“Sandwich guy case” “Harvard clawed frog embryo smuggling case” “Olympic canoeist reflecting pool vandalism case” “James Comey seashells Instagram post case” New rule: If the case sounds like a Mad Libs story, it’s probably about to implode.
Maddy Lauria
@maddylauria.bsky.social
Independent journalist based in Delaware covering courts, climate change and most everything in between. Lots of #limuluslove here. Check out my work at maddylauria.com. Signal: MaddyLauria.38
“Nobody gives away a million dollars for free." Love a good campaign finance story, especially one written by the ever talented Karl Baker at @spotlightdelaware.bsky.social spotlightdelaware.org/2026/07/31/c...
Corporate law giants pour nearly $1M into campaign ad blitz for Democratic incumbents
The bitter legislative fight over Senate Bill 21 has spilled into this summer’s primary election campaigns with a PAC-funded ad campaign.
spotlightdelaware.org
Paramount agrees to delay the merger until at least June 2027, after litigation is complete. That means $2 billion dollars in ticking fees from the Ellisons to Warner Bros shareholders. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Stipulation – #169 in The State of California v. Paramount Skydance Corporation (N.D. Cal., 4:26-cv-07116) – CourtListener.com
STIPULATION WITH PROPOSED ORDER Not to Close filed by Paramount Skydance Corporation. (Kessler, Jeffrey) (Filed on 7/24/2026) (Entered: 07/24/2026)
storage.courtlistener.com
We're entering "a new frontier for defamation law" here, writes a Delaware judge denying Google's efforts to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Robby Starbuck. The full opinion issued today: courts.delaware.gov/opinions/dow...
courts.delaware.gov
We're all adults here why is a county government bleeping a low level curse word in meeting minutes? ffs
Just gonna drop this gem here since were talking about the 2020 election again www.npr.org/2022/12/22/1...
Fox News' Sean Hannity says he knew all along Trump lost the election
"I did not believe it for one second," Hannity said under oath about former President Trump's false claims that Dominion Voting Systems cheated him of votes in 2020. Dominion is suing Fox News.
npr.org
“Sam Neill’s character and how he responded to everyone with confidence but also kindness really stuck with me. It’s clear he knows his shit, but he’s not an asshole about it. Simple enough but shocking how uncommon that is.”
Sam Neill Inspired a Generation of Scientists
The actor, who died at age 78 on Monday, embodied a passionate approach to research and positive masculinity in his role as paleontologist Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park.
wired.com
“.. The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer .. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/b...
Key fact: "Under longstanding Delaware law, Delaware’s 62 lawmakers and about 300 other state government officials, including judges, must disclose any gift worth more than $250." Excellent reporting:
No more 'wiggling out’ of disclosing free trips overseas for Delaware lawmakers
Legislators moved swiftly to change a law after a WHYY News investigation revealed that none had disclosed free trips to Taiwan dating back to 2010.
share.google
“.. The Trump family’s earnings, experts said, have moved him into an echelon of enrichment more associated with strongmen in Russia and Turkey.” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/w...
Lowkey I can't stop thinking about how everyone is reporting the EPA/DOG figure of a $450M lawsuit. Let's be so for real. The order includes a $22.5M civil penalty. Up to $90M plus interest in projects to be approved by the EPA. Any other figures came from the feds, & Chemours did not claim them.
Chemours to pay hundreds of millions in PFAS pollution settlement
Chemours to pay $112.5M in penalties and $300M+ in investments to settle federal lawsuit over toxic "forever chemicals" pollution.
delawarebusinesstimes.com
Once you see the Claude/Anthropic logo (and others) compared to Kurt Vonnegut's artistic rendering of a butthole, you simply cannot unsee it. Actually, though, this is a modern day curse I think.
WIRED@wired.com · last mo.Anthropic's critics argue it's rapidly accumulating power. The company says that's what responsible AI development looks like. www.wired.com/story/anthro...
The live blog is back, baby. Fantastic resource for Delawareans trying to stay in the know: share.google/dXiggZykrfZF...
Live Blog: Tracking the final days of Delaware's 153rd General Assembly
Spotlight Delaware has relaunched its end-of-session live blog tracking the latest developments inside Legislative Hall ahead of June 30.
share.google
You can celebrate Juneteenth by reading about how Trump spent $527K to rush the construction of a base for a statue of a slaveowner, so they could pull it out of storage and put it up by Independence Day. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Trump resurrected the statue of a slave owner. Its pedestal cost taxpayers $527K.
Contracting documents obtained by Mother Jones indicate the price was nearly double the government's estimate.
motherjones.com
Packed house at IRE for this panel on financial/ethical disclosures reporting. Love to see it!
"The lawsuit tells the story of one prisoner whose cancer caused him to deteriorate, but he could not get proper help until he was hospitalized and believed by the plaintiffs to have died. The lawsuit claims officials let him deteriorate to shift the cost for palliative care onto Medicaid.."
State-backed whistleblower suit claims neglect in Delaware prison care
Delaware joins a whistleblower lawsuit alleging prison health care neglect, fraud and falsified records by a former contractor.
delawareonline.com
Elon Musk’s Feud With Delaware May Transform Corporate America www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/m...
Elon Musk’s Feud With Delaware May Transform Corporate America
nytimes.com
I’m not sure people realize how huge this problem is. During Trump 1.0, ~5,000 kids were separated from parents at the border. During Trump 2.0, the Brookings Institution estimates *145,000* US citizen kids have been separated, mostly in the country's interior www.brookings.edu/articles/how... 5/x
Imagine being a kid and learning both your parents were arrested by ICE. You’ll have to pay rent and survive on your own. I shadowed four siblings—US citizens near Mar-a-Lago—as they try to do that. I'll be thinking about their story for a long time 1/x www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
ICE took Mom and Dad. Now the Perez kids are home alone.
Four American siblings left to fend for themselves—and they're not the only ones.
motherjones.com
This might just be me, but pet peeve: Articles about lawsuits that never once mention where the lawsuit was filed. Feels like that should be part of the basic who/what/when of the story, but they're using AI here, too, so I shouldn't be surprised the content is lacking in actual ... content.
USA TODAY@usatoday.com · 2mo agoTyra Banks is suing Netflix for defamation alleging her interview in its "America’s Next Top Model" docuseries was edited to make a false narrative.
Waiting to issue recommendations until after June 30 effectively punts the decision to the next General Assembly, which technically doesn't convene until 2027. My latest on the energy beat:
Spotlight Delaware@spotlightdelaware.bsky.social · 2mo agoAmid rising energy costs and worry about electricity needs from new high-demand users like data centers, legislators are weighing varied fixes. That has included a task force considering nuclear energy, but recommendations may come too late for changes: https://ow.ly/jpF150Z9Xwk
