While Elon Musk and his underlings demand budget cuts and layoffs across the federal government, funding for the agency they operate — the Department of Government Efficiency — has soared to some $40 million, ProPublica found.
news
Missouri GOP’s Effort to Take Over St. Louis Police Hearkens Back to Civil War
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City officials say the state’s plan to wrest back control of the police department is an attempt by white conservatives to weaken Black political influence. It’s part of a broader pattern of Missouri Republicans trying to override the will of voters.
A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.”
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The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude method for identifying research he calls “woke.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/ted-cruz-woke-grants-national-science-foundation?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Science #Data #Research #Medicine #Biology #USPolitics
"Rita Contreras, a hairstylist in Brooklyn, said that in the past six months, the number of clients walking in with AI images has ballooned.
[...]
“I have to just say, ‘This is not a real person. This is not real hair,’”"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/23/ai-hair-inspo-wedding-stylists-businesses/
Archived link: https://archive.is/erYG5
Welcome to the March/April 2025 issue of Texas Observer magazine! Editor-in-Chief Gus Bova introduces our latest by examining the "biannual dread” invoked by the Texas legislature and what we can do about it. https://www.texasobserver.org/editors-letter-introducing-our-march-april-2025-issue/
Edited 51d ago
It's that time of year again: Submissions for the 2025 MOLLY National Journalism Prize for Investigative Journalism are now open!
Submit your entry and/or help us spread the word! 🤠 Deadline for entries is Friday, April 11. https://www.texasobserver.org/molly-awards/the-molly-awards-submissions/
As Facebook Abandons Fact-Checking, It’s Also Offering Bonuses for Viral Content
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Meta decided to stop working with U.S. fact-checkers at the same time as it’s revamping a program to pay bonuses to creators with high engagement numbers, potentially pouring accelerant on the kind of false posts the company once policed.
https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-meta-abandons-fact-checking-boosts-viral-content?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A Rural Alaska School Asked the State to Fund a Repair. Nearly Two Decades Later, the Building Is About to Collapse.
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Rural school districts depend on the state to fund construction and maintenance projects. But over the past 25 years, Alaska lawmakers have ignored hundreds of requests for public schools that primarily serve Indigenous children.
#News #Alaska #Education #School #Native #Indigenous #NativeNews
A $3.7 million Capitol Hill townhouse is the D.C. headquarters of a secretive political influence project.
It’s owned by a major GOP donor. But one of the most powerful men in the country recently moved in: House Speaker Mike Johnson.
As Idaho Pushes to Reform Its Coroner System, Counties Seek to Make It Less Transparent
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A bill moving forward with bipartisan support is described as a first step to addressing problems highlighted in a state report and by ProPublica. Meanwhile, counties seek to end access to coroners’ records that were key to ProPublica’s findings.
Secretive D.C. Influence Project Appears to Be Running a Group House for Right-Wing Lawmakers
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Evangelical pastor Steve Berger’s political influence campaign operates out of his D.C. townhouse. In addition to House Speaker Mike Johnson living there, a prominent Trump ally, Rep. Andy Ogles, has the keys.
https://www.propublica.org/article/roommates-steve-berger-mike-johnson-andy-ogles-right-wing-influence-townhouse?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
This Charter School Superintendent Makes $870,000. He Leads a District With 1,000 Students.
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On paper, Salvador Cavazos earns less than $300,000 to run Valere Public Schools, a small Texas charter network. But taxpayers likely aren’t aware that in reality, his total pay makes him one of the country’s highest-earning superintendents.
https://www.propublica.org/article/valere-public-schools-superintendent-salary-texas?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
For years, a Connecticut towing company got to cut the line at the DMV in exchange for selling towed cars at deep discounts, according to a DMV report, allowing one DMV employee to resell them for steep profits.
U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin. One HUD official derided it as “monopoly money.”
#News #Housing #Crypto #Government #USPolitics #Trump #Blockchain
They voted for Trump in 2024. Months later, his administration fired them
At tribal colleges, scholarships funded by a USDA grant have been suspended amid the Trump administration’s widespread cost-cutting.
Now some students are facing their final weeks on campus.
https://www.propublica.org/article/tribal-colleges-usda-scholarships-suspended?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Trump #Native #Indigenous #Education #College #Students #USDA
Connecticut Lawmakers Seek Overhaul of Towing Laws
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A new bill addresses nearly all of the issues raised in a Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica investigation that found people’s cars were being sold shortly after they were towed.
One Community Response Team officer swerved into a motorcyclist, killing him. Another needlessly stopped a pedestrian, then shoved him into a car window. A third hit a man and then kicked his head.
https://www.propublica.org/article/eric-adams-nypd-community-response-team-police-nyc-misconduct-transparency?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #NYC #Police #EricAdams #Crime #Violence #PoliceBrutality
He Was Convicted Based on Allegedly Fabricated Bite Mark Analysis. Louisiana Wants to Execute Him Anyway.
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Nine prisoners have walked free after evidence presented by members of a forensics team turned out to be wrong — yet one man still awaits execution based on their testimony.
https://www.propublica.org/article/louisiana-jimmie-duncan-bite-mark-analysis-death-row-junk-science?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Two Transgender Girls, Six Federal Agencies. How Trump Is Trying to Pressure Maine Into Obedience.
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Maine said it wouldn’t break state law to follow President Donald Trump’s order barring transgender girls from playing girls’ sports. Then came a barrage of investigations and threats targeting the state’s federal funding.
#News #Maine #Trump #Trans #Sports #Girls #USPolitics #Government #LGBTQ #TransRights
“The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security’s Thoughts on DOGE and Trump
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In a recording obtained by ProPublica, acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek portrayed his agency as facing peril, while also encouraging patience with “the DOGE kids.”
Massive Layoffs at the Department of Education Erode Its Civil Rights Division
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Only five of the agency’s civil rights offices remain nationwide. Those who are still with the department say it will now be “virtually impossible” to resolve discrimination complaints.
#News #Education #CivilRights #Trump #Discrimination #Students
Migrants detained in Panama expressed fear of returning to their countries.
“They will execute me without hesitation,” one texted.
“I am LGBT. My country harass these people. I cannot live a normal life in my country,” said another.
☀️This Week In Global Museum.
A Daunting Museum Mission | Madrid Museum Ordered To Remove Mummy | Guggenheim Tightens Its Belt Again | Museum Investigate Whales Keeping A City Awake | Nailed-Head Rituals & Advocacy With Urgency | More Museum News.
http://www.globalmuseum.org #globalmuseum #museums #museumnews #news #museumjobs #jobs #artgallery