I’ve been tracking the slush fund/immunity deal in my newsletter since it happened in May & I’ll stay on it whether it’s in the headlines or not. My analysis is based on 25 years at DOJ & you can read along for free—because I believe our power is shared knowledge. Joycevance.substack.com

Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance | Substack

Worried about the state of the republic? Get the legal knowledge & analysis you need to be an advocate for democracy, along with a dose of savvy optimism. Click to read Civil Discourse with Joyce Vanc...

joycevance.substack.com

Joyce White Vance@joycewhitevance.bsky.social · yesterday

Todd Blanche's last-minute promise won over Senators Cornyn & Tillis, but shouldn't have. The "deal" leaves Trump's tax immunity intact. It confirms what the Senators should have already known about Blanche's lack of fitness to be AG. My analysis: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇

so happy about this!

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org · 5d ago

🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇

“It’s laughable to suggest that on the African continent, the prime issue of human rights concern is whites in South Africa,” one former agency official told ProPublica. --> This is where the Trump administration wants our tax dollars to go:

Sharon Lerner@fastlerner.bsky.social · 2w ago

NEW: For decades, the State Dept. has given $ to groups protecting human rights in poor and authoritarian countries. Now the Trump administration is in the process of directing some of that $ to advocate for white South Africans and right-wing causes in Europe www.propublica.org/article/huma...

NEW: For decades, the State Dept. has given $ to groups protecting human rights in poor and authoritarian countries. Now the Trump administration is in the process of directing some of that $ to advocate for white South Africans and right-wing causes in Europe www.propublica.org/article/huma...

Trump Officials Want to Use Human Rights Aid to Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe

Proposed grant recipients have included a free-speech organization that has fought against bans on “gay conversion therapy” and an Afrikaner group that promotes self-governance.

propublica.org

NEW: Trump Officials Want to Use Human Rights Aid to Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe Proposed grant recipients have included a free-speech organization that has fought against bans on “gay conversion therapy” and an Afrikaner group that promotes self-governance.

Trump Officials Want to Use Human Rights Aid to Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe

Proposed grant recipients have included a free-speech organization that has fought against bans on “gay conversion therapy” and an Afrikaner group that promotes self-governance.

propublica.org

Yet again, these grants are not surprising, but they are shocking. “It’s laughable to suggest that on the African continent, the prime issue of human rights concern is whites in South Africa,” a former official told ProPublica.

Sharon Lerner@fastlerner.bsky.social · 3w ago

The latest from me and @annamaria.bsky.social on the proposed grants from the State Department to advocates for white South Africans and groups aligned with conservative and anti-immigration movements in Europe www.propublica.org/article/huma...

NEW: Trump Officials Want to Use Human Rights Aid to Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe, by @annamaria.bsky.social and @fastlerner.bsky.social

Trump Officials Want to Use Human Rights Aid to Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe

Proposed grant recipients have included a free-speech organization that has fought against bans on “gay conversion therapy” and an Afrikaner group that promotes self-governance.

propublica.org

The latest from me and @annamaria.bsky.social on the proposed grants from the State Department to advocates for white South Africans and groups aligned with conservative and anti-immigration movements in Europe www.propublica.org/article/huma...

Trump Officials Want to Use Human Rights Aid to Advocate for White South Africans and Right-Wing Causes in Europe

Proposed grant recipients have included a free-speech organization that has fought against bans on “gay conversion therapy” and an Afrikaner group that promotes self-governance.

propublica.org

NEW: Months after FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s historic $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, she and a guest accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from the company worth more than $12,000.

FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals

Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...

propublica.org

“ProPublica should be the example for the industry,” says reporter Mark Olalde, “that means fair pay… that means layoff protections, and that means guardrails around artificial intelligence.” Learn more about our fight for a fair contract at propublicaguild.org

this makes my head explode 🤯. I think about it a lot. But especially when it's so hot that people are dying 👇 www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

Trump cuts to clean energy linked to $83 billion in delayed or canceled projects

Trump administration policies that scaled back federal support for clean energy have led to the cancellation ​or delay of $83 billion in investment across hundreds of projects, according to a report ‌...

reuters.com

As we head today 96 degrees today, nothing is more important than exposing the efforts of fossil fuel companies to dodge liability for this global disaster. So listening to @emorwee.bsky.social heated.world/p/republican...

Republicans introduce extreme bill to ban lawsuits against Big Oil forever

Shouldn't Democrats... be saying something about this?

heated.world

“I care most about a contract that will lift the salary floors of our lowest paid employees so that they can afford to live in the cities that we work in,” says research reporter Kirsten Berg. We deserve a fair contract now!

So grateful to @amywestervelt.bsky.social and everyone else involved for making this so clear. and infuriating. projects.propublica.org/carbon-captu....

Carbon Captured

How the fossil fuel industry turned the plan to solve climate change into a plan to save itself

projects.propublica.org

much-needed clarity from the indomitable @annamaria.bsky.social about the money that's supposed to paying for global aid — and isn't www.propublica.org/article/trum...

“A Huge Grab of Power”: Trump Is Defying Congress on Foreign Aid

Lawmakers gave specific orders to Trump officials on foreign aid spending, but officials have refused to follow many of them — likely in violation of the law, experts say. In doing so, they’re escalat...

propublica.org

Imagine if France said they'd help the US with urgently needed medical aid and relief after a disaster, but only if we turned over sensitive medical data for millions of Americans. That's what Trump's State Dept. is doing across Africa. By @fastlerner.bsky.social @annamaria.bsky.social

“Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns

The United States is requiring access to health data as part of lifesaving aid deals with African countries. The U.S. says the data will be aggregated and anonymized, but privacy experts fear the info...

propublica.org

Thanks @fastlerner.bsky.social and @annamaria.bsky.social for speaking with us about the Trump admin’s unprecedented demands for data access in exchange for global health funding. Our new analysis of the few publicly-available health agreements: www.citizen.org/wp-content/u...

ProPublica@propublica.org · 2mo ago

NEW: Across Africa, the State Department has demanded access to health data for millions of people as a condition of giving countries billions of dollars in aid needed to address HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses.

NEW: Across Africa, the State Department has demanded access to health data for millions of people as a condition of giving countries billions of dollars in aid needed to address HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses.

“Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns

The United States is requiring access to health data as part of lifesaving aid deals with African countries. The U.S. says the data will be aggregated and anonymized, but privacy experts fear the info...

propublica.org

Expert: “If you take the deal, you’re going to be exploited. If you don’t take it, you’re going to die”. @fastlerner.bsky.social @annamaria.bsky.social for @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/trum...

“Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns

The United States is requiring access to health data as part of lifesaving aid deals with African countries. The U.S. says the data will be aggregated and anonymized, but privacy experts fear the info...

propublica.org

New from @annamaria.bsky.social and myself about the new approach to foreign aid, which be given “in a way that directly benefits the American people and directly promotes our national interest,” according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio www.propublica.org/article/trum...

“Digital Colonialism”: U.S. Demands to Access Africans’ Data Raise Privacy, Sovereignty Concerns

The United States is requiring access to health data as part of lifesaving aid deals with African countries. The U.S. says the data will be aggregated and anonymized, but privacy experts fear the info...

propublica.org

An infuriating read from @alexcuadros.bsky.social about the Trump donors whose stripper wells are huge sources of climate pollution www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Trump Plans to Protect Methane-Leaking Stripper Wells. This Billionaire Donor Will Benefit.

Oil tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand gave millions to Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign. He is set to reap a financial windfall as the EPA moves to weaken restrictions on wells like his that produce very...

propublica.org

www.propublica.org/article/snap...

More Than 770,000 Children Are No Longer Receiving SNAP Benefits After Trump Changes Federal Food Program

Republican backers of Trump’s signature domestic policy bill repeatedly claimed that revisions to the food benefits program wouldn’t affect the most vulnerable. But reports from a dozen states show ch...

propublica.org

@propublica.org has the story: anntelnaes.substack.com/p/speaking-o...

Speaking of the Trump 250 dollar bill...

Don Jr. is also making big bucks off the presidency

anntelnaes.substack.com

The scary video that goes with the scary story. I recommend both - with a restful break in between www.youtube.com/shorts/E11GI... @lisalsong.bsky.social @mayatmiller.bsky.social

My brother and I were tear-gassed

YouTube video by ProPublica

youtube.com

The EPA got info on the toxicity of GenX in 2006, when DuPont sent it the 1st of 16 reports showing the compound causes cancer 20 years later, the agency is rolling back drinking water limits on GenX and other PFAS chemicals citing the need for more research 🤯 theintercept.com/2016/03/03/n...

New Teflon Toxin Causes Cancer in Lab Animals

DuPont’s replacement for PFOA, a chemical used to make Teflon and many other products, causes many of the same health problems.

theintercept.com

wow. EPA just announced a major PFAS rollback 😞 It's withdrawing drinking water limits for PFNA, PFHxS, GenX and PFBS that were finalized under Biden. The Trump administration says it needs to review the science—but the science was reviewed many many times over the years it took to pass these

More outraging stories from @nicolefoy.bsky.social 😞 www.youtube.com/shorts/2w3r-...

Why have immigration agents detained this citizen three times?

YouTube video by ProPublica

youtube.com

Yes, we have our own toxicologists at HHS agencies & yes we rely on EPA's IRIS program too "For decades, a small EPA program assessed toxic chemicals.. a top Trump appointee sharply criticized the program’s work and directed agency offices to review regulations that relied on its assessments."

Sharon Lerner@fastlerner.bsky.social · 3mo ago

NEW: An internal memo sent by EPA deputy administrator David Fotouhi took aim at IRIS, the program that has independently assessed toxic chemicals for decades and directed agency offices to review regs that relied on its work www.propublica.org/article/trum...

painful but so important story from @lisalsong.bsky.social @mayatmiller.bsky.social and @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social today www.propublica.org/article/kids...

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Has Harmed Scores of Kids With Tear Gas, Pepper Spray

In several cities, judges have chastised federal officers, saying they used excessive force. One former DHS leader called ProPublica’s findings a “bright red flag.”

propublica.org