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'(AIC) completed the $14.7 million renovation under a no-bid contract awarded by the Trump administration... The administration justified skipping competitive bidding by asserting ... that “only a limited pool of contractors possess the qualification and equipment” necessary for the job.'

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'The Aug. 6 report, commissioned by the contractor that did the work, documents far more damage than has been previously reported. ...the report makes no mention of vandalism to the liner and blames the problems on the use of improper materials and a rush to complete the job.'

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'The blue coating applied to the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool this summer failed in at least 85 places because of errors in the renovation, including the premature refilling of the basin before the liner had fully dried' (from Washington Post)

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Reflecting Pool liner failed in 85 places after flawed renovation, inspection found

www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio... Yeah. So much for vandalism. The contractor himself chose the inspector to evaluate causes of failure. Inspector determined it was caused by poor and rushed construction.

washingtonpost.com

The damage identified by inspectors the contractor commissioned is far more extensive than has been previously reported, a document obtained by The Post shows.

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Laurie Klinger @lornaphee.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/o... Touching video and story.

Opinion | Meet Sanyi, the Rooster That United a Hungarian Town (Gift Article)

A Hungarian town, an escaped rooster and the universal longing for freedom.

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Every once in a while, Indiana surprises and does something to be proud of: www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...

facebook.com

Facebook

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He wrote that 'immigration agents involved in the arrests had given “inconsistent, false and misleading testimony” in court, and...had probably perjured themselves.' Also 'the officers were inexperienced, possessed little understanding of the law and used “false testimony to conceal these failings”

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'In a scathing 28-page ruling, the judge, Gary R. Brown, condemned the agency’s tactics when it mistakenly arrested two Hispanic men, including a U.S. citizen, in the Bronx in May, finding that ICE had “falsified official records trying to conceal” its “illegal actions.”...

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Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/n... Even judges that Trump hired say ICE is lying and abusing people unlawfully, poorly trained and tromping on the Constitution.

Trump-Appointed Judge Accuses ICE of Lying and Fabricating Records (Gift Article)

Two men were mistakenly arrested in the Bronx by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Gary R. Brown, a federal judge, condemned the agency’s actions.

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Justice Dept. Turns to Partisans and Conspiracists to Fill Depleted Ranks www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/u... Scraping the bottom of the barrel. Crazies and bigots. Atty hired in 2025 accused the “diabolical” gov Gretchen Whitmer, of forcing citizens into getting the “mark of the beast” (a covid shot).

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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Laurie Klinger @lornaphee.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Federal Agents Have Detained More Than 500 American Citizens in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown - ProPublica projects.propublica.org/american-cit... So disturbing. The brutality and inhumanity. Violently arresting, even deporting citizens without checking the paperwork. Cuffing and detaining kids.

projects.propublica.org

More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica

The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...

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Laurie Klinger @lornaphee.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

www.ibj.com/articles/for... I agree. While the other candidates are playing the usual negative ad spin, Ballard is offering constructive, realistic plans for improving the office. As mayor, he took the time to learn from departments what was needed, instead of operating top down.

ibj.com

Former GOP lieutenant governor endorses Ballard in secretary of state race - Indianapolis Business Journal

Lincoln Party secretary of state candidate Greg Ballard picked up a notable endorsement Monday from former Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann.

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Laurie Klinger @lornaphee.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/u... These are the 'dangerous criminals' they are arresting. The videos tell it all.

A Quiet ICE Surge That Unfolded ‘Everywhere All at Once’ This Summer (Gift Article)

A review of dozens of incidents caught on camera sheds new light on a largely invisible crackdown.

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Laurie Klinger @lornaphee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

www.law360.com/energy/artic... Trump admin is doing away with all safeguards against pollution from power plants. Oh and while he's at it, Trump calls the concerns about AI a hoax, just like he has about global warming. The guy lives in an alternate universe.

law360.com

BREAKING: EPA Repeals Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Rule - Law360

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized the rescission of a Biden-era rule that limited greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, and separately suggested that the agency should...

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'He said he has always supported ICE’s mission, but was troubled by the way the agency was taking shortcuts in vetting recruits. “It’s a betrayal of the public trust and everybody’s trust,” he said.'

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'He said D.H.S. officials had never told him specifics for why he was on leave for such a long time... The man, a longtime Republican who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 and 2024, said he grew disillusioned with the agency as it acted in haste to fulfill the president’s immigration enforcement mandate.

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'Meanwhile, the whistle-blower remained on leave for 10 months for what D.H.S. said were “allegations of serious misconduct,” ... The alleged misconduct went unspecified, they said, and he was eventually reinstated with no punishment or finding of wrongdoing. He retired immediately after, in July.'

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'In addition to the vetting concerns, he also mentioned in the complaint that Trump administration political allies had received favorable treatment and obtained security clearances even though troubling information about them had surfaced in background checks....'

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'Ryan Schwank, the ... ICE lawyer who worked at the ...training center, testified ... that new recruits appeared unfit for service.“ We were concerned about ICE recruiting a loose cannon or somebody who was just mentally unfit for the role,” ... “We knew that kind of person would get through...'

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'An ICE lawyer who worked at the agency’s training center resigned earlier this year and went public as a whistle-blower, citing concerns about a “deficient, defective and broken” training program....'

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'The whistle-blower complaint was obtained via a public records request. The concerns within it broadly mirror those made by other current and former ICE employees who said that the agency had abandoned best practices as it rapidly scaled up. ...'

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'“We chose as an agency to be more convenient rather than thorough,” he said, describing the agency’s decision to reduce scrutiny of recruits in order to expedite hires. “By doing so, there was a potential to put lives at risk and to jeopardize national security.”...'

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'The whistle-blower, a 17-year ICE veteran who spoke to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his claims, said the agency had cut corners in its rush to fill the ranks....'

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'In the complaint, he asked for an independent, outside investigation into the matter. He was later interviewed twice by officials with the inspector general’s office and his concerns have become part of an ongoing audit into vetting practices....'

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'The official, a unit chief who directly oversaw more than 100 employees who evaluated thousands of ICE applicants, was so troubled by what he saw that he outlined these concerns not to his superiors, but in a formal whistle-blower complaint to the Office of Inspector General...'

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“unprecedented lowering of standards,” the career ICE official said that...had allowed applicants to receive job offers before they had passed...fingerprint, identity or credit checks ... Political appointees had unjustly skirted background investigations and received national security eligibility.

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'The Trump administration, he wrote in a memo, was cutting corners, violating the law and fast-tracking unqualified, “improperly vetted” candidates into ICE’s ranks, part of a dangerous move that exposed the agency — and its law enforcement operations — to “grave national security risks.”...

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Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/u... Whistle blower who voted for Trump twice concerned about shortcuts in vetting of officers and in shortened training leading to loose cannons getting through.

ICE Skipped Basic Checks in Rush for Recruits, Whistle-Blower Says (Gift Article)

An official who oversaw the vetting of ICE recruits cited an “unprecedented lowering of standards” amid a hiring surge.

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'The restoration of the funding, whether at the federal or the state level, would let work resume on projects that would be “transformational” for Gary, according to Latham.'

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'...leaders also say they wish the state would step in to fund solar for underserved communities, as Illinois has done with its own state ... program. “Indiana has a rainy day fund. I hear it’s really huge,” she said — in fact, the fund holds $1.14 billion. “They could easily fund Solar for All.”

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'Black Sun Light Sustainability is among eight plaintiffs that sued the U.S. EPA last fall over the cancellation of Solar for All. No ruling has been made yet, but Abdul-Rahman is hopeful that the court or, longer term, a change in federal administration could restore funding for the program....'

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'But without Solar for All or similar incentives, the upfront cost of solar-plus-storage can be cost-prohibitive for low- and moderate-income families — especially in a city like Gary, where the median household income is $38,700...'

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'Gary residents bear a .. energy burden, and electric rates for a typical household rose by around $83 a month between 2023 and 2025, according to NIPSCO. Solar for All would have given lower-income households in Gary the opportunity to reduce their bills with clean energy, at no out-of-pocket cost.

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'The main focus of Indiana’s Solar for All funding was not just promoting resilience but bringing down energy costs — a particularly acute problem in Gary....'

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' “If they had received those resources, being a year later now, how much resiliency could have been deployed?” Abdul-Rahman asked. “Lives are at stake, people’s health is at stake. There could have been a lot of economic benefits and work created.”...'

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'Denise Abdul-Rahman, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Black Sun Light Sustainability, said the organization was awarded almost $30 million to deploy 200 residential solar plus storage systems, 50 resiliency hubs with energy storage, and five community solar arrays statewide....'

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'Tens of millions of those dollars had been earmarked to pay for the Gary projects, which would have also brought 100 jobs to the once-thriving industrial city now notorious for disinvestment....'

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'The effort was put on hold when President Donald Trump canceled the federal Solar for All program last August. ... Indiana had been awarded a total of $117 million for solar, battery, and microgrid installations for marginalized communities..., which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act...'

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