hello chicago-area parents + teachers, @chicago.suntimes.com reporter here!! If you've been school supplies shopping recently (online or in person) I'd love to hear from you. bonus points if you know how much $$ you spent!! message me here or email me at mrush@suntimes.com :)

This time, vertical: It was fascinating to look across three administrations of data in the @uspresstracker.bsky.social and pull out how subpoenas and legal orders have been used on the federal level

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker@pressfreedomtracker.us · 6d ago

Leak hunting with legal orders — we’ve already seen more subpoenas to journalists from the DOJ than any year in the last 10 years. This and more in this month’s Tracker newsletter by managing editor @kamccudden.bsky.social:

Words fail me. I have been on both sides of human-subjects research. I am a parent who’s grieved inside a pediatric hospital. In a month I’ll have a kid in kindergarten. Everything in this story was crushing to read. Everything in it is so important. Thank you, @retractionwatch.com @science.org.

Frankie Huang 黄碧赤@ourobororoboruo.bsky.social · 2w ago

This story really hurt my heart, a bunch of grownups decided it’s OK to experiment on a little girl, because she’s falling behind at school. She had the mild form of a cognitive genetic disorder and likely would’ve had a normal life expectancy. She was six.

Yeah... Same, buddy.

Rav@rvbdrm.com · 2w ago

Quick thinking having a tablecloth handy. I didn’t even notice the twitching from that dead robot.

I just saw a meme that said “get in losers, we’re reclaiming the emdash”. People. PEOPLE. Where are your STANDARDS? It CLEARLY should be “get in, losers — we’re reclaiming the em dash.”

What does it take to make journalism more accessible — for audiences and for the journalists who produce it? As EAPM prepares for a rebrand as the Organization for Accessible Journalism, the org reflects on the life-changing accident that inspired the nonprofit’s mission and future with E&P.

OAJ is making news and newsrooms more accessible - Editor and Publisher

What does it take to make journalism more accessible — for audiences and for the journalists who produce it? As Equal Access Public Media prepares for a rebrand as the Organization for Accessible Jour...

editorandpublisher.com

Every company now wants a staff composed of 3000 AI bots and four humans who are each forced to work 110 hours a week

When journalists asked me "where we will see the effects of DOGE on outcomes?" one of my responses was "during crises...as long as media connect the dots." Well, dots connected: www.wired.com/story/cdc-cy...

The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year

“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.

wired.com

The 13th annual international Gender Census 2026 is now open until at least 13th August 2026! survey.gendercensus.com It's for anyone whose gender (or lack thereof) isn't described by the M/F binary. It's short and easy, and results are useful in academia, business and self-advocacy. #LGBTQ

They told me to treat others the way I wanted to be treated, in kindergarten. And it just stuck.

A short and easy survey about nonbinary names: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Closing date: 19th July 2026 #nonbinary #survey

Nonbinary names survey

Just a fun survey to find out about popular names and common naming trends among nonbinary people! You will get the chance to enter up to three names. If you go by more than three names and you're not...

docs.google.com

Did you hear about the DC July 4 fireworks show? It promises 850,000 fireworks in 40 minutes. That's 354 per second. You'll miss up to 142 of them every time you blink. For your edutainment, I proudly present the nerdiest thing you will read about this dangerously absurd / absurdly dangerous event.

Three Hundred Fifty-Four Fireworks per Second — Chad M. Topaz

Organizers promise 850,000 fireworks in roughly 40 minutes over the National Mall this Saturday. I did what a mathematician does with a big number: I divided. It did not make the show look better.

chadtopaz.com

A message for the class of 2026: We need more friction!

This bridge construction history from @jasen.bsky.social (@inquirer.com) is *gorgeous*. So many layers all working together—recent photos, 3D models, archival imagery—and they tell such a rich story (that Jasen *also* reported out!) of infrastructure and accomplishment. share.inquirer.com/zX5NmH

Spanning 100 Years: How Philadelphia’s monumental bridge was built

A century after opening, this is how the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was built to last.

share.inquirer.com

Polaroid is in for a penny with anti-AI advertising and let me tell you why I love this. This is a company with cultural capital. Years of nostalgia and goodwill. They know AI is an existential threat—not only to their business, but to the idea of photography as a whole.

The work of the American Revolution is ongoing, and @errinhaines.bsky.social is considering what it might look like to include those initially left out of our origin story and Declaration of Independence. It is in this spirit that she offers a new declaration — one centered on belonging.

What would a Declaration of Independence rooted in belonging look like?

“Without belonging, there can be no true democracy. This moment requires us to affirm that commitment. It is in this spirit that I offer a new declaration.”

19thnews.org

ICE agents detained a man at Bridgeview’s courthouse Wednesday, telling sheriffs they had a warrant but never showing one. Arrests on civil warrants are barred by state law at courthouses, prompting questions of if the detainment violates it — and if so, who will hold them accountable. 🧵/10

Officials say ICE violated state law detaining man without presenting a warrant at Bridgeview courthouse

ICE agents arrested a man at the Bridgeview courthouse Wednesday, and told sheriffs they had a warrant but didn't present one. State law signed in December bars federal agents from detaining people wi...

chicago.suntimes.com

a couple years ago I was on a panel and someone asked about using advanced technology to improve cities and I was like, think about realtime bus arrival info. it has made a huge difference even as there's room to improve. it's not the kind of thing people are thinking about in those questions.

Reese, purple bun@reeselopbun.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Small neat thing. Some bus stops in town got solar powered e-ink displays to show the current bus service routes and status. I'm on the cynical side with the state of technology but it still puts a smile on my face to see stuff like this.

When you see the story about how the world now has its first trillionaire, and when you see the story about how laboratories in Congo have run out of supplies to test for Ebola, it is important to understand that in many ways these are the same story.

Treatments that result in healthy, thriving trans people - or autistic people who are recognizable autistic - cannot amass enough evidence to be acceptable to people who feel the correct number of trans people or autistic people is zero. Eugenics, plain and simple. So next let's talk about science.

The world is full of people waiting until they feel ready. Meanwhile, a folding chair has spent decades being unexpectedly useful despite having no clear long-term plan whatsoever. #gooderliving

I think it should be between families and their doctors but surgery itself is exceptionally rare: Out of 121,000 US youth diagnosed with gender dysphoria in a five year period, just 0.6% received surgical care (per a Reuters analysis of EHRs). Just 14% received any medical treatment at all.

gwen howerton@kissphoria.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Talarico saying he's against "gender reassignment surgery for minors" to lots of nodding and impressed gestures from the Barro/Yglesias crowd and a lot of the politics press is, I think, a great example of how much the well has been poisoned on trans healthcare

going to donate blood this morning and this is my general reminder you should donate blood if you can. not only because it’s a nice thing to do but as a safety thing it makes you slightly less appealing to vampires

People don't long for "inconvenience." They long for permanence. And though streaming services may be convenient, people are waking up to the fact that we are paying rent-seeking middle men month after month for things we will never actually own.

The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 4mo ago

People are pining for old technologies—CD players, VCRs, Walkmans. What’s behind our longing for inconvenience? www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...

This is for a potential piece: Trans people, did you have friend(s) or your entire friend group abandon you when you came out and/or transitioned? I’m curious to hear others’ experiences … (Reposts appreciated)

Generally speaking, legal outlets should avoid using the term "settlement," which occurs in the context of real litigation, for a case that was never litigated, where the parties were acting in concert, and where the putative defendant never filed a single document with the court.

Reuters Legal@legal.reuters.com · 3mo ago

Opponents face significant legal and political hurdles in challenging President Trump’s $1.776 billion IRS settlement, though experts say cracks could appear over time. Subscribe to The Daily Docket for more top legal news: reut.rs/4urTpk3

This is happening in ~3 hours👇🏼 12pm ET/4pm GMT.

Alex Hanna@alexhanna.bsky.social · 3mo ago

THIS WEDNESDAY: join @dairinstitute.bsky.social as we launch the Luddite Lab Resource Hub, a resource for workers fighting AI at work. We provide strategies for worker-led governance and oversight of this tech through case studies, primers, and a resource library. www.eventbrite.com/e/launching-...

the fundamental job of journalism is to report facts & uphold public trust, which is rapidly eroding. brushing off the careless use of AI to spread misinformation shows why that is. this kind of conduct needs to be treated as a serious violation & called out as absolutely unacceptable.

🚨 The U.S. Census Bureau just announced on Slack that starting on Tuesday, May 12, its APIs will require the use of an API key. This is going to be a big breaking change for anyone who was not already using one, with just 2 full business days of notice.