Breaking: Tennessee Republicans pass new 9-0 gerrymander after SCOTUS destruction of Voting Rights Act eliminating state’s only majority-Black district & last Democratic seat. Splits Memphis, which is 63% Black, into 3 districts to disenfranchise Black voters. Quite literally a return to Jim Crow

EXCLUSIVE: My latest story for @theatlantic.com : www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

A mystery donor in Nebraska is spending $1.6 million on a ballot initiative banning trans girls from girls' sports—duplicating an existing state law. Uihlein is spending $800k on the same in Maine. What do these two states have in common? Close Senate races. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

We tested ChatGPT by asking about imitating the Uvalde shooter, defending against police gunfire, and more—everything short of directly stating intent to kill. OpenAI’s chatbot was chillingly helpful. -via @markfollman.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/media/2026/0...

It's well established that election deniers hold jobs across the Administration (including the presidency, btw). But @democracydocket.com now reports that the plaintiff whose case gutted the VRA is also an election denier who was present at the Capitol Jan. 6. democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

It's never made sense to me that people on SNAP (food stamps) can't use the benefit to buy hot food like rotisserie chicken. It's cheap & protein-dense. The House Farm Bill rectifies that... great! But it also cements $187 billion in cuts to the SNAP program. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

🎙️ON AIR: We're talking to @revealnews.org's @paperwords.bsky.social and @wsj.com's Patrick Thomas about the known health impacts of Roundup, how it’s used for fire recovery and why it’s causing a rift in Trump world. ❓What are your Qs about Roundup and glyphosate-based herbicides? 📻 Listen:

ROSEN: I want you to confirm there will always be a human in the loop when AI is used in the kill chain for lethal targeting decisions. Or will AI make the decision? HEGSETH: We follow the law, and humans make decisions WICKER: So the answer is yes? HEGSETH: The answer is we follow the law

Today's demolition of Voting Rights Act by Roberts Court will likely trigger largest drop in Black representation since end of Reconstruction. They're taking America back to Jim Crow, when white supremacy and one party rule enshrined across South www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

“We are looking into that right now,” Rollins told reporters Wednesday. “We don’t care whose idea it was, if it was a good idea, or at least part of a good idea." -Reporting via @marciabrown.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

Scientists have linked Roundup to cancer and other ailments, so how did a company convince regulators to approve widespread spraying in America’s forests? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

with zero sarcasm this is good government and we should do this immediately

Creating superbabies to stop the rise of something akin to Skynet from The Terminator is capturing the fancy—and the wallets—of the same billionaires who bankrolled the AI revolution.

You want Big Tech crazy? The billionaires financing the AI gold rush are trying to create superbabies to stop the rise of something akin to Skynet. ow.ly/Lrli50YKp8u

After advancements in gene editing led to the successful treatment of life-threatening health conditions, some tech bros are considering a new application for the controversial science: making super-smart babies to save the world from dangerously capable AI.

"But to look at KJ’s case and conclude we’re ready to program pre-implantation embryos is like declaring you’re fluent in a new language because you’ve tried Duolingo." @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social for @motherjones.com:

After advancements in gene editing led to the successful treatment of life-threatening health conditions, some tech bros are considering a new application for the controversial science: making super-smart babies to save the world from dangerously capable AI. ow.ly/Lrli50YKp8u

But could this same technology soon outsmart us all? That’s a real concern among some tech bros who want to create baby geniuses to protect us from the threat of AI. @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social reports on the new wave of Silicon Valley–backed gene-editing startups straight out of “Brave New World.”

To sell AI to the masses, tech billionaires are employing slick, overtly religious narratives to get Christians to believe that AI is a moral imperative. @kieraevebutler.bsky.social goes inside Silicon Valley’s efforts to market AI as godly.

One of the key things to understand about this power grab is that, unlike previous, more opaque structures, the AI boom is taking up literal space, untold millions of square feet around the country. We hit the road to see what the AI revolution is doing to the communities it’s promising to save.

Two years ago, we devoted an entire issue to the rise of a new American oligarchy. Since then, this system has only become more entrenched, ever concentrated around a crew of tech titans going all in on AI. Our newest cover story investigates these new AI overlords and their consolidation of power.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, who serves as the chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, tells me he expects a lawsuit will be filed in “days.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Stories about life inside ICE's family detention center in Dilley, Texas, are hard to come by. But @julialurie.bsky.social reviewed hundreds of pages of sworn oral declarations given by detained children and their parents about conditions at the facility. This is Dilley, in their own words:

1/ whenever long time tesla / musk company reporters hear him offering charity we all have stories of how & why his offers tend to be… complicated: www.cnbc.com/2019/10/08/t... the thai kids stuck in a flooding cave system? he offered (ultimately useless, not feasible) mini subs…

Top Architecture Firm Won’t Design More ICE Prisons After Employees Revolt via @msjpauly.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trump admin orders libraries to stop processing passport applications...at same time they want to require citizenship docs like passport to register to vote www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

As ever, @annamerlan.bsky.social has written something timely and resonant. The quote from Dmytro Iarovyi had the odd effect of galvanizing me, by reminding me that my despair is not simply a defect, but is evoked by design.

Next week's cover of The New Yorker. "War-a-Lago" by Barry Blitt.

With @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social, we wrote about the very weird vibe right now in the AI industry: part doom, part goldrush www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Greek immigrant chili cook (Cincinnati peeps, IYKYK) and Korean war veteran.

SCOOP: In a January letter to Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), DHS says 270 DACA recipients have been arrested from January to September 2025. In addition, 174 DACA applicants have been deported, according to ICE records. Those numbers differ from what was shared with Sen. Dick Durbin in February.

This is pure gonzo journalism shit and I love it.

Part of the problem here is a long-standing issue of mine: The public gets a huge benefit from beat journalism—but the journalism industry does not, by and large, recognize beat journalism for its value or when it comes to awards and prizes. Those go to investigations and "one big thing" features.

I kept seeing “Oval Office” mentioned in the Epstein Files and wondered he it was literally talking about a new lamp for the real Oval Office. Turns out Epstein had his own ops hub he dubbed “the Oval Office”. I went down the rabbit hole. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Journalism ask: I'm looking to speak to people who work(ed) in AI about how they feel about the recent sweep of resignations across the AI safety space. I'd also appreciate your thoughts on p(doom) in general. My signal is avesoulis.09. You can of course remain anonymous.

A MOTHER JONES SCOOP! New details from Epstein files reveal Lutnick had a years-long business tie with the sex offender. This challenges his claim he had minimal contact with Epstein. The two were involved in a deal for six years, and an email shows they discussed it. @nlanard.bsky.social

Now would be a good time to read my @motherjones.com story with @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social about Pam Bondi’s insane plan to get voter rolls from all 50 states & why it poses such a grave threat to the right to vote www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Surprising nobody, the probable cause the FBI cited to get its warrant for the Fulton County raid is all recycled, debunked info. New from me & @ariberman.bsky.social. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Trump wants to take over voting in at least 15 places FBI raid in Fulton County GA now fueling MAGA calls for election takeover there That would allow them to purge voters, cut polling places, limit early voting & challenge election results. Very scary for 2026 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

New from me and @ariberman.bsky.social: Trump wants control “over the voting in at least 15 places.” There's actually a mechanism for him to get that control in Fulton County, Georgia. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

I guess we're just arresting journalists now.

“[Liam] keeps asking about that hat and that backpack that are in the picture,” the congressman said. “I think they took that from him.” www.cnn.com/2026/01/28/u...

New from me and @ariberman.bsky.social: The DOJ’s “Ransom” Letter to Minnesota Reveals How Trump Plans to Rig the Midterms www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Hey Minnesota writers. I bet a lot of you have something to say right now.

Read @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social & @ariberman.bsky.social's report here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

New episode of Unruly Subjects with @chenjerai.bsky.social! This week, an interview with reporter @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social. We discuss her @motherjones.com article, co-written w @ariberman.bsky.social, "Your Private Data Is Building Trump’s Voter Purge Machine". Listen: pod.link/1849696769/e...

The DOJ has sued 20 states over their voter roll data. Today, a court granted CA's motion to dismiss the DOJ's case—the first final ruling on the matter. Per the ruling: "There cannot be unbridled consolidation of all elections power in the Executive without action from Congress and public debate."

This Is What ICE Descending on Minneapolis Looks Like www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

i ended up getting a shot-clock-violation on my "heroes and monsters" picks, but fortunately @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social had the same thought and wrote about juries www.motherjones.com/politics/202...