Jackie DeRobertis-Braun

Why the New York Times is sticking around the South - Poynter A new reporting center launches in 2026

Thanks to Kristen Hare at @poynterinstitute.bsky.social for digging deeper into the new @deepsouthtoday.org Investigative Reporting Center launched in partnership with @nytimes.com and Big Local News.

www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

How much of Gaza is left standing? Analysis by independent researchers reveals the scale of the destruction

“The studies imply estimated [Gaza] life expectancy has fallen by more than 35 years, to ~ half the pre-war figure. In percentage terms…bigger than…during China’s Great Leap Forward; in absolute terms it is similar to the one in the Rwanda genocide” www.economist.com/interactive/...

For Undocumented Restaurant Workers, Everything Is in Question President Trump’s threats against undocumented immigrants put America’s entire food chain at risk.

Just putting it out there that if you're a food worker of any immigration status who wants to talk about how ICE raids are affecting your work/life, I'm all ears, jaya@eater.com. Here's an example of the kind of writing I've done around this www.eater.com/24359357/und...

Iranian immigrant who has lived in New Orleans nearly 50 years arrested outside Lakeview home Federal agents arrested an Iranian woman who has lived in the United States for more than four decades outside her Lakeview home Sunday.

Federal agents arrested an Iranian woman who has lived in the United States for more than four decades outside her Lakeview home Sunday.

The em dash supposedly being a “tell” for AI generated text does sort of give away the game on the enormous amount of work stolen from journalists and news organizations that these things were trained on

Inside the Dollar General workers’ fight for safety and fair pay These Louisianians are organizing to transform the dollar stores their communities rely on.

Inside the Dollar General workers’ fight for safety and fair pay

These Louisianians are organizing to transform the dollar stores their communities rely on.

Map of ICE prisons by size, location, and public/private. Orange signifies public, green signifies private. The largest cluster is in Louisiana and Texas.

Incredible map of private/public ICE prisons by size and location. The cluster of enormous private immigration prisons in Louisiana is really something.

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

‘The Interview’: Ocean Vuong was Ready to Kill. A Moment of Grace Changed His Life. (Gift Article) The poet and novelist on the real reason he became a writer.

An absolutely incredible interview and a rollercoaster of a conversation. The audio version is even better, and includes more -- including thoughts at the end about the importance of writing "alongside" people, rather than "about" them: "That feels truer."

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/03/m...

Trump admin pulls Black history grants to Whitney Plantation The federal government has terminated two grants for African American history and culture awarded to the Whitney Plantation, a museum aimed at memorializing slavery, as the Trump administration works ...

The Trump administration has rescinded two grants previously awarded to the Whitney Plantation for Black history projects, one of which is about how enslaved people performed acts of resistance on plantations.

We've got more on it @veritenews.org.

veritenews.org/2025/04/16/t...

He Was Convicted Based on Allegedly Fabricated Bite Mark Analysis. Louisiana Wants to Execute Him Anyway. Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.

Don’t miss @richardawebster.bsky.social’s previous coverage about Landry’s resumption of executions in Louisiana and a man on death row convicted in part on allegedly fabricated forensic evidence.

Under Gov. Landry’s tough-on-crime agenda, La. has eliminated parole for nearly everyone imprisoned for crimes committed after Aug. 1. For those already behind bars, an algorithm is now deciding if they have a shot at release.

By @richardawebster.bsky.social for @veritenews.org and @propublica.org

Women reshaped housing institutions in New Orleans - Verite News New Orleans Dozens of Black women transformed public housing in New Orleans.

Did you know dozens of Black women transformed public housing in New Orleans?

They "challenged dominant stereotypes purported by the media, elected officials, and others that criminalized their poverty, neighborhoods, family size and composition."

Oregon abandoned its radical drug law. Then came the mass arrests Last year, the state ended a trailblazing law decriminalizing possession. Drug users in some counties are now in and out of jail, without lawyers, struggling to get treatment

In Oregon, 4,000+ defendants facing criminal charges have no attorneys due to a public defender shortage, incl 400+ ppl who've waited 3+ months for a lawyer.

The state's new "war on drugs" law is worsening the crisis, with cops now arresting + jailing thousands of drug users for minor possession:

Louisiana may have lost federal funding for substance abuse, mental health programs • Louisiana Illuminator The federal government might have abruptly ended funding for Louisiana mental health and substance abuse services that was expected to last through the end of 2025.

On Monday night, Louisiana health officials were told the federal government was abruptly ending grants that pay for substance abuse/mental health services.

It's hard to know the impact because the feds' notice was "difficult to interpret." #lalege

lailluminator.com/2025/03/26/m...

NASA Astronauts Don’t Receive Overtime Pay for Space Mission But Get $5 a Day Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore do not get overtime for their unexpectedly long stay on the International Space Station, according to NASA rules. But they do get $5 a day for “incidentals.”

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the NASA astronauts who spent 278 extra days on the International Space Station after their spacecraft malfunctioned, do not get overtime pay for their unexpectedly long stay. But they do get $5 a day for “incidentals.”

German Tourists Detained for Weeks, Then Deported From U.S. Amid President Trump’s border crackdown, German news media have closely followed the treatment of two tourists who say they tried to enter the United States legally.

Two German tourists thrown into U.S. immigration detention for weeks before being deported, in cases that are raising alarm in Europe. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/w...

Mahmoud Khalil still detained in notorious La. immigration lockup A civil rights advocate said the government was judge shopping when it sent the former Columbia grad student to Louisiana.

Mahmoud Khalil still detained in notorious Louisiana detention center as case is moved to New Jersey

Jimmie Duncan, convicted on allegedly fabricated bite mark analysis, may be executed by Louisiana anyway Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.

27 years ago, bite marks were critical in convicting Jimmie Duncan for the killing of his girlfriend’s daughter. A newly uncovered tape of a forensic dentist mashing a mold of Duncan’s teeth into the victim’s body raises questions about the verdict.

Today’s Times-Picayune | @nolanews.bsky.social

Jessie Hoffman's final moments inside Louisiana's execution chamber at Angola A few seconds before 6:27 p.m., Jessie Hoffman jerked slightly. It would be the last significant movement Hoffman would make, in a life he’d mostly spent on death row.

The great John Simerman witnessed Louisiana’s first nitrogen gas execution last night. Here’s his account of how Louisiana put Jessie Hoffman to death.
www.nola.com/news/courts/...

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped

Live updates: Louisiana begins nitrogen gas execution of death row inmate Jessie Hoffman The execution is set to take place between 6 and 9 p.m. Follow along for updates throughout the day.

Louisiana has officially executed Jessie Hoffman, carrying out the state's first nitrogen gas execution, his attorneys confirm for us. Still awaiting details about how long it it took, his official time of death:
www.nola.com/news/courts/...

A new law keeps much of Louisiana's executions secret. Here's what the public can, can't know. Some details, like the names of businesses that supply execution materials, are blocked from public view.

New laws in Louisiana shroud much of the death penalty in secret. Companies that supply execution materials, members of execution squads, people indirectly involved are no longer made public. And they can pursue civil penalties against those who name them
www.nola.com/news/courts/...

Jimmie Duncan, convicted on allegedly fabricated bite mark analysis, may be executed by Louisiana anyway Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.

2/2 Even as his attorneys have raised very serious questions about his guilt and the forensic evidence prosecutors presented at his trial, which was (1) allegedly fabricated and (2) based on what many experts now say is junk science.

A federal judge has just put Louisiana's first execution in 15 years on hold. The state is appealing.

As the legal battle plays out, @richardawebster.bsky.social
has a story today — with @propublica.org and @veritenews.org — about one of the prisoners the state is determined to execute. 1/2

Louisiana's execution protocol unsealed. New detailed plans to use nitrogen gas released. Lawyers for Louisiana and death row inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr. have agreed to unseal the state's nitrogen gas execution protocol, which was being kept secret from the public until now.

Breaking news: Louisiana has unsealed its nitrogen gas death penalty protocol after initially fighting to keep it secret. Federal judge ordered it unsealed today after state and defense came to a joint agreement on it. Here's what it says:
www.nola.com/news/courts/...

Ed Yong Wants to Show You the Hidden Reality of the World The Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer talks about burnout from covering the pandemic and how bird-watching gave him a new sense of hope.

"Empathy really does mean...spending days listening to the worst moments of people’s lives, having them run through my head again and again so that I can turn them into something that might shift the needle in someone who has never thought about those experiences."

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/m...

Librarians reading 30,000 books in Livingston Parish to check for explicit material Livingston Parish libraries have found a solution for the community's concerns about the possibility of sexually explicit material in children's books: read every single book on the shelf.

Livingston Parish in Louisiana has pulled 30k print and audiobooks for young adults from its collection. They are going to be read and reviewed by librarians for sexually explicit material. Story from @clargrune.bsky.social

www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/...

Federal appeals court stays reopening of long-running Louisiana death penalty case Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill asked a federal appeals court to halt a district judge's decision to reopen a case about the state's death penalty methods. She called it "extraordinarily import...

Another development in death penalty watch in Louisiana today:
US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has now issued a stay of Judge Shelly Dick's decision from Friday to reopen a long-running federal suit that challenges Louisiana's execution methods:
www.nola.com/news/courts/...