If you live in northern Arizona, go to this and have my eternal envy. This Saturday, FIVE young California Condors are being released into the wild at Vermillion Cliffs national monument, and the public can come see them fly! (Also Livestreamed!) #birds #vultures peregrinefund.org/event/2025-c...

Happy Petrov Day to those who celebrate. On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov made the correct decision to not trust a computer. I've attached a short clip from a reenactment of the situation in the documentary The Man Who Saved the World. 1/11

My perennial story pitch to any editor that wants to bite: “Portland is not burning and what do I need to say to get you to believe me.”

“We are really pulling out all the stops to make sure that the impacts are being hidden.” National Park Service workers say a crisis is building behind the scenes, Kylie Mohr reports.

It's tough out there, but we absolutely don't have to and should not accept scraps like this for our work. Another place I'll never write for in its current form (a sadly long list.) Shout out to every publisher I do work with, who actually values their writers.

Efficiency! *screams into void as I write a story about a great organization that had to close for lack of federal funding*

Fantastic deep dive into the DOGE chaos. It's also an example of what we lose when we lose big newsrooms. The capacity to put this many reporters on 200+ interviews and weave it into something coherent and powerful. It's a rare thing these days, and precious. www.wired.com/story/oral-h...

Whewwww

New from #SCIMaP - analysis of the White House’s Proposed FY 2026 National Science Foundation Budget. Take-home: Slashing NSF by >50% will lead to ~$11 billion in economic loss and extensive job loss and reduced training opportunities in communities nationwide. Report: osf.io/e8rnc a 🧵

Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez worked every day to save us and we put him in a prison camp. I'm glad he's home, but it removes none of the shame of his arrest.

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

And remember, the reason he wanted separate vaccines wasn't due to any science, but because *he'd filed a patent application for a single measles vaccine*. It was just grifting.

This is government #censorship in action, preventing the public from accessing park exhibits based in #research and (attempting to) erase the histories and perspectives of centrally involved communities. We need to keep taking action: www.defendresearch.org/take-action

The Guardian U.S. is hiring a Washington, DC-based Senior Science Investigative Reporter: workforus.theguardian.com/jobs/795/

Turkey vulture sketch 🪶

Really good news for one of Africa's most critically endangered birds. The conservation group Vulpro have hatched their first captive bred Lappet-faced Vulture chick. There are less than 200 wild LFVU breeding pairs left in southern Africa. #birds #africa #vultures allafrica.com/stories/2025...

This summer season will be the last time some lower-income Oregonians will receive boxes of locally grown produce or meat as part of a federally funded program. That’s after the Trump administration abruptly ended the program earlier this year.

Do you work in conservation science, particularly outside the U.S.? Did you lose your job or funding for your job because of cuts to U.S. federal agencies? Do you want to talk about it? DM me please. (This is for a @biographic.bsky.social story) [Iceland photo for attention only]

“The long history of trying to ‘cure’ or eliminate autism has been a history of terrible abuse and dangerous sham treatments." I spoke to @autisticadvocacy.org's Greg Robinson and @drstevenkapp.bsky.social about the awful autism presser yesterday. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

I have taken the Tylenol that was in the medicine cabinet and which they think probably is the reason you like trains forgive me but that’s bullshit you got autism from your dad

I miss Steve Silberman. bookshop.org/p/books/neur...

There is always a grift. Always.

This is a real loss for the Northwest.

Dear eugenicists: There have always been autistic people. There will always be autistic people. Autism is not polio. It is not a disease to be eliminated. The world is so much better and more interesting with the spectrum of neurodiversity than it would be without it. We're not going anywhere.

Some people think ChatGPT has a place writing things like news briefs, stuff written to a specific style and tone and, y'know, kinda boring. So Science did a study. ChatGPT failed. Why? It got stuff wrong. "Also, extensive editing for hyperbole was needed." www.science.org/content/blog...

Right on time for the start of Fall, this was the first morning in months that it was legitimately chilly in my house when I woke up. I have a hoodie on (probably only for an hour or so.) This is my favorite time of year and it's not close.

It should be obvious, but from someone who is aware of the literature: There is no observed link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and autism. But there is significant data on all sorts of bad outcomes if pregnant women don't treat high fevers.

Per NGS: "Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who blocked a potential game-winning field goal and returned it for a touchdown as time expired, reached a top speed of 18.59 mph on the return, the fastest speed by a player over 330 pounds since at least 2017."

I feel like the Eagles are maybe not aware that I am sick and do not need this.

I still think the best idea for progressive donors is to just revive every alt-weekly in the country and staff them with 10 reporters each.

Always. It's not a tool with flaws to work out. The flaws are fundamental and essentially unavoidable. Good thing we're integrating it into *checks notes* everything.

*coughs, sniffles, groans, sips tea* Go Birds.

Primaries should be the fun part. Vote unabashedly and happily for your preference. Strategy is for the general.

There are signs that while ICE is driving around, they may be scouting out homes where they see any signs laborers are present. If you have people working for you, whether it’s roofers, painters, landscapers, carpenters, whatever, you should have a plan to protect them if ICE shows up.

Two condors circling above on a toasty afternoon at Pinnacles.

Anyone missing a beloved #birds field guide?

And note that the lede reporter on the Homan scoop ended her 25-year career at the Washpost just last month, decamping to NBC News. Will Lewis, the Post’s CEO, had urged people to leave if they didn’t “feel aligned” w/ the company’s “significant reinvention journey” www.thewrap.com/carol-leonni...

That’s me in the video. And a Fox News host just celebrated me being assaulted by ICE. If ICE will do this to a congressional candidate with a big platform, just imagine what they’re doing to the people they’re kidnapping.

Anyone who signs this pledge is not a journalist.

I had a conversation yesterday about how bad things were likely to get for our town and the research university it's built around. That was before the H1-B tax. Each individual thing hurts, but put together, it's pretty devastating.

It’s been sad this year watching how the White House press corps refuses to back each other up. Here a female journalist is insulted and denigrated and the next male reporter just moves on to a new question. You’re all in this together, folks. Time & again, they won’t stand up for their colleagues.

Believe him.

No.

The recommendation from the West Coast Health Alliance of Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaiʻi is that all adults get the flu and COVID vaccines. www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVE...

TikTok is about to become a fully operational propaganda and disinformation service of the Trump regime. Creators and fans, I'm sorry. It sucks. But I left Twitter when it changed into what it is today. That day is pretty much here for TikTok.

If you're a former smoker you're eligible for the Covid vaccine, and CVS didn't ask me for any proof.

Make sure to wish a librarian a happy Gerald Ford Trapped in The Penn Library Elevator Day.

Today’s theme is any bird against a blue sky background #birds #FlyDay Turkey vulture soaring low in Southern California

these anecdotes do a good job of showing how pervasive & insidious AI has become. i’m lucky to be in the right stage of my career, & right front-facing niches of the industry, to be insulated from AI distruption so far, but i couldn’t have gotten to this point if AI existed when i was starting out.

We have anti-flouride fanatics setting health policy. I know it's not as immediately serious as vaccines, but it's going to impact a lot of people's health. And as someone with dental issues, I'm in that lot.