Mara Forest

If you’ve been impacted by the recent flooding and landslides in Washington, you may be eligible to sign up for health coverage outside the normal enrollment window. Learn more & how you can sign up at wahealthplanfinder.org.

Liam, a teenager in North Carolina, reached out to us at the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation in the fall of 2025. To earn his Eagle Scout award, Liam wanted to build 30 CR Boxes for a local STEM elementary school. What a thrill it has been to watch this project blossom.

This is fascinating. A new geometrical object mymodernmet.com/soft-cell-ti...

The negligent, outdated beliefs of medicine's management class (everywhere; from the UK inquiry here) contrasted with well-understood science from 👉1934👈. If you got sick after being told that COVID falls to the ground within 3 feet and N95/FFP2/FFP3 respirators aren't needed, 👉it was their fault.👈

Officials in Tennessee aren't just banning books, they're now demanding information on who checked out contested (largely LGBTQ+) books, including names, addresses, and "household composition." A librarian who was given the directive has come forward asking for whistleblower protections.

LOL... Pentagon released a new AI military chatbot and it immediately pointed out that Pete Hegseth is a war criminal. abovethelaw.com/2025/12/pent...

While no one was watching: Tenuous status of CDC prion unit, risk of #CWD to people worry scientists If the Prion and Public Health Office is shuttered, human CWD cases could go unnoticed. www.cidrap.umn.edu/c... Photo: Lorie Shaull / Flickr cc

"The attorney in the New York office spoke in depth about the plan being recently updated to include mosques and liberal synagogues in the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s recent win in the New York City mayor’s race."

🧠 Daily Feed of Brain Damage 🧠 www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...

SEATTLE!!! We’ve now taken the lead by 91 votes! 🤯 This thing is certainly not over! Over 1,000 ballots have been challenged, so if you haven’t tracked your ballot yet get on it! Our trusty volunteers have been working hard to "cure" ballots so they count! We're so close!

The current GOP lie is that they’re going to replace Obamacare with something better. Bullshit. In all of the majorities they’ve had since Obamacare passed, they’ve never once tried to replace it. They’ve tried to repeal it a whole bunch, but never actually make it better.

BREAKING: Cornell caved. Here is the settlement agreement, signed today by the university's president, Michael Kotlikoff: statements.cornell.edu/2025/documen...

Sacramento remains on track to launch a first ever city-led guaranteed income program for foster youth. The program is expected to provide monthly cash payments of at least $750 starting next July.

Maine rejected a ballot measure that’d have restricted mail voting and imposed voter ID. By a large margin, 64/36. The no got 90% in the city of Portland. (!) boltsmag.org/five-ways-20...

I asked SPD's comms department to confirm this 2 days ago and they ignored me as usual. (All my questions have to go through their PR person—literally, I cant't get yes/no answers without a whole special delaying process. It's wild!) Anyway, here's the press release they did instead of answering me.

Breaking News: Late last night Conde Nast illegally fired 4 union organizers who asked company execs to explain the downsizing of Teen Vogue and continued layoffs. We’ve filed a grievance.

The Rutherford County Library System in Tennessee is temporarily closing two branches in order to remove books from them. Why? Because the Secretary of State told them to do it, citing laws and Executive Orders that undermine the Constititon. bookriot.com/rutherford-c...

www.semafor.com/article/11/0...

Our friends @weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social are gathering information about "soft censorship" happening in the US According to School Library Journal, soft censorship is a "quiet banishing that often comes without explanation." If you've seen it in your community, please respond to their survey

A glimpse from the Andrew Cuomo official watch party at Ziegfeld Ballroom, via NYPost's Matthew Fischetti

This has been a really rough few days. I recently learned of a controversy around our book THE PRINCESS IN BLACK AND THE PRINCE IN PINK. Some were outraged that Deseret Book carried it (a chain of bookstores in the west). Deseret Book appears to have complied to their demands and removed it. 1/

NEW: Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power. Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well beyond the borders of his state. By @dougbockclark.bsky.social

📣THREAD: It’s surprising to me that so many people were surprised to learn that Signal runs partly on AWS (something we can do because we use encryption to make sure no one but you–not AWS, not Signal, not anyone–can access your comms). It’s also concerning. 1/

Correct. Listen for yourself, directly from the mouth of this protobacco child labor advocate. youtu.be/HGaYDUS19Lo?...

"COVID-19 continued to cause about the same number of monthly work absences year-round as occurred during peak influenza months, a team that includes Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) researchers has found." Source: archive.li/z10Zl

WELL IN FACT if you are a member of @sfwa.bsky.social, they have some health insurance options available, based on the same concept of pooling groups together (in this case other lit-focused orgs). This itself is a compelling reason for qualified writers to join SFWA. www.sfwa.org/2020/06/10/h...

Be safe out there today, friends. If you see anything particularly notable or experience any major issues, contact me on Signal at marisakabas.04

Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents. I did it because the government isn’t. This is what I found.

"Redman said the initiative is part of a centuries-old relationship with the British Crown and Indigenous allies, noting that the nation never ceded its land or jurisdiction." "“It’s a very distinctive and powerful world-class application of an old Indigenous order of operations.”"

Few patients appeal a health insurance denial, but a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment. Here’s what experts say you need to know.

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion. As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

Masks for The Smallest Toddlers to Young Children to Older Children, Teens & Small Adults This chart is sorted by vertical mask length, but fit based on 3D geometry of multiple attributes. Therefore fit testing is essential. Green masks have headstraps

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration. MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone." orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Breaking on MSNBC: Trump's handpicked U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — who brought charges against James Comey — just presented evidence to a grand jury in the hopes of bringing criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"Health care's dirty little secret": To avoid being fined for hospital-acquired infections, some administrators discourage clinicians from testing for them, even when that worsens patient care. Important reporting from @tarabannow.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/h...

Here's a Youtube link of Violet Affleck's full speech about COVID and clean air at the United Nations:

Yes I will be fighting back against the unjust firing by @washingtonpost.com. I have filed a grievance and will be represented by none other than the amazing @katiephang.bsky.social and an incredible legal team. Journalistic freedom is a bedrock of a healthy society and is worth battling for.

“We are told by leaders that we are the future. But when it comes to the ongoing pandemic, our present is being stolen right in front of our eyes.” Incredible speech by Violet Affleck who warned about the ongoing dangers of COVID & Long Covid, & advocated for masks and clean air at the UN today!

Deadline executive editor Dominic Patten said that he's hearing Disney may back down after public backlash over the yanking of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

Conservative media and Trump’s FCC chair have claimed Jimmy Kimmel said Charlie Kirk’s shooter is MAGA. But Kimmel didn't actually say that. Story: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

According to the New York Times, "The text exchange between Mr. Robinson and his partner was reproduced by prosecutors in the charging document." Reproduced? So no one has seen the actual messages? No screen shots? No time stamps? Also, weren't they on Discord and not SMS? 1/