victoria freire

The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...

Some children in Dilley were so distraught they cut themselves or talked about suicide, parents told ProPublica.

They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.

This week NARUC held its winter meeting — where regulators, commissioners and - let’s be honest, a lot of utility lobbyists - come together to talk shop. But as you may have seen in an exposé by @harpers.bsky.social, there are also some extracurricular things that happen, too.

SRP landowner games 2024 race to elect preferred candidate One Maricopa County, Arizona, landowner appears to have gamed the land-based voting rules of Salt River Project in a way that enabled him to almost single-handedly decide the outcome of an election fo...

The Salt River Project (an AZ utility) has a land ownership-based voting system to elect to their board. Public records show that a landowner converted almost 240 acres from an LLC to a trust juuust in time to vote all of those acres in the 2024 election. https://bit.ly/4qykvTL

Republican bill targeting D.C. could create tax season chaos It’s the second year in a row that Congress could throw a wrench into D.C.’s budget.

If you're a D.C. resident, be aware: Paying your taxes this year could be total chaos. Why? Republicans in Congress are again trying to mess with the city's local budget and finances, something they know little about: 51st.news/republican-b...

washington dc! at songbyrd

brilliant. loved the reporting on the 454 show, definitely someone who comes to mind for me in these conversations. planning to see him in a couple weeks

Monocultural Rap Stardom is Dead—And That's OK What does it mean to be a rap star in 2026? Some thoughts on rap’s current standing in the mainstream and the genre’s health in the post-social media era.

I went long on the latest round of Hip-Hop Is Dead discourse--no more superstars, rap not charting that one time, blog-era stars hogging space/attention--and how, despite all that, rap continues to thrive in the margins for @hearingthingsco.bsky.social

Michigan loophole makes it difficult to track utilities’ donations to politicians Revelation comes as a first-in-the-nation citizen’s ballot initiative to ban donations by utilities picks up steam

Got a whiff of some fishy Michigan campaign finance reports so we dug in and stumbled upon a huge reporting loophole that prevents the public from seeing exactly how, and how much, cash flows from DTE Energy and Consumers Energy to lawmakers www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Power Brokers, by Nick Bowlin What’s really behind your soaring utility bills

Americans are paying record-high utility bills, and it’s not just inflation or extreme weather. A new @harpers.bsky.social investigation by @nickbowlin.bsky.social lays out how utilities, regulators, and Wall Street work together to lock in rising costs for customers. harpers.org/archive/2026...

Two Months of ICE Terror in Chicago - The American Prospect Chicago is a notoriously segregated city, which means that some neighborhoods have been completely transformed by ICE’s presence, while in non-Latino neighborhoods, it’s mostly been business as usual. But the response to the federal incursion knows no boundaries.

ICE has tear gassed, arrested, shot, and disappeared Chicagoans as part of Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz.” Residents are fighting back against the federal agents terrorizing their city. From Emma Janssen: trib.al/qxvL5rp

SIGNED! 🥳🥳🥳💪💪💪

A massive victory for holding monopoly utilities accountable to their customers, and for lowering Californian utility bills.

Thank you to @governor.ca.gov, @asmmarcberman.bsky.social, @senmcnerney.bsky.social, @earthjustice.org, The Utility Reform Network for all your leadership!

Private Equity Power Play in Minnesota BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners and a Canadian pension giant want to buy a Minnesota-based utility. Gov. Tim Walz’s agencies have been in on pushing the deal.

BlackRock parent company Global Infrastructure seeks to purchase a Minnesota utilities company and Walz appointees are under pressure to sign off on the $6 billion proposal. James Baratta reports:
trib.al/AJVMfQF

As life in D.C. becomes national news, a rapper shares his view from the ground A favorite of A$AP Rocky and Earl Sweatshirt, El Cousteau is a product of the District in every way. On Dirty Harry 2, he unpacks his upbringing with a nuance absent from national debate.

A favorite of A$AP Rocky and Earl Sweatshirt, El Cousteau is a product of the District in every way. On Dirty Harry 2, he unpacks his upbringing with a nuance absent from national debate.

Inside a plan to use AI to amplify doubts about the dangers of pollutants Risk analyst Tony Cox’s work has been backed by the chemical lobby, and some health experts are alarmed

Former Trump adviser and industry-backed risk analyst Louis Anthony Cox Jr, who has worked with the tobacco and fossil fuel industry to sow doubt on the health dangers of pollutants, is now turning to AI to amplify his perspective. More from @dharna.bsky.social: www.theguardian.com/technology/n...

Beleaguered Weather Service defends its forecasts as Texas officials point fingers over flood warnings | CNN Texas forecasters issued a series of early-morning warnings about “life-threatening flooding” along the Guadalupe River.

As the death toll climbs in the wake of the Texas floods, lots of finger-pointing re: the NWS' forecasts and warnings. The bottom line: An agency reeling from cuts still issued timely outlooks & warnings. Lots of ?s though (1/2) www.cnn.com/2025/07/05/c...

In the chat, Sheila Warren from the Crypto Council for Innovation acknowledged that corruption and crypto go hand-in-hand. “The point is that Trump’s corruption is manifesting dramatically in crypto, so if you’re going to campaign on crypto, you can’t ignore that,” she wrote to the group. “If I were an ordinary Dem running in the midterms, I personally would stay away from crypto apart from being vaguely supportive — unless I were on a committee of jurisdiction and have to have a [point-of-view]. And if the latter, I would flag the corruption and be a pro-crypto anti-corruption candidate.”

Others in the chat wrote that corruption didn’t matter to them, outside of how Democrats could use it as a political tool. “I disagree that the corruption thing matters at all. Everyone knows Trump is corrupt… corruption is a red herring,” said Garg, the venture capitalist at Electric Capital. “Agree,” Warren responded. “But as in any crypto group chat, we love to pretend there is no broader context.”

🚨New reporting from @thelever.bsky.social pulls back the curtain on a back door Signal chat between the Democratic insiders and crypto lobbyists pushing the GENIUS Act:

Dems are backing the bill while privately acknowledging it benefits Trump's corrupt self enrichment.

How A Man Not Named Dan Came to Own Dan’s Cafe for Six Decades Clinnie “Dickie” Dickens owned the iconic dive Dan’s Cafe since he was 31. He died in February, just shy of 91, but his sons will keep the party going.

Dan’s Cafe isn’t named for its owner, but Clinnie “Dickie” Dickens ran the dive for 60 years before passing in February. @barredindc.bsky.social‬ chronicles the history of one of D.C.’s most storied bars.

Going for Green: Uruguay’s Renewable Energy Revolution With no fossil fuel reserves to rely on and domestic demand rising, the country had to get creative—or go broke just trying to keep the lights on. Here’s how they did it.

Uruguay’s late former President Pepe Mujica did so much for Uruguay, including lifting thousands out of poverty during his tenure and playing a critical role in the country’s record-breaking renewable energy transition
@thenation.com @thenewpress.bsky.social www.thenation.com/article/worl...

billy woods on Time Travel, Death, and His New Album’s Heart of Darkness On “GOLLIWOG,” woods blends trauma and existential dread into songs that quicken the pulse.

i had some expansive chats with billy woods about his incredible new album, horror and sci-fi as literary devices, the rightward shift of world governments, and mf doom

up now at @bandcamp.com

wow, thoroughly enjoyed this. i remember so vividly the video he posted of a cowboy dancing (edited to include the song) with the caption “country music is evolving.” there aren’t many instances like that where i can recall an exact social media post from years ago, or where i was when i read it.

MIKE: ‘I wrote my first-ever bars in England’ US-based artist MIKE has gone from niche underground rapper to being labelled ‘the GOAT’ by Earl Sweatshirt. We meet the 27-year-old as he releases latest project Pinball II

It was an honour to profile MIKE for @Dazed, who feels like one of the most important rappers around rn. Just like his music, speaking to him provides you with a lot of wisdom and i hope that comes across: www.dazeddigital.com/music/articl...

The Number Ones: Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (Feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) In The Number Ones, I’m reviewing every single #1 single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, starting with the chart’s beginning, in 1958, and working my way up into the present. Book Bonus Beat:...

Number Ones on a 10.

The Number One Song in the Country Is a Diss Track. Is That a Good Thing? Kendrick Lamar’s eviscerating Drake diss “Not Like Us,” topped this week's charts. It says a lot about the state of hip-hop

“What are we to make of millions of listeners screaming ‘they ain’t like us’ to the heavens — including the people who aren’t like us?”

revisiting my may 2024 “not like us” thoughts

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...