Outlook for the new year ...

via The New Yorker, Ellis Rosen cartoon

Another thing reporters are aware of isn't just conflict of interest but also *appearance* of a conflict of interest. Many expected her to act this way. So even if she didn't act this way purposefully, she gave her detractors enough to believe she was doing the exact thing they expected her to do.

NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food. Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.

Officials prepare immigration operation in Minnesota that would focus on Somali immigrants, source tells AP, as Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in U.S.

thinking of her today

On a $500,000 home, assuming current average rates, taking out a 50-year mortgage instead of a 30-year loan would save you $5,000 in monthly payments over five years. You'd also lose out on $27,000 in equity. www.axios.com/2025/11/10/t...

The Flex Loan, a new type of payday loan pioneered by Advance Financial in Tennessee, allows residents to borrow up to $4,000 at a 279.5% interest rate. It has burdened low-income borrowers while generating huge profits for lenders. (Published May with @tennesseelookout.com)

My wife just opened up a shop for her beautiful and terrifying quilts! Featuring some exclusive Swan Boy designs from yours truly. Why, you'd be a FOOL to miss out: nicole-sews.bigcartel.com

When a chatbot gets something wrong, it’s not because it made an error. It’s because on that roll of the dice, it happened to string together a group of words that, when read by a human, represents something false. But it was working entirely as designed. It was supposed to make a sentence & it did.

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

BREAKING from PP We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens* The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied: Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado www.propublica.org/article/immi... by @nicolefoy.bsky.social

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat. Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

my latest investigation for @consumerreports.org is based on months of reporting and 60+ lab tests of leading protein supplements we found that most protein powders and shakes have more lead in one serving than our experts say is safe to have in a day (🧵) www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...

The Guardian- The US president may impose tariffs, demand higher NATO contributions or even declare Norway an enemy, analyst says, if on Friday he is not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. www.theguardian.com/world/202...

Per @washingtonpost.com: New polling shows most U.S. Jews say Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza — and 39% say genocide. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

“'The fact that we don't have money to pay journalists, but we have money to pay Bari Weiss between $100 and 200 million is indicative of what the Ellisons' true goal here is,' a network correspondent said. 'And it's not journalism.'"

🚨NEW: For the first time in history, the single largest group of people arrested in the interior and sent to ICE detention is people with NO criminal record. As of yesterday's data release, 40%(!) of those arrested in the interior and detained by ICE had no prior conviction or pending charges.

This opinion deserves its unpopularity. Something like 98% of my unknown callers are in the spam/scammers bucket; it’s also not that hard to leave a voicemail if this is truly an “important call.”

Ah yes the Authorized Pentagon Papers www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

1) Last month, Nexstar Media Group Inc — the largest owner of local tv stations in the US — announced its intention to purchase its largest rival, TEGNA. www.nexstar.tv/nexstar-medi...

Scoop: Business Insider informed its staff this week that they are allowed to use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of their stories, while also indicating the newsroom will not disclose such A.I. use to readers. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Charlie Kirk and the pundits and politicians sanitizing his legacy.

“The goal with the mRNA is for that not to be available to anyone, because no one should be using that one,” Ladapo said, in an apparent reference to the COVID-19 shots. www.tampabay.com/news/florida...

The Justice Department's acting deputy chief was caught on a hidden camera saying that the government will "redact every Republican" from an Epstein client list and "leave all the liberal, Democratic people."

Live your life so your attorney never has to file a brief with the topic heading "the meaning of prostitution has changed over time"

There are people who post like I'm on the business side of Bluesky and concerned with its economic viability and not only am I not, I don't think that many people on here are, either

Orlando’s artistic crosswalks boosted safety. Florida ordered them painted over trib.al/V7PAa4a

Football is so back

Worth noting that FHP’s typical mandate is responding to highway crashes. Even relative to local police this is a big departure and presumably at expense to public safety.

A few years in, a CDC drowning prevention program was ready to share its findings on how to mitigate the leading cause of death among young children. Then the administration terminated that staff.

all of this is basically a trojan horse for my sinking feeling right now that generative AI will be 'good enough' and that's...potentially a very bad outcome!

Our look at huge changes to civil rights enforcement for schools: -A reversal in what's considered discrimination w/ reverse racial discrimination and transgender sports cases prioritized -Severe staff cuts leaving thousands of others unresolved. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Saving children with severe acute malnutrition is simple and inexpensive: A complete six-week treatment for a severely malnourished child runs to less than $45. The dismantling of USAID has left thousands of malnourished children at risk of dying. nyti.ms/3Jn6SqA

The @washingtonpost tracked where Trump's forces are patrolling in Washington. Spoiler alert: They're not where the crime is.

Washington's homicide rate is the 11th highest among large US cities, but eight of the 10 with higher rates are in red states — Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio and Louisiana. Trump has not sent National Guard to any of them. @russcontreras.bsky.social www.axios.com/2025/08/15/h...

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002, even as it’s received billions of dollars in federal contracts, according to internal company documents reviewed by The New York Times. nyti.ms/45wGKkn

I spent six years covering Meta for the WSJ, which is why joining Reuters’ investigative team was such a great opportunity to change beats. Unfortunately, I don’t seem inclined to do that just yet. Still interested in talking to current and former Meta employees! www.reuters.com/investigates...

"I've been on several programs with him at this point and have been impressed by two things: his inability to understand basic economics and the speed with which he's gone MAGA," one conservative economist said of Trump's BLS pick.

BREAKING WSJ: The Trump White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America's 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with "Trump's interpretation of American history." www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Earlier this week, Mark Zuckerberg posted a new online mini-manifesto, titled “Personal Superintelligence,” setting the direction for Meta’s AI program. The one strong prediction we can make right now is that the future of AI will be a gigantic mess, with huge social costs, writes Dave Karpf.

Today's newsletter: The Wall Street Journal says ChatGPT had a "stunning moment of self reflection." NBC says Grok "issued an apology." This lazy language isn't just bad writing — it's helping tech companies dodge responsibility for real harm. www.readtpa.com/p/stop-prete...

Felt like I was watching a two-hour-long SNL sketch making fun of the superhero/antihero movie era.

SCOOP: DOGE moved to kill Direct File, the IRS's popular free tax filing tool, days after meeting with private tax filing software lobbyists. www.wired.com/story/doge-d...

Ground beef and ice cream hit their highest prices on record since the 1980s. Miller Lite and Coors Light six-packs are up more than 13%. Cookout essentials like aluminum foil, grill tools, and sunscreen saw hikes between 6% and 18%. www.axios.com/2025/07/03/j...

In no particular order.

"Big, beautiful bill" pushes millions away from social safety net. www.axios.com/2025/07/01/b...

Really a sad way to go through life www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/b...

Really important story - army officials asked soldiers to identify themselves if they don't agree with Trump's politics that way he'd get only supportive soldiers in uniform during his political rally on base. Heavier soldiers were also barred from participating.

🤯 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...