In case you missed it, there are lots of news and media accounts you can follow on the Fediverse:
➡️ https://fedi.directory/news-media
Before you follow, you might want to familiarise yourself with Mastodon's Lists feature. There's a complete guide to using Mastodon Lists at https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-the-lists-feature-on-mastodon
Some of the news accounts post extremely frequently, and Mastodon's Lists feature provides a way of following such accounts without overwhelming your main timeline.
Over the years, Texas legislators have declined to pass at least three bills that would create siren or alert systems, a tool that Kerr County officials tried to secure for years before the July 4 flooding.
#Tariffs, Twaddle, and #Trump: A Deal Fit for a Dolt
https://www.blueamp.co/p/tariffs-twaddle-and-trump-a-deal #news #press #japan #eu #us #usa #ai #unitedstates #russia #writing
Now That They’re Free, Venezuelan Men Want the World to Know What They Endured in #CECOT
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We interviewed nine Venezuelan men who were sent to CECOT in #ElSalvador by the #Trump administration.
Some said their feelings about what happened were still raw.
All of the men said they were abused physically and mentally during their imprisonment.
#News #HumanRights #Prison #Immigration #Government
https://www.propublica.org/article/venezuelan-men-cecot-interviews-trump
"After announcing plans to find and restrict underage users on YouTube, the company now says it will start detecting whether Google users based in the US are under 18."
https://www.theverge.com/news/716154/google-ai-age-estimation-under-18
“You Feel Like You’re Being Cheated”: Oil Companies Unfairly Take Millions, North Dakota Mineral Owners Say
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Oil companies are holding back a large portion of revenue payments to the people they lease drilling rights from, often with little explanation. But the industry has an outsize influence in the state, and public officials have refused to take action.
https://www.propublica.org/article/north-dakota-mineral-owner-royalty-deductions?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Oh come on.
"We are observing stealth crawling behavior from Perplexity, an AI-powered answer engine. Although Perplexity initially crawls from their declared user agent, when they are presented with a network block, they appear to obscure their crawling identity in an attempt to circumvent the website’s preferences."
Trump’s War on Big Law Means It’s Harder to Challenge the Administration
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Some of America’s largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and police accountability.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-law-firms-accountability-environment-police-lgbtq?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Law #Trump #LGBTQ #Environment #CriminalJustice #Nonprofit
Rural residents were upset when Oregon released a statewide map estimating property risk from wildfires.
Until then, the impacts of climate change were abstract to many people, one senator said. “This is a very big chicken coming home to roost.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/oregon-wildfire-risk-map-rural-homeowners?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Oregon #Wildfires #Map #Home #Misinformation #Climate #ClimateChange
Little Bits: Issue #27 For July 2025
Fresh little bits are here for the month of July along with a hopeful and motivational message about life achievements and the progression of life.
The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act pumped tens of millions of dollars a year into a program to help fund state committees that review maternal deaths and identify their causes.
It’s now at risk of being cut.
https://www.propublica.org/article/maternal-mortality-erase-mm-funding-cuts?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Anthropic, the creator of the Claude AI chatbot now faces "hundreds of billions of dollars in potential damages liability at trial in four months based on a class certification rushed at "warp speed" that involves "up to seven million potential claimants, whose works span a century of publishing history," each possibly triggering a $150,000 fine".
Many of the same Republican lawmakers who have targeted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for cuts have collectively directed thousands of constituents’ complaints about banks, credit cards, loans and other products to the agency.
#News #GOP #Consumer #PersonalFinance #USPolitics #Government
Jasmin Belanger believed the deal was simple: pay off what she owed, and her landlord would let her keep her housing.
It wasn’t until months later that she learned it had left her with a permanent record of an eviction — despite there never being one.
https://www.propublica.org/article/maine-public-housing-eviction-repayment-agreements?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
The Trump Administration Is Promoting Its Anti-Trans Agenda Globally at the United Nations
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U.S. delegates have objected to use of the word “gender” in U.N. documents during forums on topics as varied as women’s rights, science and technology, global health, toxic pollution and chemical waste.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-un-anti-trans-agenda?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
To avoid some of the negative aspects of doomscrolling, avoid clicking on headlines that include words like may, might, could, possibly, projected to, etc. This isn't #news, it's speculation, less facts and more guesswork... a lot like #AI. And of course it's filled with worst case scenarios to keep us clicking. Modern #media profits from spreading misery, so be sure to remember that unimaginable things like #peace and love are always always always possible.
Introducing the September/October 2025 issue of Texas Observer magazine, with cover art by Adrià Volt, and stories by Michelle Pitcher, Julie Poole, Francesca D'Annunzio and more.
Become a member to get our magazine 6 times per year: https://texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/join/
#journalism #media #HumanRights #healthcare #Texas #politics #USpol #news #disability #nonprofit
“This is the most massive secrecy grab in #Texas since the adoption of the Public Information Act.”
New today from Michelle Pitcher: A move to "standardize" #police personnel files could have devastating consequences for #transparency. https://www.texasobserver.org/secrecy-g-file-police-records-texas-legislature/
#news #politics #USpol #fascism #TXlege #journalism #HumanRights #news #democracy
Oregon liberals, opposed to nuclear power in the 1970s, created a complex process for getting new energy projects approved.
It’s now being used to stall developments in wind and solar — with a 76-year-old activist leading the charge.
The president, who has framed mental health as a national crisis, paused rules to hold insurers accountable for unlawfully denying coverage. And Congress cut funding to the agency that enforces insurers’ equal treatment of mental and physical health.
#News #MentalHealth #Insurance #Health #Trump #Biden #Government
For years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed discredited theories linking vaccines to autism.
Now, scientists studying the condition fear he has preconceived notions that will harm the field and taint new funding for research.
https://www.propublica.org/article/rfk-jr-autism-environment-research-funding?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #RFKJr #Vaccines #Autism #Environment #Research #Science
Microsoft is required to regularly provide U.S. officials with its plan for keeping government data safe from hacking. Yet a copy of the tech giant’s security plan obtained by ProPublica makes no reference to the company’s China-based operations.
#News #Microsoft #Tech #Data #China #Cybersecurity #Government #Technology
“The whole system is premised on commodifying human beings.”
From Sandy West in our magazine: In the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, adoptions are on the rise in #Texas. But some private foster care and adoption agencies may have crossed serious ethical lines. https://www.texasobserver.org/private-adoption-agencies-legal-custody-battles/
#RoeVWade #children #HumanRights #politics #USpol #Texas #adoption #news
The FDA is cracking down on a generic drugmaker that was the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year, citing problems with safety tests that delayed the recall of a faulty medicine linked to deaths in the U.S.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-letter-glenmark-pharmaceuticals?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
