Chryl Laird

More than a third have failed so far, four officials told me, impeding the agency’s plan to hire, train, and deploy 10,000 deportation officers by January. To pass, recruits must do 15 push-ups and 32 sit-ups, and run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes. “It’s pathetic,” one career ICE official told me, adding that before now, a typical class of 40 recruits had only a couple of candidates fail, because the screening process was more rigorous.

Lecturing active soldiers about being too fat while dropping standards so low for the ICE deportation force that a third of their recruits can't handle the easiest PT test I've ever heard of www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Tech CEOs say the era of 'code by AI' is here. Some software engineers are skeptical While AI is increasingly used to write code, every line is still reviewed by humans. Some engineers complain about having to clean up AI-generated code.

While AI is increasingly used to write code, every line is still reviewed by humans. Some engineers complain about having to clean up AI-generated code. n.pr/4qmYRCS

one of the consistently interesting things about ACA criticism since it was signed into law is how critics discount or ignore the medicaid expansion

When it comes to rising costs, women are more worried than men — about everything A new 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll found that women — especially women of color — were more worried about covering the cost of groceries, housing, medical bills, child care and rent.

A new 19th News/@surveymonkey.com poll found that women — especially women of color — were more worried about covering the cost of groceries, housing, medical bills, child care and rent.

Leaders promised to cut climate pollution, then doubled down on fossil fuels Ten years after countries promised to cut climate pollution in the Paris Agreement, countries plan to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels that would be consistent with that deal.

Ten years after countries promised to cut climate pollution in the Paris Agreement, countries plan to produce more than twice the amount of fossil fuels that would be consistent with that deal. n.pr/46sDnvh

The U.S. has implemented additional scrutiny for Palestinian asylum seekers, requiring their applications to undergo a secondary review. This policy, unprecedented for an entire identity group, affects Palestinians with various travel documents.

I feel like part of the problem is that in the modern era, especially in the United States, people think that in order to count, they have to post about their activism or what they're doing.

But here's the thing: you don't.

99% of what I do is stuff I never mention on social media.

Washington, DC under military occupation in last August 2025, with banners proclaiming the absolute power of the primus inter pares

This is a real photograph of Washington, DC this week, where the United States president has ordered military occupation in peacetime, and ordered the display of colossal portraits of himself.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

CDCE Faculty Fellow Spotlight

We’re thrilled to uplift @chryllaird.bsky.social for our first CDCE Faculty Fellow Spotlight! Dr. Laird is an Associate Professor of Government and Politics at the @UofMaryland and Faculty Fellow for the CDCE.

Love working with @chryllaird.bsky.social !!!

It is bizarre the way people with guns, bulletproof vests, riot shields, tanks, and other military gear act like rocks are an equal threat. It’s madness! If you are scared of rocks and think the punishment for having them thrown at you should be death, you shouldn’t be in law enforcement!

Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...

NEW: The Trump administration said their research did not "enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness."

Thousands of scientists disagreed.

We heard from +150 researchers impacted by the NIH grant terminations on what is being lost in the cuts. 🧵👇
projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...

So ICE is now more powerful than a sitting US senator? I hope every democrat congressperson stands up for their colleague and demands accountability for what happened to Alex Padilla. They won’t but I wish they would.

Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great’ Several service members told advocacy groups they felt like pawns in a political game and assignment was not necessary

i am not being pollyannish when i insist that the people who sign up do not sign up to advance a president’s domestic political agenda www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Moskowitz: "Nothing has been made more efficient. Here are the wins for congressional Rs. You ready? They're gonna do a $9b recession bill. They're gonna get rid of Elmo, which the American people were clamoring for, but they're gonna add $2.4t for the debt. And then they want us to cheer for them."

Top CDC covid vaccine adviser quits after RFK Jr. ended recommendations Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos said she could no longer help vulnerable people after officials removed recommendations to immunize children and pregnant women.

A top coronavirus vaccine adviser at the CDC has resigned, citing concerns that she could no longer help vulnerable people after officials rescinded recommendations to immunize children and pregnant women.

#booksky

BREAKING: Linda McMahon just embarrassed the entire Department of Education.

She told Congress we ranked “very low” in reading and math in 1979.
Senator Markwayne Mullin had to stop her and say: “We were number one.”

You can’t fix education when you don’t even know its history.

As hurricane season begins, FEMA is in disarray, @dgraham.bsky.social writes. Who manages the disaster if the disaster managers are the disaster? https://theatln.tc/2gCMkVXx

DOJ Abandons Effort to Address Phoenix’s Treatment of Homeless People The Justice Department retracted findings of constitutional violations in Phoenix and five other jurisdictions. Advocates say the move could further embolden cities and police departments to marginali...

NEW: A three-year investigation found that Phoenix police routinely violated the rights of homeless people.

This week, DOJ officials announced that they had abandoned efforts to ensure the city and its police department addressed those issues.

By @nicolesantacruz.bsky.social

my "trump is a literal totem representing wealth and prosperity" theory keeps winning

Tyre Nichols and the End of Police Reform If a savage beating, captured on camera, cannot produce a murder conviction, the chances of fixing the police-brutality problem are very bleak.

'If a savage beating, captured on camera, cannot produce a murder conviction, the chances of fixing the police-brutality problem are very bleak.'
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

Can She Keep PBS on the Air?

Paula Kerger, the longest-serving chief executive of PBS, is used to fights over the public broadcaster’s funding. But to her, the latest threats feel like “all-out effort to take us out.” Read our full interview.

The Department of Education Forced Idaho to Stop Denying Disabled Students an Education. Then Trump Gutted Its Staff. For years, the Education Department was the only agency that could ensure states would improve conditions for disabled children. Now, Trump’s cuts threaten to hamper its oversight.

The Department of Education Forced Idaho to Stop Denying Disabled Students an Education. Then Trump Gutted Its Staff. by @beccasavransky.bsky.social @idahostatesman.com

Read the whole thing. You won’t be surprised, but you should be outraged.

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."

Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.

I wrote about my decision in TIME.

time.com/7285045/resi...

Episcopal Church refuses to resettle white Afrikaners, citing moral opposition The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.

The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.

I am shocked but not shocked Cardinal Prevost is an excellent choice multi lingual dual citizen ...and he will be Leo XIV

Photo of the new Pope waving

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Robert Prevost, the first American pope in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church, will take the name Leo XIV.

Department of Education Eliminates Grant for PBS Children’s Shows

vandalism www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/u...