The US government should check their own research on which side of the ideological spectrum is more dangerous: docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/...

Gavin Newsom vetoed "the Mandela Act, which state lawmakers had passed to bring solitary practices within international humanitarian guidelines". Now even fewer restrictions on solitary confinement.

🎙️ Just in: your restorative justice summer listening list. From stories of accountability and repair to conversations about transforming how we respond to harm, these are the perfect podcasts to add to your queue.

New: Back in 2018, I published a summary of studies and surveys about the prevalence of racism in the criminal justice system for the Wash. Post. The idea was for it to be a regularly updated resource. The Post hasn't updated it since I left. So I've updated and reproduced it at The Watch.

Relatedly, CoreCivic just sold 2 detention facilities for $1.5B to the US government (but still will be paid to manage them): ca.investing.com/news/stock-m...

No surprise that Don Jr. invested in the so-called “Amazon of Guns” that stands to benefit from his father’s proposal to ship guns through the mail. The administration’s proposed rule would supercharge the illegal gun market. It is exactly the kind of policy gun traffickers dream about.

NEW: Most Supreme Court Rulings Are Secretive Votes With Little Justification ProPublica conducted a new analysis that shows the court is deciding more consequential rulings than ever before in largely unsigned orders with little to no explanation.

NEW: As most states move away from the death penalty, Florida is executing more prisoners than ever before. Last year, 19 people were put to death — shattering the state’s previous annual record of 11, first set in 1936. with @nytimes.com

This is an unmitigated policy failure.

50% of people below inflation. The next 40% barely above

In the 12 states with available data, the number of children receiving food stamps has fallen by more than 700,000 since the "One Big Beautiful Bill" passed last July www.cbpp.org/blog/sharp-d...

“You don’t sit around and wait for somebody to become septic". The consequences of ideological legislation vs standard practice healthcare.

Excellent summary of recent evidence on reducing crime, violence, and conflict from @j-pal.bsky.social www.povertyactionlab.org/blog/5-18-26...

Just updated: This spreadsheet of crime-related papers published in top econ journals. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

"Under the bill, entities and organizations that pay cash bond or bail for defendants (e.g., charitable bail funds) are engaged in the business of insurance under federal law and subject to federal criminal provisions" Why prohibit saving legally innocent, indigent people from jail?

In addition to penalizing indigent parents, the children are often harmed more than if they stayed with their parents: scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcont... @upendmovement.org

Specifically that most of them have community violence interruption programs (e.g., GVRS in Baltimore).

"Tanning bed usage before the age of 35 is associated with a 75% increase in the risk of melanoma, the most serious and frequently fatal form of skin cancer."

The lowest in recorded history! Baltimore crime statistics started in 1970. Note the work of Mayor Scott and MONSE started in 2021 with the Group Violence Reduction Strategy.

"As is so often the case with commentary about the emergency docket, the Court’s defenders make arguments that sound outwardly reasonable, but that depend entirely on cherry-picking their examples and ignoring the counterexamples." Me on the barrage of commentary attacking the Times' #SCOTUS scoop:

All 22 members of the board that advises and oversees the US National Science Foundation (NSF), a leading funder of basic science, were fired on 24 April without explanation. go.nature.com/42tkCGv

The United States now has the most government restrictions on academic freedom of any high-income country. www.chemistryworld.com/news/academi... Raw data from @vdeminstitute.bsky.social —> academic-freedom-index.net/research/Aca...

Maryland recognizing the need to simplify solar installation (as discussed in recent @volts.wtf episode): environmentamerica.org/maryland/med...

Of note, the former school district won't reinstate the child, nor expunge the infraction from her record.

You may have heard of ICE's 287(g) program; ICE contracts with local or state agencies & empowers them to act like immigration agents. You may also live in a state governed by Dems, and wondering if your state has done anything about this. Have they? Here's our map: boltsmag.org/maryland-new...

An excellent, in-depth piece about why overdoses have decreased. Supports reporting from a recent @tradeoffs.org episode.

Half of renters in the biggest Maryland counties spend over 30% of their income on rent.

"Lobbying firms took in a record $5 billion in 2025" Emma Sullivan and Hien An Ngo, for @opensecrets.org

Just a few of the proposed voting limitations in the MEGA Act:

Homicides at the lowest level since at least the 1800s (as noted by @quattronecenter.org and @jeffasher.bsky.social)

The Sozosei Lab for Decriminalizing Mental Illness released a fantastic framework along with an annotated bibliography grouped by three key questions: www.sozoseifoundation.org/sites/g/file...

A new Yale–Columbia study confirms what many have feared: the Supreme Court is increasingly ruling for the wealthy, with GOP-appointed justices siding with the richer party 70% of the time this decade, up from ~45% in the 1950s.

We are a rogue state, run by a dictator, and the international community should treat us as such including all appropriate economic and diplomatic sanctions

More evidence that people struggling with unmet needs are overrepresented in jails and prisons.

Relatedly, the chronic stress of poverty also contributes to poor (reproductive) health outcomes.

Excellent use of open-source data, but note this is an undercount of people taken (across agencies) with no prior convictions.

Step 1: Fire the experts funding American science. Step 2: Change review process. (You are here) Step 3: Hire partisans to fund ideologues. Step 4: Bemoan the lack progress, gut remaining science funding.

And yet are paid less than $3/day for full-time work (per @prisonpolicy.org www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04...)

More evidence that legacy admissions are unfair and help maintain the status quo.

(Ghost of Christmas Future) Yes. Safe and affordable housing causally reduces violence.

It seems unlikely that the continued wealth growth of the top 0.1% has led to less tax avoidance...

"One factor behind the decrease, [chief prosecutor] Manion believes, is the partnership between police departments and nonprofits focused on curbing gun violence."

25% increase in Maryland homelessness, per @baltfishbowl.bsky.social: baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/trum...

I thought the @redlinemaryland.bsky.social would move Baltimore into another top 10, but @nerd4cities.bsky.social will never visit now... www.thebanner.com/culture/food...

Elon Musk’s charitable foundation grew larger than ever in 2024. But, for the fourth year in a row, the huge charity failed to give away the minimum amount required by law — and the donations it did make went largely to charities closely tied to Musk himself, who is the world's richest man.

Taxpayers subsidizing some of the most valuable companies in history.

Data from Redfin supporting @brian-goldstone.bsky.social, that full-time work does not equate to safe and stable housing: www.redfin.com/news/retail-...

"Large-scale randomized evaluations have found that Housing First programs consistently help people move into housing faster and stay housed in the long term."

In Charleston County, a new process led to faster resolutions, less jail time, reduced recidivism, and huge taxpayers savings. Find out how Justice Innovation Lab and the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office turned evidence into impact: https://bit.ly/3JTCW5U

If you're attending the American Society of Criminology conference #ASCinDC2025, stop by our panel on "Prosecutors and Policy Effects". Research from four jurisdictions and different interventions. Wednesday (tomorrow) at 2PM.