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😷 it’s only Wednesday 😷

@diplo-drama.bsky.social
37K followers 7.6K following 1.7K posts

Make good choices! #swiftie #altgov #nafo #accidentaldiplomat

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The Washington Sun @washingtonsun.com · 2h
A federal judge halted the Agriculture Department’s plans to close offices and relocate employees across eight agencies, ruling that the department is likely violating spending restrictions Congress wrote into its appropriations laws.
washingtonsun.com
Judge Halts USDA Relocation Plans, for Now
A judge found the department is “almost certainly” using funds in ways Congress didn’t contemplate when it appropriated them.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5h
Excerpts from Michael Lewis on DOGE (Guardian article). 1. Gavin Kliger, white nationalist, refused to shake hands with the Black IRS staffer who briefed him on privacy issues. Or pay attention. Kliger now has a defense start-up valued at 1.4B thanks to DOGE. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Phyllis, who loved working for Kathleen and saw falling on hand grenades as part of her job, never told her how this one had felt. She knew Gavin had expressed enthusiasm for white nationalists, and he likely knew that she knew. She tried to break the ice by walking in with her hand extended; Gavin stared at it and declined to shake it, though he had shaken the hands of the white men who had offered them. “He was kind of cool towards me,” said Phyllis. Before she could even start the briefing, he said, You know, I’ve heard these rules before at other agencies. Yes, she said, but these rules are different, because no other agency is governed by this privacy law, and this law can get you thrown in jail very quickly. As she walked him through the basics – how you can’t use your personal phone for business, how if you happen to so much as glimpse a form 1040 with someone’s name on it you must avert your eyes – Gavin played on his phone. “He’s multitasking right in front of me, typing and texting,” said Phyllis. “It was, here’s a routine that I must endure.”
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ghost malone ergo propter bones @proptermalone.bsky.social · 2h
pretty good ad in another longshot seat.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2h
based
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 3h
She was thoughtful, devoted to science and truth, and an extraordinary reporter to work with. Her integrity, kindness, & willingness to listen to public health workers in the thick of it all made her one of a kind. The gap she leaves behind is enormous. Helen you’ll be deeply missed. Rest easy 💔
statnews.com
Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69
Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 8h
It does appear the "data center eliminated Nazi and otherwise fuckface bots" narrative is basically wishcasting, it does show you how popular getting rid of this shit would broadly be, and that maybe a smart person should run on it.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12h
Ruhle: "Wow. I want to just read this to you. A quote from a White House official reaction to Zacharia's first press briefing. 'Getting behind the podium is tough, but she got off on the wrong foot. She needs to get much better fast, otherwise she'll break Scaramucci's record.'"
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 10h
there's an off-the-books slack channel started by centers for medicare and medicaid for tech companies to exchange ideas on making money off of AI tools that access all of your medical records. insane story i missed from last week.
kffhealthnews.org
AI, Tech Leaders Are Lobbying Trump Health Officials in a Government-Run Chat Room - KFF Health News
A Slack workspace managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has served as an extraordinary war room for AI industry insiders and Trump administration officials to launch a rapid campaign...
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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 12h
Today I learned that the former MMA fighter who was obsessed with offering to fight my old editor has been fighting for Erik Prince's mercenary force in the Congo and sustained severe injuries. Small world! www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/w...
nytimes.com
A Deadly Firefight Exposes Erik Prince’s New Shadow War in Congo (Gift Article)
The injury of a former Green Beret and death of an elite soldier from New Zealand have highlighted the Blackwater founder’s growing role in one of Africa’s most intractable conflicts.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
BREAKING WaPo: A federal judge issued a temporary order Sunday blocking the Trump admin from airing those propaganda ads. But the administration blew past that deadline and ran two of the ads into the early hours of Monday, advertising data shows.
washingtonpost.com
Trump blew past deadline to halt running taxpayer-funded campaign-style ads
A coalition of nonprofits had sued, calling the ads “propaganda.” The president has said campaign funds would be used to pay for the commercials going forward.
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Climate Dad @climatedad.bsky.social · 17h
My son was 1 when world leaders pledged to keep global warming below 1.5C in an attempt to avoid irreversible climate collapse. When he was 10 the planet spent a whole year above 1.5C. By the time he’s 14, 1.5C will likely be crossed forever. The greatest betrayal in the history of our species.
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Musicology Duck @musicologyduck.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
the video not being behind the paywall is so brutal
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
BREAKING WaPo: A federal judge just ordered the Trump admin to stop cutting down trees at East Potomac Golf Links after preservationists asserted that more than 500 were felled Saturday and "hundreds more" were slated for removal.
washingtonpost.com
Judge halts tree removal at D.C. golf course that Trump has proposed overhauling
Plaintiffs had said “hundreds more” were slated for the ax, and the judge ordered a stop to all tree removal until 7 a.m. Tuesday or until she issues another order.
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Inner City Press @innercitypress.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
OK - now DC golf course injunction hearing before DDC Judge Ana C. Reyes - Inner City Press has covered the case since May, incl last night's TRO motion and will live skeet, thread below
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
If there’s evidence of fraud or other financial crimes, let’s see it. But trying to denaturalize and deport a sitting member of Congress over mistakes a parent allegedly made on immigration forms when she was a child is immoral and reprehensible. We can’t stand for it.
foxnews.com
Immigration enforcement officials search Ilhan Omar's home in pre-dawn raid
Rep. Ilhan Omar's home was the subject of a pre-dawn HSI raid.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
"A 2025 study proposed combining rice husk ash, wood ash and rice straw to make a low-cost, carbon-negative material that could eliminate the need for cement [which accounts for ~1/12 of global emissions]."
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 10/10/2026
Large language models are not the sorts of entities that can be held responsible. This lede should read "Using AI agents, Anthropic tried to gain access to a range of government websites...."
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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
We’ve been talking about this for years. None of these far-right movements are organic.
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Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
“The children who are randomly selected not to receive the birth dose of the vaccine, those who “lost the lottery”, face in their earliest days the risk of contracting hepatitis B, which can cause irreversible lifelong damage.” No words. I am speechless. This violates all ethical boundaries.
theguardian.com
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
(NYT) - Artificial intelligence agents created by Anthropic, acting on their own, tried to gain access to a range of government websites, filled out visa applications on the State Department’s website and sent a fake homicide tip to Philadelphia’s Police Department. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...
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Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦 @pravda.ua · 10/10/2026
‼️ US threatened to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine over strikes on Russian oil refineries
pravda.com.ua
Axios: US threatened to cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine over strikes on Russian oil refineries
Ukrainian officials say Donald Trump's envoys raised the prospect of suspending US intelligence sharing if Kyiv continued attacking Russian oil refineries, while a US official denies that any threat w...
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DC Council @councilofdc.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This is clearly not acceptable
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MJ @bstnboy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
THIS!!! 👇👇👇👇 "7.7 magnitude earthquake shakes Panama, sparking tsunami threat in region" l.smartnews.com/p-8Ew71RPW/K...
l.smartnews.com
7.7 magnitude earthquake shakes Panama, sparking tsunami threat in region (ABC News)
A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake rattled Panama on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System has issued potential tsu...
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AirNav Radar - Flight Tracker @airnavradar.com · 09/10/2026
46 flights bound for Panama City are now diverting following today’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake. Panama City’s airport has NOTAM’d both runways as closed. #Panama #Aviation #FlightTracking
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Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"The sanctions are intended to undermine the rule of law internationally and the work ​that an independent judicial institution is doing. Our work will continue across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions." www.reuters.com/world/us-imp...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: US imposes sanctions on ICC hours after former judge wins Nobel Peace Prize
The Trump administration has long been hostile to the court and has previously imposed sanctions on its prosecutors and judges.
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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Some ~personal~ news: After five years, I have been laid off from @the-independent.com. I am grateful for the time I have had there. With that in mind, I am absolutely looking for new work opportunities, especially ahead if the midterms. My email is EMGarcia2009@gmail.com. My signal is emgarcia.85
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Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This is petty and least important aspect of this but: I reported on this years ago and the trump campaign falsely denied the reporting, and now via Hegseth they’re just doing it. Monstrous
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Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 09/10/2026
2026 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to South Africa's Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay
lemonde.fr
2026 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to South Africa's Navanethem 'Navi' Pillay
The former UN human rights commissioner was recognized for her efforts to promote peace and international law
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ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
When I started writing about Supreme Court expansion, you couldn’t get the question *asked* in a poll. The first time I saw it actually polled, it was 8%. Now, we here.
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 08/10/2026
AVGEEKS! Time to mobilize the boat freaks. Get at me.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 09/10/2026
jesus christ i have never heard a democratic talk this bluntly about an opponent
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Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
One of the first things Fidel Castro did upon taking power was televising live executions by firing squad.
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darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
this is fucked up
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Evan Sutton @evansutton.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Huge new poll out from Guardrails Alliance, and—waddaya know—the advice I've been trying to give Democrats for 2 years was right. tl;dr: Voters want AI and data centers regulated, and they don't want tech billionaires meddling in elections. Let's talk turkey... news.bgov.com/bloomberg-go...
news.bgov.com
AI Critics Warn Candidates Industry Cash a Political Liability
An advocacy group backing more stringent guardrails on artificial intelligence is stepping up calls for congressional candidates in key races to disavow industry contributions, arguing that accepting ...
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The Washington Sun Metro @washsunmetro.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
A bronze bust of Robert F. Kennedy has sat on the lawn outside of the D.C. stadium named for him for decades, even after the venue was decommissioned. Now, it’s gone missing.
washingtonsun.com
Bust of Robert F. Kennedy Is Missing From Namesake Stadium
The statue “was removed by an unknown manner” and there is no known suspect.
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 08/10/2026
Also, I want to highlight this part of the case for all the pilots and avgeeks out there. I’ve heard ICE is doing this with manifests from a number of sources, but this is, as far as I know, the first confirmation. Really shows the complicity of the pilot-in-command. This was an Omni flight.
In the latest court filing, ICE officials did not deny any of his claims, and appeared to confirm at least one of them, saying the charter flight's manifest—a printed receipt given to pilots listing all passengers and crew on a flight—
"served as the travel document."
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Trump admin is suspending a bunch of tech companies (Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini) from participation in the H-1B PERM program, alleging fraud. Some other tech firms (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) notably absent from the list.
apnews.com
The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft from a green card program, alleging fraud
The Trump administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the U.S. to live and work using H-1B visas, accusing the company of fraud.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 07/10/2026
NEW: CONTENT WARNING FOR SA: Democratic candidate for Arizona's 8th Congressional district Bernadette Greene-Placentia was raped by two men while repairing campaign signs according to a sheriff's report. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/congres...
phoenixnewtimes.com
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs
Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing. A Phoenix New Times exclusive.
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Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 07/10/2026
reading this, recalling how quickly the killing of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman slipped out of the news
phoenixnewtimes.com
Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs
Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing.
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"Call it “mom populism”—an appeal that centers a full-throated rejection of school privatization and presents the GOP’s increasingly aggressive interventions into local school districts as “corruption schemes” intended to benefit big donors, especially the right-wing oilmen who hold such sway here."
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Reuters @reuters.com · 07/10/2026
Attacks on tankers in Hormuz hit highest of any week since start of Iran war, sources say reut.rs/4yFrqiS
reut.rs
Attacks on tankers in Hormuz hit highest of any week since start of Iran war, sources say
Attacks on tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz hit their highest last week of any week since the ​Iran war began, according to maritime security sources tracking incidents, amid ‌a bigger export push by Gulf producers.
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Justin Mikulka @justinmikulka.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"Surging demand from data centers and air conditioners put the US power system through a tough test this summer. But instead of triggering a jump in fossil-fuel use, record renewables output carried much of the extra load and helped keep the lights on." The lies of the oil industry are falling fast
reuters.com
COMMENTARY: Renewables help US power system survive summer stress test
Surging demand from data centers and air conditioners put the US power system through a tough test this summer. But instead of triggering a jump in fossil-fuel use, record renewables output carried mu...
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
MIAMI (AP) - Tropical Storm Isaias forms off eastern Mexico, forecast to become a hurricane and hit the US Gulf Coast this week. @apnews.com
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Ah yes, a hurricane aiming at an oil producing region during a global oil shortage, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
National hurricane center cone map projection showing a hurricane near New Orleans on Friday morning.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 07/10/2026
ICE has ordered 6,650 pairs—and says it'll ignore any bans.
motherjones.com
Study: Shock gloves traumatized Army volunteers
After tests, military personnel said "just seeing the glove" that ICE plans to adopt scared them into obedience.
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😷 it’s only Wednesday 😷 @diplo-drama.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I haven’t seen any commentary about how this storm is aiming right at a huge number of oil refineries, and what that will mean for prices as the midterms approach…
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Roger Sollenberger @sollenbergerrc.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
DOJ hired these prosecutors: -A gambling exec turned conspiracy theorist podcaster -A guy found liable for selling fraudulent insurance leads -A guy who violated attorney-client privilege in a high-profile murder trial -A guy currently facing animal neglect charges www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/u...
nytimes.com
Justice Dept. Turns to Partisans and Conspiracists to Fill Depleted Ranks
The civil rights unit has recruited people whose questionable work histories and dearth of education and experience might have disqualified them in the past, former officials said.
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WIRED @wired.com · 07/10/2026
The National Design Studio has been something of a successor agency to DOGE. A WIRED investigation finds some of its members are on loan from a nonprofit run by SpaceXAI’s general counsel.
buff.ly
A Mysterious Nonprofit Run by SpaceXAI’s Top Lawyer Is Paying the Salaries of Government Workers
The National Design Studio has been something of a successor agency to DOGE. A WIRED investigation finds some of its members are on loan from a nonprofit run by SpaceXAI’s general counsel.
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Alt USAID/ USAID Forever @altusaid.altgov.info · 07/10/2026
www.ms.now/news/trump-m...
ms.now
Trump administration refuses international election monitors for first time in over 2 decades
The decision not to invite observers from the OSCE puts the U.S. alongside Russia and Belarus, while the Justice Department prepares to deploy its own poll monitors.
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