Mike Ludwig

Love my city of New Orleans 💜 #NOLA 💪🏼

Microsoft Faces Reckoning for Assisting Israel’s Genocide in Gaza The tech giant could face legal liability for aiding and abetting “atrocity crimes” in Palestine, legal groups say.

Microsoft Faces Reckoning Over Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

The tech giant and its executives could face legal liability in the US, EU and UN for aiding and abetting “atrocity crimes” in Palestine, legal groups say.

Microsoft shareholders will vote on proposal for human rights transparency on Dec. 5

Hi everyone, I've been off work for a few weeks with a broken arm. No fun story to tell, I just fell off a bicycle late night outside the French Quarter, go figure. I had surgery and am recovering fine.

And now I am back to reporting on the rise of authoritarianism and the movements fighting back!

Trump saw a segment on Fox News. Within an hour, he was laser-focused on Christians’ treatment in Nigeria | CNN Politics President Donald Trump was heading to Florida on Friday, watching Fox News, when he saw the network run a story on how Christians were being targeted by Islamic groups in Nigeria, two sources familiar...

"The plight of Nigeria’s Christians has been an animating subject for American conservatives for years, with some of Trump’s top allies, including Sen. Ted Cruz..."

Save the Nigerian Christians, but let the Palestinian Christians get blown up. So Jesus comes back. Right.

Here's how the progressive mayoral candidates in this story did yesterday:

Buffalo: Sean Ryan wins
NYC: Mamdani wins
Syracuse: Sharon Owen wins
Albany: Dorcey Applyrs wins
Seattle: Too close to call
Minneapolis: Goes to 2nd round, incumbent Jacob Frey with slight lead over socialist Omar Fateh

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday, marking a historic win for the left over a high-powered, moneyed coalition of establishment forces that came together in hopes of defeating him.

Read more: bit.ly/3WB0AqR

War Criminal Dick Cheney Dead at 84, With Blood of Millions on His Hands Cheney’s legacy more than outlives him; he reshaped the very structures of war and authoritarianism at home and abroad.

Former vice president Dick Cheney has died, at 84, with the blood of millions on his hands. His legacy will far outlive him as the man responsible for wars that have killed and displaced millions abroad; and who worked diligently to lay the groundwork for fascist authoritarianism in the U.S.

These centrist pundits moaning about the "trans issue" drive me nuts. Democrats don't lose cuz of trans athletes or whatever, Dems lose cuz they respond to culture wars like fickle, bumbling idiots who want to please everyone, which is impossible. It's literally GOP trick!

Elected Officials in Chicago Look for Tools to Squeeze ICE Out of Public Spaces A county commissioner pledges to leave “no stone unturned” in the city’s fight to slow ICE abductions.

Elected Officials in Chicago Look for Tools to Squeeze ICE Out of Public Spaces

I spoke to Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vasquez in Chicago about keeping ICE agents out of courtrooms and alerting community groups when feds come knocking.

Being undocumented is civil offense, not a criminal one!

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

This is a really important story from Politico. Say what you will about Charlie Kirk, he projected the image of the ultimate contrarian Young Republican college kid owning the libs.

And here's what Young Republican group chats look like:

Tenants Launch US’s First Ever Rent Debt Strike Against Corporate Landlord Nine tenants organized by the Debt Collective are refusing to pay back rent, hoping to inspire others to do the same.

Tenants Launch US’s First Ever Rent Debt Strike Against Corporate Landlord

Remember Debt Collective, the group that helped start the student debtors movement? They've announced the "EQR Nine," who are refusing to pay back rent to the nation's fifth largest landlord.

truthout.org/articles/ten...

"Anarchists run Portland" seems to suggest a lack of understanding of what anarchy actually means.

The Bezos-mandated right turn at WaPo is on full display. On October 7, what's left of the editorial board praises Israel, no mention of Gaza civilians above the fold.

There's also a nice profile of a grinning conversion "therapist" who says being queer is just like having an eating disorder.

Trump’s ICE Has Started Targeting Activists, Not Just Immigrants ICE demanded Meta hand over personal information attached to Instagram accounts that track immigration raids.

Trump’s ICE Has Started Targeting Activists, Not Just Immigrants

As Trump sucks up more of our data, ICE added online activists to its target list, demanding Meta hand over personal info attached to Instagram accounts for StopIce.net and more.

My report includes tips on how to protect yourself!

Actual quote from Secretary of War (grrrr) Pete Hegseth, addressing the top US military brass during the unprecedented meeting today:

"No more beardos. The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”

Trump Wants to Open Up 45 Million Acres of Roadless Wilderness to Logging A push to repeal the Roadless Rule that protects the few ecosystems that remain truly wild faces mass public opposition.

On top of everything else, the Trump admin is pushing to open the last remaining truly wild wilderness up for logging and development.

Ag Sec Brooke Rollins gave the public little time to comment on the proposal -- and 99% are opposed. Will the forests be saved by the admin's sheer incompetence?

Top Senator Says Pentagon Has “No Evidence” to Legitimize Caribbean Boat Strike “There is no evidence — none — that this strike was conducted in self-defense,” said Sen. Jack Reed.

Sen. Jack Reed has said that the Pentagon has provided Congress with “no evidence” to back its claims on the legitimacy of the boat strike that killed 11 people who experts say were civilians. “They have offered no positive identification that iits crew were members of Tren de Aragua.”

This Back-to-School Season, Teachers and Parents Are Fighting Back Against ICE The Trump administration is on the defensive as educators demand action to protect students from immigration police.

“ICE has been reported outside of schools, at bus stops, and in neighborhoods where children are walking to and from class. For immigrant students, simply walking into school can feel like stepping into danger.”

Sending love to everyone who's doing what they can, where they can, across Chicago right now. I love y'all. ❤

I love @truthout.org and read them daily. Follow them and these other great resources to stay on top of how people are fighting back and you can too.

RFK Jr. Faces Widespread Calls to Resign in Wake of Heated Senate Hearing Democrats see RFK Jr. as a weakness in Trump’s cabinet — and a clear and present danger to public health.

RFK Jr. Faces Widespread Calls to Resign in Wake of Heated Senate Hearing

Experts say RFK Jr. does not seem to understand his job. Democrats see him as a weakness in Trump’s cabinet — and a clear and present danger to public health. Key Republicans are losing patience too.

RFK Jr sounded exactly like Darth Vader breathing into the microphone during the entire Senate Finance Committee hearing this morning. I'll have an in-depth report tomorrow...

YouTube video by Vaush The Dark Money Drama Situation Is Getting VERY Bad

chorus creators are really being defensive (kinda like they just got caught with their hands in a dark money cookie jar)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s92r...

Black Louisiana Community Coated in Toxic Fallout After Explosion at Oil Plant “We need help over here and we’re not getting it,” said a resident of the city where 90 percent of kids live in poverty.

Last Friday, a catastrophic explosion erupted at a major lubricant manufacturing facility in a predominantly Black town near Baton Rouge. Oily droplets spattered from the smoky sky as far as 20 miles away, coating rooftops, cars, and lawns in a slick, shimmering film that glistened like tar.

These Billionaires Have Already Spent $19 Million in a Bid to Defeat Mamdani Michael Bloomberg and anti-DEI pundit Bill Ackman are just two of the many billionaires showering cash on Cuomo.

These Billionaires Have Already Spent $19 Million in a Bid to Defeat Zohran Mamdani

Billionaires and the companies they own (think AirBnb and Doordash) are spending big on the NYC mayoral race. My latest is a collaboration with LittleSis @mapthepower.bsky.social check it out!

Judge Blocks Kristi Noem From Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda — for Now Critics say Trump is putting Abrego Garcia “through literal hell” and that efforts to deport him amount to a power grab.

Judge Blocks Kristi Noem From Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda — for Now

Critics say Trump is putting Abrego Garcia “through literal hell” and that efforts to deport him amount to a power grab that puts everyone at risk of being disappeared by the state.

truthout.org/articles/jud...

True. Also works at eviction court!

Trump’s EPA Delayed Pollution Safeguards Ahead of Deadly US Steel Explosion Residents of steel communities say fence-line monitoring for dangerous air pollution must be mandatory.

I was visiting Braddock PA outside of Pittsburgh when reporting this story about the US Steel coke plant that exploded in nearby Clairton -- and the pollution monitoring demanded by residents that Trump nixed.

I could see how benzene can settle in the river valley!

truthout.org/articles/tru...

“Nobody came”: Hill Country flooding survivors recount anguish, neglect during emotional hearing Residents told state lawmakers about what they’ve lost and the hardships they’re experiencing almost a month after the July 4 disaster devastated the region.

the republican party's model for response to a natural disaster is katrina www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/t...