NEW: The National Design Studio is a curious corner of the government staffed by DOGE veterans. @telliotter.bsky.social spoke to an engineer who was recently interviewed by “Big Balls” about a role there; they were not super impressed.

The National Design Studio Became a DOGE Landing Pad. Now ‘Big Balls’ Is Recruiting

WIRED spoke with an engineer who was interviewed by Edward "Big Balls" Coristine for a government engineering role at the NDS, the White House agency staffed by other DOGE veterans.

wired.com

I still think about this article a lot zeteo.com/p/trump-whit...

Sam@samd.bsky.social · 23h ago

gotta say it’s pretty weird how the official Trump insta page has become devoted to this weird trolling of musicians who hate his guts

Gonna go out on a limb here and say racist cranks who write for extremist white nationalist websites like VDARE should not, in fact, be confirmed to top roles in the Department of Justice.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 7h ago

SCHIFF: You told my staff you stood by your article in white nationalist website VDARE where you wrote, 'Muslim immigrants & their kids seem prone to terrorism' C: I wrote that article in support of Trump's travel ban S: Do you stand by it? C: I stand by that article S: That's all I need to know

Max Miller’s story is wild when a broken clavicle and handprint bruise are *still* not enough for CPS to make a positive finding of abuse Without that finding, Moreno taking a kid to the ER without him, is counted against *her* in family court

NEW: Republicans tried to get Missourians to effectively kill direct democracy and ballot initiatives. Last night, Missourians literally laughed in their face — rejecting the measure by a massive 80% to 20%. Here’s what to know:

Missourians Reject Measure That Threatened to Kill Citizen-Led Ballot Initiatives - Bolts

Missourians on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted against a measure to restrict direct democracy, while state officials are trying to block even more citizen-led reforms from the November ballot.

boltsmag.org

BREAKING: The New Mexico Department of Justice has sued Acting AG Todd Blanche and the DOJ, requesting the court for access to unredacted Epstein-related investigative files that the DOJ has been withholding.

Common Grackles have a ridge (keel) on their upper bill & move the acorn around to "saw" the acorn open - Illustration of Bronzed Grackle (subsp of Common Grackle) is from the Wilson Bulletin <https://sora.unm[dot]edu/node/218 THE WILSON BULLETIN p.238 December, 1941 Vol. 53, No. 4

Wrote about the border search exception: a massive loophole in the Fourth Amendment that allows border officials to search through your phone without a warrant, the exception provides an easy pretext for the Trump administration to target its political enemies. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Trump Should Need a Warrant to See Your Phone

Federal officers can too easily comb through the most intimate details of your life.

theatlantic.com

"The survey identified perceived downward pressure and a stunning 30 point decline when asked to compare their freedom to express themselves without fear of government interference or punishment ten years ago to their expectations for ten years from now."

John Sands@iohn.bsky.social · 12h ago

A new survey from @knightfoundation.org and @ssrsresearch.bsky.social reveals a disquieting decline in how free Americans feel to use the freedoms protected by the #FirstAmendment without government interference or punishment. 🧵

The Missouri SoS dragged out his office's examination of the veto referendum (of the GOP gerrymander) for most of 2026 to ensure he can run out the clock; and finally declared today, on the deadline by which he had to act, that he thinks the veto referendum is entirely unconstitutional.

The Redistrict Network (mirror 🤖)@redistrictnet.bluesky.bot · yesterday

#BREAKING: Missouri Secretary of State Hoskins has deemed the Missouri Redistricting Referendum as insufficient due to it being unconstitutional.

Don't look now, but the world has now installed 3TW of solar. Took 10 years to get from 100GW to 1TW. Less than 3 years to get to 2TW. Less than 2 years to get to 3TW. Analysts expect *9TW* by 2036.

The World Crossed a Major Solar Milestone. No One Noticed

The next phase of the boom may reveal a shift in who is gaining access to the technology.

bloomberg.com

Brown University has a widget that tracks the cost of the Iran war to American consumers (as contrasted to whatever the Pentagon is spending). Per-household cost now exceeds $600. iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

BOMBSHELL story by Olivia Carville @bloomberg.com Internal Report Shows TikTok Kept Safety Feature From Millions A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement NO PAYWALL www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

TikTok Withheld a Safety Feature From Millions. One Died by Suicide

A confidential document says an algorithm adjustment was kept from many users “by design,” as part of an experiment to measure engagement.

bloomberg.com

In addition to having no experience in immigration, their website shows Ilya Shapiro (!) and disgraced former law prof Joshua Wright (!) as Senior Counsel. I don't think this massive contract was awarded to give immigrant children effective, zealous advocacy. burkegroup.law/our-team/

Our Team - BURKE LAW GROUP, PLLC

Our Team

burkegroup.law

Politico@politico.com · yesterday

26-employee Texas law firm gets $150M to represent 24,000 children in immigration court

🚨Someone did, in fact, take a knife to the Reflecting Pool! 🚨 Only it was a National Park Service engineer, trying to stop the peeling from worsening. “The government’s own engineer determined that it was better to cut off the peeling sections than to let them flap around."

Olympic canoeist charged by Pirro seeks to permanently sink Reflecting Pool case

Amid Trump’s criticism of the decision to drop the case, attorneys for David “Davey” Hearn said prosecutors shouldn’t be allowed to try to bring new charges.

nbcnews.com

And all credit to politico for getting the audio of this call - I should have mentioned that in the clip!! @alicemiranda.bsky.social @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

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

Strict Scrutiny Podcast@strictscrutiny.bsky.social · yesterday

On Todd Blanche: (1) his written statement on the weaponization fund is a meaningless joke and (2) the danger(s) he poses to abortion access: m.youtube.com/watch?v=fJAY...

this should get so much more attention — two states within 3 weeks have made major moves on rights restoration.

Alex Burness@burness.bsky.social · yesterday

A combined 100,000+ people with past felony convictions have either already gained or will soon gain voting rights in Missouri and Virginia, which both have elections today. More: boltsmag.org/gop-run-miss... boltsmag.org/virginia-gov...

If you show up to Bluesky without following anyone, you'll be treated to a series of posts about art, music, and dogs. If you show up to X without following anyone, you'll be bombarded with right-wing conspiracies and white supremacist slop. It's weird which one is seen as a "political bubble"

Federal employees are suing OPM over the removal of gender-affirming care coverage from federal health plans, arguing the policy is unlawful. The case could affect thousands across the federal workforce. By Erich Wagner

LGBTQ+ feds sue to restore FEHB coverage of gender affirming care

A class action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s campaign to block gender affirming care coverage under federal agencies’ employer-sponsored health insurance program said the move is…

buff.ly

Out.

NPR@npr.org · 2d ago

Military veteran and D.C. resident Anna King has filed a $3 million lawsuit against the Idaho National Guard, saying three guard members assaulted her while detaining her in front of her home. n.pr/4wyjw9S

About a month ago, it emerged from upstate New York that DHS was targeting online critics of ICE by trying to force them to sign a heretofore unheard of “Warning Notice” admitting that their criticisms were unlawful. Now the WSJ reports that those cases ... talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

REVEALED: The Scope of ICE’s Surveillance of Its Online Critics

ICE’s Round-the-Clock Digital Dragnet About a month ago, it emerged from upstate...

talkingpointsmemo.com

“A court that systematically dismantles democratic safeguards, steamrolls constitutional liberties, and tramples human dignity does not chart the course for the Hawaii Constitution”

State Court Report@statecourtreport.org · yesterday

The Hawaii Supreme Court opened the door for criminal defendants to challenge convictions based on discredited evidence, diverging from the U.S. Supreme Court.

@jasonleopold.bsky.social gets a sneak preview of @wyden.senate.gov's report on how banks ignored Jeffrey Epstein's suspicious transactions. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says

Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...

bloomberg.com

Tomorrow’s ballot in Missouri includes a GOP-backed proposal that would kill the popular initiative process that allows voters to use referendums to enact the policies that lawmakers refuse to act on: boltsmag.org/missouri-ame...

Under this August Measure, All of Missouri’s Recent Popular Initiatives Would Have Failed - Bolts

Republicans have dominated Missouri’s legislature for over two decades, but they haven’t entirely controlled state lawmaking, in large part because Missouri empowers citizens to petition for ballot re...

boltsmag.org

Yf you spye a fadid signe at the syde of the roade that saith 'V short leagues to the Shack of Love'

Absolutely unbelievable how solar power has taken off worldwide during the Hormuz oil crisis. You don't have to hand it to him, but Trump may have done more to finally kick off a global civilization of effete librul solar users than anyone else in the West

New: Acting AG Blanche shared two docs meant to assuage GOP holdouts to his nomination. They leave intact the text of the Trump settlement + audit immunity that spurred controversy, while walking back/clarifying DOJ's stance. Now what? The Blanche docs, annotated: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

WaPo alone found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, namely to spy on girlfriends or ex-wives. They interviewed ~seven victims w/ stories of abuse that are really awful. One police chief "watched every single move" his ex made.

Drew Harwell@drewharwell.com · 4d ago

New: We found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, often to spy on their girlfriends or ex-wives. He "watched every single move I made. ... Who do you turn the chief of police in to?" wapo.st/3S6rTuo

“In recent months, ICE has deployed a round-the-clock digital dragnet to scour the public internet—from Facebook to Instagram to X—for speech that could endanger the agency’s mission.” Speech. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

How ICE Is Weaponizing Social Media Against its Critics

Agency says its surveillance program searches for threats to agents, but critics see free-speech infringements.

wsj.com