WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump administration has detained more than 50 spouses, parents of US troops in immigration crackdown, AP review finds.
E. Hochman
@erhochman.bsky.social
Historian of modern Germany/Austria, politics, nationalism. Views are my own.
"Wyoming will become the first state in the US where you cannot receive a B.A. in Philosophy. The University of Wyoming will be the only R1 institution, the only state flagship university, and one of two land-grant universities that do not offer a B.A. in Philosophy." dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...
Judge Wise finds that ICE coerced a 20-year-old Tongan man — admitted legally to the country three years ago — to sign a document accepting deportation, despite no criminal record or immigration proceedings against him. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Here is the now-deleted(!) audio of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche pledging that the Trump administration will end telemedicine prescriptions of abortion pills nationwide 
New from Andrew Joseph Pegoda: In an attempt to overcomply with Texas law, the University of Houston will eliminate over 100 women's studies, gender and sexuality courses from the core curriculum. It won't be enough to appease extremist Republicans.
University of Houston Nixed Its Gender and Sexuality Classes. That Won’t Stop Texas’ Crusade Against Higher Ed
College administrators wrongly hope that anticipatory obedience will satisfy a GOP-run Texas Legislature that is increasingly hostile toward education.
texasobserver.org
Fellow academics: I know a Haitian PhD student who due to TPS termination needs another institutional affiliation not in the USA. Do you or someone you know have an avenue for them? If so, DM me.
Well, the FCC Commissioner has made the decision, first announced in an op-ed in Breitbart, stating that a regulatory body does not have to observe laws made by Congress if they don't feel like it. Every month is new and unprecedented territory. docs.fcc.gov/public/attac...
Emely Suaza and her dad have been released from the Dilley Trailer Prison! I am glad that she is back with her mom, little brothers, and the rest of her family. When ICE detained Emely on her way to church, they asked her dad to come pick her up. When he showed up, they locked him up too.
Die AfD steht bei 41% in Sachsen-Anhalt. Im Bund bei 28%. Ich kann nicht mehr. „Nach RND-Informationen soll sich die Bundeszentrale künftig unter anderem mehr als bisher um die Themen Linksextremismus und Islamismus kümmern.“
Fokus auf Linksextremismus: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung plant Kurswechsel
Der bisherige Präsident der Einrichtung, Sönke Rix, schied in der vorigen Woche auf eigenen Wunsch nach nur fünf Monaten aus. Die BpB will sich nun stärker auf ihren „Kernauftrag“ konzentrieren. Die B...
rnd.de
BREAKING: We’re suing Texas A&M University’s Board of Regents to challenge their censorship policy that restricts instruction on race, sexual orientation, and gender. Public universities can't ban ideas they don't like.
"History involves sorting and organizing hundreds of thousands of facts" I remain astounded by how loud and wrong people are about what history actually is.
A faith group that hosted a call with Todd Blanche — who assured listeners of his commitment to make Dobbs “permanent in every single state” — insisted it was off-the-record…then posted it on YouTube 🤔
Blanche assures anti-abortion supporters that Dobbs will be ‘permanent in every single state’
The acting attorney general made the remarks during a private call with faith leaders.
politico.com
"As for the letter’s insistence that admissions be 'based on merit'? 'They mean they think too many Black people have gotten into places they never should have gotten into,' she said." I have gotta learn to be more straightforward www.chronicle.com/article/for-...
For Higher Ed, Trump’s Compact 2.0 Is Either an Olive Branch or a Gloved Fist
The White House has promised there will be no direct penalties — or rewards — for making the statements asked for, but some are skeptical.
chronicle.com
🚨BREAKING: A federal judge Monday blocked the Trump administration’s ban on nonpartisan groups helping newly naturalized U.S. citizens register to vote — finding the ban was likely driven by intentional discrimination against new citizens www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Court blocks Trump ban on voter registration help for new citizens, finding likely intentional discrimination
Senior Trump administration officials have repeatedly portrayed immigrants' political participation as an electoral threat.
democracydocket.com
First came framing loan caps as protecting students by pressuring universities to keep costs down, with the likely outcome of pushing low-income students out of school. Here’s another policy framed as “helping,” but again premised on exclusion-- protecting students from "low-return” jobs
The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d agoPresident Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v
i think the party of sick freaks who want to inspect kid's private parts should be branded as such
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Blanche’s appeasement is hollow. Trump still gets immunity from tax audits worth $100 million. And last week’s payout to abortion clinic blocker shows the path to payouts to rewrite history will be individual settlements instead of one designated fund. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
Blanche Gives G.O.P. Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s I.R.S. Deal (Gift Article)
Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general has been held up over concerns about a planned $1.8 billion fund for Trump allies and the president’s immunity from tax scrutiny.
nytimes.com
Blanche commits in writing to not proceed with $1.8 billion for Trump allies and limit IRS immunity for Trump. But Trump and two sons are still immune from audits, back taxes and penalties for past years. @migold.bsky.social @aduehren.bsky.social @jarirah.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
Blanche Gives G.O.P. Senators Written Assurances on Trump’s I.R.S. Deal
Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general has been held up over concerns about a planned $1.8 billion fund for Trump allies and the president’s immunity from tax scrutiny.
nytimes.com
ICE agents engaged in a high speed chase forced a car containing a mother and child into a ditch with their reckless driving, then handcuffed a U.S. citizen. It's business as usual for the agency in South Texas:
ICE Never Stopped Chasing People in Cars in the Rio Grande Valley
Immigration agents sped after a vehicle through a residential neighborhood on the same day of the agency’s traffic stop pause, reportedly endangering a mother and son—before pulling a gun on and…
texasobserver.org
The bar is so low
Yonette Joseph@sugarcane99.bsky.social · 3d agoTodd Blanche took a crucial step toward confirmation as attorney general late Sunday, after Sen. John Cornyn said he had reached a deal with the Justice Department to rein in a controversial settlement agreement Trump reached with the IRS this year. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Great reporting from our student journalists at the Duke Chronicle on increases for the most highly paid Duke employees in the wake of unnecessary massive layoffs: www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...
As cost-cutting began, Duke’s highest-paid employees took big raises
Tax filings reveal administrators, including President Vincent Price and Provost Alex Gallimore, saw their compensation rise in fiscal year 2025. Managers of Duke’s endowment and standout athletics co...
dukechronicle.com
It's pretty infuriating that Trump is denying disaster aid to Oregon for political reasons and I have barely heard anything about it, while Biden was falsely accused of doing the exact same thing to North Carolina and millions of people believed that
Willa Cather figuring out how to completely savage me from 100 years in the past😭
eileen chengyin chow@chowleen.bsky.social · 4d ago"When the first of August came round, the Professor realized he had pleasantly trifled away nearly two months at a task which should have taken little more than a week." -Willa Cather (from The Professor's House, 1925)
I like this notetaking example. it is a good case of how gender works. Notetaking has never been about producing a transcript. It is a bureaucratic skill in the 20th c. organixarion because it is SENSEMAKING. Those women socialized to take notes? They have been doing men’s metacognition for them
Jennifer Romig @jennifermromig.bsky.social · 4d agoNotetaking in meetings is tiny case in point - used to be some predictable social assumptions who would do it; now anyone can offer to do ”notetaking” by turning on the AI listener. Further interesting scenario is human recollection / notes (taken by habit by a person) conflict with AI summary