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@popular.info
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Popular Information @popular.info · 3h
“When the IRS reassigned around 1,500 employees with no relevant experience to help process tax returns, the agency said the moves would help provide ‘the best possible experience for taxpayers.’ Months later, after extensive training and failed exams, the IRS is abandoning the efforts.”
washingtonsun.com
The IRS Is Reshuffling Staff Without Telling Them Why
The tax agency tried to turn more than a thousand HR and IT staffers into tax processors. That failed. Now they’re being assigned to a team that remains a mystery.
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Reposted by Popular Information
Oligarch Watch @muskwatch.bsky.social · 3h
Meta is spending heavily this election on obscure state legislative races — eager to defuse what is the biggest regulatory threat to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s massive gamble on “superintelligence.”
oligarchwatch.substack.com
Why Meta and Google are focused on obscure local elections
Meta, the tech giant with a market capitalization of over $1.8 trillion, is spending heavily this election on obscure state legislative races — eager to defuse what is the biggest regulatory threat to...
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Popular Information @popular.info · 4h
“A new rule from the Office of Management and Budget would prohibit anyone from using federal grant money for voter registration drives. It’s part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restrict voting access.”
propublica.org
This White House Plan Threatens Funding That Helps Disabled Americans Vote
A new rule from the Office of Management and Budget would prohibit anyone from using federal grant money for voter registration drives. It’s part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restr...
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Popular Information @popular.info · 20h
Trump has raised over $400 million through his super PAC, MAGA Inc. How is Trump raising so much money? Trump’s super PAC has repeatedly received large donations from corporations or individuals that are seeking — or have recently received — favorable treatment from the Trump administration.
popular.info
How MAGA Inc. raised so much money
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump, who is constitutionally prohibited from running for president again, has raised over $400 million through his super PAC, MAGA Inc.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 23h
“The Trump administration on Monday announced it was slashing clean car rules that had been aimed at reducing planet-heating emissions and boosting electric vehicles.”
theguardian.com
Trump administration to slash clean car rules aimed at cutting climate emissions
Environmentalists decry move that relaxes requirements on automakers to control pollution from gas-powered cars
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Popular Information @popular.info · 29/09/2026
“There’s just one active federal prosecution still tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack... the case of the man accused of planting two pipe bombs near the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee. And some of MAGA’s most fervent supporters want to shut it down.”
nbcnews.com
Right-wing conservatives push to shut down the last active Jan. 6 prosecution
They say Brian Cole Jr. was framed. The Justice Department is pressing forward with the case.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 29/09/2026
“But it’s clear the White House app covertly collects excessive user data and shares it with third-party trackers while sidestepping federal security rules, according to cybersecurity experts and an independent risk assessment conducted by The Washington Sun.”
washingtonsun.com
White House Drove Users to Official App Fraught With Trackers
The White House app became the App Store’s most downloaded news app after the president barred three news outlets.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 28/09/2026
Jay Feely is running for Congress in Arizona. According to his website, one of his top issues is “protecting women’s sports.” But Feely’s past comments reveal his retrograde views about how females approach competition, the economic value of women’s sports, and the skills of pro female athletes.
popular.info
What congressional candidate Jay Feely really thinks about female athletes
The former NFL kicker has made women’s sports a central issue in his campaign.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 25/09/2026
“Flock Safety sought to ease growing alarm over its controversial mass surveillance tools Wednesday ahead of a Senate hearing on its technology… the company said it had tightened rules around how law enforcement officers can search its vast databases of images of people in their vehicles.”
washingtonsun.com
Flock Changes Search Rules Ahead of Senate Hearing on Privacy Concerns
Democrats and Republicans broadly agreed that, in the wrong hands, the devices could be used to target everyone from gun owners to people seeking abortion care.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 25/09/2026
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are trying to expel at least one immigrant to a country he’s never been to, despite a federal appeals court smacking down the Trump administration’s ‘third-country removal program’ last week, new court documents show.”
prospect.org
ICE Is Trying to Ignore Court’s Decision Striking Down Third-Country Removals - The American Prospect
Immigration officials want to send a Peruvian man to the Central African Republic within hours, court filings show.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 25/09/2026
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accepted $4 million in book advances and more than $270,000 in gifts over the past year from close allies who are working to advance his Make America Healthy Again agenda, according to his latest financial disclosure form.”
nytimes.com
RFK Jr. Drew $4 Million in Book Advances From Publisher Who Also Monetized MAHA
A new disclosure also shows $210,000 in consulting fees paid to Cheryl Hines, the health secretary’s wife, by one of several MAHA-affiliated groups capitalizing from his agenda.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 24/09/2026
This week, New York City announced a historic $131.5 million enforcement action against food delivery app DoorDash for underpaying or delaying payments to workers. The company will pay more than $115 million to over 260,000 workers who were underpaid.
popular.info
DoorDash admits it “screwed up,” will pay NYC workers over $100 million
This week, New York City announced a historic $131.5 million enforcement action against food delivery app DoorDash for underpaying or delaying payments to workers.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 24/09/2026
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. privately said he wants the federal government to recommend a cancer-detection test that has sharply divided medical professionals but has close financial ties to the Make America Healthy Again movement.”
washingtonsun.com
Kennedy Privately Backs Cancer-Detection Tests With Ties to MAHA
Several key industry players developing the tests are sponsoring or speaking at the Make America Healthy Again Summit next week, which will be attended by top health officials.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 24/09/2026
“The top donors in American politics have poured in more than $1.7 billion to influence this election cycle so far, and the latest numbers show a last-minute rush of money from benefactors of the GOP.”
washingtonpost.com
Meet the megadonors pouring more than $1.7 billion into the 2026 elections
Billionaires and Elon Musk, who recently temporarily achieved trillionaire status, make up the top individual donors.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 24/09/2026
“Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds launched an updated campaign website this week stripping away numerous prominent references to his endorsement from Donald Trump as the president’s approval ratings hit new lows.”
miamiherald.com
Byron Donalds strips Trump references from his campaign website
The Republican gubernatorial candidate stopped emphasizing his endorsement from Donald Trump as the president’s approval ratings plummet.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 23/09/2026
On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and 11 other states dropped their lawsuit to block Paramount from acquiring Warner Bros. A real settlement would have included an agreement from Paramount to divest important assets. But the deal did not require any divestiture.
popular.info
Democrats capitulate to MAGA media mogul
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and 11 other states drop their lawsuit to block David Ellison’s Paramount from acquiring Warner Bros. — and get little in return.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 23/09/2026
“South Dakota’s Republican secretary of state is breaking with her party and endorsing the Democrat running for the office, saying ‘the integrity, stability, and professionalism of this office is at stake.’”
nbcnews.com
Republican who supervises South Dakota’s elections endorses a Democrat to succeed her
Monae Johnson said she broke with her party because ‘the integrity, stability, and professionalism’ of secretary of state position was at stake.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 23/09/2026
“President Donald Trump said that he plans to make his proposed 250-foot arch in Washington, DC, a ‘top grade military complex’ that holds large stores of weaponry, citing national security reasons and a ‘strong request’ from the US military.”
motherjones.com
Trump wants to make his massive triumphal arch a killing machine
It'll store and deploy drones, snipers, and other weaponry for "national security" purposes, he says.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 22/09/2026
Elon Musk has begun financially supporting Republicans again through his super PAC. Across the country, Musk’s America PAC is spending money on advertising attacking Democrats for purportedly supporting “taxpayer-funded sex change surgeries on kids.” But the claims in the ads are not true.
popular.info
The lie dominating Musk's 2026 political ads
Musk is blanketing the internet with digital ads falsely accusing Democratic Senate candidates of supporting “taxpayer-funded sex changes for kids.”
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Popular Information @popular.info · 22/09/2026
“The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s spending sharply escalated in August following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down federal limits capping how much parties could coordinate to spend on their candidates.”
washingtonsun.com
The NRSC’s Spending Surges for Key Midterm Races
The National Republican Senatorial Committee opened the floodgates after the Supreme Court struck down limits on party committees’ coordinated spending.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 22/09/2026
“The White House has begun drafting a new executive order that could further cement President Trump’s ability to control billions of dollars in scientific grants and expand the administration’s pressure campaign against elite universities.”
nytimes.com
White House Moves to Take Control of N.I.H. Grants
Federal officials are drafting an executive order that would place grants under review by an outside panel, the latest effort to redirect billions of dollars in research spending.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 22/09/2026
“The Trump administration’s confidential deals with pharmaceutical companies to lower U.S. drug prices include inducements to raise drug prices overseas and promise protection from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to documents shared with The Washington Post.”
washingtonpost.com
Secret contracts reveal undisclosed terms in Trump’s drug-pricing deals
Agreements with Pfizer and Eli Lilly include tariff protections, overseas pricing inducements and broad confidentiality clauses.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 21/09/2026
Popular Information covered MAGA Inc.’s initial ad spending. The report revealed that many of these ads contained false claims. Since then, MAGA Inc. has released several new ads targeting new races. This new batch of ads, which has received almost no media scrutiny, is even more brazen.
popular.info
UPDATE: MAGA Inc.’s audacious new ads
President Trump has amassed an unprecedented war chest of $400 million that can be spent to influence the 2026 midterms through the MAGA Inc.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 18/09/2026
“‘An enormous number of airplanes come over that site, basically every 45 to 60 seconds all day long 'til 11 at night,’ U.S. Rep. Don Beyer... told NPR. ‘Just imagine the disaster that could happen with all of these airplanes coming right across a 250-foot-high arch.’”
npr.org
D.C. airspace is complicated. Experts say Trump's arch would add one more risk
The Trump administration wants to build its 250-foot arch near one of the country's busiest runways. The FAA will determine whether that poses a hazard. But independent experts already have concerns.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 18/09/2026
“The family of a woman who died after she could not get an abortion in Texas is suing doctors and state officials including Attorney General Ken Paxton. It is the first lawsuit over a death linked to an abortion ban.”
19thnews.org
Tierra Walker died after she couldn’t get an abortion. Her family is suing Ken Paxton.
The case argues that Texas’ near-total abortion ban violates the state and U.S. constitutions. It is the first lawsuit over a death linked to an abortion ban.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 18/09/2026
“Former DOGE operatives are working on a website that could offer services like direct tax filing — similar to a Biden-era program the Trump administration killed.”
washingtonsun.com
Trump Aides Are Prepping an AI Takeover of Government Services
Former DOGE operatives are working on a website that could offer services like direct tax filing — similar to a Biden-era program the Trump administration killed.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 17/09/2026
On September 3, the SEC made a quiet announcement: the commission is proposing to rescind a 16-year-old rule enacted to prevent “pay-to-play” schemes involving investment advisers and pension funds for public employees.
popular.info
Making pensions corrupt again
The Trump administration is quietly proposing to rescind a 16-year-old rule enacted to prevent “pay-to-play” schemes involving investment advisers and public pension funds.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 17/09/2026
“The White House is broadcasting its anti-fraud crusade to voters… with a “Fraud Ledger” that claims the Trump administration has uncovered hundreds of billions in misused funds. The Washington Sun’s review of the ledger found that it includes misleading and unsubstantiated claims.”
washingtonsun.com
The White House’s 'Fraud Ledger' Includes Misleading Claims
One senior official within an inspector general’s office questioned whether the public is “being bamboozled.”
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Popular Information @popular.info · 17/09/2026
“The local sheriff ended his county’s Flock partnership, just hours after Governor Ron DeSantis ditched the technology. They’re part of a growing group of GOP leaders turning against Flock.”
boltsmag.org
A Rural Florida County Quietly Built a Flock Camera Network. Now It's Dismantling It. - Bolts
The local sheriff ended his county’s Flock partnership, just hours after Governor Ron DeSantis ditched the technology. They’re part of a growing group of GOP leaders turning against Flock.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 17/09/2026
“The Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177bn in federal grants since the president took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released on Wednesday by a pro-democracy non-profit and a group of researchers and scientists.”
theguardian.com
Trump 2.0 has cut or frozen $177bn in grants across every state, analysis finds
Cuts hit all 50 states and DC, with environment, health, nutrition and disaster relief making up the largest share
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Popular Information @popular.info · 16/09/2026
The AI industry has placed a huge bet on Trump and the Republican Party. In the 2026 cycle alone, AI executives and corporations have donated $42 million to MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC. But the political winds may be changing. According to reports, the AI industry may now be hedging its bets.
popular.info
Corporate mercenary is a bipartisan profession
The AI industry tapped former Obama aide Jay Carney to rebuild ties with Democrats. He spent years at Amazon undermining privacy protections and fighting AI regulation.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 16/09/2026
“Since the city approved reparations payments in 2021, it has given $25,000 grants to more than 300 people… now the Trump administration, which has vowed to eliminate government programs that promote racial equity, is trying to kill Evanston's program before similar ones take hold in other cities.”
npr.org
This city led the way on reparations for Black people. Trump is trying to stop it
Evanston, Ill., became the first U.S. city to compensate Black people for historical discrimination. The Justice Department is trying to kill its program before other cities follow suit.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 16/09/2026
“New York is leading a 22-state lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully expanding the ‘public charge’ rules that restrict entry to the United States for immigrants deemed likely to make use of public benefits.”
motherjones.com
States and cities sue to stop Trump’s immigrant “wealth test” rule before it takes effect
New York is leading two lawsuits against a rule that could push millions of people in mixed-status households to drop Medicaid and food assistance out of fear.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 16/09/2026
“American oil executives warned for months that the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz was bound to cause a fuel crisis. Now, they say it is here.”
wsj.com
Oil Executives Say the Great Fuel Crisis Is Here
Trump officials say the oil-market disruption is temporary, but Chevron’s Mike Wirth and others warn global supplies are running low, with no respite in sight.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 15/09/2026
Trump has amassed over $400 million through his super PAC, MAGA Inc. With Trump’s approval ratings hitting all-time lows and many Republican candidates in swing races struggling, Trump has finally begun spending some of this money.
popular.info
How Trump is spending his $400 million war chest
Exactly what Trump is doing with an unprecedented pile of cash.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 15/09/2026
“The second Trump administration has singled out immigrants and transgender people... for particular scorn and scrutiny. People at the intersection of those two identities have become a target in ICE custody, and many have described harassment, humiliation, assault and denial of medical care.”
themarshallproject.org
ICE Treatment of Transgender Women Reversing Years-Long Practices
Women said they face harassment and lack proper medical care.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 15/09/2026
“The Republican nominee for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives marched alongside neo-Nazis at the deadly 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a new Talking Points Memo investigation can reveal.”
talkingpointsmemo.com
Exclusive: He Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville. Now He’s Expected to Join the Florida Legislature.
The Republican nominee for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives...
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Popular Information @popular.info · 15/09/2026
The crypto industry is desperate to pass the Clarity Act, which would legitimize and stabilize its business by providing it with a federal regulatory framework. One of the primary beneficiaries of the Clarity Act would be Trump himself.
popular.info
Crypto legislation would greenlight Trump corruption
The sponsors of the legislation claim they have added meaningful ethics restrictions. Here are the facts.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 11/09/2026
“Gov. Jim Pillen’s family business is one of the nation’s largest pork producers. As he seeks re-election, he has aligned himself with President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda even though his farms have taken on undocumented laborers.”
nytimes.com
As He Backs ICE Crackdown, Nebraska Governor Employs Undocumented Workers
Gov. Jim Pillen’s family business is one of the nation’s largest pork producers. As he seeks re-election, he has aligned himself with President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda even though his farms have...
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Popular Information @popular.info · 11/09/2026
“A senior staffer for Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has quietly worked as a lobbyist for Meta and other high-profile clients — an unusual agreement that experts say raises questions about ethics and possible conflicts of interest.”
politico.com
Senate aide’s lobbying side gig raises ethics questions
Robert Skjonsberg is a senior adviser for Sen. Mike Rounds. He’s also a registered lobbyist in South Dakota.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 11/09/2026
“However, the bacteria-laden water in Wyoming is just the latest in a series of alarms raised across the US about datacenters and water – not just how much of it they are sucking up, but also what’s in the water when it is funneled back into rivers, streams and public water systems.”
theguardian.com
US datacenters face further backlash over wastewater pollution
From rare bacteria to ‘forever chemicals’, a series of cases of violations or alleged pollution has prompted alarm
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Reposted by Popular Information
Oligarch Watch @muskwatch.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A nonprofit backed by tech oligarchs is spending tens of millions of dollars to convince voters to stop worrying and love data centers.
oligarchwatch.substack.com
The propaganda campaign to convince you to love data centers
A nonprofit backed by tech oligarchs is spending tens of millions of dollars to convince voters to stop worrying and love data centers.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 10/09/2026
U.S. workers are earning a historically low share of the value they produce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the labor share of GDP “was 52.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026.” This is the lowest level that the BLS has seen since it first began recording labor share in 1947.
popular.info
A new low for American workers
Workers in the United States are earning a historically low share of the value they produce, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
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Popular Information @popular.info · 10/09/2026
“Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy, reported earning more than $100 million from the entity that owns his stake in World Liberty Financial, according to a new financial disclosure.”
wsj.com
Steve Witkoff Earned More Than $100 Million From Entity Tied to Trump Crypto
The Trump envoy’s income surged in 2025, lifted by gains from World Liberty Financial.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 10/09/2026
“Though Flock’s investors and executives insist its surveillance dragnet thwarts the most serious of crimes, it turns out police are also using the company’s technology to go after some of the pettiest possible offenses: curfew violations, loitering, and simply being homeless.”
theintercept.com
Cops Are Using Flock to Spy on People for the Crime of Standing Around
Police scanned Flock cameras in a single town in Illinois more than 1,200 times to investigate cases of loitering.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 10/09/2026
This week is the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Trump is marking the occasion by describing his role in heroic terms, claiming he personally went to Ground Zero to aid recovery efforts. There is no evidence any of this is true.
popular.info
Trump’s 9/11 fantasies
Trump plays the hero in his personal narrative of 9/11. Many of his claims, however, do not stand up to scrutiny.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 09/09/2026
“Through the contracts, each worth up to $200 million, the companies agreed to build prototypes of artificial intelligence tools to ‘improve military advantage, military utility, or enhance military decision making’ across the whole of the armed forces.”
theintercept.com
AI Giants Work Hand-in-Hand With the Pentagon, Contracts Reveal
The Intercept sued to obtain records that reveal an intimate relationship between the military and OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 09/09/2026
“More than 1.3 million callers across 18 cities waited for at least 40 seconds before reaching a telecommunicator in 2025. The true count is undoubtedly much higher, since many cities haven’t yet provided a tally—and since others don’t even track that information.”
motherjones.com
America's 911 system is facing its own emergency
Across the country, callers in life-or-death situations are routinely left on hold.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 09/09/2026
“In the harrowing months that followed the attacks on the World Trade Center, New Yorkers were repeatedly assured that the air around the fallen towers was safe to breathe. But 10 months later, health officials were still finding evidence of asbestos as much as half a mile away.”
nytimes.com
After 9/11, Documents Suggest, New Yorkers Were Misled About Air Quality
The Mamdani administration released more than 170,000 pages of documents related to the air quality around the World Trade Center site in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks.
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Popular Information @popular.info · 08/09/2026
With the midterms approaching, it’s a good idea to make sure you are registered. The federal government has set up a page that directs you to the right place. But Elon Musk is funding an advertising campaign encouraging people to check their registration status at a different website, votesafe.org.
popular.info
The hidden dangers of Musk’s votesafe.org
The slick voter registration website, currently being promoted to millions of people, is a digital surveillance machine.
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