“It is a pattern she plans to continue: Spend SNAP funds early, when she gets them, and invest in foods that can be frozen or shelved for the long haul. “I’m not quite out of the woods, mentally,” Ms. Mayne said, adding, “I think I’m still in the mentality of starvation.”

Although some #SNAP benefits will be restored as the government reopens, 58,000 families in #Connecticut are still projected to lose SNAP benefits (losing an average of $194/month per household) due to H.R.1. Learn more about how these changes impact each CT and legislative district on our site.

Katie Wilson has been elected Seattle's next mayor www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

“With the penny’s demise, coin enthusiasts’ worried eyes now turn toward its longtime associate, the nickel. Its purchasing power has also shrunk to nearly nothing, and it costs more than a dime to make.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/b...

Even if the shutdown ends, "5.3 million American families, including 58,000 Connecticut families, will lose at least $25/month in #SNAP benefits due to policy changes in H.R.1. These 58,000 Connecticut families will lose an average of $194 in benefits each month." www.ctdatahaven.org/reports/food...

Some states got full benefits out after the courts ordered them to. The White House is saying that was illegal. But it would also be illegal to claw back those benefits. The net result is that some SNAP users got full benefits, and some did not depending on how aggressively their state acted.

Low-income households denied SNAP due to administrative barriers suffer downstream consequences. Process-related denials increase debt, delinquencies, and decrease credit scores, from Tatiana Homonoff, Min S. Lee, and Katherine Meckel www.nber.org/papers/w34434

Dem gains in this week's elections erased the inroads Trump made with non-white, young, and low-income voters in 2024. In fact, the R-to-D shift from 24 to 25 is double Trump's gains from 20-24. Claims of a GOP political realignment have been highly exaggerated www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trumps-win...

New data from @datahaven.bsky.social ’s large annual survey in #Connecticut collected from August through October 2025, including on SNAP, healthcare, housing, evictions, immigration, and quality of life www.ctdatahaven.org/blog/2025-da...

SNAP surveys SNAP users. Already half of them are saying they are skipping meals.

Yesterday Trump said he’d violate court orders and continue holding SNAP benefits hostage, forcing Americans to go hungry. Thankfully, members of his own administration ignored his rant and are issuing partial payments as directed by courts. Trump is out of control.

By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000. More than 260,000 will be children. Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...

The One Big Beautiful Bill dedicates $170 billion to immigration enforcement, or $12,142 per unauthorized immigrant. By comparison, the federal government spends $8,990 per child each year. Money talks; Congress is saying kids aren't as important. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Lockheed Martin, Raytheon/RTX, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman spent $89 billion on stock buybacks and dividends over the last four years. Two-thirds of that came from US taxpayers:

Well, this story is a dystopian sci-fi scenario made real www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/m...

Universal swing in action: "What we saw last night was a directional shift toward Democrats in 99.8% of counties that held partisan elections." www.gelliottmorris.com/p/seven-data...

In light of the stunning size of the blue wave, I’m also thinking of all the important races that Dems left on the table by not running a candidate:

Trump confirms he is weaponizing hunger

"[Chicago mom] Andrea Soria... overheard her 6-year-old whisper to her dolls: 'We have to be good or ICE will get us.'" apnews.com/article/chic...

Yesterday when I was teaching health policy, I told them that SNAP payments are not being made on November 1 and that while there is a contingency fund, they’re not using it. My students naturally asked why they wouldn’t use these funds to help people eat. Tough thing to answer in PG language.

For the first time in the history of the U.S., the President is allowing SNAP funding to lapse. I knew Trump was cruel, but letting tens of millions of Americans starve when you have the resources to feed them is a new low.

NEW: The Trump admin just ended the practice of automatically extending work permits when people file to renew them — meaning that if USCIS takes too long to process a renewal the applicant loses their authorization to work legally. The interim final rule applies to renewals filed after tomorrow.

This might explain why so many car washes have been built recently

“.. In the first half of this year, the Trump Organization’s income soared 17-fold to $864 million .. “.. more than 90% .. came from Trump crypto ventures, including sales of World Liberty tokens.” @reuters.com $WLFI www.reuters.com/investigatio...

"For more than a year, Russian operators have routinely flown drones into Kherson and dropped hand grenades on civilians on sidewalks or working in backyard gardens...with drones sometimes hovering over burning buildings, waiting to drop grenades on arriving firemen." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/w...

Fun fact. Trump destruction of soybean exports (rightfully) gets lots of attention. But you know what we sell even more of to China? Education. 2024 soybean exports to China: $13B. Higher Ed: $14B. Yes, all those internat’l students count as *exports.* Trump is STILL actively destroying that market.

“Federal officials are relying on racial profiling in a country where 20% of the population is Latino, most of whom are legal residents or citizens…. able to do so because of Congress’s acquiescence on the topic and a wrongheaded SCOTUS ruling last month” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/o...

“There’s now 17 times as much investment in AI as there was in internet companies before the dotcom bust. Nvidia has been valued at almost as much as Canada’s entire economy.”

In a nearly illiterate editorial, WaPo defends Trump's ballroom project, without revealing the fact that the paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, is a principal funder of the project. Shameful conduct all around. bsky.app/profile/bgru...

At least one family is raking in those billions.

The likelihood that the 2026 or 2028 elections will be free and fair is dwindling right before our eyes...

NBC News finds that: -- ICE has shortened its training from 13 weeks to six. -- Nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam. -- Recruits "are supposed to attest" they can pass the physical-fitness test, which requires them to run ... 6 mph. www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

“People living in low-income areas had a 60% higher risk of foodborne UTIs compared to those in wealthier neighborhoods” www.cbsnews.com/news/urinary...

It flies under the radar because it is overwhelmed by the sheer repulsiveness of the physical destruction of the east wing, but there is no way that a president should be allowed to use private money to change public property. It circumvents the power of the purse.

Ed Luce watching democracy die in the United States of America

Leavitt: "At this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president's main priority."

South Korea has just launched a HUGE universal basic income pilot focused on rural areas. Around 220,000 people will receive 150,000 won a month for two years in 7 counties. A similar pilot in the US would cost $1 billion and provide $180 a month to all of Wyoming outside of Cheyenne and Casper.

Impact of SCOTUS admissions decision: Share of Black students entering Princeton, Cornell, and Wellesley falls to <5% jamessmurphy.com/2025/09/15/t...

Updating my LEGO White House

Austerity and corruption is always the cause.

When @alonlevy.bsky.social and i started working together, we both thought that a wall of text with a picture and maybe a chart/table was advanced design. We know that’s wrong. We attempted to take our NEC work and add some good design. We are very happy with how this came out: nec.transitcosts.com

Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs - Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75% - Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60% - Social Sciences by 50–70% - History by 60% - Biology by 75% - The German department will lose all PhD seats - Sociology from six PhD students to zero

ICE is stockpiling arms, including chemical weapons, guided missile warheads and explosive components. The spending dwarfs anything we've ever seen in the agency - a 700% increase. The President is building an army to attack his own country.

WELL HOW ABOUT THAT "A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Folks, it’s really hard times for a lot of Americans under the glitz of an economy pushing wealth to billionaires Keep an eye out for those who need help Keep an eye out for neighbors in need Donate to food banks + programs that provide meals for kids, families, veterans, working & elderly poor /1

Oh man, the New York Young Republicans implicated in the Nazi groupchat scandal ran up a $23,000 tab eating filet mignon and drinking at a hotel in Syracuse -- a city with one of the highest child poverty rates *in the nation* -- and then refused to pay the bill.

New report on the DataHaven website details the projected local-level impacts of SNAP cuts, by #Connecticut town and state legislative district. Many towns in the state are likely to be losing over $500,000 in SNAP benefits each month.

“.. what unfolded that night was an ordeal .. that left residents .. terror-stricken and humiliated. “.. I don’t understand how they decided who they can do that to,” Mr. Polk said. “They didn’t treat people like they were American.” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...

The goal of good infrastructure is freedom from fear. At 6 months pregnant, my wife can ride because this physically separated path eliminates the threat of motorists. ​This is what women in advocacy fight for, not just paint, but genuinely safe, forgiving spaces that enable true mobility choice.