When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. - Maya Angelou

‘Blatant Discrimination’: North Carolina Advances GOP Gerrymander at the Expense of Black Voters Read more here.

North Carolina moved closer Tuesday to dismantling a historically Black congressional district in a move one of its former representatives described as “blatant discrimination.” www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

SNAP benefits to halt in some states amid government shutdown SNAP serves roughly 42 million low-income Americans.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which serve ~42 million low-income Americans, will be suspended in some states by Nov. 1 if the shutdown continues.

The Republican budget bill signed this July has also already cut the program by an estimated $186 billion over 10 years.

“We found over 35 cases in which the judges have specifically said what the government is providing…false information. It might be intentionally false information, including false sworn declarations time and again," says Ryan Goodman, law professor at New York University.

Opinion/Guest column: Gutting NIH a disaster in the making for research, local economy Less research equates to less business between the university and these Worcester companies, spreading the pain far beyond campus borders.

Sean Ryder, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology, makes the case for NIH funding in this editorial: direc.to/mMoW

“Gutting the NIH will harm those who stand to benefit from new, lifesaving therapies derived from NIH-funded research.”

#NIHfunding @umasschan-bmb.bsky.social

Trump Is Shutting Down the War On Cancer

I am not a political pawn. I am a living, breathing human being who has dedicated her life to a scientific problem that I believe matters for human health. The article below tells our story; I hope you will read it and share it www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

Kristi Noem confronts enemy combatants in the Portland war zone today.

I’m with you!

Etran de L’Aïr live in Vancouver, Canada, video by @yourbandiswack.bsky.social

Here are the top stories right now on the Washington Post and Democracy Docket websites.

This is why we need independent pro-democracy media.

This is why I created Democracy Docket.

And this is why I hope you will subscribe and support. hubs.ly/Q03jcjqP0

The fight between the Trump administration and Harvard has become a test for the president’s ability to impose his political agenda on all 2,600 universities in the U.S. Our reporters break down how the crackdown is affecting the world. https://trib.al/IZ4aZU8

Horrible

#ABOLISHICE

Weak. I’m very happy he fulfilled his responsibilities on Jan 6th and grew a pair for a couple of hours but honoring him blows my mind

I feel bad for you @jonlemire.bsky.social being put on the same level as Pablo Torre. Having him brought in to do sports which he knows little about was bad enough

how much did your billionaire CEO make on these obvious flip-flops? Make that the news, thank you very much @cnn.com

House votes to overturn Biden-era rule limiting bank overdraft fees to $5, sends to Trump to sign The House voted Wednesday to overturn a rule that would have limited bank overdraft fees to $5, following the Senate in moving to dismantle the regulation that the Biden administration had estimate…

The House voted Wednesday to overturn a rule that would have limited bank overdraft fees to $5, following the Senate in moving to dismantle the regulation that the Biden administration had estimated would save consumers billions of dollars.

Reporter: April 9th, these tariffs come in place. Do you plan on having negotiations before that date?

Bessnet: I-I-again, I'm not part of the negotiations. So you know, w–we'll see.

Reporter: Canada and Mexico, notably missing on that chart. Why is that?

Bessent: Um. I'm not sure.

Booker: "I confess that I have been imperfect. I confess that I've been inadequate to the moment. I've confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes that gave a lane to this demagogue. I confess we all must look in the mirror and say 'we will do better.'"

Goddamnit—the deadly H5N1 BIRD FLU killed millions of animals including chickens. The culling of chickens was to stop/slow the spread!!! Did we learn nothing from the last pandemic?!?!

“Normal” doesn’t cut it. It’s insane

How much energy will AI really consume? The good, the bad and the unknown Researchers want firms to be more transparent about the electricity demands of artificial intelligence.

“The real problem is that we’re operating with very little detailed data and knowledge of what’s happening”

Researchers want firms to be more transparent about the electricity demands of artificial intelligence

https://go.nature.com/4i2ZFZn

Top Social Security official exits after clash with Musk’s DOGE over data Yet another top career staffer is leaving the administration amid a disagreement over a request by Elon Musk’s team for sensitive government information.

🚨🚨🚨🚨DOGE is breaking into Social Security records too now www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

For-Profit Companies Can’t Easily Replace NOAA’s Weather-Forecasting Prowess Replicating the abilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fleet of weather satellites would take time and a lot of money—and expose private companies to a large amount of…

Anytime a storm is brewing, your local forecasters are getting the latest data from NOAA. As the agency faces an uncertain future, one thing's for sure: for-profit companies would struggle to replicate NOAA's weather-forecasting prowess.

Share THIS if you're glad the government is spending less on waste and more on a fleet of Cybertrucks you can see from space!

We call upon our elected representatives to stand with us and to insist upon adherence to the rule of law and the legal processes and procedures that ensure orderly change. The administration cannot choose which law it will follow or ignore. These are not partisan or political issues. These are rule of law and process issues. We cannot afford to remain silent. We must stand up for the values we hold dear. The ABA will do its part and act to protect the rule of law. We urge every attorney to join us and insist that our government, a government of the people, follow the law. It is part of the oath we took when we became lawyers. Whatever your political party or your views, change must be made in the right way. Americans expect no less.

The American Bar Association has just called upon every attorney, regardless of their political views, to join them & stand up for the rule of law & at minimum insist that our government "follow the law."

Every lawyer has an ethical responsibility to do so.

www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...

There appear to be at least three separately operating heel factions breaking things within the government in wholly different ways right now. There's the Miller-headed immigration one, the DOGE/Elon one, and a Project 2025 OMB one. This dynamic hasn't showed up in mainstream reporting at all.

Trump’s Bedminster club hosted an alleged Nazi sympathizer who stormed the Capitol At two events, Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf club hosted a convicted Jan. 6 rioter known for extreme antisemitic and racist comments, whom prosecutors described as a ‘white supremacist.’

Just FYI re Ed Martin, interim D.C U.S. attorney appointed by Trump:

Last year at an event at Bedminster, Martin introduced Timothy Hale-Cusinelli, a man with a "well-documented history of extreme antisemitic and racist rants," praising him as an "extraordinary leader."

www.npr.org/2024/09/12/n...

Who is protecting Americans from Marburg right now? The WHO and the CDC coordinated well when faced with viral outbreaks. This is no time to demolish a well-oiled machine.

There have been 12 outbreaks of Ebola or Marburg (a close cousin) in the past 4 years

Zero have landed in the US

Why?

Because of people like Stephanie Psaki and a US deeply engaged in the world

So Stephanie asks

Who is protecting Americans from Marburg now?

www.statnews.com/2025/01/27/m...