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Mark Downie

@poppastring.com
1.5K followers 700 following 1.5K posts

🧑🏾‍💻OSS (dasBlog) 🏢PM @ Microsoft (Visual Studio, Core AI) 🏀📖🎸 ✝️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇺🇸 poppastring.com/blog

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Reposted by Mark Downie
Waterways Experiences @waterwaysexp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Some gorgeous photos of the Grand Union Canal taken last week by our lovely volunteer Lin. Our waterways are slowly starting to change as we head into Autumn. We can't wait to see them in all their glory as they turn beautiful and golden 🌞🍂 #MondayMood #ukcanals #Volunteer #Charity #Boathire
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National Trust @nationaltrust.org.uk · 28/09/2026
We have something very cute to share with you today 🦉 This summer, a pair of barn owls successfully reared four owlets at Kedleston Hall, marking Kedleston's first known breeding success in over two decades.
Four young barn owls jostle onto the small wooden ledge of their nest box, fixed to a huge oak tree behind themA young barn owl in flight, its wings stretched up above it against a blurry green background, its white heart-shaped face facing the cameraA young barn own in flight, a blurry oak tree behind it, its huge white and brown wings beating downwards as it looks at the cameraA barn owl swooping down with its wings fanned wide across a field of long purplish grass
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 28/09/2026
Jiminez! #wolves www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHxi...
youtube.com
Extended Highlights | Sheffield United 0-1 Wolves
YouTube video by Wolves
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Las Vegas Aces @lvaces.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
𝐎'𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎'𝐍𝐋𝐘 💅✨ A'ja Wilson becomes the only player in WNBA history to record 35+ PTS and 15+ REB in multiple playoff games.
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 28/09/2026
Oh wow! #nfl
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 27/09/2026
Miss Wilson is giving this Fever team the business (as they say) #wnba
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Jon Sagara @jonsagara.com · 26/09/2026
Microsoft is updating its author-signing certificate starting September 23, 2026 devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/micro...
devblogs.microsoft.com
Microsoft is updating its author-signing certificate starting September 23, 2026 - .NET Blog
Starting September 23, 2026, Microsoft is updating the author-signing certificate used for NuGet packages. Customers using trusted signer policies or certificate fingerprint verification should add th...
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Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
EVs are now nine times cheaper than petrol or diesel to drive in the UK. www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-evs...
carbonbrief.org
Analysis: EVs are now nine times cheaper than petrol or diesel to drive in the UK  - Carbon Brief
The latest surge in fossil-fuel prices means it is now up to nine times cheaper in the UK to drive an electric vehicle (EV) than a petrol or diesel car, shows Carbon Brief analysis.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Please try to reclaim your precious precious attention, at all costs. Do puzzles. Take walks without a phone. Dear god, try to read, almost anything that isn’t a manifesto will really do. You are going to need your brain.
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 25/09/2026
Love from #detroit www.poppastring.com/blog/love-fr...
poppastring.com
Love from Detroit
Photographs from a few days in Detroit, including the Renaissance Center, Guardian Building, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Parker’s Alley. ...
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Bee Quammie @beequammie.blacksky.app · 07/09/2026
Happy heavenly birthday to Jamaican cultural icon Miss Lou ❤️ Through her poetry and storytelling, she challenged the idea that Patois was "broken English" and showed that the way we speak is art in and of itself. May she continue to rest well and know that her legacy lives on.
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The Times and Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 25/09/2026
This summer saw an all-time low in punctuality and reliability for Britain’s railways. See how your local rail operator managed
thetimes.com
Train cancellations are worst on record — how bad was your operator?
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 25/09/2026
Off the top of my head... Victor Wooten Abraham Laboriel Larry Graham Rhonda Smith #bassplayers
picture of a woman holding a bass guitar.Prince playing a guitar next to Larry GRaham (in white) playing a bassBlack and white photo of Abraham Laboriel playing a six string bass. Mann with a red hat playing a bass guitar (the man is Victor Wooten)
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Ebony Elizabeth Thomas @ebonyteach.blacksky.app · 25/09/2026
YES! Love my bass AND bassists! My votes: James Jamerson - the Hook, the 🐐, Funk Bros., MOTOWN! Verdine White Larry Graham Gail Ann Dorsey Pino Palladino (not pictured) Bootsy Collins (not pictured) Louis Johnson (not pictured) Bernard Edwards (not pictured) Ready Freddie Washington (not pictured)
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983)[2][a] was an American bassist. He was the bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, though Motown did not credit session musicians on their releases until 1971, and is now regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. As a session musician he played on twenty-three Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, as well as fifty-six R&B number-one hits.Verdine Adams White (born Verdine Adams Jr.; July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire.[1] White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time".[2]Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bassist and baritone singer, with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station.[1] In 1980, he released the single "One in a Million You", which reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique on the electric bass guitar, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as "thumpin' and pluckin'".[2]

In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.[3] He is also the uncle of rapper Drake.Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she performed regularly in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's last tour in 2004.

Aside from playing bass, she sang lead vocals on live versions of "Under Pressure" (taking the part originally sung by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury) and dueted with Bowie on other songs, including "The London Boys", "Aladdin Sane (1913–1938–197?)", "I Dig Everything", accompanying Bowie on clarinet,[1] and a cover of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman".

From 1993 to 1996, Dorsey also recorded and toured with Tears for Fears, and collaborated on songwriting with the band. She appeared in several of the band's promo videos throughout this period.

Her diverse range of work includes performances and recordings with The National, Lenny Kravitz, Bryan Ferry, Boy George, the Indigo Girls, Khaled, Jane Siberry, The The, Skin, Gwen Stefani, Charlie Watts, Seal, Gang of Four, Susan Werner, Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams.

In addition, Dorsey has released three solo albums: The Corporate World (1988), Rude Blue (1992), and I Used To Be... (2003).

Early life
Dorsey grew up in the 1970s in West Philadelphia. She played guitar from the age of nine and cites Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, Terry Kath of Chicago, Jimi Hendrix, and Nancy Wilson of Heart as early influences. She acquired a bass guitar shortly after her 14th birthday but did not consider herself a bass player until she was 20.
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Democracy Now! @democracynow.org · 25/09/2026
Pulitzer Prize and Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens's new album is called "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers."
democracynow.org
Rhiannon Giddens: Full Interview & Performance of New Song, “Walk With Me”
Full interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning, two-time Grammy-winning, multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens. Her new album, Hope Is the Thing with Feathers, has just been released. She recently came i...
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 24/09/2026
Hope is the thing with feathers 🎶 open.spotify.com/album/1GqUJ1...
open.spotify.com
Hope Is the Thing with Feathers - Album by Rhiannon Giddens | Spotify
Rhiannon Giddens · album · 2026 · 10 songs
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Ian Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 24/09/2026
Saw a woman on TikTok who said she quit corporate at age 46 to become a beekeeper because “I would literally rather get stung by 10,000 bees than write ‘per my last email’ again” and you know what? I respect that
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Elise Thomas @elisethomas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If an individual did this, we'd treat it as a crime. We should treat this as a crime too, and hold OpenAI liable for what its models, under its supervision, did. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...
abc.net.au
OpenAI agent hacked Medicare portal, PM says
Anthony Albanese says he has spoken to the Open AI chief executive to express his concern about the incident and the length of time it took the tech company to inform the government of the breach.
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Kelsey Hightower @kelseyhightower.com · 24/09/2026
Seems the AI Labs are running a free pen testing service.
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Ned Pyle @nedpyle.com · 24/09/2026
“Dad says this is a good example of security theater for infosec professionals who need a picture for conference slides. I don’t know what any of this means but it’s funny”
A gate in front of stairs. It has no fence so you can just walk around it. There’s a sign warning anyone not to trespass or an imaginary camera will see them. Kell laughs
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 24/09/2026
Finished Silo! The first eight episodes felt a bit slow, but the last two moved way too fast.
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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 23/09/2026
Catherine Zeta-Jones has explained why she has turned down appearing on Welcome To Wrexham, despite being asked several times.
nation.cymru
Catherine Zeta-Jones refuses to appear on Welcome To Wrexham
Nation.Cymru staff Catherine Zeta-Jones has explained why she has turned down appearing on Welcome To Wrexham, despite being asked several times. The Hollywood superstar, who appeared on Heart Radio w...
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TW @twesq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
this is fantastic and I learned something new
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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Almost forgot youtu.be/Gs069dndIYk?...
youtu.be
Earth, Wind & Fire - September (Official HD Video)
YouTube video by EarthWindandFireVEVO
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 21/09/2026
Wolves vs Albion #wolvesayewe www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAhi...
youtube.com
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 21/09/2026
Sigh ... we know.
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 20/09/2026
I find myself with a relatively easy problem that I have to solve today, however, that problem has two slightly harder problems I need to fix first ... and of course each of those have two ...
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Justin Garrison @justingarrison.com · 18/09/2026
Finally got one with instructions #wrtk8s
A linksys router in box
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 18/09/2026
Consistency Demands Correct Rounding #maths #library #cplusplus devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/brin...
devblogs.microsoft.com
Bringing Correctly Rounded Math to Production with LLVM-libc - C++ Team Blog
As we mentioned in the last cmath blog post, MSVC is using LLVM-libc for compile-time evaluation and runtime execution of math functions when /Zc:cmath is
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 18/09/2026
i'm not over Alito saying we shouldn't count ballots that are mailed on or before Election Day but arrive shortly afterwards bc they can “radically flip” the “apparent outcome” cannot stress enough that, until all ballots are counted, there's no outcome to flip! ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/alito...
ballsandstrikes.org
A Brief History of Sam Alito’s Delusional Obsession With Voter Fraud
His conduct in several recent cases suggests that Alito is deep in the right-wing conspiracy theory weeds.
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 18/09/2026
This little camera looks great! 70s spy crafts! #digital www.theverge.com/tech/995399/...
theverge.com
Fujifilm’s Instax Pal 2 is a tiny digital camera that may not disappoint
The $170 Pal 2 includes an LCD screen, a 10-megapixel sensor, autofocus, and face detection.
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 18/09/2026
Performance Improvements in .NET 11 #dotnet #performance devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/perfo...
devblogs.microsoft.com
Performance Improvements in .NET 11 - .NET Blog
Take a tour through hundreds of performance improvements in .NET 11.
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The Verge @theverge.com · 16/09/2026
Going up against Christopher Nolan with AI slop was ill-advised. www.theverge.com/entertainmen...
theverge.com
The 2.5-hour AI-generated Odyssey movie is 2.5 hours too long
Going up against Christopher Nolan with AI slop was ill-advised.
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Waterways Experiences @waterwaysexp.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
We hope you're enjoying this sunny Bank Holiday Monday. A beautiful day to be on the water, whether that's by boat. As August draws to a close, we are excited for September bringing change & a different kind of beauty to our canals 💛 #UKCanals #Charity #Boathire #BankHolidayMonday #LastDayOfAugust
Canal boat on Grand union canal
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Towpath Talk @towpathtalk.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
📸 PHOTO OF THE DAY - Along the Grand Union canal at Nantwich, by John Earnshaw 🫶 #towpathtalk #canals #canalsandrivers #narrowboat #rivers #waterways #lifeonthecut #boating #boats #canallife #canallifeuk #UKCanals
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Arm Software Developers @developer.arm.com · 15/09/2026
Join Arm, @microsoft.com and Maxon for a webinar to explore why Maxon took ZBrush native, what users gain and how AppReady can help your team do the same. 📍 10:00 – 11:00 AM PT | October 1 Register today ➡️ developer.arm.com/laptops-and-...
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pckt.blog @pckt.blog · 14/09/2026
no paywalls. the way blogging should be. pckt.blog
pckt.blog
pckt: a blog in your pocket
A distraction-free space to write and share your story. Just you, and your words.
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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New: Macklemore says Robert Kraft — who owns Gillette Stadium, where Macklemore & Ed Sheeran were to perform later this month — called Sheeran. Kraft rallied other owners together behind an ultimatum for Sheeran: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you won't be allowed in our venues.

I'm not sure how to start this. So I'm going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.
But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.

The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don't lose sight of that.

Ed is my friend. I've known him for 13 years. We've shared late nights, studio sessions and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I've grown to love. I consider him a brother. And because of that, we've had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement. Nothing I'm writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character. But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.

Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other
stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.

Ed was in …What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I'm sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, "Free Palestine" becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me.

And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying "Free Palestine" gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.

I hope this isn't the end of my relationship with Ed.
Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement. I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.

When my brother Omar was doing the subtitles for the video I posted from MetLife, I thanked him. He told me there's a phrase in Arabic:
لا شكر على واجب
"La shukra ala wajeb." There is no thanks for a duty.
That stayed with me. Because that's what this has become for me and millions of others around the world. A duty. Not something deserving of praise or gratitude. Not brave. Human.

Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, who gets to play the stadium and who doesn't, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank. An entire people be…
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 14/09/2026
Come on! #wolvesayewe #nosotrosloslobos www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVkz...
youtube.com
Raul wins it late! | Sheffield United 0-1 Wolves | Highlights
YouTube video by Wolves
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Rude1 Haunted Badness. ⁂ @rude1.blacksky.team · 12/09/2026
Come help me build a new kind of internet that puts communities at the center. #ATHiring blackskyweb.xyz/about/jobs/f...
blackskyweb.xyz
Founding Engineer
Systems, protocol, infrastructure and product About Blacksky Blacksky helps communities create virtual third places where members democratically govern the recommender algorithms and moderation policies that shape their space and soon will also pool funds as groups and send money peer-to-peer. Our behind-the-scenes infrastructure, built on the AT Protocol (the open protocol behind Bluesky), lets those […]
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pckt.blog @pckt.blog · 13/09/2026
new writers in the last 7 days has dropped by about 50% 🥹 that means i’m not being chaotic enough on the timeline. please for the love of all that is bloggy use your bluesky account to sign in and start a blog on pckt.blog like & share this so we can get up on top against the substacks of the world
pckt.blog
pckt: a blog in your pocket
A distraction-free space to write and share your story. Just you, and your words.
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Michael Harriot @michaelharriot.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I DESPERATELY need your help with something, even if it’s just sharing this skeet: I’m working on a piec about the evolution of video games and the KEY to my story is a guy named Oscar Munoz who worked for Sega in the early 1990s I’ve tried everything to find him and social media is my last resort
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Dr. Carlotta A. Berry #NoireSTEMinist 🤖 @drcaberry.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
What do you know about Euler’s Identity? #engineering #professor #student #college #stem
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Jenifer Lewis’ Afro @msjlaw.blacksky.app · 13/09/2026
USA 97 France 79 FINAL Team USA wins #FIBAwwc gold AGAIN!!!
static.klipy.com
Team USA
ALT: Team USA
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Mark Downie @poppastring.com · 13/09/2026
France has quit on defense #fiba
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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 13/09/2026
"We do have a responsibility to make sure that what we say publicly is supported by our evidence and facts … We owe it to (Tasia) Fortune, to her family, and the integrity of this investigation to let the evidence guide us, and there's still work to do," Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney said.
mississippifreepress.org
Arrest Made in the Fortune Hanging Death After Homicide Ruling, Jackson Police Say
The Jackson Police Department has arrested Jacques Ratliff in connection with the death of Tasia Fortune.
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Uplifting News @upliftingnews.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A $50 million gift will fund Native student scholarships for the next five years and create a permanent endowment to support Indigenous students for generations.
nativenewsonline.net
A $50 million gift from MacKenzie Scott is being dedicated entirely to Native students, with $10 million funding scholarships over the next five years and $40 million placed in a permanent endowment to support Native students for generations to come.
A $50 million gift from MacKenzie Scott is being dedicated entirely to Native students, with $10 million funding scholarships over the next five years and $40 million placed in a permanent endowment to support Native students for generations to come.
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Trip Manfro 🍕🍺🍕🍺 @pfac51.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Semifinal Saturday 🍿 🇺🇸 #USABWNT vs 🇪🇸 Spain 📍 Berlin Arena 🇩🇪 🕑 2 pm ET 📺 TBS & HBO Max #FIBAWWC
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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 12/09/2026
YesCymru has once again called for devolution of the Crown Estate, highlighting the vast sums paid by councils across Wales for us to use our own rivers and shorelines, while 'one in three of our children live in poverty'
wp.me
'A glaring injustice': YesCymru say 'Wales should get angry' about Crown Estate
Nation Cymru staff YesCymru has once again called for devolution of the Crown Estate, highlighting the vast sums paid by councils across Wales for us to use our own rivers and shorelines, while ‘one i...
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