Mastodawn

This sentence deserves to stick in our national debate:

“I keep telling them that they saved me from America, and I'm very grateful for them.”
https://www.tcj.com/u-k-cartoonist-rebecca-burke-on-her-ice-detainment-no-one-should-be-here/

U.K. cartoonist Rebecca Burke on her ICE detainment: 'No one should be here' - The Comics Journal

On Feb. 26, 2025, Rebecca Burke became a prisoner of the United States immigration system. Burke, a 28-year-old comic artist from Wales, had come to the U.S. on a tourist visa on Jan. 7, in the waning days of the Biden administration, with a backpacking itinerary that entailed staying with friendly homeowners in exchange for... Read more »

The Comics Journal

Chris Adams 13h ago

Uncontaminated milk is “woke” now:
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-suspends-milk-quality-tests-amid-workforce-cuts-2025-04-21/

Chris Adams 18h ago

“roughly 70% of Susan Crawford’s win margin was attributable to changes in who was voting, rather than changes in how people voted. While the persuasion she got would still have been enough to flip the state with a November 2024 electorate (which was Trump +1), the landslide victory largely came down to a big turnout advantage.”
https://split-ticket.org/2025/04/21/how-did-democrats-win-wisconsin-in-2025/

How Democrats Won Wisconsin In 2025: Turnout.

Democrats swelled with confidence after their victory in the State Supreme Court race in Trump-won Wisconsin. It seemed that public opinion swung sharply against Donald Trump and the GOP despite El…

Split Ticket

Chris Adams 19h ago

Buried lede: “The order is unusual because the Smithsonian’s programming is not under the purview of the executive branch”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/power/2025/04/21/lindsey-halligan-smithsonian-executive-order/

She told Trump the Smithsonian needs changing. He’s ordered her to do it.

Who is Lindsey Halligan, the attorney assigned to help remove “improper ideology” from Washington’s most important cultural institution?

The Washington Post

Chris Adams 1d ago

“Economists believe government layoffs and looming budget cuts will push the Washington, #DC, metro area into a recession, challenging its reputation for economic resilience. Cracks are already forming as federal workers pull back on spending, hotels and restaurants struggle and parents cancel plans for their kids’ summer camps.”

https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/washington-dc-economy-trump-job-cuts-359c8645

Chris Adams 1d ago

“Eleven of the 26 Republicans on the House of Representatives' tax-writing Ways & Means committee, who are now crafting the extension of the 2017 tax cut legislation, represent areas that have seen hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in green energy investments in the last few years.”
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/republican-lawmakers-face-clean-energy-conundrum-they-work-tax-bill-2025-04-21/

Chris Adams 1d ago

Humans are not as unique as we like to think, part n:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/21/wild-chimpanzees-filmed-by-scientists-bonding-over-alcoholic-fruit

Wild chimpanzees filmed by scientists bonding over alcoholic fruit

Footage of apes consuming fermented breadfruit leads researchers to ask if it may shed light on origins of human feasting

The Guardian

Chris Adams 1d ago

“confirming that they made no effort to de-escalate the situation before opening fire”
https://apnews.com/video/idaho-police-release-bodycam-footage-of-shooting-that-killed-autistic-teen-01edbd42b96a4432ad4bc806aecfcf68

Idaho police release bodycam footage of shooting that killed autistic teen

Police in Idaho released body-worn and security camera recordings Thursday showing officers fatally shooting a knife-wielding, intellectually disabled teenage boy from the other side of a chain link fence, confirming that they made no effort to de-escalate the situation before opening fire.

AP News

Chris Adams 2d ago

““He did say he was a U.S. citizen, but they didn't believe him. I think they would have kept him. I think they would have if they would have not got that information yesterday in the court and gave that to ICE and the Border Patrol. He probably would have been deported already to Mexico.”
https://news.azpm.org/p/news-articles/2025/4/18/224512-us-citizen-in-arizona-detained-by-immigration-officials-for-10-days/

U.S. citizen in Arizona detained by immigration officials for 10 days

Chris Adams 2d ago

"The danger from Witkoff's experience… is heightened because he is a mere ‘special government employee’ … Because he is not committed to spending even the full Trump term of four years within government, Witkoff is almost certainly thinking about his next moves in business even while flying to Moscow … It is far too possible that Witkoff is currently planning investments in partnership with Russian or Russian friendly money while conducting ‘diplomacy' with Russia.”
https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/scoop-trump-envoys-conflict-of-interest

Scoop: Trump envoy’s conflict of interest: a Russia-linked business partner

Steve Witkoff, Trump's Special Envoy, has a serious and unreported conflict of interest in Russia-Ukraine negotiations: his relationship with Ukraine-sanctioned businessman Len Blavatnik.

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak