A new AFT evidence-to-action brief highlights a simple truth: students learn more when lessons connect to their lives, interests and identities. Creating meaningful, inclusive and engaging classrooms isn’t just extra—it’s essential for student success. Learn more ⤵️ www.aft.org/sites/defaul...

Pollution Worsened in South Bronx After Congestion Tolls, Study Finds Columbia University researchers said that sensors detected a 2 percent increase in toxic particles in the air. M.T.A. officials disputed the report. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/n...

Can you imagine going back to 1776 and telling the Founding Fathers that in 250 years, the King of England would be standing in the United States Capitol lecturing American lawmakers about the importance of democratic norms?

NBA on NBC sound engineer demonstrates where all the hidden mics are that bring us the in game sounds. Pretty cool stuff. The sounds of the game are super important to me and I appreciate what they put into it. I don't think I'm gonna deal with the proper thing tonight.

List of 9 websites where you can download unlimited books for free: 1. gutenberg .org 2. standardebooks .org 3. manybooks .net 4. openlibrary .org 5. bookboon .com 6. freecomputerbooks .com 7. internetarchive .org 8. digilibraries .com 9. librivox .org

I thought this felt relatable

Congratulations, Virginia! Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor, but they haven’t done it yet. Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.

Fifteen minutes before the President announced he was pausing strikes on Iran, somebody moved $500 million in oil futures. Somebody knew. Somebody told them. Or somebody is them. New piece ↓ open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

*Highly* recommend folks take a few minutes today to read this FABULOUS piece... which talks about the importance of bringing people together & creating spaces to build community by @santiagomayer.com. @uft.org @nysut.bsky.social @aft.org @votersoftomorrow.org

Illinois made history as the first state to outlaw book bans once and for all. Marginalizing people, ideas, or facts has no place in our state — and they have no place in a democracy. This National Library Week, we continue our commitment to free thought and free speech.

NPR has received two of the largest gifts in the network's existence, totaling $113 million, which will fuel innovation in use of digital technology, increasing it’s audience, and ensuring the viability of public radio stations after Congress eliminated all federal funding for public media.

LOVE THIS.... The @uft.org has pushed for a pied-à-terre tax several times during my tenure here. In a day & age when the ultra-rich are hoarding more & more of their wealth, any time we're talking about making them pay their fair share is a good thing for NYers. @mayor.nyc.gov @governor.ny.gov

We just won our trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.   A jury ruled in our favor and is holding the companies responsible for their illegal monopoly that cost consumers millions of dollars.   This is a landmark victory to protect New Yorkers from harmful monopolies.

France passed a law requiring solar panels on every parking lot with more than 80 spaces. Equals 10 nuclear reactors Reduces heat island, shades cars The US -- 800 million parking spaces. Most of them are uncovered asphalt sitting in direct sunlight. Why aren't we doing this?

The average federal income tax for an individual is 14.5%. But in 2025, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, paid just an 8% tax rate. Meta paid just 3.75%. Amazon paid just 1.37%. Palantir and Tesla paid nothing. itep.org/corporate-ta...

If you paid even a penny in federal income tax last year, you paid more than: Tesla Southwest Disney Live Nation HP United PayPal CVS Health Palantir Citigroup PG&E 3M That's right. They paid $0 in federal income tax. It's time for big corporations to pay their fair share.

This is the way.......

People often ask why Democrats don’t have something like TurningPoint USA — so before the year ends, let me introduce you to Voters of Tomorrow. We’re on campuses across the country, organizing over 10,000 Gen Z members to engage our generation. 🧵THREAD

@rweingarten.bsky.social shares a story of talking with AFT paraprofessionals about our fight for the Working Americans' Tax Cut Act: "The light in their eyes of the possibility that policy could change to help people. They just saw possibility, and that's what's important about making this fight."

Just...... wow.

I’d like to hear serious people start talking about what needs to happen to assure us that a Trump type individual will NEVER AGAIN gain this kind of power.

Right after she said this...

Mark Ruffalo, Glenn Close, Ben Stiller, Jane Fonda, John Cusack, Kristen Stewart, JJ Abrams, Katie Phang, John Leguizamo, and over a thousand actors, writers, directors, journalists, producers, composers, and Hollywood executives have signed a letter against the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger: 🧵

Cardinal Cupich: "We're dehumanizing the victims of war by turning the suffering of people & killing of children & our own soldiers into entertainment. To splice together movie cuts w/ actual bombings & targeting of people for purposes of entertainment is sickening. This is not who we are."

Thousands of workers are threatening to strike at the Los Angeles World Cup stadium. The SoFi Stadium plans to host two of the three US Men's World Cup matches, but now 2,000 cooks, servers, bartenders and more may strike. Their main issue? ICE being present at the World Cup.

This is Sadie. She was finally reunited with her human, astronaut Christina Koch, after her mom’s voyage around the moon took her the furthest any human has ever been from their dog. She can't wait to hear all about the universe. 14/10 (IG: astro_christina)

This is the best piece I've read on this topic: A successful campaign in '26 must operate like a full-time production studio. You need to harmonize your message across the ever-growing list of ways people are reachable. Communicators need to be everywhere all at once www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/o...

From big cities to rural communities, AFT members showed up—loud, united & ready to make one thing clear: there are #NoKings in America. In a historic display of grassroots power, we showed we'll fight for the future of our democracy and well-being of our communities. www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-cf...

Fixing what's broken in our community shouldn't be maddening. All 16 frustrations in our Municipal Madness bracket are getting fixed — but you get to vote for which one I handle myself. Pick your fix at nyc.gov/madness, and report new problems by calling 311.

An outstanding pack by GG @whatifisaidit.bsky.social. These are amazing accounts 💙

Smartphones and social media are harming youth, increasing anxiety and depression while causing distractions that reduce learning. In American Educator, professor and author Jonathan Haidt argues the problem isn’t with kids, teachers or parents—it’s tech’s profit model. aft.org/ae/spring202...

"Americans don’t agree on everything—but we agree that ‘we the people’ have the ultimate say. Not the president—and sure as hell not a wannabe king!” Read @rweingarten.bsky.social's full remarks at Saturday's #NoKings rally in Minnesota here ⤵️ randiweingarten.substack.com/p/twin-citie...

Thank you Marcie @mlipsitt.bsky.social for this fantastic pack 💙

@santiagomayer.com is the real deal as far as I'm concerned..... A consistent force for good who works to move the needle, especially for younger voters. That’s why I follow him & subscribe to his Substack. Santiago’s Chaotic Thoughts santiagomayer.substack.com?r=h0fu0&utm_...

No Kings protests in Barrow, Alaska- the most northerly town in the USA. #nokings

Enough is enough. We need to rein in prediction markets.

I appreciate good news but I will not trust any news that runs a Kalshi tracker on the bottom like we’re covering the Knicks playing the Lakers

Tomorrow. People across the country will come together because too many families are being squeezed by rising costs and living with fear—and we know this isn’t the American dream. There’s still time to find a #NoKings event near you: go.aft.org/nokings

Thank you Mel @lilmudda.bsky.social. I am excited too! ❌👑

Pete Hegseth removed 4 decorated Army officers—2 Black, 2 women—from a promotion list. The Army Secretary refused, calling their records exemplary. Hegseth overrode it. Possibly illegally. They gave decades to this country. He erased them & called it meritocracy. This is white Christian nationalism.

To get involved with our union’s activism, join the Member Action Committee today! Sign up: www.uft.org/get-involved...

Last night at UFT Headquarters, the Retired Teachers Chapter and UFT Member Action Committee joined together for a sign making party ahead of the No Kings march tomorrow. Register to join fellow UFT members in Manhattan: bit.ly/4deH0Kq

This is our moment to write history. Future generations will ask where you stood when democracy crumbled. Saturday, make sure you can say you showed up and fought back. #WeSayNoKings

Educators and nurses need a government working to help them, not fight them. #WeSayNoKings is about bringing our members' voices to the table — that's why thousands have signed up to rally with their local communities across the country. go.aft.org/nokings

SCHLAPP: Who wants to see impeachment hearings? CPAC CROWD: *cheers* SCHLAPP: No. That was the wrong answer.

That’s the amazing Chris Murphy of Connecticut. A true leader and an important voice in the fight to save our democracy.

Democrats introduced bills to end the TSA shutdown on: March 5 March 11 March 12 March 18 March 19 (x2) March 21 March 23 Republicans blocked TSA funding every single time.

This is ridiculous. Elected officials, their family members, or staff should NEVER be able to make fortunes off of insider information. They’re making billions betting on our national security while everyone else struggles to pay for groceries and gas.

A fantastic pack by @mrsdeborahlynn.bsky.social. These are all amazing accounts 💙

I just wrote a @theactionnetwork.bsky.social letter: Support the UFT’s legislative priorities. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/vote...