NIOSH researchers found that working veteran underground coal miners in central Appalachia are suffering from the incurable and fatal lung disease at the highest rates in nearly 50 years. The last time the rate of disease was that high for miners with the same work history was 1978.

Appalachia's black lung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners' protections stall • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

A new report found that working veteran underground coal miners in central Appalachia are suffering from black lung at the highest rates in nearly 50 years.

penncapital-star.com

A federal judge lifted a stay on the termination of temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in order to comply with a SCOTUS ruling that cleared the way to open them up for deportations. Pa. has one of the largest Haitians populations in the country. From @statesnewsroom.com

TPS for up to 350,000 Haitians officially ends as judge applies Supreme Court order • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

A federal judge lifted a stay on the termination of temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians.

penncapital-star.com

Earlier this year, 17-year-old Riyaz Brown-Cheeseboro walked into Center City’s Fashion District mall to do some shopping. She was by herself, she said, but mall security still escorted her out. “They asked me for an ID, they walked me away, and I didn’t really know why.” From @chalkbeat.org

Philly teens who feel unwelcome downtown call for more ‘third spaces’ during summer • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

While teen takeovers do happen in Philadelphia, youth say it’s not fair to assume that any group of teens is going to cause trouble.

penncapital-star.com

Mike Johnson tells Politico that he's standing behind Republican Max Miller — despite the "serious" domestic abuse allegations against him.

As of last night, there are now *7* pastors, former pastors and seminarians who've become Democratic nominees running for Congress. Some have already won safe Dem seats, and several are in hotly contested races. In multiple cases, the GOP has attacked their faith. religionnews.com/2026/08/04/p...

'They're not real pastors': As clergy run as Democrats, Republicans question their faith

(RNS) — 'It's a sign that they are really scared they're gonna lose this seat,' the Rev. Sarah Trone Garriott, a Lutheran pastor running for Congress in Iowa, said. She is part of a wave of religious ...

religionnews.com

Former J6 federal prosecutors are begging senators -- mostly GOPers, but a handful of Dems are in there, too -- to stop confirming election deniers to lifetime federal courts seats. “Please stop poisoning our courts." www.huffpost.com/entry/live-u...

Former J6 Prosecutors Beg Senators To Stop Confirming Election Deniers To Court Seats

huffpost.com

In a conference call hosted by the White House Faith Office with thousands of religious leaders, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was committed to achieving policy solutions so the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision “becomes permanent in every single state.” From @stateline.org

AG nominee tells faith leaders he will take action to restrict abortion drug access • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is one step closer to confirmation and based on promises he made to faith leaders around the country last week, that means national anti-abortion actions may ...

penncapital-star.com

A good Wednesday morning, friendos. Let's get it going with the best song I heard on my commute: "Side two fillers, prescribed painkillers Drowning in the grease paint, and the mirror don't lie A minor scale, and a skeleton key The words sound wise, but they mean nothing to me"

Pharmacy Chronicles

YouTube video by The Black Crowes - Topic

youtube.com

President Donald Trump’s administration has detained more than 50 spouses and parents of U.S. troops as it rolls back immigration protections for military families, an AP investigation has found.

AP Exclusive: Trump's immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 military spouses and parents

An Associated Press investigation reveals that President Donald Trump’s administration has detained dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops.

bit.ly

The bipartisan association of governors is in the process of updating its internal policies on federalism. It will address pressing issues such as artificial intelligence regulation and the primacy of each state to control its own National Guard. From @stateline.org

Governors and lawmakers say they're getting serious about states' rights • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

State leaders of both parties say the federal government — including the president — wields too much power, and they want to see more authority returned to the states.

penncapital-star.com

Data centers are planned on land next to state parks and nature preserves and near lakes, streams and rivers that are considered of “exceptional value”—a gold-star designation given by the state to only the purest waterways and wetlands. From @insideclimatenews.org

Coming to some of Pennsylvania’s most picturesque places: data centers • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

In the Poconos, people fear planned data centers could ruin beloved landscapes and pristine waterways.

penncapital-star.com

The police chief of Springdale Borough drew civil and criminal complaints and was terminated earlier in his career. Now, video raises new questions about his handling of controversy over the Western Pennsylvania borough’s cooperation with ICE. From @publicsource.org

ICE-allied police chief in Springdale faced lawsuits and allegations before clashes with critics • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

The police chief of Springdale Borough drew civil and criminal complaints and was terminated earlier in his career. Now, video raises new questions about his handling of controversy over the Western P...

penncapital-star.com

In Springdale, a small borough near Pittsburgh, national battles over ICE and data centers collide with questions about policing, power and accountability. From @publicsource.org

How ICE and a data center turned a small Pittsburgh suburb into a civic battleground • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

In Springdale, a small borough near Pittsburgh, national battles over ICE and data centers collide with questions about policing, power and accountability.

penncapital-star.com

NEW: A wistful Judge Mehta closed the book on the last lingering Jan. 6 case — the seditious conspiracy conviction of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, a man Mehta has called an ongoing threat to society/democracy but whose case was spiked by DOJ. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

Sen. Jim Banks refers to American citizens as "the babies of invaders" and compares them to Nazi spies and terrorists

The laws in Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey take different approaches to which retailers and products they cover, the discount exceptions they allow and how violations are enforced. From @stateline.org

States begin banning ‘surveillance pricing’ that uses personal data to charge more • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Three states this year became the first ones to enact laws restricting companies from using personal data such as browsing history or shopping habits to set surveillance pricing.

penncapital-star.com

ICE, CoreCivic to open Appleton immigrant detention center this year minnesotareformer.com/2026/08/04/i...

ICE, CoreCivic to open Appleton immigrant detention center this year • Minnesota Reformer

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pay private prison company CoreCivic more than half a billion dollars to reopen a defunct 1,600-bed prison in rural western Minnesota as an immigrant detention...

minnesotareformer.com

Such a beautiful goodbye.

Eddie Vedder, Markéta Irglová, Thomas Bartlett and The Frames perform at Glen Hansard's funeral

YouTube video by The Journal

youtube.com

The Pentagon’s deployment of National Guard troops to D.C. is set to cost an additional $1.4 billion through the end of the Trump administration, according to information reviewed by The Post. The estimate encompasses October 2026 through January 2029.

Trump’s National Guard deployment in D.C. set to cost additional $1.4 billion

The estimate, provided to Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, covers the period from Oct. 1, 2026, through the end of the president’s term.

washingtonpost.com

Independence? Yes. Down the middle? Not always. You go where the facts take you. Kind of like where Murrow went with Sen. Joe McCarthy.

Jay Rosen@jayrosen.bsky.social · yesterday

Quick question for you @brianstelter.bsky.social after reading David Ellison in his op-ed this morning. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o... Are legends like Ted Turner and Edward R. Murrow known for their middleness?

He should watch a School House Rock video.

Three Branches of Government School House Rock

YouTube video by t bro

youtube.com

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterday

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"

"More needs to be made of this," a senior CBS News staffer tells me about the 60 Minutes story that Sharyn Alfonsi was working on about Epstein and banks that appears to have been scuttled after her firing. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

As millions of acres burn across the western U.S., some wildland fire veterans are fearful that aggressive fire suppression tactics ordered by the Trump administration — coupled with extreme, fast-moving blazes — could put firefighters in danger as conditions escalate. From @stateline.org

Wildfire veterans fear federal tactics, extreme fires could put crews at risk • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Some wildland fire veterans are fearful that aggressive fire suppression tactics ordered by the Trump administration — coupled with extreme, fast-moving blazes — could put firefighters in danger.

penncapital-star.com

Thread: An example of why you need journalists working to hold members of the government accountable.

Corey Johnson@coreygjohnson.bsky.social · 2d ago

🧵Alert: The backstory on this story may interest you. Or it may bore you. Either way, here it goes. I first asked the FCC for Chairman Brendan Carr's 2025 financial report on June 24.

Good morning, friendos. Welcome to Tuesday. 12-year-old me is very happy with the best song I heard on my commute today: "And when your looks have gone and you're alone How many nights you sit beside the phone? What were the things you wanted for yourself? Teenage ambitions, you remember well"

Asia - Heat Of The Moment

YouTube video by AsiaVEVO

youtube.com

bottom line- watch the situation- but if it holds, the national average will soon drop below $4/gal and could head to $3.55-$3.75/gal

Patrick De Haan@gasbuddyguy.bsky.social · yesterday

solid drops in oil continue- though the coast isn't clear- WTI crude down $3/bbl to $77, but moreso, refined products seeing a second big day of relief- WTI321 crack spread down to $55/bbl, gasoline down 7-17c/gal (excl PNW, up 1c), ULSD down 12-14c/gal, jet fuel dwn 13-15c/gal

So if I'm understanding this correctly, FDR declaring war after Pearl Harbor was attacked is....what?

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterday

Sen. Rand Paul: "I've had the debate with this administration ... they told me this isn't a war. I said, why isn't it a war? They said, 'Well, a constitutional war has to have significant casualties' ... initiation or declaration of war is *before* the casualties."

States do not have time before November’s midterm elections to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating overhauls of their mail-in-voting systems, two dozen Democratic state officials -- including Pa.'s Gov. Josh Shapiro told the U.S. Supreme Court. From @statesnewsroom.com

Gov. Shapiro joins other Democratic state officials in urging US Supreme Court to affirm pause on Trump vote-by-mail order • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

States do not have time before November’s midterm elections to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating overhauls of their mail-in-voting systems.

penncapital-star.com

New Folo PA podcast episode: Pa. expects to get nearly $1 billion during a five-year stretch through the federal Rural Health Transformation Plan. Some of the money will go toward launching the state’s Primary Care Medics initiative. Our @wdownard.bsky.social discusses how it would work.

Lessons from the military could help close healthcare gaps in rural Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Pa. will use some of its federal Rural Health Transformation Plan funding to launch a program modeled after military healthcare delivery.

penncapital-star.com

“This case is about the most vulnerable in our immigration system: abused, abandoned, neglected, and trafficked children,” the opening lines of the lawsuit read. “One would assume it would be a priority of our immigration system to protect, at least, these children.” From @publicsource.org

Pittsburgh nonprofit sues Trump administration for deporting abused, trafficked children • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

The Trump administration is no longer offering due process protections to the most vulnerable immigrant children as it tries to increase the number of deportations, according to a lawsuit.

penncapital-star.com