I wrote about Sean Duffy's role at the department of transportation to Make America Manly Again. From the IndyCar race at the national mall over the weekend, to posting videos of himself revving big trucks, he's branding the department in a very specific way. 19thnews.org/2026/08/cars...

Real men don't bike: How cars became the symbol of American manhood

Inside the Trump administration's campaign to sell a vision of masculinity rooted in speed and strength — and what it means for people who walk, bike and ride the bus.

19thnews.org

New from me (in my new local news home): San Antonio’s Transportation Department is planning to conduct a survery gauging resident’s feedback on street safety. Details about the survey, such as when it will be conducted, have yet to be released.

The White House Correspondents’ Association confronted the Trump administration, we have learned, after reporters aboard Air Force One learned they were unwitting decoys during Trump’s secret departure from Turkey. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/donald-tru...

Trump’s Secret Jet Blowback

The White House Correspondents’ Association confronted the Trump administration, Status has learned, after reporters aboard Air Force One learned they were unwitting decoys during Trump’s secret depar...

status.news

This is the second Texas university system sued over teaching restrictions in recent weeks. texasstandard.org/stories/texa...

Professors sue Texas A&M System over limits on teaching race, gender

This is the second Texas university system sued over teaching restrictions in recent weeks.

texasstandard.org

San Antonio’s Transportation Department is formally opening a new, nearly half-mile section of roadway in downtown with similar barriers Thursday afternoon. The project is the department’s first “official” bike facility out of its Bike Network Plan, it said in a project posting.

WKRN News 2@wkrnnews2.bsky.social · last mo.

NDOT installs new barriers to protect bikers in downtown, East Nashville

Heat waves and scant rainfall in Europe have contributed to historic wildfires in France and Spain that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in one of the continent's biggest evacuation efforts since World War II. https://to.pbs.org/4pJLxc0

Historic wildfires in France and Spain have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate. Here's what to know

Climate data shows Europe is heating faster than anywhere else on earth.

pbs.org

NEW from me: Transportation officials have removed a growing list of safety measures that reference bikes from federal websites. The push began after DOT Secretary Duffy’s social media post vowing to end funding for “DEI bike lanes” earlier this month. www.npr.org/2026/07/23/n...

DOT cranks up its campaign to strip bike lane references from federal websites

Transportation officials have removed a growing list of safety materials that mention bike lanes from federal websites. Safety advocates warn that's undermining proven measures for reducing crashes.

npr.org

Flood sirens blared early Thursday in Comfort, Texas, as the Guadalupe River rose more than 30 feet in three hours, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The storm could bring even more rainfall than last year's deadly Fourth of July floods. n.pr/4yi8LK6

Flood sirens blare in southcentral Texas as rivers reach perilous heights

Flood sirens blared early Thursday in Comfort, Texas, as the Guadalupe River rose more than 30 feet in three hours, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The storm could bring even more rainfall than last year's deadly Fourth of July floods.

n.pr

The US House is considering a transportation bill that would cut transit funding massively. We estimate that it would cut transit funds by 23% compared to the current infrastructure law. Every state would lose millions of dollars in transit formula funding. Details: www.urban.org/urban-wire/h...

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media The Justice Department is seeking to compel testimony from reporters who wrote about the new Air Force One. The Times called the move a “brazen act.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/b...

Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media (Gift Article)

The Justice Department is seeking to compel testimony from reporters who wrote about the new Air Force One. The Times called the move a “brazen act.”

nytimes.com

The Trump admin has appointed a critic of climate science to oversee the federal government’s flagship report on how climate change affects the United States. Confirming @scottpwaldman.bsky.social's reporting w/ an assist from @bradplumer.bsky.social. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/c...

Trump Administration Taps Climate Science Critic to Oversee Flagship Report

Matthew M. Wielicki has criticized the scientific consensus on global warming as alarmist. Now he’ll oversee a major federal report on the topic.

nytimes.com

Trump denied disaster aid to four Democratic-led states. Yet two days earlier, he had approved FEMA disaster aid for six Republican-led states. The move is raising questions about whether he’s injecting political motivations into emergency management decisions.

Housing advocates are responding to increasing criminalization of homelessness through organizing and public action. Here's why: 📖 Read more: bit.ly/3QyUtUD #HousingPolicy #EndHomelessness

Forced to remove rainbow crosswalks, some Texas cities are channeling support for LGBTQ+ residents into murals, lighting and rainbow-decorated sidewalks and stairs.

Texas cities find colorful replacements for rainbow crosswalks

Cities and advocates are channeling support for LGBTQ+ residents into murals, lighting and rainbow-decorated sidewalks and stairs.

texastribune.org

Media outlets that require human review of all AI content were seen as more credible, and were chosen as news sources more often, according to a new study. www.niemanlab.org/2026/06/how-...

How should news organizations label their AI use for audiences? New studies suggest some answers

Plus: How TikTok users gauge credibility, and good news about the viability of a shift away from commercial journalism.

niemanlab.org

The record-breaking heat that's scorching Europe day and night this month would not have been possible without climate change, according to a new study.

Europe's extreme heat would be impossible without climate change, scientists say

The record-breaking heat that’s scorching Europe day and night this month would not have been possible without climate change, according to a new study.

bit.ly

Today's layoffs include most of the Destiny team, some people on the Marathon team, and even various Sony staff who supported Bungie, according to people familiar with the situation.

“The bill also provides new dollars for communities to turn abandoned infrastructure into housing, and provides guidelines for communities that want to reform outdated zoning regulations, which often limit larger housing developments.“

PBS News@pbsnews.org · 2mo ago

The landmark bipartisan housing bill that President Trump hasn't signed is the most significant overhaul of federal housing policy in decades. https://to.pbs.org/43X5GBn

“Public comments are integral to the functioning of democracy. They have been since ancient Athens,” said disinfo expert Samuel Woolley. Now AI-linked platforms generating mass public comments are invading the process, warping local climate politics (gift link) www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

AI-Powered Mass Emails Are Warping Local Energy, Climate Politics

From California to North Carolina, officials weighing policy changes are being inundated with comments via platforms that tout AI capabilities.

bloomberg.com

“I think that attracting, hiring, and retaining great scientists to the EPA after this administration is going to be incredibly difficult.” In an interview with Elizabeth Kolbert, a former EPA researcher details the agency's assault on science.

An EPA Researcher Details the Agency's Assault on Science

In late January, the Trump administration began shutting down projects within the EPA’s independent science division that touched on climate change and environmental justice. Air quality researcher Thomas Luben, who had worked at the agency for 18 years, was fired for objecting.

e360.yale.edu

More Bible stories in public schools, changes to history lessons before Texas education board today www.texastribune.org/2026/06/22/t...

Texas may require more Bible stories, change history lessons in public schools

The State Board of Education will vote on incorporating more Christian stories into public classrooms as well as on deemphasizing race and cultural diversity in history lessons.

texastribune.org

Scoop: The Trump administration is backing off its plan to dismantle a $368 million ocean monitoring system crucial to understanding climate change, after a bipartisan backlash in Congress. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/c...

Trump Administration Backs Off Plan to End Ocean Monitoring

nytimes.com

It’s been a tragic week for aviation as two military jets, a skydiving plane and a charter jet crashed over the course of just four days. www.cnn.com/2026/06/17/u...

There have been 4 major plane crashes in the US in 4 days. What is going on? | CNN

It’s been a tragic week for aviation as two military jets, a skydiving plane and a charter jet crashed over the course of just four days.

cnn.com

Stunning turn of events in Group D. Huge win for Australia.

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 3mo ago

Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored and Australia spoiled Turkey’s return to the World Cup for the first time in 24 years with a 2-0 victory on Saturday night.

Boston extends successful fare-free bus pilot - h/t Boston Newsroom

Boston extends successful fare-free bus pilot - h/t Boston Newsroom

The program began in 2021 and expanded later to include lines 28, 23 and 29.

dlvr.it

‘Woefully unprepared’: extreme heat will double US hospitalizations by 2040, study finds www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Woefully unprepared’: extreme heat will double US hospitalizations by 2040, study finds

Sharp rise in hospital visits will in turn drive up annual healthcare costs for heat-related conditions to over $1bn

theguardian.com

So both the Star-Tribune and the AJC are cutting 15% of their workforces. However, one is exploring a nonprofit structure to insulate itself from its right-wing billionaire owner, the other kept their right-wing billionaire owner but went fully digital. Would love to see they diverge from here.

Minnesota Star Tribune@startribune.com · 3mo ago

The Minnesota Star Tribune will cut its workforce by 15% through buyouts and layoffs, executives said Tuesday evening, just a month after the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Annunciation school and church shooting.

Damn! Joe Shapiro and Don Gonyea are two public radio legends. Sorry to see them take buyouts / layoffs in the newsroom. I hope NPR can right the ship

NPR's newsroom shrinks through buyouts and layoffs

At least 18 NPR journalists have accepted buyouts and another 10 have been laid off as the public media network attempts to save money and reorganize the newsroom.

npr.org

Some veteran NPR journalists depart in buyouts & layoffs in aftershock of elimination of federal subsidies for public media. Editor in chief Tommy Evans: "Today has been incredibly heavy." Cuts amount to 4% of content division. My story: www.npr.org/2026/05/27/n...

NPR's newsroom shrinks through buyouts and layoffs

At least 18 NPR journalists have accepted buyouts and another 10 have been laid off as the public media network attempts to save money and reorganize the newsroom.

npr.org

NPR is shrinking its newsroom through layoffs and buyouts and is reducing staff dedicated to covering both climate and science. "The climate desk no longer exists separately but has been folded into the National Desk," writes Neela Banerjee, who headed the climate desk but was just laid off.