iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Plumber Who Saved 170 Souls. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/w...

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An aviation expert said FlyDubai's descent was so steep that it would have been unrecoverable after just five more seconds. So , the plumber who got in the pilot's seat saved everyone.

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What a Gaza expert told Isaac Chotiner about his own family’s experience. www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

I know that your wife and two of your kids were killed early on in the war.

Yeah. And later on, in July, 2025, my mother and my sister and her children were also killed. And when they were seeking refuge at my uncle’s house, he was killed, too, with his wife.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Among the items Israel still isn’t allowing into Gaza: Peanut butter. www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

There are still a lot of constraints, even on food items like peanut butter. I was surprised to hear this directly from U.N. personnel, about peanut butter not being allowed into Gaza

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During first Trump admin, Republicans brought experts in to talk about expanding a tax loophole for "small" bizs. The experts said don't do it: “We noted that many of these ‘small’ businesses actually are not small." The Republicans did it $800 billion per decade www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/b...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And there is Jack Smith. At game in Maryland. PULITZER.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Don Jr & his wife Bettina tried to knock down our story by being all: “The Putin 💙ing Russian dude didn’t pay for our wedding party. He paid for our *afterparty*” Which, i’m pretty sure there‘s no afterparty exception Also: Bettina wrote “Night 2. One love!” www.propublica.org/article/dona...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

How you can go from small-town cop to federal agent, without training or a job interview. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

The man said he and Moore were not required to attend basic training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Georgia because they had policing experience. Instead, the two sat in a room together and took an online ICE training program to learn about processing paperwork for people who were arrested.

A second former ICE deportation officer in Philadelphia said he was also hired without a job interview. The government sent him an email with a job title and location. He had 48 hours to accept and negotiated the start date via email.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Newspaper owned by one of world's richest men goes after SNAP...which gives families of four $996/month *in order to eat.* www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

Medicare, Medicaid, the Earned Income Tax Credit and SNAP were the four government programs with the highest amount of improper payments in 2025. The GAO warns about improper payments in a report every year and makes recommendations for how to better safeguard programs, but these are generally ignored. An estimated 87 percent of able-bodied adults without dependents on SNAP in 2023 were not meeting the program’s work requirements. During the Biden administration, lax enforcement of standards for ACA premium subsidies turned them into magnets for fraudsters, with potentially 6 million people improperly signed up.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

“Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.” -Bettina Anderson, Don Jr’s wife. This is the guy who was simply generous 👇🏻 www.propublica.org/article/dona...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Left, “calming area“ at so-called Alligator Alcatraz. Right, North Vietnamese “tiger cage.”

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

God bless France. Where running a marathon involves drinking wine, eating oysters, and doing this. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/w...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This headline-pair says so much. 25 years later.

25 Years After Towers Fell, 2,983 Names Still Echoing

In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, Al Qaeda Is Finding a Refuge

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The Saudis gotta be loving the president rn www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/b...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A young man with a red bandana --Welles Crowther -- saved an estimated 18 people on 9/11. To which Trump said Tuesday: “The man in the red bandanna has become more famous than me. I don’t like it." wapo.st/4xJM94r

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This general served in the Army for 40+ years. He fought in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He was the Army's chief of staff .... **Then Hegseth fired him in a call that lasted 15 seconds.** www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/u...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Is that Cousin Greg. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/w...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Jared wore sneakers to Moscow. x.com/kadmitriev/s...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Love this. www.pulitzer.org/news/winning...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Great setup for a country at war. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The Pentagon's top commanders have warned Hegseth that the Iran war has left the military overstretched and unprepared. Just *one-fourth* of the Navy's destroyers are ready to deploy. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Caudle conveyed to Hegseth that barely one-fourth of the Navy’s destroyer fleet is ready to deploy, a sharp decline from prewar levels, said those familiar with the assessment.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

So the Trump admin is worried that Putin could invade a NATO country — and that one reason he may be tempted is that the Trump admin has blown the U.S.’s weapons stockpile on…Iran.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Washington Post editorial‘s advice to Trump re Iran: Bomb back. Not too much. wapo.st/4xX2Adr

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Four headlines right now on NYT homepage. I feel like climate maaaaay be real.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This is Natalie Holmes. She came to US as a child She's now a pastor ICE banished her to a dictatorship Agents wouldn't let her sit or lie down for 72 hrs Agents shackled her so tightly she couldn't feel her ankles Agents threatened w/ full-body wrap She's been held since June w/o charges

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The Trump administration literally won't answer Qs about why it has sent people -- not convicted of any crime -- to rot in a torturing dictatorship. tucson.com/news/local/b...

"Once an alien leaves the United States, ICE is no longer responsible for tracking their location or activities outside the country," Burgos said in a July 27 emailed statement to the Star. He referred the Star to the U.S. State Department, which signed the secretive agreement to give Equatorial Guinea $7.5 million to receive deportees from the U.S. The State Department did not respond to the Star's questions.

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

When a few men -- Cubans -- refused to get off ICE plane in *Liberia* yesterday, agents *pressed knees into their necks,* forced them back on the plane and banished them... to Equatorial Guinea. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/w...

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The Trump admin’s IG to the VA killed part of report that put Trump admin in bad light She’s also stopped staff from briefing Congress on coming reports The IG — formerly an independent position — says she works “for the President of the United States.” www.notus.org/agencies/tru...

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The Trump admin‘s inspector general to the VA -demanded a private bathroom be built in her office -commissioned *her own flag,* again using our $$ ”There,” she told reporters. “Take a look at that flag” www.notus.org/agencies/tru... Banana-pants piece by @almsnatalie.bsky.social & Eric Katz

The Veterans Affairs Department’s internal watchdog was set to relocate to a different Washington office space last year. That was until the inspector general decided she needed her own bathroom.

Cheryl Mason, who served as VA Secretary Doug Collins’ senior adviser before President Donald Trump fired the existing IG and tapped her to replace him, held up the move for months, citing the need for a personal lavatory in her office, three people familiar with the matter told NOTUS.

She commissioned a flag for herself, telling staff she was serving in the equivalent role of a four-star general and therefore required one. One OIG employee said the flag cost more than $1,000.

“There,” Mason said, as she showed it to NOTUS over a video call. “Take a look at that flag.”

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This explains a lot... www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

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OMFG, this quote. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Why give anonymity to someone who is just defending their boss? www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

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Editorial page owned by Amazon Guy defends dynamic pricing. And forgets to mention that one giant biz using dynamic pricing is... Amazon. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

“Hampered” is not the right word here. You’re hampered *by* something or someone. Trump isn’t. He *could* not start a war, give tax cuts, or impose tariffs. Just sayin’… www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/b...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The day after Kushner met with Bibi to push a peace deal, Israel bombed a seaside cafe in Gaza, killing at least seven, including a kid. Then Bibi put out a statement that said one thing in English and other in Hebrew. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/w...

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

So Israel just bombed Syria because — Bibi said —Turkey may use an airbase there. That would be the same Turkey that is a member of NATO and that has never attacked Israel. 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/w...

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Missed this part earlier: The billionaire bro boss of the Forest Service took planes away from *fighting real fires* and sent them to douse a dinky little fire next to his mega-ranch. What exactly is the law here? Bc I think Mr. Billionaire Bro isn’t going to enjoy it.

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Shot. Chaser. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/c... www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...

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U.S. sailors are supposed to get a “beer day“ every month and a half. So have sailors on the troubled carrie gotten them? The Pentagon hasn‘t said. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/u...

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BTW, at the same time that the bro has ordered taxpayer resources deployed en mass to protect his precious, private ranch, he's gutted the Forest Services'....firefighting abilities. Very government resources for me -- but not for thee. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/c...

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