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The cat sat on the mat

#HalWilliams, veteran actor best known as Officer "Smitty" Smith on Sanford and Son and Lester Jenkins on 227, has died at 91. From classic 1970s television to recent roles on the Matlock revival, his career spanned over 50 years. Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4wec4kk

The push to disband the NYPD's Strategic Response Group is one City Council co-sponsor away from a majority. Mamdani promised to dissolve the unit on the campaign trail but hasn't yet. #SRG #NYPD #CURBAct #PoliceReform

In collaboration with the Munk School, I am sharing a ten-lecture course I taught at @utoronto.ca this past year. The course is called “Hitler and Stalin Today.” Watch the first lecture here: snyder.substack.com/p/new-lectur...

Let this be a lesson to every politician in DC: No matter how hard you carry his water, you will eventually be replaced by a shiny race car.

CQ. Governor's Island. #hamradio

"None of the ICE agents involved has been identified. None has stepped forward to contradict the witnesses’ account. No video or evidence of any sort has been provided by ICE." Read @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social on latest in Texas ICE shooting (cites my report): www.thebulwark.com/p/a-season-o...

This week's cover story: Defend Harlem organizers marched a hearse down Lenox Avenue mourning displacement tied to the One45 project, and they're demanding City Hall step in. #Harlem #DefendHarlem #One45 #AffordableHousing #NYC

Brooklyn's reformer coalition just swept most of the district leader primaries, and some of the Black incumbents who lost say they were targeted specifically. Worth the read. #BrooklynPolitics #NYCDems #Politics

Conrad Blackburn lost a close Harlem Assembly primary by about a thousand votes. A week later he's back at his public defender desk, already plotting his next moves on criminal justice reform. #Harlem #NYCPolitics #PublicDefender #DSA

The topline jobs numbers look fine. Underneath, Black unemployment is stuck at 6.6% and youth unemployment for young Black workers jumped to 16.6% this June. #BlackWorkers #JobsReport #Economy #LaborMarket

Howl at the moon in the Southern Gothic feverish thriller that is Darling by @missmurdermercedes.bsky.social—but be wary for, in the world of the Hunger Garden, the moon bites back. 🌕 links.ruadanbooks.com/darling Available wherever books are sold, out 9.8.26. #BookSky #HorrorSky

Government-run grocery stores selling subsidized food: SOCIALISM! Government-run gas stations selling subsidized gasoline: FREEDOM!

Making contact with Paris from Manhattan using the Xiegu G90 and the Radioddity HF-009! #hamradio

Fake news laws -- that criminalize spreading "disinformation" -- feel intuitively useful. But they are almost always used to go after journalistic inquiry or critical reporting of govt. South Korea has begun implementing its new law; concerning for free expression: apnews.com/article/sout...

When I say press freedom is sub basement, here's some of why: Turkish officials detained 3 journalists in pre-dawn raids in eight cities, all denied lawyers for 24 hours. This after many Turkish reporters denied accreditation to cover NATO Summit: europeanjournalists.org/blog/2026/07...

Our cats seem to be doing very well without us

A little something I cooked up a while back and forgot to share. I think it captures the mood of FIVE FUNERALS pretty well, and as a result you have no choice but to buy several copies. www.jeffreysomers.co... #FiveFunerals #Horror #Novel #AmWriting

NYC's 2-year rent freeze passed. Here is what it actually means for your lease. #RentFreeze #NYC

The kid reporters will cover real issues and real people, but they will do it in their own voices and with their own style. rjionline.org/news/how-to-...

It looks like a good deal because it is a good deal, and also supports a good organization!

ICE has shot and killed a man in Houston. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Another murder. The tenth by ICE officials this year.

This is how I learned that Ohio now has an anti-SLAPP law www.chandralaw.com/blog/thwarte...

"This is not a fight for policies. It is a fight for the fundamental promise of democracy." — @MarcMorial #NationalUrbanLeague #AmericaAt250

James Counts Early: on America's 250th, "we must reject false praise" and act with urgency. #AmericaAt250 #UnfinishedBusiness

In his function as the President of the Senate, I think JD Vance should visit McConnell to, you know, check up on him, make sure he’s okay.

America spent $16M to repaint an algae pool for its 250th. @ProfessorGreer has thoughts. #AmericaAt250 #UnfinishedBusiness

Yeah, well

Actor and activist #DannyGlover, best known for starring as an easygoing police officer in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise, has revealed he has Alzheimer’s disease. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4fp3cBd

In 2019, an MLB exec told Rawlings the league wanted its baseball to perform to what he called a ‘target leaguewide home run rate’ The next year, MLB started making and using two baseballs in at least three consecutive seasons. What could this mean for the 2026 rocket ball? issa new [eyeblack]

New FIFA rules just in: US goals count double, US players have immunity from red & yellow cards, US goal protected by Phalanx CIWS gun mount

How a coalition of 70 orgs and a City Hall rally stopped Mamdani's NYPD expansion plan. #NYPD #NYC

"Paint Black patriots out of the Revolution, and you shrink the nation's idea of itself." — @BenJealous #CrispusAttucks #AmericaAt250

Watching someone confidently assert something wildly incorrect about copyright, and I want to assure all and sundry that copyright does not cease just because the company that made the copyrighted material ceases to exist, or the creator dies without leaving an heir to their IP. It persists.

The post-primary drama between New York’s old school Democrats and largely younger democratic socialists has many wondering where does Black political power coalesce in a transitioning landscape.

A seaplane crashed in the East River yesterday, nbd.

"The tactics may look different, but the goal is the same: to decide whose voice counts." - Attorney General Letitia James #VotingRights #AmericaAt250

Just re-watched Superman from 1978. What were the screenwriters smoking?

COVID drew a big, fat demarcation line on the ground, and people immediately sorted themselves along it into two groups--those who were willing to make some personal sacrifices for the common good, and those who said, "Fuck everyone else, I do whatever I want." I'll always remember who stood where.

Thank you for reading, sharing, and staying in the conversation. All essays are still live: amsterdamnews.com/america250 Keep sharing. The conversation doesn't end July 4. 🔥 #UnfinishedBusiness #AmericaAt250 #America250 #BlackPress #AmsterdamNews

The #worldcup should have unlimited substitutions like basketball. Fight me.

A great day for some #hamradio

Tomorrow, America turns 250. We have questions. Unfinished Business: Our special issue: amsterdamnes.com/america250. Which story speaks to you the most? Tell us in the comments. 👇 #UnfinishedBusiness #July4 #AmericaAt250 #America250 #AmsterdamNews

It's the weekend, baby

"What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?" Frederick Douglass, 1852. Still waiting for an answer. See more: https://bit.ly/3QOH6Qf  #FrederickDouglass #July4 #UnfinishedBusiness