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Al Shaw

@shaw.al
17K followers 725 following 315 posts

developer / reporter / map maker at ProPublica • dm me on signal: ashaw.01 • also at: @a_l@mastodon.social • he/him 🔗 shaw.al

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Reposted by Al Shaw
Earthling Maps @earthlingmaps.com · 28/09/2026
Earthling Maps v2 is live! There's a ton of user interface updates and long-awaited features ready to use. We're especially excited about clipping a part of the world to a geography. Dig into all that, and the importance of map projections, in our latest post: www.earthlingmaps.com/updates/un-v...
earthlingmaps.com
Earthling Maps | The UN votes for Equal Earth and so can you
Choosing map projections for accuracy, and Earthling Maps v2
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 26/09/2026
There used to be this thing called the CFAA. Ah well nevertheless
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 26/09/2026
We used to call this kind of thing wire fraud back when words meant things
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 25/09/2026
For sale Slop generator Never used
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
ProPublica got the literal check Collins was bribed with.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 21/09/2026
Tierra Caliente in Cypress Park!
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 17/09/2026
I just want a modern iPhone 5. That was the pinnacle, it's been downhill ever since.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 17/09/2026
Apple should take a page out of the sneaker company handbook. Just like you can get a Gel-Kayano 33 or a Gel-Kayano 14 new in 2026, you should be able to get an iPhone 18 or an iPhone 5 today.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 15/09/2026
Good point, but I think it's also indicative that people want to escape to worlds that don't have iPhones in them.
Green text on black background computer from Silo
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 15/09/2026
In every AppleTV show, the computers are beige boxes with green text on black screens and permanently live on desks. Really makes u think
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 15/09/2026
AI is less the nuclear bomb of the internet and more the invasive English ivy, black mustard and scotch broom of the internet... endlessly reseeding itself, snuffing out native species and increasing wildfire risk.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 10/09/2026
Hell yea. Congrats!
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 09/09/2026
this is funny until it happens to you
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 29/08/2026
missing January, 2022 when this toot would have been funny
Screenshot of wikipedia saying, "ChatGPT is a generative AI chatbot developed by OpenAI. Originally released on November 30, 2022"
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 29/08/2026
240 and it's not close (full disclosure: a 1987 240GL sedan was the car I learned to drive with)
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Floodlight @floodlightnews.org · 27/08/2026
NEW: Thermal drone footage shows the Microsoft-backed DataOne AI data center in Vineland, NJ is running dozens of gas generators. None of them have permits. A Floodlight visual investigation with @us.theguardian.com:
floodlightnews.org
One of East Coast’s largest data centers accused of ‘violating federal law’
Thermal drone footage shows DataOne — the Microsoft-backed AI data center in Vineland — is powering its operations with dozens of unpermitted generators
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 26/08/2026
dm me on signal - ashaw.01 or email me!
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton supported so many important causes, among them donating a million dollars to COVID vaccine research early in the pandemic, which saved millions of lives. She will always be remembered as a champion of the people.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Washington-Baltimore News Guild @wbng.org · 24/08/2026
VICTORY: The Guild @postguild.bsky.social wins reinstatement for @washingtonpost.com columnist @karenattiah.bsky.social in wrongful termination arbitration, underscoring the protections collective bargaining agreements provide workers against retaliatory discipline ✊ wbng.org/news/karen-a...
wbng.org
The Guild wins reinstatement for Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah in wrongful termination arbitration
F
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Reposted by Al Shaw
ProPublica @propublica.org · 18/08/2026
On Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. ET, join ProPublica’s Mark Olalde and environment journalists @scribeguy.bsky.social, Tony Briscoe and @halleparker.bsky.social to discuss the unprecedented rollback of the Clean Air Act and what it means for public health in urban and rural communities nationwide.
events.propublica.org
Clean Air Act: Dismantling One of the Country’s Bedrock Environmental Laws
Join us for a discussion about the rollback of the Clean Air Act and what it means for public health in communities across America.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Grist @grist.org · 14/08/2026
The EPA’s data on cancer risk from air pollution has gone dark
dlvr.it
The EPA’s data on cancer risk from air pollution has gone dark
For decades, communities have relied on the agency's cancer risk estimates to hold polluters accountable. This year, it's missing.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 14/08/2026
But mostly I make pour over at home with Gimme beans from the Coop
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 14/08/2026
Been to this place a couple times cause it’s near my work; their cortado makes me vibrate maps.app.goo.gl/98jiQe9Wo9WZ...
maps.app.goo.gl
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 12/08/2026
You're absolutely right to push back.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 12/08/2026
🎵 It's a total eclipse of the R-160 🎵
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 11/08/2026
Also after that they merged with a company called Casepoint, so now the company is sometimes called Opexus + Casepoint?
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 11/08/2026
If the name Opexus rings a bell, you may remember this @jasonleopold.bsky.social story from last year
bloomberg.com
Hack of Contractor Was at Root of Massive Federal Data Breach
Failures in cybersecurity practices at a software company that helps federal agencies manage investigations and FOIA requests allowed two convicted hackers to delete databases, according to internal d...
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 11/08/2026
The OPM FOIA portal was down for so long, I opened a support ticket with the vendor, Opexus (a company that has over $50 million in federal contracts). Thirteen days later, they fixed the bug.
propublica.org
Is There Anyone Who Can Respond to My FOIA Requests? Anyone?
Asking the federal government for public records didn’t always feel like a shell game. But bounced emails and broken portals seem like the new normal.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 03/08/2026
In all seriousness, there should have been a Just Transition for the Etaoin Shrdlu folks.
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 03/08/2026
I know there was a reason they made us use Smith-Coronas for the first week of the Medill Cherub program. That's how you really learn to write a good lede. cc: @sisiwei.bsky.social
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 31/07/2026
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Robert Simmon @rsimmon.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
This is a fantastic essay. Read it If you have any interest in satellite imagery. “Who to Trust, Google or the Russian MoD? In 2015, that was a rhetorical question. Not anymore.” By @henkvaness.bsky.social
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 27/07/2026
Congress appropriated billions of dollars for new transit projects. Why is the Trump administration spending none of it? Why are even transit projects in red states going unfounded? New reporting in @nytimes.com (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...
New capital investment grants signed by administration
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Defector @defector.com · 17/07/2026
"Some matches required planning an entire day in advance: finding a screen, securing electricity, arranging an internet connection, and deciding where it would be safest to gather."
defector.com
What It's Like To Watch The World Cup From Gaza | Defector
The original version of this article was published in The Nation on July 13. When I first heard the 2026 World Cup was about to begin, I barely paid attention. This was partially because of the…
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Justin Case @punchnazisitsokay.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Corey Johnson @coreygjohnson.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Please see my latest: Brendan Carr and his wife sat in CEO David Ellison's private skybox at the Kennedy Center months after voting for Paramount's merger. Such seats sold for $125,000 a seat. Carr has accepted $63,000 in tickets from CBS or its parent since 2017 www.propublica.org/article/para...
propublica.org
FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals
Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 15/07/2026
Lotta smoke heading into NYC tonight
HRRR-CONUS run of surface smoke @ July 16, 2026 at 1am showing swath of smoke running from northern Michigan and Ontario down through NY, eastern PA and NYC.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 15/07/2026
Reporter Lisa Song says that it “just doesn’t make sense” for ProPublica management to require a rigid RTO policy. Our members work long hours and need a flexible RTO policy to do their best work.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Matt DeLong @mattdelong.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Not great! www.startribune.com/boundary-wat...
Star Tribune live blog headline: 

DNR: Fires could burn 'until we have snow'

Post: 

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Sarah Strommen said officials "expect to be at these fires for quite some time."

"We are not seeing relief in the weather ... and we are dry across the state," Strommen said.

DNR Forestry Division Director Patty Thielen said Minnesota could see fires throughout the summer "until we have snow."
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 10/07/2026
Putting this up against the live tracker of where the Tour de France is right now and hoo boy
Screenshot: left, current location of the Tour de France peloton, right: screenshot of Reuters climate monitor showing today's high of 96F, 17.1F above normal in the same location.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Rachel Holliday Smith @rachelholliday.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
if you want to fight back against these forces in your personal media diet, try as much as you can to visit, share and support your favorite and beloved publishers DIRECTLY (sign up for a newsletter, visit their homepage, etc.) and financially support them if you can
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Evan Simko-Bednarski @simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
"The UCI banned ice socks ahead of the start of the race on the logic that they illegally alter a rider's aero profile. You can't be aerodynamic if you're dead, so every team in the race is flouting the ban"
defector.com
The Tour de France's Infernal Present Portends Its Impossible Future | Defector
SAINT-GAUDENS, France — On Monday morning, the Tour de France’s media-wranglers sent us all a text announcing something genuinely shocking for such a French organization: They had banned smoking. The ...
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 07/07/2026
Did US sportswriters miss the memo?
Onion headline: Report: That’s Enough Soccer For Now
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Mica Rosenberg @micarosenberg.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
In a first-of-its-kind analysis, my colleague @jeffernsthausen.bsky.social and I found that young people living in the U.S. who entered as unaccompanied minors, like Elder, are being detained and deported at about 3x the rate as during the final years of the first Trump presidency 2/
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Al Shaw @shaw.al · 02/07/2026
Happy Birthday, America. Once again, the OPM FOIA portal is down.
Error message on the OPM FOIA portal:  Something went wrong while processing your action. Please contact admin@ains.com for assistance if the problem persists.
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Reposted by Al Shaw
The New York Groove @nygroove.nyc · 02/07/2026
"But since Gotti’s done, we haven't had a dead body. It's a little boring, to be honest. I always look for the body. What do I look for now? Dead fish?" nygroove.nyc/guardian-of-...
nygroove.nyc
11 Questions with the 'Guardian of Jamaica Bay'
90-year-old Don Riepe has been watching over the city's wildest places for decades, and has some wild stories too
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Reposted by Al Shaw
Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 02/07/2026
House Democratic subcommittee report outlines web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemes
theguardian.com
Trump hijacked US’s 250 anniversary to serve ‘political ideology and pet projects’, congressional report says
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 01/07/2026
Ruth Talbot works on the news apps team at ProPublica: “I work with absolutely incredible, driven, dedicated, talented people here, who I trust to get their work done wherever works best for them.” Support our fight for an RTO policy that preserves flexibility: www.propublicaguild.org
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