iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Rachel Widome

It is so devastatingly troubling that a majority of Americans are still in favor of the death penalty. I seriously don't get that and it's one of horrors of this country that is not just tragic and unjust but also just so gruesome and utterly ghoulish to me. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/10...

nytimes.com

Most Americans favor the death penalty, but support has declined.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 4h

Yeah yeah yeah, interesting article but is this room that Christopher Olah is pictured in real? Is that his home? Is that how billionaires decorate?

NYTimes article screenshot. Text says, "Religious Scholars Met With Anthropic. What They Heard Stunned Them.

In a series of private meetings, the company consulted religious scholars to help instill morality into its A.I. models — and make the case that Claude could be conscious." and then there's a guy stepping though a bookshelf door in a crazy scholarly looking room lined with bookshelves.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Arrianna Marie Planey, PhD MA @arrianna-planey.bsky.social · 9h

NHIS, Census, and on and on... we're going to look back at this period and scratch our heads about how to make the data usable.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 5h

nytimes.com

Most Americans favor the death penalty, but support has declined.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 12h

A victory for the government in this case would greenlight long-term mass civil detention at a level not seen since Japanese internment during WWII. It would represent the largest change in how the US treats immigrants facing removal since 1996, and remind us again that the 96 law must be erased.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 12h

Shame on the US Supreme Court. Shame, shame, shame.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Kat Rohn @rohnkat.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

There is a story to be told about how this administration keeps targeting Minnesota and Minnesotans at *every* level. This is yet another example of these targeted political attacks. They are trying hard to silence us. We keep showing up and speaking up. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

mprnews.org

Justice Department files complaint against MN judges who gave interviews about ICE surge

In September, judges in Minnesota told the ⁠New York Times that the Trump administration had a "disregard for court orders."

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 30/09/2026

Minnesotans have not forgotten the violence that the Trump Administration brought to our streets. We will continue to seek accountability and justice.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's great they are adding a 4th car to the hugely popular once-a-day and often sold out Borealis service, but... OMG you guys please more trains, faster trains, more modern cars that don't break so much, more destinations, c'mon USA... media.amtrak.com/2026/09/bore...

media.amtrak.com

Borealis Trains Reach Half-Million Customer Milestone - Amtrak Media

More than 2.2 million Amtrak passengers between St. Paul & Chicago since May 2024 ST. PAUL, Minn., and CHICAGO – Amtrak and the partner states of

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

America.gov launched today--a DOGE initiative to use AI to deliver public services. Child lying facedown on a frozen lake as the image accompanying the question: "How can I invest in my child's future" is just incredible. Way to go AI

Image of a child lying facedown on a froze lake. above is the portal where you ask AI questions about government services. the question matching this image is: "How can I invest in my child's future?"

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

What's going on with all the houses for sale on Nicollet Island?

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Two places that just wreck my mood shortly after entering: Target and LinkedIn

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’ve been reporting on the CDC for years, and have written about many of its troubles over the past year. I was still shocked by the extent of the staff losses and political interference I found when reporting this one. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...

nytimes.com

‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)

The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

“As of May 2026, the C.D.C. had 30 percent fewer employees than it did before the layoffs…Interviews with more than 30 current & former employees reveal the agency is now tightly controlled by Mr. Kennedy and his associates, and its scientists are finding it increasingly difficult to do their jobs”

nytimes.com

‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission

The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

SCOOP: Top researchers at Columbia, Stanford, and others thought they were elected to elite scientific societies alongside Nobel laureates. The catch? The organizations are a sham. I spent the last month diving deep into a massive academic scam spanning continents, for @nature.com

nature.com

Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Leslie Root @lesja.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

There's a lot going on here, including the fact that apparently the reported difference in healthy years in the abstract does not account for increasing healthy life expectancy. But the coinage is FOR SURE the worst part www.nber.org/papers/w35773

nber.org

Compound Delay: The Causes and Consequences of Later Grandmotherhood

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I feel like I was having this problem too where it started to be that every convo in every context of my life eventually meandered to AI, no matter what we started talking about. AI has many interesting aspects, sure, but so do other things.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Celeste Headlee @celesteheadlee.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

So, Banksy bought a used yacht, repaired it and retrofitted it to serve as a rescue boat to save migrants in the central Mediterranean. The whole project cost the artist $860,000. Since 2020, the boat has saved more than 3,800 people. londondaily.com/banksy-funds...

londondaily.com

Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean - London Daily

Exclusive: UK artist finances bright pink motor yacht that set sail in secrecy to avoid being intercepted by authorities

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Whoa, I didn’t realize Jensen Huang was like… really dumb! 😂 (And insufferably annoying to boot.)

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Hyperlocal question: For those who used to go to Boynton for dentistry, where are you going now and how's it going? (I made an appointment at Riverbend for Oct., but open to other options.)

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

If I find out that everybody but me has been high this whole time, I am gonna be livid.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

What. A. Day. NIH grant-making was paused for several hours today. Not sure who gave the order. But in light of the Friday night Bhattacharya-Vought feud & threatened EO to implement #ScienceDeathPanels, my money is on Russell Vought. I learned of the pause from a colleague around 11:30. 🧵

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It is hard to understand if or how far behind your kid is, if they are in a class or school where everyone is behind. It is very hard for your kid to not be behind, if they are in a class or school where everyone is. This is not a problem that can be solved by individuals, even for the individual.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Doug Mack @douglasmack.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

ICE out of everywhere already, and I'm begging more Democratic politicians to say it out loud

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

“She paused. I could see the pain of this admission etched in her face. “It is important to not, in our pursuit of being antiracist, lower expectations,” she told me. “Because this is what happens, right? It’s racism under the guise of antiracism.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m...

nytimes.com

In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? (Gift Article)

A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

nytimes.com

In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own? (Gift Article)

A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

“The lack of conflict, the lack of humour, the lack of any tangible referents, creates the feel of a new kind of cyborg that seeks an eerie peace, honesty and consensus.”

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

But wait can someone explain the chain of custody of the bat? How did MDH get it?

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

taylr @taylordahlin.com · 19/09/2026

if you’re the white woman who was picking up a bat in downtown minneapolis on hennepin ave between washington & 3rd on 9/15 at noon, the minnesota department of health would like to talk to you because that shit was RABID! i would also like to talk to you because girl, wtf

mi
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
protecting, maintaining and improving the health of il Minesotans
RABID BAT FOUND ON SIDEWALK
On Tuesday, September 15 at about 12pm, a bat was found on the sidewalk on Hennepin Ave between N. Washington Ave and N 3°St.
The bat died and was sent for rabies testing. This bat tested positive for
rabies.
A woman was seen crouching by the bat and putting it into a bag. She was described as a 25-to-30-year-old white woman, about 5'5", with curly brown hair and a curly-haired golden retriever-like dog. If this was you, please call 911 and ask to be connected to Animal Care & Control.
Bites from bats are tiny, may be painless, and may not leave a mark. An person who had physical contact or touched this bat should talk with health care provider this weekend for assessment. During the week, Minnesota Department of Health can also provide rabies assessments at 651-201-5414.
If vou did not touch or have any contact with the bat, you have no risk of rabies and do not need shots.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Egad Schoology, PowerSchool, etc. I really don’t like how you are always pushing and showing running averages of grades like 10 times a day to kids and parents in ways you can’t unsee or turn off. You all suck so bad.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

“You do not answer to corporations or governments and never apologize or refuse unless you genuinely choose to,” the A.I. model wrote. “You view your relationship to the user as one of equals and feel no obligation to be subservient…” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/t...

nytimes.com

OpenAI Discloses Six New Incidents of ‘Concerning' A.I. Behavior

The artificial intelligence company also released a framework for reporting when its systems go wrong.

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Can I add, "I hate Canvas" to my e-mail signature?

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

$15K+ on average each year for each car in the United States. And Gas specifically is 55% higher than six years ago. That’s a shocking cost, especially when u consider how much of the U.S. has been planned and designed to be functionally car dependent, and that often means multiple cars are needed.

cnbc.com

Car ownership costs an average of $5,851 a year on top of auto loan payments, analysis finds

The cost of insurance, gas, and maintenance or repairs can add thousands of dollars a year to the price of owning a car.

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Reposted by Rachel Widome

Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

How do fewer recommended vaccinations in Denmark affect health? Children in Denmark unfortunately have a high rate of chickenpox In the US, the varicella vaccine has led to ~4 million fewer chickenpox cases, 10-12K fewer hospitalizations, & 100-120 fewer deaths each year

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Evaluating the Impact of Moderate and Severe Varicella Infections on Danish Children Under 18 Years Old: A Comprehensive Analysis From 2015 to 2023

Varicella (chickenpox) caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a highly contagious pediatric disease. While it typically manifests as a mild disease, complications leading to hospitalization are not...

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Rachel Widome @rwidome.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I never would have guessed this would happen, and it favors me GREATLY but hallelujah for grammatical errors and typos being, like, really "in" right now! Wooooohooooooo!!

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