New: In about 10 minutes the Senate should start an initial vote on a continuing resolution. The CR contains a provision that would temporarily (but completely) block OMB's proposal to overhaul federal grants. Our story on that Senate measure and some of the pushback which lead to it:

Controversial White House plan to overhaul US science funding faces Senate opposition

Proposal to put political appointees in charge of research grants could be temporarily halted if lawmakers’ efforts are successful.

nature.com

Scoop: The Trump administration is sending a letter to college presidents asking them to pledge a series of policy changes by the end of the year. Unlike last year's Compact, this effort was devised with input from higher ed leaders. Free link to my exclusive: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

McMahon Asks US Colleges to Pledge Campus Reforms by End of 2026

Education Secretary Linda McMahon is sending a letter Monday to the leaders of US universities asking them to commit to a slate of campus reforms by the end of 2026 in the Trump administration’s lates...

bloomberg.com

#OldTrailsFire in Spokane now appears to be most destructive wildfire in WA State history by wide margin (650+ structures lost), w/additional TBD losses nearby. Other PacNW fires actively burning, though less destructive, are far larger & could burn for weeks amid severe drought.

Long thread by @spokanerising.com on wildfires spreading rapidly into the city of Spokane, WA. Drought and high winds have combined to weaken local defenses against fire while enabling it to spread more rapidly.

Spokane Rising@spokanerising.com · 4d ago

Holy crap. Level 3 (GO NOW!) zone now includes urban Spokane, south of Francis to Wellesley. Level 2 (GET SET!) zone now extends east of Division. Not to be alarmist, but at this rate, it’s not inconceivable that the Old Trails Fire merges with the Fairview Fire.

I'm back! Each Friday night, I write a briefing on what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪  July 31 (Year 2, Week 31) - student visas, asylum cases & ICE surge at airports - "Golden Age" & Vanderbilt reports - kangaroo courts, grant terminations & so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Year 2, Week 31

Jul 11-31, 2026 – the abracadabra of it all

buttondown.com

I'm back! Each Friday night, I write a briefing on what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪  July 31 (Year 2, Week 31) - student visas, asylum cases & ICE surge at airports - "Golden Age" & Vanderbilt reports - kangaroo courts, grant terminations & so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Year 2, Week 31

Jul 11-31, 2026 – the abracadabra of it all

buttondown.com

hey SF, the 2026-27 Community Challenge Grants program is live, accepting applications for neighborhood projects until October 2 sf.gov/ccg

Our new book, The Best Science Stories and How They Work, is out now! Contributors include @sabs.bsky.social, @prosaaquino.bsky.social, @debbieponchner.bsky.social, @ashleythesmart.bsky.social, and more! Check it out:

The Best Science Stories and How They Work: A Collection with Commentary - The Open Notebook

An invitation to engage with some of today’s most respected science journalists as they take readers beneath the surface to tell the stories behind eleven of the best science stories.

theopennotebook.com

“Click to open the document” can be an item on your to-do list, if you need the dopamine hit badly enough.

Exclusive: NIH, which 1 year ago was slammed by a federal judge for illegally terminating more than 1700 grants funding research on health disparities and other politically sensitive issues, is again killing ongoing projects on those topics. Learn more: https://scim.ag/4pF6Mvy

OUT TODAY, the AAUP just released the first comprehensive account of how the Trump administration has taken the same playbook it's used on law firms & foreign governments & turned it on American universities. US higher ed has, in effect, become a target of a massive extortion racket. 🧵

New Report on Extorted Compliance Charges “Massive Extortion Racket” Against Higher Ed

A new AAUP report, "Extorted Compliance: A Threat to Institutional Autonomy, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance," exposes how the Trump administration has extended its pay-to-play approach to gov...

aaup.org

Last week's terminations at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) total at least 150 grants worth $230M. That is over half of the agency's portfolio. It's the latest assault on healthcare, health equity, and the rule of law. grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #AHRQ 🧪

Termination of AHRQ grants is the latest assault on health equity and the rule of law. – Grant Witness

The agency charged with finding ways to make American health care more effective has been gutted. Last week’s terminations are just the latest blow.

grant-witness.us

We need 2-3 more writers with a science-y backgrounds to help us turn news chaos into orderly information on @unbreaking.org's infectious disease control, food safety, and medical research funding pages. The commitment is a few hours every couple of weeks. Is this you? 🌱 unbreaking.org/how-to-help/

How to help — Unbreaking

Documenting damage and resistance. Unflooding the zone.

unbreaking.org

I wind up in spaces where people are very committed to focusing on presidents but, for my money, I want more ways to give faculty and staff the capacity for something like this

Will Jones@willpjones.bsky.social · 4w ago

"The decision by the university’s AAUP chapter to retain outside lawyers is the latest example of faculty members and other groups choosing to fight settlements with Trump in ways that the colleges themselves often seem reluctant to." @aaup.org @yaleaaup.bsky.social

The Trump admin just changed the definition of "harm" to animals under the Endangered Species Act, in what environmentalists called the biggest erosion of protections for wildlife in 50 years. @nytimes.com gift link to the story w/ @catrineinhorn.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/c...

Trump Cuts Habitat Protections for Endangered Species (Gift Article)

The rule change ends a safeguard that had been in place for 50 years and could hasten the demise of imperiled animals.

nytimes.com

Each Friday night, I write a briefing on what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪  July 10 (Year 2, Week 28) ❗️Reminder: OMB comment deadline is Monday 👍 Some good news in higher ed litigation for once (in Florida!) 👎 New Ed Dept regulatory agenda & so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Year 2, Week 28

Jul 4-10, 2026 – possible worlds

buttondown.com

"NSF employees are now concerned that the $1 billion of withheld funds will not be released. If they are not, the combination of withheld funds and clawbacks would result in funding cuts of more than 30% for most directorates compared with their planned spending for 2025"

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · 4w ago

New: The National Science Foundation is preparing to claw back some $500 million in funds from some of its core science programs in physics, math, computer science, and engineering in order to fund a project from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Just submitted my comment on the new OMB rules for federal grants. Thanks to @fabbs.org for all the helpful resources. 🧪 You still have time to make your voice heard! The comment deadline is Monday July 13th at 11:59pm. fabbs.org/fabbs-omb-co...

FABBS OMB COMMENT TOOLKIT – FABBS

On May 29, 2026, OMB published a proposed rule to update the Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance, which are government-wide policies and requirements rela

fabbs.org

The federal government quietly released its regulatory agenda for the next year last Friday, and quite a few items affect higher ed. I will be watching the discussion on making it easier for mergers and acquisitions very closely, but there is also a lot related to diversity.

What’s on Trump’s Higher Ed Regulatory To-Do List

Many of the agenda items have to do with culture war issues like defining sex and cracking down on diversity, equity and inclusion.

insidehighered.com

The dean of Yale Law School and some members of its faculty are trying to stop a settlement between the university and the Trump administration, warning that an agreement could jeopardize Yale’s independence, according to two people familiar with the deliberations.

Yale Law School Fights to Stop Trump Deal

nytimes.com

this this this

Drew Altman@drewaltman.bsky.social · 4w ago

Social media makes the anti science, anti vax crowd seem much larger than it is. Surveys show it’s actually a very small share of the public greatly outnumbered by science believers. My new column: on.kff.org/4wthpni

“When you eat illusions you end up hungrier than before.” https://aworkinglibrary.com/writing/hungrier-than-before

Hungrier than before

You cannot fill your belly with illusions.

aworkinglibrary.com

I have an event that conflicts with this but I am telling you go to this. Feeling overwhelmed and helpless is what they want. We all have a role to play and you can play it. Acting and understand acting as part of a collective effort will make you feel better.

Interrupting Criminalization@interruptcrim.bsky.social · last mo.

Register now for this training next week with IC cofounder Mariame Kaba! Come identify your most sustainable, effective role in social change based on what fits your skills, capacities, relationships, & lived realities. 🗓️ Weds, July 8 🕰️ 7pm ET/4pm PT

Each Friday night, I write a briefing on what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪  For July 3 (Year 2, Week 27), my theme was "interdependence" and for the holiday weekend, I did less explaining and more of a link roundup. buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Year 2, Week 27

Jun 27-Jul 3, 2026 – Interdependence Day

buttondown.com

If Fourth of July fireworks aren’t your thing, the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is offering a quieter light show. The annual Firefly Viewing Nights lets visitors trade fireworks for fireflies, as naturalists warn the glowing insects are disappearing in many parts of the country.

Firefly viewing nights return to the U of M Arboretum with a silent fireworks show

A summer tradition at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum lets visitors trade fireworks for fireflies, as naturalists warn the glowing insects are disappearing in many parts of the country.

mprnews.org

this is great. I wonder too what happens when we put the pandemic alongside a generational attack on the humanities -a field of disciplines that confront, and allow their students, to think about such heavy issues like (mass) death 1/2

Colin Dickey@colindickey.com · last mo.

Happy 4th of July, for my first piece for @commonwealmagazine.org, I looked into whether or not the pandemic contributed to the nation’s rightwing lurch. Does Terror Management Theory, the idea that a repressed fear of death can have political consequences, help explain our current moment?

How worried should we be about the absence of CIP Code 51.2201 (MPH & DPH degrees) from the Department of Education's revised list?

Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · last mo.

ED Issues New List of Professional Degrees After Court Order https://bit.ly/440YLqT

@kateclancy.bsky.social is the person I go to for advice and insight on academic labor. Her thread will give you a little taste of why I trust her so much. Here’s the link to save & share. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

Opinion | The Faculty Workload Myth

Politicians think faculty members don’t teach enough. Here’s what the data says.

chronicle.com

Kate Clancy@kateclancy.bsky.social · last mo.

What a great article not only on faculty workloads, but how little our salaries actually factor in to most university budgets. A few highlights. First, our salaries are falling:

Update to my Sunday story on the strange retraction of two 1940s papers by Max Planck: arstechnica.com/science/2026... Springer Nature has supplied Ars Technica with an official statement from Tim Kersjes, head of research integrity, resolutions, as follows: [1/3]

Why did this journal retract two 1940s papers by Max Planck? [UPDATED]

Clicking on the links now reveals blank pages and empty PDFs. "Intellectually, it’s not acceptable.”...

arstechnica.com

Two years ago, my colleagues and I were sued by Stephen Miller's America First Legal. The Hines v Stamos case — built atop a number of false allegations — was a central element of the "censorship industrial complex" myth. Today, that case was dismissed (by a Trump judge in LA). We won.