Eric Svenson

Federal minimum wage in: 2009: $7.25 2010: $7.25 2011: $7.25 2012: $7.25 2013: $7.25 2014: $7.25 2015: $7.25 2016: $7.25 2017: $7.25 2018: $7.25 2019: $7.25 2020: $7.25 2021: $7.25 2022: $7.25 2023: $7.25 2024: $7.25 2025: $7.25 2026: $7.25 Folks, it's time to raise the damn wage already.

WHOA, IOWA‼️ Josh Turek just landed the biggest endorsement in Democratic politics: Barack Obama. Reminder: Obama was the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Iowa.

BREAKING: In my lawsuit against Todd Blanche for the Epstein Files, Judge Sullivan has just ordered Blanche to produce, in camera (in chambers), the UNREDACTED emails & documents, and Blanche must bring documentation supporting his representations the DOJ’s redactions are what he claims they are.

Coach may want to put on steel-toe boots for the 2nd half.

Once again the WH gets it all wrong (shocking right?😡). Their latest efforts to rewrite American history on their history website does include 4 women (gasp) but listen to Broad History aka IsabelleRoughol of IG to catch all the errors. Yep - MAGA likes a certain look for women, history be damned.

Technically, they’re Remains now.

new take™ www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNFi...

"What we need is a rebirth of the American spirit. And the way we achieve that is by standing up for what's good in our system, our democracy, people doing the right thing, and talking about what public service means. ... That's one of the forgotten functions of Congress.

❤️‍🩹The reunion of two loyal friends after a long separation – a Ukrainian soldier and his dog. First, the dog seemed to scold him for being away so long. Then it started hugging him. I’m not crying. Something just got in my eye.

NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA

Column: Spent the day digging into NCAA Tournament shocker shot history to see where the Braylon Mullins bomb ranks. Distilled it to a dozen shots -- not necessarily in order of greatness, but the ones that left us slackjawed. From 12 to 1: bit.ly/4uWR2q9

Remembering Aretha Franklin on her birthday. 💜 🙏🏼 🎵 🎹🎤

A viral dog rescue from 2016 is now immortalized with a statue in Kazakhstan. When a dog fell into the Sayran reservoir, bystanders formed a human chain to pull him to safety. The statue is a reminder of the value of unity, solidarity and collective action. 14/10 for all

Fascinating “read”

This is Lexa. She really hopes you’ll be her valentine. Wouldn’t want to waste this look on just anybody. 14/10 (IG: bambiandlexa)

Thank you Eugene Goodman for saving Democracy during the Capitol insurrection #January6th

Officers like @libradunn1.bsky.social saved my life and my colleagues’ lives on January 6th. I’m forever grateful to the law enforcement officials who courageously defended our Capitol and our democracy from the armed insurrectionists.

Freaking love this city and all the people in it so much….a bunch of people went and turned the 4 train into the Polar Express giving out toys to kids along the way from the Bronx to Brooklyn….shoutout to the @newyorkers.live account on IG for doing this 🙏 www.instagram.com/reel/DSnsvWS...

Just in time to be the perfect present for the holidays AND support NPR.... My NPR Tote bag is back! shopnpr.org/products/nin...

Exhausted and dehydrated, I slowly walk the last few steps. “This has to be it,” I think to myself. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and turn the handle, whispering a little prayer as I step through. I open my eyes and the last trickle of hope leaks away. I am still in IKEA.

28 so far

“Sesame Street” and its sequel, “The Electric Company,” were, “with lapses, the most intelligent and important programs in television,” Renata Adler wrote, in 1972.

I’d say that @stephencolbert.bsky.social is (with the lone exception of @maddow.msnbc.com) the most brilliant, humane person I’ve encountered in broadcasting. His mind works faster than anyone else’s at a level of sophistication that is unmatchable. Genuinely a generational talent.

#booksky

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game starters have been revealed. @itssydneywingfield.bsky.social breaks it down: www.thenexthoops.com/features/202...

New names for the #wnba expansion teams? Gottttt you. What would YOU name them?

Worth a watch: Head of Signal, Meredith Whittaker, on so-called "agentic AI" and the difference between how it's described in the marketing and what access and control it would actually require to work as advertised.

So, #CaitlinClark is out again, this time with another strain. The WNBA has a massive problem with the uglification of its game thanks to execrable officiating and it's sent their best player into a terrible shooting slump and physical ditch. My column: wapo.st/3FWIriB

Tyrese Haliburton makes an incredible statement following his surgery today:

this is a letter to the editor from a high school track runner who came in second to a trans girl in a race. her state house rep in maine started talking about it. so she wrote this: www.pressherald.com/2025/05/14/r...

Loving all the comments

Lots of talk today about the demise of BlueSky. For whatever it's worth, it's been a boon to indie publishers like us. Twitter and Facebook have pretty much silenced us, so the engagement here has, and continues to be, wonderful.

Haliburton, as called in: Brazil, France, Iceland, U.S. (in Spanish), Albania, U.S. (ESPN Radio), Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, the Netherlands, Türkiye, Canada, and Croatia:

I've been wanting to tell my widowhood story publicly for years, but I know I don't have the kind of grief story people want to hear. No community rallied, no family healed, no strength discovered. I wrote about the gap between grief narratives and reality. www.dataandpolitics.net/why-i-find-i...

I compiled some thoughts on the strategic implications of Ukraine’s audacious “Operation Spiderweb” A lot of folks are talking about the immediate impact, but I wanted to focus on how this strike will reverberate globally. Unlocked for everyone. www.patreon.com/posts/130512...

Stop the @bsky.app bashing. We’re all under a tremendous strain. We’re not perfect. I block when I need to, but ignore most foolishness. Don’t become goaded into leaving a platform that’s doing almost all the right things. To organize for 2026, we need to stay in communication w/each other.

The cicadas have returned to Cincinnati, including this creepy little guy.

Building a robust online following is more art than science. Though the proper calibration can be painfully elusive, Pritzker and his fans seem to have found one that is working.

so good!

If anyone should rest in peace, it’s Pope Francis. He was a good one. 🙏

Someone once said NextDoor is the social network for dogs if they could type. It’s always “what’s that noise?” and “who’s that stranger?” which is exactly what I imagine my dogs would text other neighborhood dogs.

A+ to CBS Sports for their coverage of Rory’s victory walk. Perfect execution. Sometimes less is more.

Indie legend Miki Berenyi: ‘There was a falling out in Lush. And, if I’m honest, it still hurts’