Absolutely remarkable statement from Pope Leo today. One for the history books www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

The nicest weather in the USA today will occur around Baltimore, MD

the Forest Service is being gutted. Call your elected officials to encourage them to oppose this! www.hcn.org/articles/for...

Today’s bonus installment of @stevevladeck.bsky.social’s newsletter was really great; if you don’t already subscribe, this is your sign to do so!

WE DID IT! Our illegal union @uam-umd.bsky.social is a lot less illegal today. 12,000 contingent faculty in MD just won the right to collectively bargain. Life-changing win for teachers and students. Only happened bc thousands of people worked together to beat our bosses in the statehouse.

Black journalists speak out against alleged retaliation and discrimination at WJZ baltimorebeat.com/black-journa...

Recklessly producing and then accepting a situation where a foreign power can restrict freedom of navigation is not just a strategic defeat, it is a reversal of the most fundamental foreign policy and national security priority of the United States since the founding of the republic.

A second House Democrat, Jasmine Crockett, sends Vance and the cabinet a letter urging them to invoke the 25th Amendment:

On a serious note — Pope Leo is asking you to call your Members of Congress Capitol switchboard ☎️ 202-224-3121

By my count, there are now over 50 House Democrats, along with two Senate Democrats, who have called for Trump to be impeached or removed via the 25th Amendment for his post on Iran. More here: www.axios.com/2026/04/07/t...

Speaker Johnson, we are calling on you to bring the House back to DC IMMEDIATELY! The Cabinet needs to invoke the 25th Amendment. But Congress can’t just sit on its hands and wait for that to happen when the President is threatening to commit war crimes TONIGHT.

HOLY SHIT

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV declares the Iran War is “unjust” and “is not resolving anything.” After suggesting Trump is committing war crimes by targeting civilian infrastructure, he called on Americans to contact Congress to help end the war.

Periodic reminder that Markey has a bill to take away nuclear first strike powers from the president. Possibly the single most important piece of legislation a Dem majority could pass. No one should be trusted with such power.

Some wonderful photos in this Easter piece, including this one from Tehran, Iran:

When the spaceship is performing even better than planned 💅🏼

I’ve been around the army for 53 years. Never been more pessimistic about the health of the institution — it’s likely to get much worse over the next 34 months. Rebuilding the norms and ethics of the profession is going to take a generation+.

The political calculations that result in cutting NASA funding the day after the Artemis II launch must be fascinating

The New Test Acts

Once upon a time I just admired nudis and sea slugs. But it was not enough. Now apparently I'm creating an R package to celebrate their colour palettes? 😅 First up, my Sydney fave, Hypselodoris bennetti. #rstats #nudibranch #dataviz 🦑🐙🧪 #marinelife #invertebrates

#ResistanceEarth Climate change has cost the U.S. $16.2 trillion since 1990, according to a new study. At the same time, we're responsible for $10.2 trillion in global harm. These are estimates of the damages that have already occurred, not what's yet to come. www.sciencefocus.com/news/us-coun...

By all means--continue. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/go-ahead-a...

I've updated the Third-Country Removal Tracker with a new entry for Uganda. @iceflightmonitor.bsky.social spotted a likely ICE flight landing there this morning, and @reuters.com has confirmed there were 12 migrants onboard who had no ties to Uganda. gillianbrockell.com/tracking-all...

Turns out huge permitting delays at the hands of NPS—something we’re all familiar with in DC—played a big role in the potomac interceptor failure. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

The vast majority of Americans are birthright citizens. Unless you naturalized or were born abroad to an American parent, you are a citizen because of the 14th Amendment. There is nothing constitutionally distinct about Americans born here to non-Americans. We are all literally equal citizens.

The Buffalo Medical Examiner rules that the death of a legally blind elderly Burmese refugee dropped off by Border Patrol at a closed shop late at night in winter was a homicide. He died of a burst ulcer caused by severe stress brought on by dehydration and hypothermia.

This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.

The Department of Homeland Security, now led by Secretary Markwayne Mullin, on Wednesday reversed a policy put in place by former Secretary Kristi Noem that required the secretary to approve contracts and grants worth more than $100,000 www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-scr...

Wait. You can just say "we might infringe on your rights" in your Terms Of Service?

SEWER SOCIALISM IS BACK BABYYYYYYY

Safe streets vigil for Baltimore traffic victims. Thank you to @bikemorebmore.bsky.social for hosting!

Pete goes deep.

JUST IN: A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to provide access to Holy Week religious services to immigrants held at the Chicago-area Broadview detention facility. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

This is a really important thread on the Canvas/Instructure terms of service, which were quoted in a piece @mattseybold.bsky.social and I wrote, and then were removed from the web three days after the piece was published.

Can’t stop thinking about how Trump’s horrible mistakes, carried out with glee by Musk and Rubio, will cost so many lives and make life harder for millions (billions?). For what? Strategic defeat in the Middle East, vanity projects in Latin America, and a smaller federal payroll. Not US security.

ICE and Border Patrol brutality over the past year qualify as extrajudicial violence, just as do the Caribbean boat strikes, and there need to be consequences for those responsible. New from me at @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social

This is what you do with fame.

What this shows is that a staggering 63%(!) of people arrested by ICE in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge (from December through February) had no criminal record at all.

I wrote about this last year. what awaits these people is almost unimaginable www.patreon.com/posts/129696...

I'd like to introduce you to Panulirus ornatus, the ornate rock lobster. They're native to the Indo-Pacific, with a large range centered on New Guinea & the Great Barrier Reef near Australia. They're a member of family Palinuridae, the spiny or rock lobsters. So why so colorful?

Baltimore folks: SB554 to drasticly upend school board appointments will be heard on T, 4/1 before Ways and Means. Testimony is sponsor only. But you can still (1) call or email the chair (Wilkins) and (2) call the City Delegation which heard the bill F. www.baltimorecitydelegation.com/members

The battalion that detained the CNN journalist had been highlighted for violating the Leahy Law, which bans foreign military units accused of human rights violations from receiving U.S. aid or training. But Joe Biden's administration did not suspend aid to the battalion.

A very sobering and worrying piece.

“I asked ChatGPT”- ok well I asked the mycelium and it said to plant more trees and to tell you to return to the forest

Hundreds of millions of people live close enough to data centres used to power AI to feel warmer average temperatures in their local area

Today’s the day to tell Ron Paul to fuck off

TY to @pressley.house.gov for your work and organizing on this! www.dotnews.com/2026/03/28/p...

Pope Leo says God rejects prayers of leaders who wage wars reut.rs/4rZIThC

Having been denied entry to the Church by Israeli police, Cardinal Pizzaballa held a service in the open to bless the entire city of Jerusalem:

I’m sorry but be serious www.nytimes.com/interactive/...