Jascha

Our research team is doing real-time coverage of emerging news and rumors related to election integrity. We put out several outputs this week. Several of the rumors we covered are still percolating. Some of the stories may become seeds for conspiracy theories later in the cycle. Some highlights...

NEW AD: Have you seen these anti-Talarico attack ads? Elon Musk paid for nearly all of them. The world's first trillionaire knows if he drags the most corrupt politician in Texas across the finish line, Ken Paxton will owe him everything. Elon Musk: Texas is not for sale.

Looking beyond election day, @amandacarpenter.bsky.social details what we should all be prepared for after November 3rd and what to do to ensure the will of voters prevails. Read her full piece here: https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/trumps-election-interference-is-underway

Good story from @stephanienolen.bsky.social on what the AI-driven "third wave" of philanthropy might mean for global health: www.nytimes.com/2026/10/20/...

⚡️️What Russia's doing to Ukraine is 'fine,' Trump says. "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," Trump said, hours after a Russian drone strike in a public park killed six people, including two children.

It's International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Lead exposure was linked to more than 3.5 million deaths globally in 2023, largely from heart disease. We need to move beyond detecting lead exposure after it happens and focus on preventing it at the source.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine views were a major factor in shelving an Agriculture Department avian flu response plan, according to five people with direct knowledge of the matter, a pause that’s alarming lawmakers as wild birds begin migra... [link] TAT: [Attacking science]

“One Small Spud for Cellkind." A SpudCell can grow, copy its DNA, divide in two, and start its cell cycle all over again. But this cell is made by people, created from lifeless ingredients. What to do with it? @carlzimmer.com reports www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/s...

Wow, a tuberculosis test makes the TIME Best Inventions list! time.com/collection/b...

Katelyn Jetelina takes the stage at STAT’s summit to talk about her experience consulting the government on CDC’s, and what happened once the second Trump administration took office. #STATSummit

Curiosity caught an extraordinary panorama at dawn on Mars: the yardangs — wind-sculpted cliffs on Mount Sharp — lit by morning light. Shot 11 Aug 2026 at 8:30 local, no white balancing so the blue early-morning tones stay visible. The most detailed view ever. www.nasa.gov/missions/mar... 🔭 ⚛️🧪

CDC just closed offices in Angola and South Sudan. Zimbabwe is next; a dozen more may follow. CDC staff overseas support countries to find outbreaks early and stop them before they reach us. Decisions have consequences. Lives will be lost, including American lives. bit.ly/4B5n6uG

🚨Attn nonprofit org leaders 🚨 Our Protecting Civic Space Nonprofit Toolkit gives organizations tools to prepare for, respond and navigate scenarios like search warrants, subpoenas, investigations, and more. Explore the resources here: https://protdem.org/NonprofitInvestigationsToolkit

"The amount of fuel Russia could export is too small, the impact on pricing too slight, the narrative too late to shape electoral outcomes: This looks, instead, like something very different: an abrupt, Hail Mary attempt to force Ukraine to surrender" www.theatlantic.com/idea/2026/10...

“Women make up about half the population, but most of what we know about women’s biology comes from extrapolation of studies in men” www.science.org/toc/science/...

BREAKING: Federal Court blocks Trump Admin attempt to misuse homeland security funds to force states to bend to its efforts to interfere in local election processes. Big win for our clients, partners, and American voters. @protectdemocracy.org

In an Uber. Driver having loud phone conversation with someone in Spanish. A little annoying, but it happens. He hangs up. Says, “Mi hermano. La Migra.” And starts weeping.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨 SCOTUS just rejected the admin’s attempt to force its unworkable mail-ballot rule on American voters. The decision leaves in place what two lower courts found: the rule was completely unjustified, likely unlawful. 📫 Mail voting remains secure and available. What you need to know ⬇️

this weekend I am reading this quote tweet

The WH claims it set up a "voluntary" process to review advanced AI models before public release. The catch? 🚩 No one outside the WH knows what the rules are. 🚩 No legislation passed. No court ruled. No public process took place. So, we sued to force transparency 🔗 https://protdem.org/4ynklmC

The most absolutely massive flex from the state fair exhibit. This quilt is made of 40 years of prize ribbons from various categories at the New Mexico State Fair won by Carol St. Clair Johnson. She also won a prize for this quilt.

Come for the electronic heath records antritrust intrigue, stay for the burrito-from-a-thermos move.

You can’t separate the authoritarianism from the corruption. Enrichment and entrenchment form a feedback loop of public power and private gain. @raders.bsky.social explains in If you can keep it: https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/266000-every-single-hour

🚨 Status Update: Escalating In the latest update to our Authoritarian Action Watch, we analyze the administration’s actions to quash dissent as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signals plans to go after the tax-exempt status of some nonprofits. Read more here: ⬇️ https://protdem.org/dissent

👏🏽👏🏽 This August, the first at-home screening tool to determine whether the tick that bit you carries Lyme disease will hit the market www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/t...

The Trump administration’s cuts to the largest global HIV program last year resulted in sharp drops in both prevention efforts and treatment for the people most at risk from the disease. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/h...

this thread is my Fourth of July

Looking for a way to celebrate America's 250th? Civic Season has 1,000+ activities to mark the moment — block parties, wish walls, potlucks, and more. Explore the action on our site and find an activity near you: https://protdem.org/4vGm7hz

Trump’s DOJ has squandered the presumption of good faith courts used to afford DOJ. Financial institutions need to change their approach accordingly and not cut off funds for targeted nonprofits. From me and @joegoldman.bsky.social in @inquirer.com www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

Take action before July 2nd — You can submit a comment directly to USPS about their proposed rule that could create new barriers for mail-in voters ahead of the midterms. @standupamerica.com 's tool makes it easy to weigh and share with your networks ⬇️

Trump and Rubio announce they will entirely cut HIV/AIDS assistance to the country with the highest number of people living with HIV in the world: www.politico.com/news/2026/06...

⚠️ Take Action ⚠️ The federal government is proposing that civil servants sign sweeping NDAs. The public comment window closes June 26. Read our guide for how you can weigh in and share this action widely ⬇️ **No public policy expertise required**

Cast of Laocoön and his Sons (Roman version of a lost Greek original), 100BC-50AD

Diabetes researchers removed from a conference for handing out printed copies of their editorial warning that the Trump administration's funding cuts & delays will make America's health worse. The editorial: diabetesjournals.org/care/article...

The New York Times is union made! We are out here fighting for a fair contract for our journalists.

tl,dr; Scientists no longer allowed to use federal funding to publish, attend meetings, or talk to the public. They cannot collaborate internationally. Grants can be cancelled for any reason, at any time, political appointees have a final say over what gets funded, and who gets funded.

BREAKING: we just won our Kennedy Center case! Both the renaming & the closure of the Kennedy Center are enjoined Kudos to our wonderful client @repbeatty.bsky.social & my colleagues @democracydefendersaction.org & Washington Litigation Group This is a 1-2 punch against Trump's corruption

I went to Eastern DRC with @drtedros.who.int during the 2019 Ebola outbreak. There were attacks. Health workers died. I called that story The Ebola Wars. The current outbreak will almost certainly be much worse. My heart goes out to millions of Congolese who have been neglected for so long.

I’m thinking about US researchers who do global health research in the Global South and now need to worry about removing authors from low and middle income countries Epistemic injustice will worsen www.science.org/content/arti...

Ebola was caught too late in DRC. Blame greed & corruption for the neglect of Congolese citizens; blame the US for cuts to aid; blame a chronic lack of funds for healthcare. Also: The WHO has definitely gotten faster, at least in early days. My timeline of W Africa outbrk: nautil.us/how-slow-res...

This is on Trump, Musk and RFK who gutted our public health and international aid infrastructure

Trump's approval is plummeting. His presidency is in a tailspin and the GOP knows it. His Slush Fund and sweetheart tax amnesty for his family are the final straw. GOP electeds are now in outright rebellion because they see his ship is sinking and they're all on it realizing it's time to get off.

Under guise of their so-called SAVE America Act, Trump & Republicans are trying to rig the midterm elections. If this was really about ensuring all Americans can vote, they would agree to guarantee that all citizens get a free ID. But that’s not their plan.

Exactly how Orban dismantled independent media in Hungary: 1. Crush: harass media outlet with govt regulatory pressure. 2. Buy: Have political ally acquire outlet once it’s distressed. 3. Supplant: fire independent journalists and hire cheerleaders for regime. Steps 1-2-3, or perhaps just C-B-S.

Withholding life-saving HIV/AIDS treatment in exchange for mining access is not diplomacy. It is coercion, and the consequences are measured in lives.

1/2. He took the greatest military force in history, lost a war to a middle power in a week, begged the world to save him, & demanded the media lie about this & everything else. I try, but at a simple human level I do not see how anyone mistakes this man’s almost supernatural weakness for strength.

Today — March 11th — is the sixth anniversary of the day that kicked off Covid the world over. Tom Hanks, Rudy Gobert and the NBA, and ... Trump. Read my @wired.com oral history of a day that forever altered our world and ultimately fractured our shared reality: www.wired.com/story/an-ora...