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Melanie Schmitz

@melslien.bsky.social
265 followers 446 following 136 posts

Editor, ABC/GMA

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Ben D’Avanzo @bendavanzo.bsky.social · 1h
This KFF headline really gets directly to what's happening today
kffhealthnews.org
US Poised To Boot Legal Immigrants From Medicaid, Including Refugees and Sex-Trafficking Victims - KFF Health News
The Congressional Budget Office estimated 100,000 more immigrants will be uninsured by 2034 because of Medicaid eligibility changes under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that take effect ...
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 30/09/2026
In February, the Kansas state legislature passed a law that required all driver’s licenses to reflect sex at birth. Roughly 1,700 intersex and transgender Kansans received a letter saying to get new licenses, including Dakota West. Now, she’s suing. wapo.st/3VaB9yX
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"During the final threesome," she said, "I remember being totally disgusted at the situation, and I felt very tired and intoxicated ... it was the most intoxicated I've ever been in my life. I felt like I was unable to make any decision because of how intoxicated I was." abcnews.com/US/cornell-s...
abcnews.com
Cornell student said encounter at fraternity house 'felt like coercion' in 2024 statement to police
ABC News obtained the woman's 2024 statement to campus police.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Wells' mother, Christine Wonsley: "...Both medical examiners, as well as his death certificates, states that the cause and manner of his death is undetermined ... How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body?" abcnews.com/US/nolan-wel...
abcnews.com
Nolan Wells' parents make plea for justice after no charges filed in his death
Nolan Wells' family held a press conference Tuesday and said they will not give up after a grand jury found that no criminal charges are warranted in his death.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Karen Tumulty @ktumulty.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
WAPO EXCLUSIVE -- Sources: Architect McCrery "withdrew from the project last October after warning repeatedly that Trump was insisting on a preliminary design that did not provide adequate emergency exit routes or fire-containment measures." @Blaskey_S @jocwapo www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
washingtonpost.com
‘I am the code’: Trump clashed with ballroom architect over safety issues
James McCrery II resigned in October after warning that the president was insisting on designs that violated fire and safety codes.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 23/09/2026
Breaking news: The ICE officer who shot a Venezuelan man in Austin is a recruit who was issued a body camera but was not using it during the incident, according to two former DHS officials briefed on the matter.
washingtonpost.com
ICE officer in Texas shooting was recruit not using a body camera
The officer joined ICE last year during the agency’s hiring spree. DHS is facing mounting scrutiny over how the new recruits were vetted and trained.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"Apparently, agents are being commanded to violate state laws to access private voter information and fabricate law enforcement records [...]," Schumer said, adding that DHS agents allegedly were "hunting for, or worse, manufacturing evidence of voter fraud claims." abcnews.com/Politics/dhs...
abcnews.com
DHS agents allegedly directed to 'misrepresent' themselves to access state voter rolls, whistleblower claims
A whistleblower claims DHS has directed agents to "misrepresent" themselves and "violate state laws" in a voter probe, Democratic lawmakers say.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Jim Lokay @jimlokay.com · 13/09/2026
WaPo reports Kennedy Center may close by Tuesday and faces bankruptcy if Trump's name is not added to the center. "Trump is unlikely to provide “fundamental oversight” of that project or lead a financial rescue without “appropriate recognition” of his role." GIFT LINK: wapo.st/4cLnDHP
wapo.st
https://wapo.st/4cLnDHP
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Get in, folks: a new Russian disinfo campaign is targeting the midterms, specifically Democrats, in what seems to be the first attempt by the Kremlin-backed op to meddle in this year’s U.S. elections. They're faking celebrity videos attacking Dems and are...very stupid. www.ms.now/news/russia-...
ms.now
A Russian disinformation campaign is doctoring celebrity videos to meddle in the midterms
The Kremlin-backed operation, known as Matryoshka, has Hollywood actors telling voters to disavow the Democratic Party and vote Republican.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Update: a crew showed up to replace the pole and promptly punched a hole through my wood fence with their equipment
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I've spent the last 5 days since Mega Storm getting bounced DC gov, subagencies and utility companies, who all say there's nothing they can do about the giant tree that fell on the giant utility pole behind my house, knocking it over my patio, which is now covered in loose wires...
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The judge has set a date of Sept. 29 to determine next steps after declaring a mistrial. Defense request for emergency stay, requiring jury to continue deliberations/potentially consider removing a holdout juror, was denied by a MA Supreme Judicial Court. abcnews.com/GMA/News/liv...
abcnews.com
Lindsay Clancy trial: Judge declares mistrial after emergency request denied
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children in January 2023, has reached its final stage.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
WCVB is reporting the holdout appears to one of the three men on the jury, according to Reddington's comments in open court earlier.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Reddington will ask the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to effectively force Sullivan to allow the jury to continue deliberating. Reminder that the jury split appears to be 11-1, with a single holdout that seems to favor conviction, based on Reddington's comments. abcnews.com/GMA/News/liv...
abcnews.com
Lindsay Clancy trial: Defense attorney asks for emergency stay to prevent mistrial
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children in January 2023, has reached its final stage.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Reddington (defense attorney) has requested time to file an emergency stay to prevent a mistrial and compel jury to continue deliberations; Sullivan (judge) has granted him one hour.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Judge in Clancy case has just declared a mistrial More tk
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is chaotic; Reddington has asked the judge to remove 1 juror who he says is not heeding the judges instruction on benefit of doubt/prosecutor burden, and now the jury has been sent back for a third time in 6 days. Deliberations continue.... abcnews.com/GMA/News/liv...
abcnews.com
Lindsay Clancy trial: Judge tells jurors to keep deliberating after tense sidebar
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children in January 2023, has reached its final stages.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
This is the fifth day of deliberations and nearly 30 hours in. abcnews.com/GMA/News/liv...
abcnews.com
Lindsay Clancy trial: Jury says it is deadlocked for 2nd time, unable to reach verdict
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children in January 2023, has reached its final stages.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The jury has been deliberating for about 18 hours total across four days so far: abcnews.com/GMA/News/liv...
abcnews.com
Lindsay Clancy trial: Jury unable to reach verdict, judge asks jurors to resume deliberations
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children in January 2023, has reached its final stages.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Our team has been covering the Lindsay Clancy trial for the past several weeks (s/o to Peter Charalambous' detailed reporting, Mason Leib's tireless digital writeups, and Katie Kindelan for flagging it all from the start). You can follow along here: abcnews.com/GMA/News/liv...
abcnews.com
Lindsay Clancy trial: Prosecution calls final witnesses
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom who killed her three young children in January 2023, has reached its final stages.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"Drawing on a network of cameras that logs the movements of drivers in more than 6,000 communities, the tool can pick out potential witnesses by how often their cars pass through a neighborhood, or surface a driver's 'associates' from the cameras they pass together." www.wired.com/story/flock-...
wired.com
Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code
Flock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
“I need people to know that this is still our reality. Going to the movies, they’re there. Grocery store, they’re there. All parts of day-to-day life now feature armed supervision.”
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
per this source: the blue ash ICE office said that for some of these Haitian clients, who got ankle monitors on today, the feds were placing them on a 75-mile restriction, but….. the court they’d need to go to is more than 75 miles from Springfield, Ohio.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
That's a big kick in the guts. Payrolls is much weaker, and the U.S. lost -23k jobs in March, well below expectations of +80k. Huge downward revisions, too: May now +63k (instead of +129k), June now +20k (down from +53k). Very bad news. Revise down your views substantially.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
"The shooting happened at The Debsirin School in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province. Police have identified the suspect as a student." abcnews.com/Internationa...
abcnews.com
At least 6 people killed, more than a dozen injured in Thailand school shooting
At least six people have been killed and more than a dozen others injured in a school shooting that took place at a high school in the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Isn't there a movie about this kid
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"We organized to have a stronger voice in our working conditions.... The best way to ensure a fair, safe and productive workplace is through collective bargaining. When we support one another, we improve our environment and our news coverage." www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...
thewrap.com
ABC News Digital Employees Unionize With WGA East
ABC News Digital employees voted to unionize with the Writers Guild of America East, with the company recognizing the new bargaining unit of about 50 staffers
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
The Denver Post @denverpost.com · 05/08/2026
Meatpacking workers at the Cargill plant in Fort Morgan rejected a tentative agreement reached last week with the company, extending the three-month labor dispute that has threatened to cripple the local economy.
denverpost.com
Cargill meatpacking workers in Fort Morgan reject tentative deal, continuing monthslong lockout
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
"ABC News Digital’s roughly 50-member bargaining team voted unanimously to set WGA East as its collective bargaining rep. The unit includes digital reporters, editors and video and social media producers who contribute to ... ABC’s online entities." deadline.com/2026/08/abc-...
deadline.com
ABC News Digital Staffers Unionize Under WGA East Amid FCC Threats To Network
Staffers at ABC News' digital outlets have unionized under the Writers Guild of America East.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Unionize your newsrooms, kids.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Writers Guild of America East @wgaeast.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Read more via @variety.com: variety.com/2026/tv/news...
variety.com
ABC News Digital Workers Unionize With WGA East in Unanimous Vote
Employees at ABC News' digital division voted unanimously to form a union with the Writers Guild of America East.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Writers Guild of America East @wgaeast.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
We're thrilled to welcome our new bargaining unit at ABC News after employees of ABCNews.com and ABC News’ social media platforms voted unanimously to unionize with the WGAE!
abc news digital union - writers guild of america east 

ABC News Digital staff is UNIONIZED!“The industry is changing at a rapid pace, and we want to help shape the version of ABC News that will emerge from this transition. We are excited to join hundreds of our ABC News Broadcast colleagues and thousands of our fellow Disney employees who are represented by unions.” - ABC News Digital Bargaining Unit
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
SCOOP: A little over a month ago, the Pentagon was bragging that half its workforce was using AI. Now the army is saying they’re burning through tokens and need to limit use. For @wired.com www.wired.com/story/the-ar...
wired.com
The Army Is Burning Through Its AI Tokens
Members of the Army received an email informing them that they were rapidly depleting their AI tokens, and needed to limit use.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
ALERT: Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) asks Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to provide a health update to him and to all Kentuckians
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
NEW from me: the US is about to deport a retired pastor, Edward Nalwamba, back to Uganda. Not only is Uganda in the midst of an Ebola outbreak, but Nalwamba says he was the target of the country's security forces before coming to the US. @wired.com www.wired.com/story/the-us...
wired.com
The US Is About to Deport an Immigrant to the Center of the Ebola Crisis
Edward Nalwamba is a 78-year-old retired pastor whose health has rapidly declined while in detention, his attorney says.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
🧵NEW: For more than a decade, police in South West England have been quietly experimenting with algorithms to score thousands of people. Most of them didn't know anything about it. Over two years, me and Mark Wilding investigated the messy setup, multiple parts have now been scrapped
wired.com
British Police Built a Sprawling Crime-Prediction Machine. Some Results Couldn’t Be Trusted
As UK police embrace the AI revolution, a WIRED investigation reveals the messy inside story of one region’s experiment with predictive analytics.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Via AP: "Confirmed cases in the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo have reached 1,003, including 254 deaths, officials said in a statement late Sunday." abcnews.com/Internationa...
abcnews.com
Confirmed Ebola cases in Congo outbreak top 1,000 with 254 deaths, authorities say
Authorities say confirmed cases of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo have reached 1,003, including 254 deaths
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
"I saw a piece of this loose end of this blue coating ... I reached out and touched the end of that piece that was loose but still attached to the bottom. ...I did not remove, I did not damage, I did not rip, tear, break, destroy or harm any part of the Reflecting Pool." abcnews.com/Politics/oly...
abcnews.com
Olympian David Hearn arrested at Reflecting Pool says 'I did not damage' anything
Three-time U.S. Olympian David Hearn said police arrested him after he touched a piece of blue coating partially detached from the Reflecting Pool.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
NPR @npr.org · 12/06/2026
President Trump is trying to downsize the U.S Forest Service and eliminate wildfire and smoke research as the American West is facing a potentially epic summer fire season. n.pr/4us6kSh
n.pr
President Trump is taking aim at forest and wildfire research just as the West is poised to burn
President Trump is trying to downsize the U.S Forest Service and eliminate wildfire and smoke research as the American West is facing a potentially epic summer fire season.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
A farmer in Texas donated his land to a town to be turned into a public park. After he died, the city took the land and sold it for $10 million to a company building a data center www.404media.co/a-farmer-don...
404media.co
A Farmer Donated Land to Turn into a Park. The City Is Building a Massive Data Center Instead
In 1999, a farmer gave away 87 acres of land to a small Texas city to use as a park. The city sold to a data center developer for $10 million.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
This is unreal. The New School Student Senate voted to cut ties with their campus Hillel group because it literally sponsored students to materially participate in the BOMBING OF GAZA... and so The New School admin is investigating the student senators. prismreports.org/2026/06/04/n...
The report found that students from The New School and a host of other New York City-based schools volunteered at the Israeli military’s Hatzerim Air Force Base in January 2024, as part of the Hillel on Base program. “Our students are packaging a days worth of rations to our soldiers,” stated an Instagram story by Hillel at Baruch College, the umbrella organization of Hillel at The New School, alongside a photo from the airbase, according to the report. 

The Hatzerim airbase reportedly has been used by the Israeli Air Force for hundreds of airstrikes in Gaza, with F-15s from the base dropping bombs in civilian areas. 

In the days following the publication of the report and the Student Senate vote to terminate funding to The New School’s Hillel, the university’s administration acted swiftly to discredit the findings.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
"I won't discuss any conversations that I had or did not have with the president of the United States," Bondi said, according to a transcript of her May 29 testimony, released by the committee on Thursday. abcnews.com/Politics/bon...
abcnews.com
Bondi invoked privilege, declined to answer questions about interactions with Trump about Epstein files
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi said then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche handled the release of the DOJ's Epstein files.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Thinking a lot about this 2016 Marty Baron speech today "Holding the most powerful to account is what we are supposed to do. If we do not do that, then what exactly is the purpose of journalism?"
Transcript of Marty Baron speech: Many journalists wonder with considerable

weariness what it is going to be like for us during the next four-perhaps eight-years. Will we be incessantly harassed and vilified? Will the new administration seize on on opportunities to try intimidating us? Will we face obstruction at every

turn?

If so, what do we do?

The answer, I believe, is pretty simple. Just do our job. Do it as it's supposed to be done.

Every day as I walk into our newsroom, I confront a wall that articulates a set of principles that were established in 1933 by a new owner for The Post, Eugene Meyer, whose family went on to publish The Post for 80 years.

The principles begin like this: "The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth may be ascertained."Transcript of Marty Baron speech: The public expects that of us. If we fail to pursue the truth and to tell it unflinchingly-because we're fearful that we'll be unpopular, or because powerful interests (including the White House and the Congress) will assail us, or because we worry about financial repercussions to advertising or subscriptions-the public will not forgive us.

Nor, in my view, should they.

After the release of the movie Spotlight, I was often asked how we at The Boston Globe were willing to take on the most powerful institution in New England and among the most powerful in the world,

the Catholic Church.

The question really mystifies me-especially when it comes from journalists or those who hope to enter the profession. Because holding the most powerful to account is what we are supposed to do.

If we do not do that, then what exactly is the purpose of journalism?

God forbid we take on the weaker institutions, the weaker individuals, while letting the strongest ones off the hook only because they can forcefully fight back.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
"The IRC said Ebola may have been spreading undetected since before March and potentially as long as three months before the epidemic was confirmed in mid-May." abcnews.com/Health/ebola...
abcnews.com
Ebola outbreak spreading in Africa is 'likely far worse' than official figures suggest: IRC
The Ebola outbreak spreading in the DRC is "likely far worse" than official figures suggest, the International Rescue Committee warned on Monday.
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
"Cases and contacts are now spreading into larger regional hubs, the IRC warned, including the major city of Goma in the DRC's eastern province of North Kivu and also Uganda's capital, Kampala, with fears of much wider transmission." abcnews.com/Internationa...
abcnews.com
Ebola outbreak risks becoming 'deadliest on record,' IRC warns
The International Rescue Committee warned the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is spreading faster than responders can contain it.
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Reposted by Melanie Schmitz
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 15/05/2026
Ebola outbreak kills 65 people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
theguardian.com
Ebola outbreak kills 65 people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Concerns raised that cases were caused by a new strain of the virus as African health officials race to coordinate and contain the infection An outbreak of Ebola has killed 65 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to African health officials. There have been 246 suspected cases of the deadly haemorrhagic fever reported so far in Ituri province, which shares borders with Uganda and South Sudan. Continue reading...
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Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Concerns about spread given "the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara, intense population movement, mining-related mobility in Mongwalu, insecurity in affected areas, gaps in contact listing, infection prevention and control challenges, and the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan"
africacdc.org
Africa CDC Calls Urgent Regional Coordination Meeting Following Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Ituri Province, DRC – Africa CDC
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia / Kinshasa, DRC, 15 May 2026 — The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is closely monitoring the confirmed Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is working with national authorities and partners to support a rapid, coordinated response. Following consultations with the […]
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Melanie Schmitz @melslien.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
"NYU Langone Hospitals and “several institutions” received the subpoena on May 7 requesting “information pertaining to patients under the age of 18 who received gender affirming care” between 2020 and 2026...." news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-a...
news.bloomberglaw.com
DOJ Targets NYU With Criminal Subpoena for Trans Health Records
New York University’s hospital system said it’s one of multiple institutions that received a grand jury subpoena for transgender health records, the latest escalation of the Justice Department’s inves...
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Mike Hixenbaugh @mikehixenbaugh.com · 13/05/2026
Alabama jailed a woman for endangering her fetus. Then jail staff forced her to give birth in a cell with only other incarcerated women coming to aid her and her baby, according to a lawsuit.
nbcnews.com
Alabama jail staff didn’t help when she went into labor — other inmates did, lawsuit says
In a state with a long history of arresting pregnant women, one mom in custody says she was left to fend for herself.
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The Denver Post @denverpost.com · 08/05/2026
President Trump’s administration is quietly pushing national park, refuge and wilderness area managers to dramatically scale back hunting restrictions, raising questions about visitor safety and the impact on wildlife.
denverpost.com
Trump is lifting restrictions on hunting in national parks, refuges and wilderness areas
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