Matt Bui

In the AC Hotel, we got word from a staff member that the agents were staying here and questioning the workers—the workers that were cleaning their rooms, the workers that were making their food. They were questioning them and asking for their ID and in a very aggressive way.

CNN’s reporter on scene in Los Angeles: I’m being detained..

The situation in DTLA to which 700 Marines have been deployed is a couple dozen interfaith clergypersons leading a small crowd in prayer.

BREAKING: Federal agents in plain clothes and unmarked cars tried to snatch 1st graders from LA elementary schools—told staff they had “parental consent.”

They lied. When pressed, they HID THEIR IDS. DHS admits they sent them. This wasn’t a welfare check. It was a test run for a police state.

Hundreds of protestors on a lawn carrying signs and flags

NEW: Over a thousand people are rallied in Downtown LA in support of SEIU, after SEIU President Pres. David Huerte was arrested days ago after an ICE raid (ABC7)

Won't be able to be as active with the updates today, but I'll do my best to provide some

No kid’s education should be defunded to pay for giant tax giveaways for billionaires.

University of Michigan axes contracts after surveillance of pro-Palestinian activists reported The decision to terminate agreements with outside security firms follows The Guardian's report revealing surveillance of student activists.

You will recall that when this was reported in The Guardian, the university’s statement was that no one had complained about the surveillance.

“The increasing role of consumer-oriented technology companies in warfare has implications for everyone — not just those who are targeted by AI weapons,” write Brian J. Chen, Tina M. Park and ‪@pasternack.bsky.social‬. www.techpolicy.press/booming-mili...

Pope Leo on Pentecost and a Spirit that opens borders: "Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms."
www.vatican.va/content/leo-...

ICE crossed a line in LA

Donald Trump’s deployment of the military in Los Angeles over the objection of California leaders is an abuse of power and a dangerous escalation.

It’s what you would see in authoritarian states and it must stop.

Americans have the right to speak out and peacefully protest.

State repression of peaceful protests can subject activists to injury and even death but—when broadcast to the world through media—often turns mass opinion against the state. bsky.app/profile/owas...

"Black applicants would, on average, need credit scores approximately 120 points higher than white applicants to receive the same approval rate, and about 30 points higher to receive the same interest rate."

Palantir’s Collection of Disease Data at C.D.C. Stirs Privacy Concerns

SCOOP: The CDC is planning to move information on cases of diseases like measles and polio to a data system managed by Palantir, raising concerns about patient privacy.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/h...

Trump preparing large-scale cancellation of federal funding for California, sources say | CNN Politics The Trump administration is preparing to cancel a large swath of federal funding to California, an effort which could begin as soon as Friday, according to multiple sources.

tinyurl.com/4hdvp85b
This is unconstitutional and vindictive. We're the nation's economic engine and the largest donor state, and deserve our fair share. I'll use every legal and constitutional tool available to defend CA -- we must look at every option, including withholding federal taxes.

It’s legitimate cause for a tax strike. Money from California is going all over the country to help support states that, through hundreds of years of mismanagement, haven’t managed to lift half their populations out of poverty. And they get spit on for it.

Markey, advocates call out ban on states’ AI oversight in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Enacting a 10-year moratorium on state laws regulating the growth of artificial intelligence is "dangerous and unprecedented," experts warned Wednesday.

Pleased join @markey.senate.gov today in a discussion about protecting our rights and opportunities in the age of AI. A 10-year freeze on AI guardrails would abandon the American public and ignore its concerns. *Truly* innovative technology must be just and fair. www.masslive.com/politics/202...

YouTube video by Senator Elizabeth Warren Republicans snuck an AI regulation BAN into the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Republicans snuck an AI regulation BAN into the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

That means companies like Real Page can use AI to get around price fixing laws and RAISE YOUR RENT.

BUT this policy violates the Senate's budget rules.

I'm calling foul — and fighting back to reject it.

FEMA Head Said He Was Unaware Of U.S. Hurricane Season, Sources Say It was not clear to agency staff whether he meant it literally, as a joke, or in some other context.

The head of FEMA reportedly said during a briefing that he wasn't aware the U.S. had a hurricane season, leaving staffers "baffled" and "confused"

"The President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget proposes to terminate the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and provides $38 million to conduct an orderly shutdown of the Agency." bit.ly/4kEnEPo

The 2026 Federal Budget Proposal Shutters The Institute for Museum and Library Services The details of the 2026 federal budget proposal spell out the goal of shutting down the Institute for Museum and Library services.

We now have the details of the federal 2026 budget proposal, and it spells the end of IMLS. The request is $6,000,000 to "conduct an orderly closeout of IMLS."

Whatever happens in the 2 court cases would be moot if this passes.

bookriot.com/the-2026-fed...

We published a piece in March saying the real Trump/Vought/DOGE goal was to bring universities to their knees, and now they’re just … saying it out loud.

From our blog: altnih4science.substack.com/p/trump-is-a...

What infuriates me so much about this new operation is that it is literally punishing people for following the rules and showing up to their court hearings. It is so toxic to the basic concept of following the rules.

It is an operation designed by people who hate the concept of the rule of law.

Government officials are letting AI do their jobs. Badly Offloading government responsibilities to AI can encourage discrimination, give wrong advice, and limit access to valid claims of asylum.

Excerpt from The AI Con.

Someone hacked the personal cellphone of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and impersonated her in texts and calls (possibly with an AI voice clone) to leading Republicans and corporate executives: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Opinion | Silicon Valley Is at an Inflection Point

In my first op-ed for @nytimes.com, I argue that the alliance between Silicon Valley & the US government is a threat to democracy. The Republican tax bill now up in the Senate, which would ban states from regulating AI for a decade, will only cement that trajectory. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...

AI Models Show Signs of Falling Apart as They Ingest More AI-Generated Data As CEOs trip over themselves to invest in AI, the models are falling apart at the seams and going mad from cannibalism.

What if mad cow, but for the internet.

"The local newspaper still publishes with events and local happenings, but without a newsroom equipped to hold power accountable. If many of the community newspapers owned by Times Media Group aren’t able to fill that critical local watchdog role, what exactly is being preserved?"

Nice.