Luke Starnes

Parastoo Ahmadi was just sentenced by the Iranian courts to 74 lashes for performing this concert without wearing a hijab youtube.com/watch?v=oYca...

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Take a wild ride with Musicology Duck

This is some bullshit.

Insane

The Memphis Police Dept reports historic crime reductions: *Overall Crime = 25-yr low *Robbery/Burglary/Larceny = 25-yr low *Murder = 6-yr low *Aggravated assault = 5-yr low *Sexual assault = 20-yr low www.memphispolice.org/news/memphis... .

They had to have been aware that, by a rough estimate, there were more than 25k years of accumulated military experience in that room. To be lectured on the basics of military leadership and qualifications by a SECDEF with a few years of active soldiering …. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

This week,The BS rec’d a letter from MARIO GUEVARA, the only known journalist detained on US soil by ICE. For wks, we’ve worked w/ his family to obtain Mario’s handwritten letter + the 2 drawings of his cell. The letter is also available in Spanish. bittersoutherner.com/journalist-m...

Jeff Hiller AND Tramell Tillman! Love to see it. Both killed.

Condemn political violence every time it happens. Do not incite it. Do not celebrate it. Do not call for more of it. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/o...

“ …change Defense Department seals on more than 700k facilities in 40 countries and all 50 states… everything from letterhead for six military branches + dozens more agencies down to embossed napkins in chow halls, keychains and tchotchkes in the Pentagon store.” apple.news/ACQ1vQQWYQKe...

NEW: A devastating before and after montage of Rasheed Street in Gaza City. Put together by local photojournalist, Motaz Azaiza.

With the AJC dropping its print edition, I feel compelled to share one of the greatest moments in print design history

US says it has started seabed mineral talks with the Cook Islands reut.rs/45CeL46

Challenger explosion

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c...

Hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on weather data collected and processed by Department of Defense satellites. The Navy has decided to stop sharing the data.

ICE is attempting to deport an Atlanta-based Spanish-language reporter from El Salvador who has been covering their immigration abductions. He has legal work authorization and a path to a green card. This is pretty obviously an assault on the free press. www.ajc.com/news/2025/06...

What could go wrong?

More than a hundred libraries on federally recognized tribal lands across the country were notified that their congressionally appropriated grant had been terminated midcycle. Those communities are at risk of losing their local libraries and the history they hold.

fat shot drug / pot kettle black

Check out how the anchors of CBS Evening News ended their broadcast tonight:

This shit is nuts

The entire staff of the Defense Digital Service (DDS), the Pentagon’s decade-old technology development office, is leaving by the start of May, with nearly all individuals resigning, after being sidelined by Musk’s DOGE www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

The stupidity in Trump’s new tariffs is apparently limitless. He has introduced a 10% tariff on the British Indian Ocean Territory. The only inhabited island there is Diego Garcia, home to US service personnel. TRUMP HAS PUT A TARIFF ON A US MILITARY BASE 🤡

I know Trump is busy ensuring the U.S. economy commits seppuku right now, but FYI Tufts University just issued a declaration in support of a motion filed today by Rümeysa Öztürk’s legal team in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. It’s a pretty strong declaration. www.tufts.edu/president/sp...

NEW: ACLU's filing on Friday also shows the impact of these bad gang tattoo claims. Specifically, remember Andry, the gay make-up artist we sent to rot in a prison in El Salvador? Here are the tattoos that an ICE officer declared were "Consistent with those of a Tren de Aragua member."

See this chart for one stark example: NIH funding has dramatically slowed down. Grant awards are down *$3 billion* so far, compared to same time period last year I asked the White House to explain. “This is not a researcher entitlement program,” said an official, defending their new approach.

Stephen Graham is so good in Adolescence

The Trump administration has terminated a U.S.-funded initiative that documents alleged Russian war crimes, including a sensitive database detailing the mass deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, according to U.S. officials.

BREAKING: The head of the $42 billion federal BEAD program that aims to bring broadband internet to rural and unserved areas has left the Commerce Dept. He sent a departing email warning of "deeply negative outcomes" for people if the Trump admin shifts $$ from fiber internet to Musk's Starlink:

It’s critical to address these affronts to decency. Glad they are focused on what’s important.

I just heard this as well. The entire staff of the National Center for Education Statistics, created in 1867, has been fired.

Policing email signatures is absolutely insane www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-ce...

In addition to cutting aid, diplomatic support, and intelligence sharing, Trump is now revoking legal status for 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the war to America. Trump's policy vision for Ukrainians: just die. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

I got laid off today, with the rest of 18F. 18F was an elite federal software shop. We made gov't websites work better, more efficiently for the American people. We saved taxpayers from getting screwed over by contractors. And were fired for it. We made this website to tell our story: 18f.org

Confirming what others have discussed or reported, 18F, the elite tech consultancy within TTS/GSA, was formally disbanded overnight. There’s a formal RIF, the legal system in which the government downsizes/layoff people. I’m told it’s 60 days on leave for all involved.

The way Vance and Trump treated Zelensky was a disgrace.

Mattis definitely stands out in that list.

This is so gross “At Lakenheath High School, a school for children of U.S. military members in Britain, a club for gay students and their allies can no longer meet. A Women in STEM group has also been placed on hold.“ www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/u...

This is not a subject line you expect to see. This whole thing is a farce.

Public comment genuinely matters. Courts will overturn rules based on an administration not responding to substantive comments.

the richest man in the world has decided that your kids don't deserve special education programs

Scoop: The databases powering DOGE.gov are insecure, and people outside the government have already pushed their own updates to the site to prove it: www.404media.co/anyone-can-p...

This makes me sad

Out of over 500,000 student-athletes attending NCAA schools, fewer than 10 are transgender, NCAA President Charlie Baker said during a congressional hearing in December. Ten. apple.news/APM6L8RGkSpe...

Coast Guard leaders had given Fagan a 60-day waiver to find new housing…but on Tuesday, DHS officials told the acting commandant, Kevin Lunday, that he had to kick her out because “the president wants her out of her quarters” www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

Jared Kushner from March, “Gaza’s waterfront property … could be very valuable” apnews.com/article/jare...