Selena Simmons-Duffin
@selenasd.com
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Health policy correspondent for NPR in DC. // Signal: selena.02 Email:
[email protected]
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Martin Austermuhle
1 day ago
Hey, you!
@51st.news
is looking for a new reporter. Are you obsessed with D.C. news, history, culture, sports, events, or quirks and curiosities? Are you excited to tell stories about interesting local people and places? Apply!
loading . . .
The 51st is hiring a reporter to cover D.C. local news
Our worker-led, nonprofit newsroom is growing. This is a hands-on role, ideal for a creative, organized, and community-rooted journalist.
https://51st.news/reporter/
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Bruce Lesley
4 days ago
Pleased to talk to
@selenasd.com
with
@npr.org
about this important issue about the health and well-being of babies. If the Supreme Court ends birthright citizenship, what will it mean for newborns? - NPR
www.npr.org/2026/03/31/n...
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Babies are an afterthought in the birthright citizenship case, advocates say
An end to birthright citizenship would mean a new layer of bureaucracy for all babies born in the U.S. and could cause delays for health insurance and other benefits.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-5761354/birthright-citizenship-child-health-medicaid-social-security
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Guttmacher
11 days ago
Guttmacher Data Scientist
@imaddowzimet.bsky.social
joined
@selenasd.com
to discuss the latest data from our Monthly Abortion Provision Study. As telehealth care to states with total bans increased from 2024 to 2025, out-of-state travel for care declined. More via
@npr.org
ā¬ļø
https://gu.tt/41ugDJa
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This piece from my colleague
@wstonereports.bsky.social
is a must read. "Asked for further comment by NPR, a spokesperson for
@hhsofficial.bsky.social
said the agency was reassessing 'how to balance public health considerations with consumer access and choice.'"
www.npr.org/2026/03/19/n...
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FDA backs off stricter tanning bed rules with RFK Jr.'s support
Health officials with the Trump administration have backed away from an effort to more heavily regulate indoor tanning ā despite protests from medical groups that warn of the dangers of skin cancer.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/19/nx-s1-5752430/fda-tanning-beds
10 days ago
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Isaac Maddow-Zimet
11 days ago
And was particularly happy that they were able to talk to someone who had an abortion via telehealth in Georgia (and who was much more eloquent than I was)
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Isaac Maddow-Zimet
11 days ago
Was really happy to get the chance to talk to NPR about our new report, which documented shifts in how residents of states with total abortion bans are accessing care
www.npr.org/2026/03/24/n...
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Despite state bans and restrictions, the number of abortions in the U.S. holds steady
The Guttmacher Institute has a new analysis on how many abortions happened in 2025.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/24/nx-s1-5757550/abortion-telemedicine-travel-mifepristone-misoprostol
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Theresa Gaffney
15 days ago
Breaking: A U.S. district judge in Oregon said he will vacate a declaration made late last year by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that asserted gender-affirming care for young trans people does not meet medical standards of care.
www.statnews.com/2026/03/19/j...
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Judge will rule against Kennedyās declaration on gender-affirming care
A U.S. district judge said he will vacate a declaration by Kennedy that asserted gender-affirming care for young trans people does not meet medical standards of care.
https://www.statnews.com/2026/03/19/judge-vacates-kennedy-gender-affirming-care-declaration/
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Geoff Brumfiel
19 days ago
Absolutely astonishing. I don't think many people realize the extent to which the scientific enterprise in America has collapsed over the past 14 months. As someone who covered science funding for the first half of his career, it's almost unfathomable this could happen.
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Sofia Resnick
19 days ago
Unpacking the anti-abortion movement's messaging strategy on mifepristone, by
@kelciemmorris.bsky.social
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/rhet...
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Rhetoric versus reality: Facts about the abortion pill
As telehealth access to abortion medication has grown in the years after the U.S. Supreme Courtās Dobbs decision, anti-abortion groups and attorneys general from states with abortion bans are accelera...
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/rhetoric-versus-reality-facts-about-abortion-pill
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Alice Miranda Ollstein
24 days ago
NEW: Title X clinics around the country that provide contraception, cancer screening etc. to more than 2mil low income people could see their federal funding cut off in a few weeks. HHS was supposed to give clinics guidance months ago about reapplying for funding, but it's been "radio silence."
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āDamaging and punishingā: Birth control clinics serving millions face federal funding cliff
Clinics are pleading with Congress and HHS for answers amid āradio silenceā about the imminent expiration of Title X funding.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/11/damaging-and-punishing-birth-control-clinics-serving-millions-face-federal-funding-cliff-00821804
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Adrianna McIntyre
30 days ago
This RAND report puts the RHTP's inability to offset upcoming Medicaid cuts in grim perspective
www.rand.org/pubs/researc...
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Melody Joy Kramer
about 1 month ago
Had to list a reason why one of my kiddos was late to school today and wrote āgeneral ennuiā not realizing it would print out on his sticker pass. š
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Mark Joseph Stern
about 1 month ago
We only have access to this incredibly important (and evil) memo because Chris fought tooth and nail to obtain and share it! An impressive journalistic feat and a real public service.
add a skeleton here at some point
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Philip Gourevitch
about 1 month ago
notorious radical left communist rag says tax the rich
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Paul Angelone
about 2 months ago
āSuccess means converting a part-time editor to full-time, hiring a longtime freelance reporter, and hiring a third reporter, who we hope will be a laid-off Washington Post journalist.ā
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Not a team captain coming out by kissing his boyfriend on live TV after winning the Stanley Cup?
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about 2 months ago
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reposted by
Selena Simmons-Duffin
Martin Austermuhle
about 2 months ago
A quick š§µ: @51st.news wants to keep growing, and we need your help!
51st.news/the-51st-is-...
The Post's gutting showed us we can't trust a billionaire to do the right thing. If we want local news to survive, we need to help *build and sustain it*.
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The 51st is expanding
D.C. needs more local journalists. You can help us hire them.
https://51st.news/the-51st-is-expanding-you-can-help/
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Christina Cauterucci
about 2 months ago
Almost 10 years ago, I bought a gun for a Slate reporting project that never panned out. I detested guns. I thought we should ban them all. I couldn't wait to get rid of it. This is the story of how my feelings changed.
slate.com/life/2026/02...
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Conservatives Are Terrified That People Like Me Are Buying Guns Now. Maybe They Should Be.
Weāre here. Weāre queer. Increasingly, weāre armed.
https://slate.com/life/2026/02/gun-range-safety-gay-lesbian-lgbtq-trump.html
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
jamelle
about 2 months ago
once my son woke me up to ask what a three dimensional hexagon was called. yes, please. ask me about the gay instead.
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Jesse Thorn
about 2 months ago
It is really hard to get people on record about this. Because it is scary for parents like us and for our kids to be public right now. NPR has been so scrupulous about putting the human beings affected out in front and representing them fairly, as they represent themselves. Hard, important work.
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Jesse Thorn
about 2 months ago
So grateful for @NPRās continuing responsible, in depth, contextually-rich reporting on trans kids. Makes me really proud to be partnered with them.
www.npr.org/2026/02/05/n...
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Plastic surgeons say transgender youth should wait until age 19 for surgery
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says transgender youth should wait until age 19 to have any surgeries. Surgery is already rarely performed for transgender young people.
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5702353/plastic-surgeons-say-transgender-youth-should-wait-until-age-19-for-surgery
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This is adorable
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about 2 months ago
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I can't stop thinking about the devastation at the Washington Post. As a reader and a D.C. resident and a fellow journalist, it is shattering.
about 2 months ago
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Ida Bae Wells
about 2 months ago
Our founders, though deeply flawed, understood that democracy requires an informed citizenry and a government accountable to it people. Thatās why the press is the only profession protected by the Constitution. Itās also why autocrats and oligarchs seek to control and destroy it.
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
The 51st
about 2 months ago
Weāre working on it! But growing the newsroom our city deserves takes time, and way more resources than we currently have. BUT every member helps get us closer to building a newsroom Bezos canāt destroy:
51st.news/signup
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reposted by
Selena Simmons-Duffin
Emily Feng
about 2 months ago
Have a thought for my colleague
@joannakakissis.bsky.social
and others who are reporting from Ukraine, living by candles and without heat for weeks now
www.npr.org/2026/02/04/g...
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Greetings from Kyiv, where candles are the last option during wartime blackouts
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/04/g-s1-108433/ukraine-kyiv-blackout-russia-energy-attacks-power-outages
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Cato Institute
about 2 months ago
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023. The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Aaron Rupar
2 months ago
Dr Oz on rural healthcare: "There's no question about it, whether you want it or not -- the best way to help some of these communities is gonna be AI-based avatars"
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Washington Post Guild
2 months ago
Join us Thursday for a rally to
#SaveThePost
!! The rally will run from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at 1301 K St. NW!! Bring friends! Bring gloves! Bring a love of journalism!
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Cato Institute
2 months ago
US citizens accounted for 95% of federal welfare fraud losses from 2013 to 2024. Noncitizens commit benefits fraud, but they are not a major part of the problem. Learn more from Catoās
David Bier
https://ow.ly/MsKQ50Y6uK1
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
NPR
2 months ago
Do you want exclusive Winter Olympics coverage from NPR? Sign up for āRachel Goes to the Games,ā a behind-the-scenes newsletter at what itās like to be at ā and cover ā these Games, from the POV of an NPR reporter experiencing it all for the first time.
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NPR: Rachel Goes to the Games
We're headed to the Winter Olympics, and we want to bring you along. Get an NPR reporter's personal peek behind the curtain delivered straight to your inbox daily through the closing ceremony.
https://n.pr/3M3qkuf
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Shefali Luthra
2 months ago
Citing fear of ICE, pregnant immigrants in Minnesota are -skipping prenatal care -requesting home births, even when not medically advised -going w/o adequate food Many are experiencing complications providers say can be stress-onset: diabetes, high blood pressure, and even water breaking early
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Fear of ICE is keeping pregnant immigrants in Minnesota from critical care
Health care providers in Minnesota said pregnant patients are having more complications linked to stress. But fear of immigration agents is keeping them from prenatal care.
https://19thnews.org/2026/01/ice-fears-pregnant-immigrants-minnesota-prenatal-care/
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
RenƩ F. Najera, MPH, DrPH, FCPP
2 months ago
"The survey, conducted Jan. 5-8⦠found that 79% of likely 2026 voters support keeping Floridaās current vaccine requirements for schoolchildren, compared with 17% who oppose them. Support was broad... including 71% of Republicans, 84% of voters with no party affiliation, and 78% of Hispanic voters."
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New poll: Florida voters draw the line on school vaccine mandates
Voters overwhelmingly support keeping school vaccine requirements to protect children statewide.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/775350-new-poll-florida-voters-draw-the-line-on-school-vaccine-mandates/
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Minnesota Star Tribune
2 months ago
Tomorrowās front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Marisa Kabas
2 months ago
twilight zone
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White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest
Guardian analysis shows images are the same, with Nekima Levy Armstrong looking composed in original but sobbing after alteration
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/22/white-house-ice-protest-arrest-altered-image?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Story by me: "For me to be able to see my doctor to tend to my autoimmune disease, I had to marry my best friend ā it's like some weird twisted plot of Will and Grace."
www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...
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Marrying for health insurance? The ACA cost crisis forces some drastic choices
While Congress debates bringing back Affordable Care Act subsidies, many Americans have already made life-altering decisions to afford health care.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/12/nx-s1-5672426/aca-congress-insurance-subsidies-costs
3 months ago
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Not quite! A new filing shows hhs wonāt enforce until April at the earliest.
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3 months ago
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I donāt think youāve tagged the correct author thereā¦
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3 months ago
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Emily Feng
3 months ago
www.npr.org/2025/12/22/g...
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Here are some of the NPR stories that had a big impact in 2025
A sampling of the stories NPR staff believe made some of the deepest ripples this year ā reminders of what rigorous, compassionate journalism can do, and why the work remains as urgent as ever.
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/g-s1-99098/impact-journalism?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20251223&utm_term=10520803&utm_campaign=politics&utm_id=61789090&orgid=305&uniquet=zuDoDyD23-rpD0ZKMvMYiA
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Liam Scott
3 months ago
Read the full email Sharyn Alfonsi sent her team about CBS pulling their segment on the Trump adminās deportations of Venezuelan migrants
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Jesse Thorn
4 months ago
Selena Simmons-Duffin at NPR broke the news about the trans kidsā health care ban, and now sheās following up. Note that she actually talks to doctors and trans kids, not just politicians.
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
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Trump's push to end transgender care for young people opposed by pediatricians
Doctors and children's hospitals say nothing in the evidence has changed to justify the Trump administration's efforts to ban gender-affirming care for teens and tweens.
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/12/19/nx-s1-5649891/transgender-pediatrician-trump-rfk-jr-ban
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Jesse Thorn
4 months ago
NPR talked to and quoted a transgender teen whose treatment is threatened. Did your news organization?
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
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RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz announce moves to ban gender-affirming care for young people
The Trump administration Thursday proposed two rules targeting hospitals that treat transgender children and youth using Medicare and Medicaid as the lever. The move would affect trans youth who have ...
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/12/18/nx-s1-5647789/transgender-gender-affirming-care-rfk-jr-dr-oz-trump
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reposted by
Selena Simmons-Duffin
Ross W. Duffin
4 months ago
If youāre concerned about the new HHS rulings on trans care, my daughter
@selenasd.com
breaks it down on the PBS Newshour
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
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Trump administration moves to restrict gender affirming care for minors nationwide
The Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a series of actions meant to effectively ban transition-related medical treatments nationwide for those under 18. Stephanie Sy discussed more with ...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-administration-moves-to-restrict-gender-affirming-care-for-minors-nationwide
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Scoop by me: "During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine's photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name.ā
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
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HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait
Admiral Rachel Levine was the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the federal government. Her official portrait at HHS headquarters has been altered.
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/12/05/nx-s1-5633282/transgender-rachel-levine-portrait-hhs
4 months ago
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Pretty crazy to stumble on this
@nytimes.com
Editorial Board piece from 2015: "Being transgender today remains unreasonably and unnecessarily hard. But it is far from hopeless."
www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/o...
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Opinion | The Quest for Transgender Equality (Published 2015)
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/opinion/the-quest-for-transgender-equality.html
4 months ago
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reposted by
Selena Simmons-Duffin
Charles Ornstein
5 months ago
GREAT JOB ALERT! ProPublica is hiring another senior editor for our Local Reporting Network. The editor will edit the work of 4-5 reporters from our partner newsrooms, collaborating on projects that spur change. š° Salary range: $150,000 to $195,000 ā”ļø Apply:
propub.li/3JAIqme
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reposted by
Selena Simmons-Duffin
Mark Joseph Stern
5 months ago
New: The Supreme Court DENIES Kim Davis' request to overturn Obergefell, the marriage equality decision. No noted dissents.
www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Raven Baxter, Ph.D.
5 months ago
When science is understandable, we all win. I've started a national petition calling on all institutions of higher education, and their accreditors, to require science communication and public engagement training for all STEM degrees. Share and sign today, it only takes a few seconds:
bit.ly/3LbnfHB
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Selena Simmons-Duffin
Emily C. Hughes
5 months ago
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you donāt often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
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Michele Kelemen
5 months ago
My colleague says his heart sank as he got a glimpse of the devastation in Gaza. Must listen:
www.npr.org/2025/11/05/n...
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A journalist's journey to Gaza's front line
NPR gets a rare glimpse inside the Israeli-occupied zone of devastated Gaza.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/05/nx-s1-5599170/a-journalists-journey-to-gazas-front-line
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