The Local News Research Hub formally launches on Thursday. The new database will make academic research on local news searchable for policymakers, funders, and working journalists. www.niemanlab.org/2026/05/here...

breaking news is the hardest journalism to do well and the least supported. we're here to help! applications are open now for Building a Better Breaking News Beat - a cohort for journalists who cover urgent stories and want to do it better, led by me and @rlnave.bsky.social forms.gle/7RgwannDFzEn...

breaking news is the hardest journalism to do well and the least supported. we're here to help! applications are open now for Building a Better Breaking News Beat - a cohort for journalists who cover urgent stories and want to do it better, led by me and @rlnave.bsky.social forms.gle/7RgwannDFzEn...

today I learned that the largest operational data center in the US is a bitcoin mine in Texas. it uses enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes and it’s just….running a ton of computers that solve math puzzles to find fake money

technology should have stopped at Microsoft Encarta honestly

Memphis is “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Here’s why you may not know that.

no yea of course

The totally illegal politicization of the federal civil service is under way, starting with people in the most senior roles. This is dangerous, and I truly believe people are going to die because of this politicization. When it reaches lower ranks, it will also be union busting.

If you're reading this, my cat and I have boarded a one-way flight out of the United States. The Trump administration wrongfully denied my work permit renewal; after months of demanding that they follow the law, we have run out of legal recourse, and I have no choice but to leave the country. (🧵)

This guy has unilaterally decided for a million people that the only way to fight crime is to put everyone under police surveillance even though, if he really wanted to, he could afford to pour that tens millions of dollars in housing, education, public programs and things that actually reduce crime

join us at this (free) briefing on wednesday! tell your other journalist friends! bring questions!

every generation inherits a world they didn’t choose or create, yes, but I really can’t believe we’re giving today’s children the largest expansion of state and corporate surveillance in human history and a future where you maybe won’t ever know what it’s like not to be watched

This is some great research on how algorithms shape us: 'Users who switched from the chronological feed to the “For You” feed were 4.7 percentage points more likely to prioritise policy issues favoured by US Republicans (for example, crime, inflation and immigration).' 🧪

last week, the California Supreme Court issued an important ruling on bail/pretrial jailing -- journalists (as always!) have a big role to play in 1. explaining the ruling and 2. covering the actual implementation and what's happening on the ground. join us tmrw: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

last week, the California Supreme Court issued an important ruling on bail/pretrial jailing -- journalists (as always!) have a big role to play in 1. explaining the ruling and 2. covering the actual implementation and what's happening on the ground. join us tmrw: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

An Atlanta suburb learned Flock was using livestreams from a children's gymnastics studio, a pool, and a playground in sales pitches to other cities. Residents are furious but the city renewed its contract with Flock anyway: www.404media.co/city-learns-...

this was my first full winter in vermont and it was a doozy. but! I don’t think I’ve ever felt more grateful for spring, better than drugs, will be sitting on my porch until September if you need me

The long-term battle is not just to break the grip these companies have on our governments. It’s to break the grip they have on the world. https://bit.ly/4vXAcrA

‘Twenty years from now, people will point to this era as one when the relationship between the state and the individual was permanently renegotiated.’

"The people involved in these campaigns are not all hardened civil libertarians. They are also parents and teachers and scientists and retirees who noticed something had changed in their communities without anyone asking them." #deflock #surveillance #alpr

Flock Safety cameras capture billions of images of cars every month, and they have gone up in cities across the country. But in more than 30 cities, since just the start of 2025, that has started to change, writes @hannahcrileyy.bsky.social. https://bit.ly/4vXAcrA

for @thenation.com i wrote about how everyone hates Flock cameras ❤️ www.thenation.com/article/acti...

public defenders who follow me — cool job alert in beautiful burlington vt (with an amazing boss) (who I am married to) vt.fd.org/sites/vt/fil...

yesterday really made me reflect on how inadequate the mass anti war movement in the US is. not just against this war, or the last one, or the next one. against all wars, as an organizing principle. we haven’t had that in decades (ever?) and we are paying for it right now

A reminder that we put out a report that explains the shady ways technology companies are marketing and selling their devices to police, including how they come up with the claims of effectiveness. Everyone, especially journalists and law makers, should read this. www.eff.org/document/sel...

this reminds me to recommend reading the short novel Orbital if you're feeling even remotely nihilistic!

In 2024, South Carolina granted parole at a rate of 4% — the lowest in the country.

protests are simply good and untold numbers of other organizing projects come out of them, don't be a weird hater

sir this is a wendy's

sorry but gavin newson's hair just screams "i have no firmly held positions on anything at all and i'm a jelly boy with no bones"

hello! has your community successfully fought against a new Flock contract, or tried (successfully or not) to get one cancelled? I want to hear about it for a piece I’m writing!

your Sunday zen is this amazing painting by my mom — migrating geese painted onto a map of the moon, celebrating the spring equinox 💫

While the Trump admin is scrubbing official mentions of climate change, its wars abroad and ICE occupations at home are, in fact, climate policies: They’re showcasing how the US state is orienting itself toward displacement, hardship, and the very idea of global cooperation toward a shared end.

NEW: Mayor Mamdani announced a new approach to oversight of NYC’s violence prevention + mental health crisis response programs that recognizes the need for non-police responses + services. We look forward to working w/ the Mayor to build on these initiatives to deliver bold action.

Kenneth Windley, who spent 19 years in prison for a $550 robbery he didn't commit, was exonerated and freed

Prosecutors say they still plan to take four of the six charged protesters to trial. The charges revolve around events on the morning of Sept. 26 outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview.

promises made promises kept

This was a bad one.

the Trump administration ran a test last week. they wanted to know if they could convict protesters of terrorism for simply showing up to a demonstration. they got their answer! it's not good! a quick thread on the Prairieland convictions and what they mean for all our right to protest:

if you’re in Burlington, Vermont — ICE is in South Burlington trying to take one of your neighbors right now; show up and observe and record:

atlantans! if you care about local media coverage of the many many issues surrounding housing in Atlanta we'd love to see you at this convening at CCI on Friday. good relationships between press & community makes for better reporting (also free lunch!!) sign up here: form.jotform.com/260415222173...

no greater shame than living in the country that kills children around the world with impunity— in hospitals, in schools, sleeping in their homes, in refugee camps, at play, at rest. no greater shame

wow so cool sirs

Introducing Selling Safety! A report that lays bare the ethnically dubious world of marketing and selling police surveillance technology, how effectiveness numbers are manufactured, the role police play in a massive for-profit industry, and new critical questions for reporters and law makers.

HUGELY relevant. Remember that Flock superbowl ad? If that freaked you out, this is info you want.

police tech is a multibillion dollar industry with marketing teams, PR templates, and a well trod employment pipeline between tech sales and police jobs. journalism sometimes just… repeats the claims. we made a guide to help reporters see through the spin: justjournalism.org/page/selling...

not enough talk about this, I fear! thanks to the reconciliation bill last summer ICE can now distribute BETWEEN $1.4 AND $2 BILLION to local police with immigration powers this year. that’s…an unreal amount of money going to policing www.fwd.us/wp-content/u...

Ring has done this before. They partner with cops, get backlash, withdraw a bit, wait for it to calm down, and then go right back to working with cops. Don't believe this spin. www.theverge.com/news/878447/...

yall, Atlanta Community Press Collective is running out of $. we’ve sued for public records when no one else would. we covered Cop City from the ground for years. we train and pay local freelancers. we publish work other outlets wouldn’t touch. if this reporting means anything to you, PLEASE donate

Cop Cities are everywhere, from Georgia to Israel