This is fine.gif The concentration of wealth among the richest Americans is unlike anything in history — and so is billionaires’ influence in politics. From @ence.bsky.social @bethreinhard.bsky.social @aaronschaffer.com & Naftali Bendavid: Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

it would indeed seem that elites are capturing much of our politics

In the past decade, billionaires have been more empowered than ever before to spend money to influence American elections. Here are the billionaires who make up the top 20 political spenders:

Chart of the decade, from a new blockbuster reportage on how billionaires took over American politics www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

And a "who's who" of the top 20 billionaires influencing American politics from @ence.bsky.social & @erxclau.me www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Our data, analyzed by @washingtonpost.com, shows giving from the 100 wealthiest Americans has risen 140x since 2000. In 2024 they accounted for 7.5% of federal election spending - $1 of every $13. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int... @bethreinhard.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social @aaronschaffer.com

We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com. We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans. washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

You can oversee the bloody dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist with a bone saw, and the president of the United States will smile, shake your hand and threaten to pull the license of a news outlet whose reporter asks you a question about it. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary teacher combined

If you care about D.C. or journalism or local control, read this. | Behind the scenes of the D.C. mayor’s battle to keep Trump at bay wapo.st/43thCLr

So so excited to welcome the very talented @chrishacker.me to @wpdatateam.bsky.social!! Chris is our team's newest hire, joining us as a computational journalist embedded on the national desk. 🙌

SANDWICH GUY AVOIDS TOASTER

🚨🚨🚨 The jury has reached a verdict. Sean Dunn, aka the DC Sandwich Guy, has been found NOT GUILTY of assault.

quite a chart from WashPost www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Spanberger ran up wild margins in the DC/Richmond suburbs, flipped 6 Trump counties, and cut her losses in the rest of the state — some SWVA counties moved 15-20 points to her compared to 2021 gov's race. My first election results for @washingtonpost.com ! www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Dems in Array

President Trump has sought to portray Zohran Mamdani as the face of an extremist opposition, while Mamdani’s vow to resist Trump has helped unify Democrats against a common foe.

Most Americans think Trump has gone too far in asserting executive power. Numbers for Guard deployment are some of the worst for Trump. Via @sfcpoll.bsky.social and the Post www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

EXCLUSIVE: After Trump took over the Kennedy Center in Feb, he vowed to make it "hot" again. So, how's it doing? @jeremybmerrill.com and I used data from the center's ticketing website to find out. Ticket sales are lowest they've been since the pandemic. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

The great @dtkeating.bsky.social is retiring after 25+ years as a data reporter at the Post. He published his last story today, and true to form, it was a banger. With reporting from @arianaec.bsky.social, @lmelgar.bsky.social & Jahi Chikwendiu: www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

The largest U.S. law firms have been far less likely to challenge President Trump’s policies than they were during his first term, and smaller firms are carrying much more of the burden of high-stakes legal challenges, according to a Post analysis.

My latest, on a man who supported the war in Afghanistan, came to the U.S. legally, applied for asylum, had two kids, became a bookkeeper, bought an American flag bumper sticker. Then ICE arrested him. If he's deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him. wapo.st/49aGaw2

we’ll see how his mayoral tenure shakes out but i am convinced that Mamdani has the juice. not just the charisma to win an election but the temperament to govern and the measured pragmatism of someone who genuinely believes what they’re saying and wants to accomplish real things.

How America’s favorite sports bet is fueling sportsbook profits Parlays are becoming more popular, accounting for an increasing share of the money wagered on sports, according to a Post analysis of betting data. Bettors lose billions a year on these bets. www.washingtonpost.com/sports/inter...

This story is fantastic, important and difficult to execute -- proud of my colleagues @caitlingilbert.bsky.social @richardsima.bsky.social , Leslie Shapiro, @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...

Three different people at my bus stop this morning were reading this column... and one guy had a printout of Sietsema's latest piece on appetizers in DC. Impact!

🤳EXCLUSIVE: We analyzed real data from over 800 U.S. TikTok users to reveal how the app transforms casual users into power users. Extremely proud of this one, over a year in the making w/ @richardsima.bsky.social Leslie Shapiro @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social wapo.st/4obueib

In the days after a shooting at a Mormon church in Michigan, members raised money for the families of the victims — and the family of the shooter.

Check out our new CNN poll deep dive into who political independents are, how they engage with politics and what they think about the current political moment. The classic swing voter appears to be a thing of the past. www.cnn.com/interactive/...

Talked to 23 people who suddenly have to pay huge tariffs or otherwise cannot get chainmail from Pakistan, yarn from France, retro computers from Japan, metal music from the Netherlands, DVDs from Germany, cosplay supplies, sunscreen, etc. www.404media.co/its-just-a-m...

NEW: JPMorgan, the largest US bank, enabled the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. The bank lent him money, created accounts for his victims, disregarded suspicious transactions and overruled employees who raised concerns. @mattgoldstein26.bsky.social @jsgatnyt.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/m...

Great analysis of how Grok's political bias has changed. NYT tested Grok on a political bias survey, using different versions of its system prompt. Shows much tweaking these system prompts affects model outputs. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/technology/elon-musk-grok-conservative-chatbot.html

Incredible, must-read investigation by @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social into how Tea's founder got women to join the app, how its founding story changed, how it spammed Are We Dating the Same Guy Facebook groups, how it hired an influencer marketing firm to promote it www.404media.co/how-teas-fou...

I’m grateful to Bue Wongbandue’s family for telling his story to me. It took courage, and they didn’t want attention. www.reuters.com/investigates...

gasped the first time i read this kicker www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

1. per the washington post, it seems very unclear what federal control of MPD actually entails and if anything is going to change in terms of the actual functioning of the police department www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Exclusive: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a minimally redacted version of a highly classified document on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election after an intense behind-the-scenes struggle over secrecy with the CIA.

The right-wing internet couldn't stop talking about Epstein after Bondi said there was no client list... until the admin accused Obama of planning "essentially a years-long coup" against Trump. Immediately, attention flipped. my latest, w/ Cleve Wootson: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The right-wing internet couldn't stop talking about Epstein after Bondi said there was no client list... until the admin accused Obama of planning "essentially a years-long coup" against Trump. Immediately, attention flipped. my latest, w/ Cleve Wootson: washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Happy FEC filing day, everyone. In the first half of the year, Elon Musk put another $45 million into his America PAC. docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed 18,500 children. These are their names: www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

In their own words: Why Americans are paying attention to the Epstein file news wapo.st/3HaN2hv

Exclusive: The Justice Department told President Trump in May that his name is among many in the Epstein files.

At a time when the Trump administration has taken a hands-off approach to regulating digital currencies, The Post identified nearly 70 nominees and officials who held cryptocurrency or have invested in crypto or blockchain companies By @ence.bsky.social, @cqzakrz.bsky.social & Arfa Momin:

Over 1 in 5 top Trump appointees reported investments in crypto and other digital assets, far more than previous administrations, a Post analysis found.

“The Washington Post identified nearly 70 nominees and officials of the Trump administration who held cryptocurrency or have invested in crypto or blockchain companies. Individual holdings ranged from small investments to at least $120 million.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

One in five Trump nominees and top officials own crypto, which the administration is now basically choosing not to regulate. Bitcoin's price has surged 70% since the election. Doesn't get more swamp-drainy than this www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int... @ence.bsky.social @cqzakrz.bsky.social

The @washingtonpost.com assigned around 20 staffers to this account of the Texas flood, with one jawdropping anecdote after another One thing that becomes clear: The extraordinary courage of camp counselors, who evacuated their girls as older adults floundered and stalled Free link wapo.st/44N1cNI

NEW: Metadata from the FBI’s 11-hour Epstein prison video suggests the footage was modified, likely using Adobe Premiere Pro. The file appears to include at least two clips, and was saved multiple times. From @dmehro.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/metada...