WSJ on ICE activity in and around Boston finds, among other things, 95 instances of ICE activity within a mile of a school. www.wsj.com/us-news/ice-...

Bloomberg: To understand why residents of New York City, the epicenter of American capitalism, are supporting a democratic socialist candidate for mayor, look no further than its warped rental market. www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

Crime has fallen in D.C. during the federal law enforcement surge, faster than it was already dropping this year. But the show of force appears to have deterred other activity too: foot traffic, dining out, visits by immigrants to food pantries and health clinics. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...

If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...

A news tidbit: The D.C. Council has hired a lobbying firm to help fight off the growing interference coming from Republicans in Congress. @chmnmendelson.bsky.social has a dedicated staffer for congressional relations, but the council will now have a much more dedicated presence on the Hill.

Apropos of nothing for D.C. folks, we're shuffling the upcoming titles at the Reading the City book club at Solid State. In October, George Musgrove will join us to talk about "Chocolate City" and home rule. www.solidstatebooksdc.com/ssb-read-the...

"The pattern of failure — in what was now three separate cases — suggested that something extraordinary was taking place in the city’s federal courts." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...

A review of about a thousand arrests made in the first two weeks of the federal law enforcement surge in DC suggests that the operation has been more of a sprawling dragnet than a targeted crime-fighting operation: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...

In detailed budget logs it tried to keep from public view, the White House is trying to wrest more control over spending from Congress. (and this was *before* last night's pocket recision) www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...

"I have determined the business need is higher than the security risk associated with this implementation and I accept all risks,” said the DOGE worker who uploaded everyone's Social Security information to the cloud: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...

Been thinking about this graphic we published last fall after the election. Most large, diverse cities shifted toward Trump, one of the major stories of 2024. D.C. notably broke that pattern. It barely shifted at all. People knew the stakes.

Strange, I was told congestion pricing would turn Manhattan into a ghost town

The excellent Amy Fan map of the federal footprint in this story is now interactive! Some of the details in it are so weird. Look around.

Spot on. I would note that there are 43 law enforcement agencies operating in Washington, the majority of which are federal. The Capitol Hill police alone have a force about the size of Cleveland's municipal police.

The president wants to “take back” DC, but the federal government never really let it go. It touches nearly every aspect of life in the city, making it harder for local officials to manage even the things Trump cares most about. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/u...

“Official statistics, government statistics are a mirror that society holds up to itself." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/b...

Today Gov Hochul announced new details on the IBX, a 14-mile light-rail line that will connect Brooklyn and Queens directly. Take a ride on the future line with us! Free link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

States know even more about you than the federal government does. The Trump administration is now trying to access that data, too: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/u...

Good news www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/u...

Wild that the National Capital Planning Commission now sits at the center of Trump's campaign to pressure the Fed chair to lower interest rates: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/u...

New: I teamed up with @elenashao.bsky.social and nytgraphics to map more than 100 public TV and radio stations that are at risk of closing as a result of tonight's vote: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... This is a time bomb that will go off in the fall, when the last federal grants run out.

The Trump admin would like to put a 2-year time limit on federal housing assistance for the non-elderly or disabled. 70% of such households now in subsidized housing have already been there that long: apnews.com/article/hud-...

"It was an exercise of power, not reason." Helpful @adamliptak.bsky.social context on recent SCOTUS moves: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...

The "DEI" science grants the Trump administration has canceled include some that support young scientists from rural and first-gen college backgrounds: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...

Republicans want states to cut food aid errors. Their bill could do the opposite: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/u...

How the GOP mega-bill bill finds its savings: piling more paperwork on the poor. w/ @sangerkatz.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/06/29/u...

Since Mamdani won the Dem NYC mayor nomination with a free bus proposal, let's talk about free transit. Research suggests that free transit: a—increases ridership b—doesn't get people out of cars c—benefits youth, elderly & low-income ppl d—doesn't add employment e—maybe ups operational efficiency

We pored through more than 900 grants worth $2.6 billion that the Trump administration canceled at Harvard. “This is larger than any individual grant,” a researcher told us. “What we are losing is a future.” www.nytimes.com/interactive/... With @emmbadger.bsky.social and @ethansinger.bsky.social

Rather than softening the Medicaid cuts in Republican's megabill, the Senate has made them even more aggressive: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...

Mr. Musk and his allies systematically built a false narrative of widespread fraud at the Social Security Administration based on misinterpreted data: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/u...

Big tax cut bills typically don't leave the poor worse off. Bills cutting the safety net don't normally include benefits for the rich. The GOP reconciliation bill is something we haven't really seen before. w/ @aliciaparlap.bsky.social + @sangerkatz.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

"We are not cutting Medicaid in this package." "We're not doing any cutting of anything meaningful." "the largest deficit reduction in nearly 30 years" These are lies. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/u...

RFK's "Make America Healthy Again" report cites studies that don't even exist: www.notus.org/health-scien...

The MTA today won a temporary restraining order against the federal government's attempts to shut down congestion pricing. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/n...

NEW: Under Trump, the National Science Foundation is awarding grants at the slowest pace in decades. We took a detailed look at every area of science affected by the funding lag. Here's a gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Plastic Spoons, Umbrellas, Violins: A Guide to What Americans Buy From China www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

For all Trump's focus on trade deficits with China, we actually have a big surplus in one area -- selling U.S. higher education to foreign students. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/u...

Easily one of my favorite stories we've ever worked on. Have you ever... not gotten around to opening your mail for a week or two? That's the kind of thing that will get a low-income family kicked off benefits. The GOP reconciliation bill would ramp up such hurdles.

Here's a complete list of *everything* in the GOP megabill, thanks to heroic efforts from @aliciaparlap.bsky.social @emmbadger.bsky.social and Josh Katz. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The reconciliation bill passed by the House GOP yesterday alters the social safety net in many significant ways that are easy to miss if you blink. Let’s take, for one, SNAP, a program where the federal government currently pays 100% of benefits.

Republicans in the House just passed the strictest Medicaid work requirements they have ever put forward, via @sangerkatz + @sarahkliff: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/u...

As Congress Debates Cutting Medicaid, a Major Study Shows It Saves Lives: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/h...

Boys and young men are falling behind -- in school, in college, in young adulthood, in the labor market. via @clairecm.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...

Wow! Each $1 spent on Universal Pre-Kindergarten generates between $3-$20 dollars in aggregate earnings. That's enough to offset the costs of Universal Pre-Kindergarten through higher tax revenues.

congestion pricing is the only thing in politics that makes me feel any hope rn

Excellent NYT graphic. In the space of about 3 months, tariffs on China: -- doubled; -- went up ≈ 2.5X from there; -- roughly doubled again; -- went up ≈ 40% from there; -- and now have dropped ≈ 80% from the peak -- but are still 3X what they were in February. www.nytimes.com/article/trum...

Policy changes often take years to show results. And then there is congestion pricing in New York. Here are all of the ways we could find it having an immediate effect: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Fascinating story by @sangerkatz.bsky.social + Sarah Kliff on an accounting trick nearly every states uses to collect extra federal Medicaid dollars — now potentially targeted by House Republicans looking for savings. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/u...

DOGE appears on pace to far undershoot Musk's cost-cutting goals. But that is not the right way to think about Musk's legacy, per @juliaangwin.com. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/o...

For months now the federal government has been claiming in court that DOGE merely *advises* and *consults* with agencies. Good @lawfaremedia.org piece on the administrative paper trail now emerging in court that clearly disproves this: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/on-d...