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hopebuilding

@hopebuilding.bsky.social
855 followers 482 following 20K posts

I read a lot and share stories, especially those focused on solutions. I blog at Hopebuilding.blog and on Substack at Seeing Like A Local.

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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4m
"These days, it feels more like sharing a bed with someone who has a loaded gun under their pillow and an empty bottle of whiskey on the dresser. We have little choice but to find other sleeping arrangements, as uncomfortable as they may be for a while."
nationalobserver.com
America still doesn't understand how deep the rift goes
Memo to our friends (and yes, our enemies) to the south: the problem isn’t just Donald Trump. It’s you
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 27m
"Putin has finally admitted that Zelensky’s deep strike campaign has hurt the Russian economy but Moscow has responded with a barbaric strike on the National Academy Of Sciences in Kyiv and a strike on the Pivdennyi bridge."
youtube.com
Ukraine's GIANT Russia strikes force Putin to admit failiure as Zelensky unveils lethal new missile
YouTube video by The Sun
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 40m
"In a clever manipulation of the algorithm, users across platforms have begun flooding timelines with posts from each user claiming to be Jane Doe themselves.... in an effort to trick the algorithm into displaying their content over efforts to uncover the real identity."
fastcompany.com
Social media users are gaming the algorithm to protect Cornell's Jane Doe
As the 'Cornell Seven' case goes viral, a new movement is using the algorithm to protect the survivor.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 57m
"In 1965, a 22-year-old woman from Co Tipperary boarded a steamer bound for west Africa. More than 60 years later, Sister Ailbe is still there. This mini-doc travels to Tambacounda, Senegal, to meet Sister Ailbe .... and to ask what happens when the last Irish missionaries are gone."
youtube.com
'There Was No Question of Going Home' - Ireland's Last Nuns in Africa | Mini-doc
YouTube video by The Irish Times
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 1h
"And therein lies the crux of the crisis that is driving a seismic political change: it has become crystal clear that Trump never intended to address the real problems he identified."
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
October 2, 2026
Trump held a campaign rally tonight in Mobile, Alabama, the city where, as Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times recalled, his MAGA rallies really took off in August 2015, when more than 30,000 people ...
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 1h
Evertything is different in Canada....
youtube.com
Canada is 'so different from the United States,' says writer Paul Theroux | Hanomansing Live
YouTube video by CBC News
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 1h
“Act locally first, and do something. What do you care about in your community? Maybe you don’t like the litter. Alright, do something. Organize beach cleanups. Get a group together to plant trees where there’s a little area of nothing growing. Just do something — that’ll make you feel better!”
youtube.com
Dr. Jane Goodall and Dax Dasilva in Arusha, Tanzania | July 2025
YouTube video by Age of Union
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 1h
"On October 1, Ukraine announced the first combat use of its FP-7 ballistic missile. Fire Point now lists its range at 250 kilometres and its payload at 200 kilograms. Ukraine now has its own ATACMS. That changes everything about this war."
theconcis.com
Ukraine Can Now Think About an Outright Win
Putin can mobilise all he wants. It still won’t cut it.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 2h
"The first claim, about Europe, is false, and so is the second, about the US. But this little monument of agitprop is highly revealing of the real objectives of Russia's war against Ukraine."
lemonde.fr
War in Ukraine: 'First surrender, then negotiation. These are Moscow's words'
COLUMN. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's claim at the UN that Europe, unlike the US, is undermining peace talks on Ukraine is a double falsehood, writes Le Monde columnist Alain Frachon.
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Reposted by hopebuilding
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 12h
It was an honor to attend Friday prayers at Beit El Maqdis Islamic Center with Palestinian New Yorkers today. Like an olive tree, their roots run deep in our city, stretching back more than a century and growing through every generation that has made Bay Ridge home.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 2h
"Eritrean computer scientist Timnit Gebru is the founder of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, which bills itself as “an independent, community-rooted institute set to counter Big Tech’s pervasive influence on the research, development and deployment of AI”.
mailchi.mp
The ‘alternative Nobel prize’
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 2h
"MAGA has walked into a trap of its own making. It has no idea how to end the war it started, and the fear of having to own a devastating defeat is beginning to weigh on its entire machinery of bullying and coercion."
theconcis.com
G7 Agrees. The Media Loses It.
The next step
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"US district judge Kathleen Cardone’s ruling ...deals a major blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to expand the border wall through west Texas .... while riding roughshod over the objections of local business owners, landowners, public land advocates and politicians from both parties."
theguardian.com
Federal judge halts Big Bend border wall construction in blow to Trump agenda
Plan to install barriers through popular national park sparked outrage from advocates and politicians alike
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"Lawyers for Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot by a Border Patrol agent, said evidence released this week “shows the world” that Trump administration officials “have created a culture of violence among their agents” where the shootings of U.S. citizens are “embraced, celebrated and promoted.”
archive.ph
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"In response, the Kremlin began to identify “foremen” at state agencies and commercial companies—usually middle managers or simply highly motivated staff—who were sent on courses about elections and how to persuade people to vote. This system has given the Kremlin greater control over turnout."
carnegieendowment.org
How the Kremlin Achieved Its Latest Implausible Election Results
Sergei Kiriyenko used Russia’s parliamentary vote to further hone his strategy of corporate mobilization that is designed to maximize votes for United Russia.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
'Russia's jet-powered drones fly higher, hit 500 km/h, and sound like airplanes —and they now keep something in the sky over Kyiv 20 to 22 hours a day. Deborah Fairlamb walks through what's actually changed, why the terror is backfiring, and the one advantage Ukraine has that the West can't buy.'
youtube.com
The Pentagon Is Building Drones Backwards—Ukraine Knows Why
YouTube video by JP Lindsley | Journalist
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"What matters is not the predictable victory declared by the ruling party, United Russia, following the Sept. 18-20 parliamentary elections but the signals that this completely orchestrated piece of political theater sends across Russia and to the world."
foreignpolicy.com
The True Meaning of Russia’s Sham Election
Even rigged elections used to be an outlet for discontent. That avenue is now closed.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"We are building the energy infrastructure of the future. Classic energy grids are very vulnerable in a period of war, because if you target the chokepoint, the whole grid goes out. We are now building decentralized grids using renewable energy."
foreignpolicy.com
‘What Is Happening Today Is Development in Reverse’
A conversation with UNDP chief Alexander De Croo about building infrastructure in active conflict zones.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"The team from Purdue University in Indiana and the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) is scheduled to depart for the uninhabited island of Nikumaroro on Saturday to determine if an anomaly in the island's lagoon is Earhart's missing plane."
dw.com
This island in Kiribati could be the key to solve the Amelia Earhart mystery
Nearly 90 years after US aviator Amelia Earhart vanished over the Pacific, a new expedition to the remote island of Nikumaroro hopes a lagoon anomaly could finally reveal the fate of her missing aircr...
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"The mountain lion whose dramatic capture in the Outer Sunset made him a viral sensation has been returned to the wild as the latest recruit in a research effort to understand how his species survives California’s increasingly fragmented landscape."
sfstandard.com
SF’s mountain lions found a new home: a research project in the Santa Cruz Mountains
The two lions removed from the city this year are now tagged and tracked as part of a study of an isolated, inbreeding population.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"If you want a snapshot of how the right has changed over the past decade, here’s one data point: MAGA activists think Sarah Huckabee Sanders is too woke now."
theatlantic.com
The Right’s Identity Politics Take a Bizarre Turn
MAGA activists are having a meltdown over a throwaway character in Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s political ad.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"Her story, while heartbreaking, is not unique. Nationally, nearly half of adults over 60 don't have the household income needed to cover basic costs. But Salud Garcia is also one of the millions of workers trying to stretch their dollars in California ...."
calonews.com
She leaves home before dawn to get to her low-wage job. She’s 83
This article was produced by Capital & Main. It is published here with permission.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"In this stretch of the Tioga, there are no fish. There are no bugs — save for a small number of macroinvertebrates. And there haven’t been for decades. ... as of 2020, abandoned coal mines left more than 850,000 acres still damaged across the country — 84% of them in Appalachia."
capitalandmain.com
Once a Bucolic Pennsylvania River, the Tioga Is Now All but Dead
Two centuries after the coal miners arrived, residents are racing to save the stream and bring back the trout.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
"About once a week, attorney Alma David hears from one of her clients in the Central African Republic that police there kidnapped them to extort them for money. David is one of the lawyers leading the fight against third-country removals ...."
capitalandmain.com
U.S. Sends Immigrants to Countries It Warns Americans Not to Visit
From kidnappings to torture, lawyers say third-country removals expose vulnerable people to the risks they fled in the first place.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 3h
A new project tracks political spending in California. "As the California Oligarch Index makes clear, a relatively tiny number of wealthy donors and corporations are exerting profound influence over who gets elected and which laws get passed in the Golden State."
capitalandmain.com
New ‘Oligarch Index’ Tracks California’s Biggest Political Spenders
Over two decades, the top 99 individuals and business organizations spent more on campaigns and lobbying than the bottom 99.9%.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4h
"An historic drought weakened the ponderosa pines, allowing the beetles to chew their way through hillsides of trees bordering mountain towns at the gateway to popular ski areas and hiking trails. Impacted acreage increased 148% to 5,544 acres in 2025, when compared with 2024...."
capitalandmain.com
In Colorado, the Majestic Ponderosa Pines Are Dying
A historic drought, climate change and a tiny beetle put 600,000 acres of pine at risk. Already, their gray skeletons line the highways.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4h
"Before him, his parents worked and before them his grandparents worked. For years it had been a thriving ranching community, alive with both people and cattle. Now, the land sits dead silent, unable to return to a time when there was water."
capitalandmain.com
The Driest Days in Hundreds of Years
In West Texas, the creeks dried up, cattle production struggled, and small towns like Candelaria slowly emptied out.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4h
"Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper cautioned against the prospect of Alberta separation in a column Friday, writing that even voting just to "send a message" would represent a fraught approach."
cbc.ca
Stephen Harper warns Alberta separatism will bring 'no benefit' | CBC News
Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper cautioned against the prospect of Alberta separation in a column Friday, writing that even voting just to "send a message" would represent a fraught a...
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4h
'American journalist Evan Gershkovich, incarcerated in Russia as part of a ploy by Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate the release of a Russian assassin held in Germany, treated his captivity as a reporting opportunity and a rare window on the inner workings of Russian autocracy.'
youtube.com
Rachel Maddow in conversation: Surviving Putin's prison
YouTube video by MS NOW
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4h
"One of the best-funded companies in Silicon Valley leaned on the Church to soften its teaching on the human person, and the Church declined. Days after the news emerged, the pope told a room of artists that algorithms lack the spark of humanity, and the post reached millions of people within hours.
thelettersfromleo.com
“Algorithms Lack the Spark of Humanity” — Pope Leo XIV Leads the Revolt Against Silicon Valley’s Idolatry
His words to artists at the Vatican on Friday drew 6.4 million views in hours, days after the New York Times exposed Anthropic’s lobbying of his advisers. The public has chosen its champion.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 4h
"Calm and friendly, alpacas are known for their mild character and easy disposition. While related to llamas and camels, alpacas are smaller, loved for their soft fleece and gentle humming sounds they produce to communicate." Associated Press
archive.ph
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Reposted by hopebuilding
Forbes @forbes.com · 14h
Kushner’s private equity firm is the largest stakeholder in an Israeli financial institution that invests in Israeli defense companies.
forbes.com
Kushner Rejects CNN Report That His Israeli Diplomacy Might Benefit His Private Equity Fund
Kushner’s private equity firm is the largest stakeholder in an Israeli financial institution that invests in Israeli defense companies.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 13h
"A privately owned ranch on Lake Palestine that for decades served as a pecan farm will soon become available for all Texans to enjoy."
texasmonthly.com
Exclusive: New Texas State Park Coming After 650-Acre Ranch Acquisition
A privately owned ranch on Lake Palestine that for decades served as a pecan farm will soon become available for all Texans to enjoy.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 13h
"The 12-module course, which takes about 12 hours to complete, teaches the fundamentals of how to properly collaborate with Indigenous Nations and organizations. The course is free for the first module, and then there is a $68 fee for the other 11."
windspeaker.com
University of Alberta offers online 12-module course on Indigenous engagement, partnership
Correction: The online course module 1 for “Indigenous Engagement and Partnership Development” is free, and then there is a $68 fee to take the other 11 modules. It is not completely free as previousl...
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 14h
"Pavel, president since 2023 and a retired army general, visited Nebraska last week, the first time a president of the Czech Republic has visited the state. And on Thursday, he spent the afternoon in Wilber ....a town dubbed “Czech Capital of the USA” since 1987. "
flatwaterfreepress.org
Mr. President goes to Wilber: Kolaches baked, polka played as Czech leader visits ‘Czech Capital of US’  - Flatwater Free Press
President Petr Pavel’s visit to Wilber was a historic first for the town. Dressed in their Czech best, they gave him the grand tour.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 18h
"Jasmine Ault told The Canadian Press she has not been able to reach a human being at Meta since the accounts were deactivated Sept. 24. She said the company shut down her 20-year-old Facebook account, an Instagram account that dates back to 2011 and another Instagram account dedicated to her dog."
thecanadianpressnews.ca
Canadian says Meta won't let her talk to a human after killing her accounts
OTTAWA - A Toronto woman says Meta permanently shut down her Facebook and Instagram accounts without warning — and her only recourse has been to talk to AI chatbots.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 19h
"What began as one family’s attempt to find hope and healing grew into a wider effort .... To date, the Seed Bomb Project has distributed 10,000 seed bombs to fire survivors in Altadena, the Palisades and Malibu."
reasonstobecheerful.world
Reviving L.A.'s Burned Landscapes, One Seed Bomb at a Time
What began as one family’s attempt to heal after the Palisades Fire has become a broader effort to restore community and sow beauty.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 20h
"Dunn House, Canada’s first hospital-led supportive housing initiative for patients experiencing homelessness, has been awarded a Governor General’s Innovation Award for 2026."
rosemary.substack.com
The doctors prescribing housing
‘Unhoused patients live nearly 20 years less, and their health care costs are seven times higher.’
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 21h
"Russia’s war in Ukraine isn’t a dispute over real estate. Russian forces are in Ukraine fighting to wipe out Ukrainian culture, language as well as any strand of Christianity that goes against the supremacy of the Russian Orthodox Church."
sostrovsky.substack.com
Moscow’s Spiritual Invasion | Weekend Update
Why is Russia targeting Ukrainian Christians?
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 21h
"The site in Alexandria, La., a major expansion of the Trump administration’s busiest deportation hub, will streamline and accelerate removals."
nytimes.com
New Facility at Louisiana Airport to Hold Immigrant Children and Families (Gift Article)
The site in Alexandria, La., a major expansion of the Trump administration’s busiest deportation hub, will streamline and accelerate removals.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 21h
 "The unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in September, the government reported Friday. The report comes a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections at a time of discontent over the high cost of living and the economy."
apnews.com
US adds disappointing 29,000 jobs and unemployment ticks up to 4.2% in September
U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked up last month, according to new data, a month before voters go to the polls in pivotal midterm elections at a time of ...
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 21h
"A hospital giant and radiology network turned to Palantir to streamline scheduling, but nurses and other staff say the new software is causing errors, burnout, and frustration."
wired.com
Health Care Workers Are Tired of Cleaning Up Palantir’s Mess
A hospital giant and radiology network turned to Palantir to streamline scheduling, but nurses and other staff say the new software is causing errors, burnout, and frustration.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 21h
"All are potential candidates for permanent, government-subsidized apartments under a “Housing First” approach, a model rooted in the belief that people need a stable place to live before addressing other problems. But the approach ... is disappearing under President Donald Trump’s administration."
apnews.com
What Trump’s homelessness policy means for the most vulnerable
The Trump administration is shifting federal policy and dollars away from the “Housing First” approach that has been at the heart of federal homelessness policy.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 21h
"As the Arctic warms at nearly four times the global average, Northern communities on the front lines of climate change have become a vital source of environmental monitoring."
arctictoday.com
How mobile apps are turning Arctic community observations into climate data - ArcticToday
Canadians are using apps to document wildlife sightings and changing environmental conditions in real time.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 22h
"The footage, captured by drones owned by Ukraine’s Khartia Corps, appears to show Russian forces leading civilians into a disused gas pipeline near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk."
telegraph.co.uk
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
""In the closed world of Russian politics, what clues can we find to what comes next?" Our BBC News report from Moscow on Vladimir Putin's appearance at a foreign policy forum."
youtube.com
Russia: "What clues to what comes next?"
YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"South Korea’s $200 billion investment into the U.S., which President Donald Trump said would transform America “for generations,” is not a done deal in totality."
cnbc.com
South Korean President Lee pushes back on Alaska LNG project after Trump touts Seoul's participation
The U.S. announced plans for up to $200 billion in South Korean investment, though Seoul has yet to finalize the participation in the Alaska LNG project.
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"President Donald Trump announced a “done deal” to build a $15 billion steel plant in Lee County, Iowa, but local media reported that Trump’s claims “don’t match reality.”
mediaite.com
Local Iowa Report Provides Scathing Fact-Check of Trump’s New Steel Mill: ‘That’s Not True’
Donald Trump announced a "done deal" to build a $15 billion steel plant in Lee County, Iowa, but local media reported that Trump's claims "don't match reality."
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"The interview reveals a man unable to answer questions coherently, obsessed with his architectural projects, consumed by his own fantasy of himself, and angry at the media that he feels mistreats him. He does not appear to be a well man."
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
October 1, 2026
John Hudson of the Washington Post reported this evening that the Trump administration is openly defying Congress, taking $52 million in military assistance lawmakers appropriated for European and Mid...
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hopebuilding @hopebuilding.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"The Russian and Belarusian intelligence services are facilitating an elaborate scheme to illegally funnel migrants from the Middle East and Africa across the border into Latvia and other NATO and European Union countries, Latvian officials said."
nytimes.com
A Front Line at the Border: How Russia Uses Migrants as Weapons Against Europe (Gift Article)
The scheme is part of Russia’s larger strategy for sowing discord in the West, if more subtle than other recent operations blamed on the Kremlin.
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