lmao

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged his rapid weight loss, joked about former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — another 2028 presidential hopeful — and thanked the press during a speech before Washington journalists and dignitaries on Saturday.

GBO! 🍊

My article @climateconnections.bsky.social today examines how, despite their polar-opposite politics, California and Texas became leaders in solar, wind, and battery deployment. The most important thing you need to know is that I came up with the headline – I'm very proud of it 😅 🧵 follows [1/8]:

All rural culture is "The South" and that's very bad. For the obvious reasons, of course, but it also treats The South as a monolith.

a lot of discussion about how "cosmopolitan" urban dwellers are, but a really underdiscussed trend is the homogenization of culture across *rural* areas of the USA - replacement of once-distinct regional cultures with generic "redneck" accent and culture, regional religions with evanglicalism etc

I think this deserves at least as much sustained attention from US media as Claudine Gay's dissertation

Right now, there are US politicians in office who were already adults before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made integration the law of the land, and who spent most of their upbringing in segregated white communities. Just something I think about in 2026.

All but one US president lived both their childhood and part of their adulthood before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Obama is the only president to date born when there were 50 states

When we talk about Baby Boomers not getting off the stage: In 1997, the US president was born in 1946. In 2007, the US president was born in 1946. In 2017, the US president was born in 1946. And next year in 2027? The US president will have been born in 1946.

This is a climate nightmare, honestly.

From @mlavelle.bsky.social and me, with cool charts from @cooljerk.bsky.social:

1/3 CA news. "The State of California was to some degree powered directly by solar and indirectly via batteries, starting at 4:05 am on January 31st through February 2nd at 12:30 am for a total of 44 hours and 25 minutes straight." Check out the charts. 🔌💡 pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/02/17/w...

Talen plans pivot after Pa. gas plant rezoning proposal for data center development fails www.spglobal.com/market-intel... 🔌💡

And the Lancet's editorial that goes with it www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

This week's cover @thelancet.com

I ADORE the DC Metro. You always know exactly where you are in the world, the branding is impeccable. Even the suburban stations that don’t have that coffering, you see the tile and you know exactly what system you’re using.

“greatest privilege of them all, voting”

Al Green is escorted out as Republicans yell "USA USA"

Anyway, calling Venezuela a friend is wild.

There’s a through line between the President sharing this and Google’s BAFTA “mistake”

There are 2 alt events tonight, one on the Mall and the other at the Press Club, we will be covering both in addition to the SOTU.

Good evening as we near the time for the State of the Union. Trump has left the White House and the motorcade is on the way to the Capitol. Lawmakers are coming in the House chamber. Our @statesnewsroom.com DC reporter @jennifershutt.bsky.social is in the House press gallery.

Sources: DoD told Anthropic it will invoke the Defense Production Act or label Anthropic a "supply chain risk", if not given unfettered Claude access by Friday (Axios) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Sen. Marsha Blackburn just now.

In the most recent episode of Tiny Matters, two #SciComm awardees, @samjscience.bsky.social and @fieseler.bsky.social, explore the fascinating science and history of wind power. 🌬️ 🎧 Listen here: www.acs.org/pressroom/ti... #WindPower

WHERE ARE THEM PEOPLE'S TARIFF MONEY???????

👁️👁️ www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Well isn't this just *extremely* interesting!

Leonard Leo is a lawyer, but he's never argued a case in court. He's never held elected office. But for years he rebuilt the American legal system, resulting in the Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority. (Published Oct. 2023)

“EPA will also claim that the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision striking down an Obama-era power plant rule prohibited EPA from regulating global pollution and that U.S. sectors like new vehicles contribute so little to global warming that they don’t warrant regulation.” 2/2

ICYMI: Trump‘s Energy Department wants you to forget that pollution harms health and drives climate change. 🧵

The start of the game is less important to us than the start of the real game, which is the brutal scrabble among the decreasing number of search traffic–focused websites to inform their readers what time the game starts.

Right-wing-funded automation is overwhelming the FOIA system. “Every year it gets harder to get the government to give information, and it’s only going to get worse.” www.cjr.org/tow_center/t... via @columjournreview.bsky.social

“Public assistance is traditionally provided on a reimbursement basis after costs are incurred and documented,” FEMA stated in a Jan. 30 news release. “This time, because the storm was so serious, FEMA is sending the money upfront so Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana can act quickly.”

“going to be late for piano” kind of crushed me

Scoop w/ @nataliekorach.bsky.social: Washington Post leadership spiked a story that had been prepared by the newspaper's media desk, covering the historic layoffs at the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper. Details in @status.news: link.status.news/4ai6W4C

Alabama Power is so scared of voters that they want to take away your right to vote for utility regulators. www.wbrc.com/2026/02/05/l...

Breaking, from me: An executive order from Oklahoma's governor directs most of the state's public colleges to "phase out tenure." #AcademicSky #HigherEd @chronicle.com www.chronicle.com/article/tenu...

Record-breaking low temps across New England forced the region's grid operator to turn to its most polluting energy resources & temporarily lift powerplant smokestack emissions standards to ensure a steady supply of electricity. "It's like an oil spill in the sky."

If New England's full 3.5GW fleet of offshore wind had been operational last winter (instead of being attacked by the Trump admin), the region's blackout risk would have been cut by 75% and consumers could have saved *over $400 million*. 🔌💡 Good thread by @ucs.org on the data:

A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.

The mass layoffs at the Washington Post feel worse than the ones made during 2020, especially after the ones at NBC News, CBS, and the WSJ. So many smart and experienced people will leave the industry forever.

While we’re here though shout out to the @washingtoninformer.com

sabrina really is dolly's granddaughter. she puts that wig on and gets to work.