curated news excerpts & citations
… trying to ‘unbury the lede’
Ben Wikler:
The Number of Votes Needed to Change Everything Is Smaller Than You Think
The ceaseless attacks by the Trump administration and its allies on democracy, our communities, and fundamental American values can be overwhelming. …
It can leave you with a sense of powerlessness. When so much is falling apart, you might ask, how can we possibly get out of this mess?
As you think about where to spend your time and energy between now and November 4, it can help to keep this in mind: Mind-bogglingly important elections are, mind-bogglingly often, decided by a mind-bogglingly small number of people.
This was true in 2024.
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If just 114,885 Trump voters — spread in the right proportions across the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — had flipped their votes over to Kamala Harris, she would have won, …
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The closest U.S. Senate race in 2024 came down to just 15,115 votes. …
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How about the GOP’s U.S. House majority? In 2024, that was the product of just 7,309 votes across three ultra-close House races. …
(Ben Wikler more…)
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Ken Klippenstein: After “Political Terrorism” Summit, U.S. Names 43 Americans + Groups
Rubio report on Cuban subversion names Zohran Mamdani, Amy Goodman, Hasan Piker + orgs like DSA and Amazon Labor Union
Sharon Zhang @ Truthout: As Trump Threatens Invasion, Admin Releases Report Vilifying Cuba and the Left
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Laurence Norman, Anat Peled, Alexander Ward @ WSJ:
Israel Believes Iran Moved Nuclear Centrifuges Into Pickaxe MountainHeather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – July 20, 2026
On Friday an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan killed two soldiers and left one missing. Another service member died Friday in northern Iraq. This brings the number of military personnel killed in the Iran War to 17 since Trump launched strikes against the country on February 28. The Pentagon’s casualty-reporting site says 427 U.S. service members have been wounded.
…Eric Schmitt of the New York Times noted that lack of information from the Pentagon today when he reported that in the week before the weekend’s deaths, three Iranian strikes injured military personnel and damaged several helicopters yet the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not disclose the strikes, the casualties, or the damage to the American people, citing the need to keep information about operations secure.
Schmitt noted that neither the White House nor the Pentagon has outlined a military strategy since Trump announced that the memorandum of understanding that extended a ceasefire—the one he signed on June 17—was no longer in force. In the nine days since then, both sides have increased strikes.
Schmitt noted the Pentagon has not held a major briefing on the war since early May. Since then, the administration has not disclosed the depletion of crucial and expensive weapons through the Iran strikes, or how Iran has both retained and rebuilt its own missiles. …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)Mitch Jackson: The Longer This War Runs, the Richer They Get
The president’s two sons quietly bought into the drone companies his Pentagon keeps paying. Once you see how the money moves, you cannot unsee it.
Mitch Jackson: They’re having the best year of their lives, and you’re paying for it.
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Yunior Rivas @ Democracy Docket: Trump’s DOJ launched a new ‘election integrity’ website. It’s riddled with errors
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Liz Dye: Trump Bit Off More Than He Could Chew Suing BBC, So DOJ Will Chew It For Him
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David Edwards @ RawStory: Reflecting Pool vandalism case faces dismissal as prosecutor’s evidence ‘missing’
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Paul Krugman: Trump’s War on the Future, Monetary Edition
Trying to punish Brazil for adopting a better payment system
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Matthew Gault @ 404 Media: New Orleans Cops Published Policy Document Allowing Weaponized Drones
(Matthew Gault @ 404 Media more…)
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Ruth Ann Crystal MD: Dr. Ruth Report
The Cyclospora outbreak, wild fire smoke, COVID and Long COVID news
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Dissent in Bloom: Why Is Capitol Hill Holding Hearings on “Woke” Doctors?
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James Eagle: Big Tech AI spending is eating free cash flow
(James Eagle more…)
Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting
resources tracking the “Andes” hantavirus outbreak
Apocalypse Early Warning System
Al Jazeera Death toll and injuries live tracker
Mike Ludwig @ truthout: ICE Says 51 People Died in Custody Under Trump. Experts Say That’s an Undercount.
ICE Accountability Project
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Ximena Bustillo, Jasmine Garsd @ NPR: Deaths of migrants in ICE custody hit record high under Trump
- July 13: Joan Sebastian Guerrero
- July 7: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
- June 4: Mamuka Artmeladze
- April 16: Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt
- March 25: Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano
- March 16: Royer Perez-Jimenez
- March 14: Naseer Paktiawil
- February 25: Nurul Amin Shah Alam
April 1 – Jennifer Peltz and Jake Offenhartz @ AP: Death of a refugee left at a Buffalo doughnut shop by Border Patrol is ruled a homicide - January 24: Alex Pretti
- January 14: Heber Sanchaz Dominguez
- January 14: Victor Manuel Diaz
- January 9: Parady La
- January 7: Renée Good
- January 6: Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz
- January 5: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
- January 3: Geraldo Lunas Campos
- December 31, 2025: Keith Porter
Suffering Under President Obama
NACDL Criminal Case Tracker
Texas Tribune: A Walk for Peace: photos of Fort Worth monks’ journey to Washington
Walk for Peace – Dhammacetiya – The Ancient Sacred Buddhist Scripture Stupas
Margaret Chase Smith: Declaration of Conscience
NPR: January 6, 2021: A visual archive
Accountability Initiative ICE List
GriftMatrix
Trump Action Tracker
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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