Next Thursday, April 9, I'll be in Kansas City at the Uptown Theater for "The Rent Is Too Damn High," a conversation with Tara Raghuveer and Matthew Desmond, moderated by Carmen Rojas. Live music, an after-party, and free copies of our books for all registered guests!

what next? what, are we gonna provide *roads* for the wealthy too? gonna have health inspectors keep contaminants out of their groceries? are we just gonna have gutters and sewer systems around rich people's homes?

may this be the beginning of something

“Experts describe ‘surveillance wages’ as a system in which wages are based not on an employee’s performance or seniority, but on formulas that use their personal data, often collected without employees’ knowledge.”

Oudone Lothirath missed four out of five chemotherapy appointments while in ICE detention and received no medical care there. Now he will likely die in a matter of days. www.startribune.com/how-ice-deta...

NEW: i took a look at legislation @sanders.senate.gov is intro'ing today to impose a data center moratorium “until legislation is enacted that safeguards the public from the dangers of AI" it's a major line in the sand for progressives looking to tie data center opposition w AI safety

Our historic family home in south Lebanon has been destroyed by the Israeli military. It survived multiple wars and invasions and countless air raids over the decades. My last fond memory at the house was me and my grandpa flipping through family photos outside of his office.

🚨UPDATED ALERT (3/24): ICE is now in DMV area airports. Please take additional precautions while traveling domestically, especially if you are high risk. Important travel safety tips for immigrants: www.nilc.org/resources/community-alert-immigration-arrests-at-airports

"the fact that it takes three clicks to reach says something about how much Google wants you to find it."

Emily Tucker is the executive director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law. And she is magnificent medium.com/center-on-pr... Remember: “there is something that learning is for, that thinking is for, that work is for, and that you are for, the discovery of which belongs to you.”

NEWS: The rumors are true, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports 👇 The National Park Service is removing a popular section of the 15th Street NW protected bike lane, saying that it will cause more traffic during cherry blossom season.

oh man I missed that George Washington University sold its Loudon County, Virginia Science & Technology Campus for $427 million to Amazon so they can build a mega-data center

Royer Perez-Jimenez was 19 years old. He died by suicide at 3am on March 16 at Glades County Detention Center in Florida. He is the 2nd person to die in ICE custody this week, the 13th this year, and the 42nd under Trump. 🧵

I did a deep dive into five Cybertruck fires. What I learned was the truck's design can hamper rescue efforts and lead to worst-case scenarios where fires rapidly ignite, the vehicle’s electric door handles won’t unlock and passengers are trapped inside www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

hilarious short video, well worth the watch. And the consumer council receives government funding! Swoon.

An Uber-backed group has poured more than $8 million into supporting Gov. Hochul's insurance deregulation push. The big cash drop includes an ad with "testimonials" by New York drivers who were mostly professional actors, Streetsblog found. nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/03/13/h...

An autistic 9yo was held with his mother at Dilley for almost 3 months. Without his familiar routine, school supports, and daily therapy, his mother says, he struggled to understand what was happening or why they couldn’t go home. He grew frantic, hurt himself, and had frequent meltdowns.

It is the anniversary of the My Lai massacre today. I'd say that even more than most years, it's important to remember what happened. And the role Hugh Thompson, an active serviceman, played in both stopping and publicising it. Despite enormous military, political and public pressure to stay quiet.

Uber and Instacart argued (unsuccessfully) that a requirement that they notify drivers of their deactivation policies violates the First Amendment. As a First Amendment scholar, my view on this question is best summed up as: "oh come the fuck on" cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...

HEY, YOU. Our fundraising drive to hire more reporters and editors at @51st.news is winding down, but there's never been a better time to contribute or become a paying subscriber. Contributions are currently being matched, so what you give will be doubled! 51st.news/the-51st-is-...

From one perspective, this is a story about grit and determination. From another, it's a damning portrait of a country where someone working full-time at $11/hour lives in a $60-a-night motel with her toddler—then spends evenings DoorDashing with her kid because affordable childcare is nonexistent.

Amazon “said that all interactions with Health AI happen within a HIPAA-compliant environment, and that conversations are protected by “encryption and strict access controls.” However, Amazon didn’t share how exactly conversations are encrypted and who has access to them.”

A Texas woman spent 22 years of her life behind bars for a terrible crime she didn’t commit, finally was released & exonerated, but b/c the wrongful conviction destroyed her legal status, she’s now set to be deported. www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic... @texasmonthly.bsky.social

Well, this wasn't something I ever expected: today several state representatives honored THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US with a resolution at the Georgia State Capitol. I'm very grateful—and hopeful it helps shine a light on Georgia's predatory housing market and the need for stronger tenant protections.

Two brothers from South Texas and their high school mariachi bandmates were recognized by their congresswoman last June for winning a state mariachi competition. Nine months later, the brothers, along with their parents and younger brother, are in ICE detention and facing deportation.

Urbana County, Ohio, a county of just 11,000 people, just passed a 12-month moratorium on data center construction. open.substack.com/pub/marysvil...

Thank you so much for this honor! All thanks to the wonderful organizers in Philly who let me document these struggles and approach to educational justice in the city!

Emmanuel Damas, 56, died in ICE custody on Monday. Damas came to the U.S. from Haiti seeking asylum. After six months in ICE custody—the last four at CoreCivic's Florence Correctional Center—he died from complications from a tooth infection. A tooth infection. 1/3 tucson.com/news/local/b...

My research is on working class women and AI and the ONE consistency among all of the interviews we’ve done so far is concerns about data centers and environmental impact. We do not bring it up - they do. Every single one.

Today the paperback of THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US is out. It's arriving in a country once again waging war—a country that can spend tens of billions on bombs without blinking, while millions of Americans are one missed paycheck, one rent hike away from homelessness. Let's take stock of where we are.

TODAY at 1:00 ET — join us to hear from leading thinkers on how powerful corporations are using pricing algorithms to fleece shoppers, and what cities, states, and the federal gov't can do about it.

"an island of illumination in a sea of darkness" is Sandeep Vanheesan's newest proof of concept for public power. www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...

The Ohio EPA released a draft for a new permit that would allow data centers to release untreated wastewater directly into rivers and streams. www.nbc4i.com/news/local-n...

NEW: We obtained 911 audio from the Texas detention center housing hundreds of immigrant kids and their parents. Since mid-September, EMS crews have been dispatched to Dilley at least 11 times to treat children in medical distress. Burning fevers. Low oxygen. Seizures. A broken leg. My report:

Pricing algorithms deployed by powerful corporations are inflating prices, undermining competition, and threatening independent businesses and communities. On 3/3, Katie Wells joins @ilsr.bsky.social and others for a conversation on algorithmic pricing & market power. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Two years ago AI people were predicting the imminent arrival of the Singularity but what we’ll really get is intrusive surveillance Taylorism.

"The utility has pointed to the region’s historically cold winter as a cause of rising heating demand and costs...But in an email to The 51st, Pepco’s own data show that their D.C. customers actually used more energy in January 2025 than January 2026."

A blind Rohingya man survived a genocide in Burma, escaped to the United States, and then died because immigration officers treated him with such callousness. This story is a tragedy www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/20...

On Friday, @nelp.org laid off six additional members of our staff union. This brings the size of our bargaining unit down to eight total members - a nearly 80% reduction in six months. Read @politico.com on why we see this as a sign of larger leadership failures: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

You can help build billionaire-free local news. Repost this -> I give $1 Follow @51st.news -> I give $1 Follow me -> I give $1 Donate -> I match your gift Let's fight misinformation, help good journalists to make a decent living, and stick a big ol' finger in Jeff Bezos' eye.

What's more shocking than ICE's plan to cram as many 8,500 humans into massive, soul-crushing warehouses? Seeing the actual DHS floor plan that echoes slavery ships and history's worst gulags with no rec space but a gun range for guards My new column on the camps www.inquirer.com/opinion/ice-...

Reinstate the Fired Six at VSU! Six tenured & tenure track faculty members were abruptly fired at Virginia State University without cause or any semblance of due process. Sign this petition to demand their reinstatement & a public commitment from VSU to honor tenure & end arbitrary dismissals.

ICE agents grabbed a 16-year-old asylum seeker--which they aren't supposed to do They kept him from his parents -which they aren't supposed to do They shipped him out of state, to a Christian ministry, which they aren't supposed to do. Then they *lost* him. www.startribune.com/how-ice-labe...

The Trump administration fired Alexis Goldstein for confronting members of DOGE last year over access to sensitive personal information of U.S. residents at a key watchdog agency. Now she's running for Congress.

still remember the "it's too early/hyperbolic/irresponsible to compare these guys to Nazi Germany" Reasonable Posters - whom, I imagine, are waiting for the renovations to be completed before they update their priors

Yesterday, those who teach Intro to Sociology at Florida colleges (as opposed to universities) received a ready-made curriculum from the state and were ordered to teach it. Yes, you read that correctly. The *state* is enforcing a curriculum on college profs, complete w/ the following restrictions:

Great event on March 3: How powerful corporations — including Amazon, Instacart, and major landlords — are using pricing algorithms to inflate prices and undermine competition. With Doha Mekki, Katie Wells, Ted Tatos, and moderator Geoffrey Fowler. Register here: ilsr.org/article/inde...

"Every time teachers post a classroom wish list on Amazon, they’re essentially voting against their next pay raise." Terrific — and very actionable — post from my colleague @kennedysmith.bsky.social

“This is the newspaper industry collapsing, and nobody’s really paying attention to what’s left behind.” - Kafui Attoh on his magnificent new work to capture the ashes of local journalism. www.chronogram.com/river-newsro...