Today's my birthday, and what a day it has been! 2026 has started off with more curveballs than expected, but that just means I have to wait for a pitch to drive. Here's to patience for the future and gratitude for the moment.

A good overview of what appears to be a terrible piece of legislation. It's not a done deal, but this will make for some difficult work by sustainable transportation advocates to get something better.

When Minneapolis felt under heavy siege, people from everywhere helped and reached out and it was really heartening and made a difference. Memphis deserves that too, all the more so because there appears to be a concerted effort to keep their occupation out of the news

terrible. 20 years ago, the internet was full of hobbyist blogs and forums. over time, these have been replaced by paywalled substacks and private discord channels, each a walled garden. google's decision to prioritize AI just makes it less likely people will create free, public info

BREAKING: SCOTUS will not stop Tennessee from killing Tony Carruthers on Thursday against questions of whether he is competent to be executed. There were no noted dissents.

Happy Election Day to those who celebrate!

Hegseth headlined yesterday at Trump's Freedom 250 Christian nationalist Rededicate 250 rally, sponsored by companies including Mastercard and United Airlines. @ffrf.org: ffrf.org/news/release...

“There’s no surprise at all. Speeding is only going to rise when there is no enforcement,” one resident told @thestar.com Following the removal of speed camera's on Toronto's Parkside Drive, the road has seen a 235% spike in drivers going 20+ km/h over the limit 😡 www.thestar.com/news/gta/six...

Update: Louisiana voters tonight have rejected all five constitutional amendments that were on the ballot today; they were there with the support of the GOP legislature and Gov. Landry.

Thousands are marching in Selma calling for a full restoration of the voting rights act.

There's a major civil rights protest taking place in Selma, Alabama, right now in response to the SCOTUS decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act and the ongoing attack on Black Americans’ political power (video: defiancedispatch/IG)

Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player who has served as a global ambassador for the sport, has died from brain cancer, his family said. He was 47 www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...

Georgia's governor signs a comically transparent law. It makes local elections in 5 big blue counties nonpartisan, to give GOP candidates a chance to win without a party label in places like Atlanta. And it doesn't change anything in the rest of the state, for red counties to know who's GOP.

Over 400 million people have been impacted by Long COVID. But Long COVID is still being underdiagnosed and underreported. This article explains some of the reasons why Long COVID is underreported and how researchers and advocates are working to change this. thesicktimes.org/2026/04/14/l...

Super useful info via @the-downballot.com which shows which Dem primaries the GOP is meddling in to get their preferred candidate. They've tried-and-failed in 3 races thus far, but more attempts are coming in #CA22, #TX35, and others. Strategy means paying attention to what your opponent wants.

@who.int’s assessment on #hantavirus continues to be that the risk to health globally is low. My latest update ⬇️

So, am I correct to assume Kendrick deleted/reposted his most recent Grammy-winning stuff to remind Drake that his album has to be award winning *at munimum* to warrant something beyond the equivalent of "see my earlier response"? Because that is petty as hell and I love it.

"One study found that increasing the number of people who receive SNAP benefits by 5 percent could have prevented nearly 32,000 suicides over 15 years. And a $1 increase in minimum wage has been linked to roughly 8,000 fewer suicide deaths over a decade."

The Louisiana House voted 78-14 for a bill to transfer Confederate monuments that have been removed to state parks, where they would be on display again. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said this is about moving monuments removed in New Orleans in 2017. #lalege lailluminator.com/2026/05/11/l...

The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon. Gas is up about $1.36/gallon on average since the war began. That's just the beginning of the problems with this idea, which would also drain the Highway Trust Fund.

if you read the NYT piece out today about the Trump admin condemning Black people to live in raw sewage in the name of fighting "illegal DEI," please make sure you also read and share the piece I wrote about this over a year ago! ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...

new zealander everlee wihongi was due to meet with her lawyer yesterday. then ICE moved her to their most notorious tent facility in texas: 3000 people, highest death rate, most sexual assaults. and today, she disappeared off the system. please RT: www.webworm.co/everleehasdi...

I feel like "Yeah" by Usher should at least be in the conversation here.

Sending love to all the mothers, motherly figures, mothers-to-be, mothers experiencing grief and/or loss today. Motherhood shows up in many ways. However you show up as a mother, thank you! #MothersDay

The more things change, the more things stay the same.

We don't ordinarily publish posts at [checks watch] 8:51 PM on a Friday night, but state constitutional law expert Quinn @yeargain.bsky.social has an outside-the-box idea for reversing the VA Supreme Court that is very much worth taking seriously: Dems can simply lower the retirement age.

This story is WILD. Juan Orlando Hernandez, the Honduran ex-president pardoned by Trump for narcotrafficking, seemingly caught on tape in dozens of conversations (if true), discussing plans with GOP and other figures to attack left-wing governments, and saying Israel paid for his pardon from Trump.

Hot off the press. A well referenced high quality statement from the International Hantavirus Society. High level: - Andes strain is different - some spread will occur - pandemic potential is tremendously low - lots to learn - what happens next is up to us zenodo.org/records/2007...

Efforts like this will play a critical role in helping to increase voter turnout, especially among Black voters. If you can, donate. If you can't, please share with your networks.

Okay, hear me out: Beshear-Crockett 2028

ABC News: Elon Musk’s DOGE “blatantly used” race, gender and other protected characteristics to execute the largest mass termination of federal grants in the history of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. abcnews.com/Politics/jud...

Advocacy Alert for transit friends in #Missouri: urge Gov. Kehoe to fund transit in the state budget this year! www.movingmissouri.org/urge-gov-keh...

this is also one of my hobbyhorses. you want a better caliber of lawmaker? you want to reduce the odds of corruption? pay them more. a lot more.

This is blowing my mind

NEW: Google quietly shut down Project Mariner yesterday, the web-browsing AI agent it highlighted onstage last year at Google IO. I reported for WIRED, nearly 2 months ago, that Google had moved staffers off the Project Mariner team as it responded to OpenClaw-style agents.

The Internet Archive, Wikimedia, academics, and hobby archivists are having trouble finding hard drives or are having to pay extremely high prices for them.

You can either have a safe transportation system or a fast transportation system, but you can't have both. Missouri, unfortunately, continues to choose the latter.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a head of FEMA who had literally any emergency management expertise?

The bus-food axis: millions of Americans live in transit deserts where accessing healthy, affordable food is an inconvenience and an extravagance

This article was really fascinating to read: www.epoxyworks.com/the-hoopy-wo...

This really shouldn't surprise anyone. www.kcur.org/sports/2026-...

Average U.S. gas prices per gallon on April 30, per AAA: • Regular: $4.30 (⬆️ $1.32 since war in Iran began on Feb. 28) • Premium: $5.16 (⬆️ $1.30 since war began) • Diesel: $5.50 (⬆️ $1.74 since war began)

After today, state legislative elections are even more important this year lots of opportunities in many key states. Amazing recruiting. Many states with full slates One tidbit: TX GOP LG Gov Dan Patrick said Rs will “have a tough time” holding TX House www.dlcc.org/the-dlcc-tar...

Good summary of what the SCOTUS decision means for VRA districts in the South. They also acknowledge that the decision could impact districts in states elsewhere as well. This might include Missouri, and it might not. Brief 🧵 (1/5):

I am disabled and have never been allowed to drive, which is the norm here in Canada. You generally have to fight pretty hard to convince them to let you have a liscense. So when I see people opposing bike lanes and multi-use paths, which I rely in, using me as their example, I am filled with rage.

ICE brutally detains U.S. citizen mother & leaves 2 little kids in backseat. "I was shouting: I'm a citizen! I have my children in the car—9 year old girl and 1 year old boy!" She was held hours before being released, despite proving she was a U.S. citizen. Incident occurred in Asbury Park, NJ.

Shocking absolutely no one. Glad to have this to point to, but exhausting that we have to keep demanding of folks that trans people deserve equal rights.

🚨GEORGIA STATE SUPREME COURT ELECTIONS🚨 Candidates: Jen Jordan & Miracle Rankin Early Voting Begins: 🗓️MONDAY, APRIL 27TH🗓️ Election Day: 🗓️TUESDAY, MAY 19TH🗓️ Area: Statewide Notes: We have a chance to flip *2* seats on the GOP-controlled GA State Supreme Court. These are MUST-WIN. Please amplify!