinar on Thursday to learn more. motherjones.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program

I’m proud to say Mother Jones is reinforcing its fact-checking operations!

As part of that, my colleagues are looking for smart and curious early-career journalists to join the newsroom for a yearlong crash course in fact-checking investigative journalism: www.motherjones.com/careers/fell...

The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program

You can find the job description + application here: www.motherjones.com/careers/fell...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Editorial Fellowship Q&A. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Join us for an information session on our Editorial Fellowship. We'll talk about what the role looks like, how it can help you grow, and answer any questions you have. For more information, or to fi...

Nothing @sophiemurguia.bsky.social and I like more than talking about the Editorial Fellowship program at Mother Jones/CIR, so we'll be hosting an information session on Thursday at 10AM PT to answer your questions!

Screenshotted excerpt from BBC AI study, which reads: "The answers produced by the AI assistants contained significant inaccuracies and distorted content from the BBC. In particular: • 51% of all AI answers to questions about the news were judged to have significant issues of some form. • 19% of AI answers which cited BBC content introduced factual errors – incorrect factual statements, numbers and dates. • 13% of the quotes sourced from BBC articles were either altered from the original source or not present in the article cited."

A BBC study of AI tools found that "51% of all AI answers to questions about the news were judged to have significant issues of some form" and "13% of the quotes sourced from BBC articles were either altered or didn’t actually exist in that article" www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/...

Do some journalism with us! 📰 🧑‍💻📝

Fellows receive health insurance, dental + vision, the same PTO and sick days as other new employees and are part of our union!!!! @cir-union.bsky.social

The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program

Hello, CIR is hiring our next Editorial Fellowship class—we're looking for smart and curious early-career journalists to join us for a yearlong crash course in fact-checking investigative journalism. I did it, it's a great program. And now a union gig w/ benefits motherjones.com/careers/fellowships/

The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program

Fellowship applications are OPEN!! Come work with me on our incredible fact-checking ressearch team 😎 motherjones.com/careers/fellowships/

I’ve had an incredible experience as a fellow at Mother Jones. It’s a real opportunity to work with some first-class reporters and editors in such a welcoming, supportive environment. I can’t recommend it enough. Happy to answer any q’s in my DMs :))

YouTube video by Mother Jones Research shows Latino-led films sell more tickets. Then why are there so few? #oscars #latino #film

Research shows Latino-led films sell more tickets. Then why are there so few?

@melvisacosta.bsky.social dives into some fascinating numbers about Hollywood ahead of their big night.

Entitlements originally had a different meaning. When Franklin D. Roosevelt adopted Social Security in 1935, the program was pitched as “social insurance,” one that Americans “earned” and were “entitled” to. But Republicans have flipped that meaning by associating these programs with notions of dependence: lazy people asking for handouts—an “entitled” culture.

For @motherjones.com, I wrote about how Musk and Trump's DOGE is just a Big Tech version of the tired GOP goal of attacking poor folks by blaming an "entitlement" culture. But it wasn't always this way—during the New Deal, Americans earned these "entitlements."
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trump shuts down diversity programs across government The president is demanding that federal workers inform on colleagues who violate his decree.

For @motherjones.com: Today, the Trump administration put federal DEI workers on leave, asserting that DEI is “discrimination” threatening “American values of hard work.” This argument over merit is everywhere on the right—from DEI to welfare. But the question they need to answer is: Merit for whom?

More money, better stories: Why Hollywood needs more Latinos Research shows that Latino-led films sell more tickets. Why are there so few?

For @motherjones.com

Latino-led films sell more tickets and win more awards. Why are there so few?

www.motherjones.com/media/2025/0...

The incarcerated woman who wishes MeToo had arrived earlier Celeste Blair landed in prison after a series of abusive relationships. She hopes the movement saves younger women from a similar fate.

Thrilled to hear that President Biden's record-breaking commutations today included Celeste Blair, who has a truly incredible story, and who I profiled a couple of years ago: www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...

Biden has only days left to free drug war victims Advocates are counting.

For @motherjones.com

Advocates want the president to grant clemency for non-violent drug crimes in his last four days in office.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The bureaucrat who could make Trump's authoritarian dreams real Russ Vought has a plan to take presidential power to new heights.

Ahead of Russ Vought's confirmation hearing to lead the Office of Management and Budget (again), here's a profile I wrote of him last year:

The IDF killed an American peace activist. Her husband is still looking for answers. 101 days after Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s death in the West Bank, her family finally met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. But it was just another official "saying things that I’ve already heard before...

NEW: I followed Aysenur Eygi’s family for 3 days in DC, going from government office to office, looking for accountability for Aysenur’s killing by an IDF soldier. This is a long one, but I hope you spend some time with it: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...