Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
@amyellen.bsky.social
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Higher Ed policy.
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Chris Geidner
4 days ago
I've seen Marc Caputo's internally inconsistent story — though he leads with the "It's dead for now" quote, he later says nothing's final until announced and quotes someone as saying "nothing is final until it's final" — so I'll read it more as, "Some WH folks realize this is a no-go in Congress."
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Scoop: Trump plans to drop "weaponization" fund
Trump's proposal has drawn bipartisan pushback in the GOP-led House and Senate.
https://www.axios.com/2026/06/01/trump-weaponization-fund-drop
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Acyn
5 days ago
Ossoff: This is what small men like Donald Trump and JD Vance and Stephen Miller will never understand—that our national greatness flows not through our blood or our genes, but through our ideas.
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Senator Patty Murray
17 days ago
So if you or I cheat on our taxes, we could spend time behind bars. But if Trump... or his kids... or his businesses cheat on their taxes, the law doesn't apply. This is insane & beyond corrupt. DOJ works for the American people, NOT Donald Trump.
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New settlement term bars IRS from investigating Trump, his family for past tax issues | CNN Politics
The Internal Revenue Service can’t bring claims against President Donald Trump, his family or businesses for past tax issues, according to additional terms added Tuesday to the settlement the Justice ...
https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/19/politics/irs-barred-investigating-trump-new-settlement-term
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Anthony Michael Kreis
24 days ago
The Tennessee Speaker of the House will remove all Democratic Caucus members from standing committees and subcommittees as punishment for their redistricting protests. Democracy dies in Nashville.
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Kate Riga
29 days ago
Microcosm of the horror of this post-Callais moment: the Mississippi House plans to hold its redistricting session in the Old Capitol where they seceded & instituted Jim Crow. They'll meet there aiming to erase Bennie Thompson's district — the one majority-Black district in a state that's ~40% Black
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ElieNYC
about 1 month ago
The Supreme Court is trying to *fast track* the elimination of Black Congresspeople in the upcoming midterms. Its destruction of the Voting Rights Act has devolved into a pure political power play for Republicans BY the Republicans on the Court. I explain in
@thenation.com
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The Supreme Court Just Made Its Voting Rights Ruling Even Worse
The court has fast-tracked its decision demolishing the VRA, helping southern states redraw their maps before the midterms.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/supreme-court-fast-tracks-vra-decision/
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Simon Rosenberg
about 1 month ago
Yes Congressional Rs are really trying to give Trump $1b for his ballroom!
add a skeleton here at some point
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Gothamist
about 1 month ago
'Persistently high' number of NYC kids rely on food pantries as aid cuts loom
gothamist.com/news/persist...
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'Persistently high' number of NYC kids rely on food pantries as aid cuts loom
City Harvest released its annual report on child hunger as families brace for deep cuts to SNAP.
https://gothamist.com/news/persistently-high-number-of-nyc-kids-rely-on-food-pantries-as-aid-cuts-loom
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Don Moynihan
about 1 month ago
Its actually bad that people with lower incomes are losing benefits at a time of rising prices. Clearly, its not because the economy is booming. Its because the administration has deliberately made these benefits harder to access.
add a skeleton here at some point
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Carl Quintanilla
about 1 month ago
“.. Colleen Heflin, a professor at Syracuse University who studies food insecurity, said larger state drops like Arizona’s were ‘beyond anything we’ve ever seen.’”
@wsj.com
#SNAP
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
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Ida Bae Wells
about 1 month ago
We must understand that the Voting Rights Act was not merely about ensuring Black Americans rights, it was about democratizing America. This ruling is not just a decimation of Black rights and Black Americans’ ability to have representation, it is a fatal blow to multiracial democracy.
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Admirable Women
about 1 month ago
English writer Mary Wollstonecraft was born
#OTD
in 1759. Best known for her book, 𝘈 𝘝𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 (1792). It is a foundational text for feminism that argued for equal education and rights for women--challenging the notion of female inferiority.
#literature
#litsky
#booksky
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
PBS News
about 1 month ago
About 8 in 10 Americans who re-enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage say their health care costs are higher this year, including about half who say their costs are "a lot" higher, according to a survey from the health care research nonprofit KFF.
https://to.pbs.org/47HpDOI
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Many Americans plan to cut food to afford ACA health insurance, new poll shows
About 8 in 10 Americans who re-enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage say their health care costs are higher this year, according to a new survey from the health care research nonprofit ...
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/many-americans-plan-to-cut-food-to-afford-aca-health-insurance-new-poll-shows
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Hamed Aleaziz
about 1 month ago
Scoop: immigrants can now be denied a green card for expressing political opinions, such as participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests, posting criticism of Israel on social media and desecrating the American flag, according to internal documents.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/u...
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Under Trump, Green Card Seekers Face New Scrutiny for Views on Israel
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/us/politics/trump-green-cards-scrutiny.html
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Jonathan Cohn
about 1 month ago
Virginia becomes the first state in the South to pass paid family and medical leave.
www.whsv.com/2026/04/22/v...
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Virginia enacts Paid Family & Medical Leave Program, set to start in 2028
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, alongside the General Assembly passed legislation Wednesday, establishing Virginia’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program.
https://www.whsv.com/2026/04/22/virginia-enacts-paid-family-medical-leave-program-set-start-2028/
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Juan Escalante
about 1 month ago
The Photo of the Year is Separated by ICE by Carol Guzy, ZUMA Press, iWitness, for Miami Herald
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World Press Photo announces Photo of the Year 2026
The executive director of World Press Photo said the image shows the inconsolable grief of children losing their father in a place built for justice. It is a stark and necessary record of family separ...
https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2026/04/23/nx-s1-5793922/world-press-photo-announces-photo-of-the-year-2026
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Ari Berman
about 2 months ago
So much false equivalence in media on gerrymandering in Texas vs California & Virginia. California and Virginia maps approved by the voters. That's a huge difference not enough people pointing out
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Ignacio Gallup-Diaz
about 2 months ago
"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."
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Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial
Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/pancreatic-cancer-mrna-vaccine-shows-lasting-results-early-trial-rcna331969
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Catherine Rampell
about 2 months ago
Between things like this, the FL/TX requirements that hospitals collect patients’ immigration status, and new Treasury rule requiring banks to reporter customer citizenship, it is striking how much the state is coopting civil society & private sector into enforcing immigration policy for them.
add a skeleton here at some point
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As someone who grew up canoeing in the Boundary Waters, this is an absolute tragedy.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Documented
about 2 months ago
In response to an inquiry by Congressman Dan Goldman, DHS said that fewer than 24 percent of those detained at the Brooklyn MDC have criminal convictions.
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Half of ICE Detainees at Brooklyn Prison Have No Criminal Record: Documents - Documented
In response to an inquiry by Congressman Dan Goldman, DHS said that fewer than 24 percent of those detained at the Brooklyn MDC have criminal convictions.
https://documentedny.com/2026/04/09/goldman-inspects-brooklyn-mdc-ice-facility/
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Michael Harriot
about 2 months ago
Despite Trump's claim that he "saved historically Black colleges," when ContrabandCamp interviewed administrators and analyzed the data, we found a different story. As one HBCU president said: "It's the greatest defunding of HBCUs in American history."
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How the Trump Administration Is Quietly Defunding HBCUs
Despite Donald Trump's false claim that he "saved HBCUs," he is overseeing the biggest economic attack on historically Black college institutions in U.S. history.
http://dlvr.it/TS4BCP
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Stuart Bourne 🌱🪴
about 2 months ago
It’s been a fantastic spring for Tulips, so I made a short video capturing all the photos I’ve taken. Please check it out.
youtu.be/2ZivJQ-XF_o
🌱
#Gardening
#UKGardening
#FlowerFeed
#BloomScrolling
#TulipTuesday
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The Terrific Tulips of Spring 2026
YouTube video by Stuart Bourne - Making gardening easier
https://youtu.be/2ZivJQ-XF_o
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Catherine Rampell
about 2 months ago
Trump Budget Seeks to Slash WIC Benefits for Millions
www.cbpp.org/blog/for-sec...
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For Second Year in a Row, Trump Budget Seeks to Slash WIC Fruit and Vegetable Benefits for Millions
President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget calls for sharply reducing the fruit and vegetable component of WIC’s food benefits for new and expecting parents and young children. We estimate the proposed...
https://www.cbpp.org/blog/for-second-year-in-a-row-trump-budget-seeks-to-slash-wic-fruit-and-vegetable-benefits-for
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Great news for Maine students.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
NYCLU
about 2 months ago
Good. The Pride flag belongs at Stonewall. Queer people will never be erased, no matter how hard the Trump admin tries.
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Pride Flag Can Fly at Stonewall After Trump Administration Reversal
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/nyregion/pride-flag-stonewall-trump.html
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Joyce White Vance
about 2 months ago
Trump wanted to kill off PBS & NPR by defunding them. It hasn't worked as intended—viewers came to their aid & now a fed'l judge has held Trump's executive order unconstitutional. We also look at why Trump might dislike public media & a Muppet named Donald Grump.
open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
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Big Bird’s Obituary: Greatly Exaggerated
With apologies, tonight’s column runs a little longer than I like them to.
https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/big-birds-obituary-greatly-exaggerated?r=5n3e&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Peter Baker
about 2 months ago
A series of disjointed, hard-to-follow and sometimes-profane comments capped by threatening to wipe out Iran and attacking the pope have left many with the impression of a deranged autocrat mad with power and revived the debate about Trump's mental health.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/u...
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Trump’s Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/us/politics/trump-mental-fitness-25th-amendment.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
The American Prospect
about 2 months ago
Families are one of the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population, but they are rarely acknowledged in the larger policy conversation about homelessness in the U.S.
buff.ly/gVr0AZP
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Mom, Kids, and Nowhere to Go
Family homelessness is spiking just as the Trump administration rolls back social services.
https://buff.ly/WDLlVeg
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
NPR
about 2 months ago
As one Vermont college finishes its last semester, an estimated 442 others may be in trouble.
n.pr/41xZy1d
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More than a quarter of private colleges are at risk of closing, a new projection shows
As one Vermont college finishes its last semester, an estimated 442 others may be in trouble.
https://n.pr/41xZy1d
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Futurism
about 2 months ago
This is catastrophic.
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Analysis Finds That Google's AI Overviews Are Providing Misinformation at a Scale Possibly Unprecedented in the History of Human Civilization
A new analysis commissioned by The New York Times suggests that Google's AI Overviews are wrong an astonishing percentage of the time.
https://trib.al/ZUxtkmx
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
The Associated Press
about 2 months ago
A group of devoted volunteers is methodically researching, cataloging and digitizing more than 10,000 concerts that one music fan recorded over four decades.
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Volunteers turn a fan's recordings of 10,000 concerts into an online treasure trove
In 1989, an up-and-coming rock band from Washington called Nirvana played in Chicago for the first time at a club called Dreamerz.
https://bit.ly/4sq8FMm
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Prisonculture
about 2 months ago
Spring in NYC is unmatched.
www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/08/s...
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We Mapped Out Where the Best Spring Blooms Are In NYC
A guide to which neighborhoods have the species that are blossoming now, according to city arborists and data.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/08/spring-cherry-blossom-magnolia-cranapple-map-blooming-flowers-parks/
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Catherine Rampell
2 months ago
Slaughtering our golden goose: massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration
Budget proposal would also curb federal payments for scientific publishing.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01105-7
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
FactPost
2 months ago
Trump's 2027 budget proposal fully eliminates the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. LIHEAP helps struggling families with energy bills and energy crises.
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
James McLeod
2 months ago
I think the main thing I'm having a hard time with, getting excited about the Artemis II mission, is that the American government of 2026 is vigorously hostile to the kind of competent expertise and humble, methodical problem solving that NASA is driven by.
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Barry McCaffrey
2 months ago
Hegseth just fired the Army Chief Gen Randy George. Immediately. Gen George the most competent and experienced combat leaders I have ever encountered. Courage. Integrity. Takes care of soldiers. A government of gangsters.
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
NBC News
2 months ago
NEW: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.
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Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers
The defense secretary’s efforts to block or delay promotions to general or admiral for some officers has raised concerns that he may be targeting them because of race, gender or affiliation with the B...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-intervened-military-promotions-dozen-senior-officers-rcna266062
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Third Way Education
2 months ago
EXTENDED DEADLINE: More students are counting on Pell than ever. Now it’s on Congress to fully fund it. Help us make the case by sharing your story. Submit your testimonial by April 10.
bit.ly/4bJZAZH
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Brennan Center
2 months ago
The SAVE Act would require voters to show a passport or birth certificate to register to vote, but 21 million American citizens don’t have those documents readily available.
bit.ly/4rA2p4R
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New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting
The “show your papers” requirement is an attack on the freedom to vote.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-save-act-bills-would-still-block-millions-americans-voting
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Rosa DeLauro
2 months ago
Supporting our economy means we support our families. Childcare needs to be funded and supported like other industries are.
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The hypocrisy is staggering. Trump, Who Calls Mail-in Voting ‘Cheating,’ Just Voted by Mail
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/u...
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Trump, Who Calls Mail-in Voting ‘Cheating,’ Just Voted by Mail
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/politics/trump-mail-in-voting-florida.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
2 months ago
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
2 months ago
The new MTA App is here! We’ve made major updates to the user experience, and added or improved new features. 📲 The MTA app is available in the Apple Store or Google Play—download or update your app now to get live subway and bus info, straight from the source.
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Angus Johnston
2 months ago
A letter to Albany officials on the SUNY/CUNY budget from the leaders of the faculty senates of SUNY, CUNY, and the SUNY community college, and the president of the SUNY-wide student assembly.
add a skeleton here at some point
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Zach Everson
2 months ago
Good morning! Since Trump was re-elected, Forbes estimates— 💰His net worth is up $1.9 billion, to $6.2 billion 💰Eric’s is up 10x, to $400 million 💰Don Jr.’s is up 6x, to $300 million 💰20-year-old Barron is worth $150 million And Jared became a billionaire last year. Have a great day!
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
s. e. smith
3 months ago
Squeezed by data centers' relentless demand for electricity, a Nevada energy company just said it's going to stop supplying energy to Tahoe. The city has a year to figure out how to meet 75% of its energy needs without it.
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Lake Tahoe isn’t sure where it’s power will come from after the next ski season
The area’s longtime power supplier, NV Energy, will cut off the region next year. It has said data centers are driving “unprecedented” demand.
https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/03/nevada-utility-to-lake-tahoe-find-electricity-elsewhere/
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Paul Waldman
3 months ago
The Iran War has already cost tens of billions of dollars, and the price tag is only going to rise. Now the Pentagon says they want $200 billion more to spend. But caring what something costs is just for social programs. My latest at Public Notice:
www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-war-...
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The cost of Trump's Iran war is quickly spiraling upward
If you have to ask, you can't afford it — so Republicans won't ask.
https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-war-iran-cost
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
PBS News
3 months ago
"The Iranian regime is intact. They are still able to launch attacks in the region. They are likely planning attacks against the United States," says Sen. Chris Murphy. "We are frankly more at risk of harm from Iran today than we were before the war began."
https://to.pbs.org/4uwR2N7
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Trump has 'no plan' on how to end Iran war, Sen. Murphy says
For the Democratic perspective on developments in the Iran war, Geoff Bennett spoke with Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
https://to.pbs.org/4uwR2N7
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
Lizzie O'Leary
3 months ago
What ICE detention does to a child.
www.thecut.com/article/immi...
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What ICE Detention Does to a Child
Stunted growth. Nightmares. Bed-wetting. These are just a few of the symptoms of children held in immigration custody.
https://www.thecut.com/article/immigration-ice-detention-does-child-body.html
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Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield
The City Reporter
3 months ago
NEW: Dylan Lopez Contreras, the first New York City public school student detained by federal immigration officials during President Donald Trump’s second term, was released Tuesday night after spending 10 months in federal custody, according to his mother and his legal team. W/
@Chalkbeat.org
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High Schooler Detained by ICE Released After 10 Months
Contreras was the first known New York City public school student to be detained by ICE.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/18/dylan-lopez-contreras-freed-ice-detention-10-months/
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