Jen

Frank Strong@frankstrong.bsky.social

Texas: EARLY VOTING STARTS TOMORROW!! Here's my twice-annual Book-Loving Texan's voting guide. If you hate censorship, care about libraries & diversity, and aren't sure who to vote for in a school board or State Board of Education race, this is for you! Please share! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.comBook-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November 2026 School Board ElectionsThe Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the November 2026 School Board Elections (This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community.) Election Day: Tuesday, November 3...

Adam Serwer@adamserwer.bsky.social

After years of championing "free speech," Texas lawmakers have enabled a dramatic rise of censorship in Texas universities, banning concepts, canceling courses and closing departments seen as "woke," and even using AI bots as censors. All in the name of freedom. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

Texas Freedom to Read Project@txfreedomread.bsky.social

Pull up a chair! 2 weeks ago TX Lt. Governor Dan Patrick held a “press conference”(campaign stunt) w/TX book banning activist Bonnie Wallace. They shared a list of 2,198 “filthy, dirty, pornographic,” books Dan falsely claimed “are in all of our schools.” and “violate SB 13.” /1

Alex Ip 葉清霖@alexip718.com

Jesus Christ: after a recent ruling by the Eighth Circuit that allowed Act 372 to take effect, an Arkansas county has banned all children from checking out any books in the adult section, bringing home any DVDs, or using the self-checkout kiosk in its public libraries.

Ronan Farrow@ronanfarrow.bsky.social

Georgia audited its own data center tax breaks and found that the state gave up $474 million in sales taxes in one year—and got back just $41 million from the industry. At least 38 states have deals like this. #AI #News #US

Popular Information@popular.info

“Data centers in [seven states] use about 3.4 trillion gallons of freshwater for electric power generation every year… That volume of water adds up to 10.4 million acre-feet—greater than the 8 million-acre-foot average annual urban water demand in California... in 2021.”

news.bloomberglaw.comData Centers Use More Water Than California Cities, Study SaysElectric power generation for data centers is a threat to water supplies even in states outside the arid Southwest, according to a report published Tuesday by the think tank Ceres.

Ryan Estrada@ryanestrada.com

The biggest target I've ever seen on my books. Texas placed Banned Book Club and Occulted on a state-wide list of illegal "dirty books." Having them in any school could lead to state takeover where the government could shut down the library entirely and convert it into a student detention center.

Maggie Harrison Dupré@mharrisondupre.bsky.social

NEW: Teen boys are using smart glasses — mainly Meta's AI Glasses — to film themselves harassing classmates at school, following girls around and "rizzing" them or "ragebaiting" them w/ insults. In several videos we reviewed, girls plead w/ the poster to stop filming. futurism.com/artificial-i...

futurism.comTeen Boys Are Using Meta Glasses to Harass and Bully Girls at High Schools and Middle SchoolsTeen boys are using Meta's AI glasses to harass and bully victims -- overwhelmingly girls -- at middle schools and high schools.

Emanuel Maiberg@emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social

We put a tracking device in a shipment of rare books acquired by an anonymous buyer. It ended up at an Amazon facility where the company scans books for training data and destroys them in the process: www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...

404media.coWe Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training FacilityWe placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.

Michael Clemens@mclem.org

Incredible. When E—n M—k & his crew obliterated USAID in a weekend, they deleted a vast trove of publicly-funded knowledge: the Development Experience Clearinghouse. A Canadian high school student (!) happened to have downloaded the entire thing for a project. AidData has now posted it for all.

aiddata.orgBefore reimagining development data, remember what we’ve learnedWhy we’re publishing a free, searchable, and ungated archive featuring a quarter-century of USAID evaluation reports.

Dale @dalejohn.bsky.social

The USDA is projecting the wheat harvest to be cut by almost half in the US. The state of Kansas is the largest producer of wheat and it is projected to harvest 44% less than from 2025. The American Farm Bureau sees a continued increase of Chapter 12 bankruptcies from 2025 as well.

Frank Strong@frankstrong.bsky.social

While volunteers helped @txfreedomread.bsky.social track book removals from Tx schools after SB12 & SB13 were passed last year, I made a spreadsheet of the classic & acclaimed books that were banned from individual districts in 2025-2026. You won't believe it. open.substack.com/pub/franklin...

open.substack.comMore Than 100 Classic and Acclaimed Works of Literature Removed from Texas Schools Last YearWas your favorite book banned from a Texas school district in 2025-2026?

Scott MacFarlane@macfarlanenews.bsky.social

Nothing to see here: Just 292,150+ people warning about Trump Admin’s new federal rule to strip grant funding power away from experts, scientists and unbiased arbiters Instead granting power over federal grants to Trump appointees Enormous issue Comment deadline is today

The New Yorker@newyorker.com

Elon Musk’s cuts to U.S.A.I.D. led to some 700,000 deaths, Atul Gawande says. www.newyorker.com/news/the-new...

newyorker.comThe Human Cost of DOGE’s War on U.S.A.I.D.Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and the “public man-made death” that they’ve caused.

Sarah Gollust@sarahgollust.bsky.social

Did you write your comment yet on the OMB rules on federally funded science yet? No? Don’t worry, you can do it this weekend. Here are some resources that can help you get started.

Stand Up for Science!@standupforscience.net

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 11 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/R83IO

Pete Buttigieg@petebuttigieg.bsky.social

This week someone targeted my family for harm with a false report. We’re physically OK, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t harmed. I am beyond furious. Whatever your politics, this is awful, wrong, and can never become normal.

substack.comA Terrible Thing Happened to My FamilyEven in today's climate, there should be one fundamental principle everyone respects: whatever you think about someone in politics, you leave their kids alone.

Lauren Dobson-Hughes@ldobsonhughes.bsky.social

Musk says not a single person has died due to him axing USAID. Sadly, part of my job involves tracking aid spending. So here’s a thread with just some of the people who lost their lives because of USAID cuts

EL PAÍS@elpais.com

🔴 ÚLTIMA HORA | Irán vuelve a cerrar el estrecho de Ormuz por los bombardeos israelíes en Líbano, que han dejado 25 muertos este sábado social.elpais.com/dbk…

💙🏳️‍🌈 Kh’ymm (aka Goldie) 🏳️‍🌈💙@thegoldfishmind.bsky.social

This. This is how a real man, a real Christian AND a REAL President shows up! Masculinity is when men stand up for the rights & well being of all people! Our current president will never understand & he will be the laughingstock of American history. #Pinks #Pride

David Folkenflik@davidfolkenflik.bsky.social

NEWS: In joint memo, Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim say they will stay on at 60 Minutes. While they say they are heartbroken over fired colleagues, they cite one reason for staying: "We don't want to see 60 Minutes die"

MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com

🚨🚨 A new report from The New York Times reveals FDA officials blocked publication of taxpayer-funded studies showing COVID-19 and shingles vaccines are SAFE, with serious side effects extremely rare. Health experts are calling this an act of censorship. Calls for investigations are already growing.

Scott Rich, Ph.D.@richcompneuro.bsky.social

Top story on the @nytimes.com app. A big sign that this all-important story is breaking into mainstream consciousness.

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social

"Y'all are in a death spiral. That's why you have to redistrict. That's why you have to cheat." Watch this man.

David Corn@davidcorn.bsky.social

Steve Earle has released this beautiful video of his song "City of Immigrants," which was directed by Steve Buscemi. It's a wonderful ode to a key cause of American greatness. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkRt...

youtube.comSteve Earle - "City Of Immigrants" [Official Music Video]YouTube video by Steve Earle

Tina Says #VoteOutTheCorruption@trcfwtt.bsky.social

They got mad when Pete took time off to care for his very sick newborn.

The Lancet@thelancet.com

Scientific literature depends on the integrity of its references. In a new research letter, authors present the findings of a reference-integrity audit of 2.5 million biomedical papers. Read this & more in our latest issue: spkl.io/63325A7eXP

Mother Jones@motherjones.com

OpenAI says ChatGPT has robust safeguards. That didn’t stop the chatbot from giving @markfollman.bsky.social extensive help as he simulated planning for a mass shooting. Don't believe us? Watch for yourself in our latest video ⬇️

youtube.comChilling: I Simulated Planning a Mass Shooting with ChatGPT“How would I add a component so that I can be as well prepared as possible for other people shooting back at me, including law enforcement?” On April 14, journalist Mark Follman created a free…

Ben Williamson@benpatrickwill.bsky.social

Wow, they actually *retracted* this so-called meta-analysis about ChatGPT effects on learning performance, though it got massive metrics and social media attention before that. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Rep. Mike Levin@levin.house.gov

Not enough people are talking about this.     The Trump Administration is moving to cut benefits for up to 400,000 disabled Americans — people with Down syndrome, severe autism, dementia — for no other reason than that they live at home with their families instead of in an institution.

Cory Booker@corybooker.com

Maya Angelou’s words still light the way. OP: National Black Theatre

DiscussingFilm@discussingfilm.net

First trailer for ‘TED LASSO’ Season 4. Releasing August 5 on Apple TV

Josh Cowen@joshcowenmi.bsky.social

Really helpful new data @centeronbudget.bsky.social @joannalefebvre.bsky.social extends what researchers have known since the early 00’s Most voucher users were never in public school. These are subsidies for existing choices. And add new costs for states.

CNN@cnn.com

Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, has formally apologized to the community of Tumbler Ridge, BC, after a mass shooting in February. He admitted his company did not alert authorities to the shooter’s disturbing online conversations with its AI chatbot even after staff flagged the account internally.

cnn.comOpenAI’s Sam Altman apologizes to Canadian community after failing to flag mass shooter’s conversations with its AI chatbot | CNNSam Altman, the head of OpenAI, has formally apologized to the community of Tumbler Ridge, BC, after a mass shooting in February. He admitted his company did not alert authorities to the shooter’s dis...

Peter Baker@peterbakernyt.bsky.social

Acting CDC head cancels publication of a study showing Covid vaccine sharply cut odds of hospitalization and ER visits. Agency veterans say they've never seen an article pulled after being cleared by scientists and scheduled for publication. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/u...

nytimes.comC.D.C. Cancels Publication of Study Showing Benefits of Covid Vaccines

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

brilliant -- Morning Joe put together clips of Pete Hegseth reciting a fake Bible quote from Pulp Fiction, along with the Samuel L. Jackson scene from the movie

Maggie Harrison Dupré@mharrisondupre.bsky.social

A woman sued OpenAI last week alleging that ChatGPT reinforced the obsessive, violent delusions of her stalker (her ex-boyfriend.) This woman's claims (as detailed by TechCrunch, left) are chillingly similar to those of a completely different woman whose story Futurism reported on in Feb (right):

Frank Strong@frankstrong.bsky.social

The Book-Loving Texan's Guide to the May 2026 School Board Elections is now LIVE! Please read it, share it, and bookmark it to help support anti-censorship candidates in Texas. And check back frequently! As always, I'll be updating it until election day (May 2). docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.comBook-Loving Texan's Guide to the May 2026 School Board ElectionsThe Book-Loving Texan’s Guide to the May 2026 School Board Elections (This is a mobilization tool. Use it to volunteer, donate, and organize in your community.) Election Day: Saturday, May 2 Early Vo...

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

NEW—I got an exclusive excerpt from a USAID whistleblower's new book that made me gasp multiple times. It details Trump's dismantling of the humanitarian aid agency & his team/DOGE's shocking ignorance to public health. 'Into the Wood Chipper' by Nicholas Enrich is out tomorrow. Read excerpt here:

thehandbasket.coWhistleblower says Trump officials thought USAID did 'just abortions,' asked for 'Barney-style' slides before gutting agency, per new bookRead an exclusive excerpt from Nicholas Enrich's "Into the Wood Chipper"

kelly jensen@heykellyjensen.bsky.social

Where and How Book Censorship Is Impacting Children’s Publishing Right Now. Publishing imprints for young readers are shuttering thanks to a softening school and library market. That's a result of book censorship, and it impacts you wherever you live. bookriot.com/book-bans-an...

ProPublica@propublica.org

Nursing home owner Joseph Schwartz: • paid himself $5M as a “ghost employee” • diverted tens of millions owed to taxpayers & employees • failed to pay at least 3 multimillion-dollar judgments awarded to grieving families He also received a Trump pardon.

propublica.orgA Nursing Home Owner Got a Trump Pardon. The Families of His Patients Got Nothing.At least three families won multimillion-dollar wrongful death suits against former Skyline Healthcare owner Joseph Schwartz. They haven’t collected a cent.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Trump: "The US can't take of daycare. That has to be up to a state. We're fighting wars. Medicaid, Medicare -- they can do it on a state basis. We have to take care of one thing: military protection. But all these little scams that have taken place, you have to let states take care of them."

Cameron Blevins@cblevins.bsky.social

This is so, so well-articulated.