Washington Post article on STEM cuts at federal agencies. NSF tops it at -42%!

“Between January 2025 and February 2026, STEM and health employees at science-focused agencies saw nearly 15,000 jobs cut. The rate outpaced cuts among other federal workers.”

OPM data - Figure from Wash Post article 19 April. (Where US science has been hit hardest.)

NSF at -42%!

Yes, we’ve done some other reporting on this! none of the top level agencies have really grown significantly — the fed average is being pulled up by subagencies cutting less than most. Exceptions: ICE, CBP, a couple others www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump’s fixation on White House ballroom is increasing, Post analysis finds The president has publicly highlighted his ballroom project on roughly a third of the days this year.

We analyzed Trump’s public remarks.

His focus on the White House ballroom is increasing — he’s invoked the project on roughly one-third of days this year — even as GOP officials try to steer focus to affordability, health-care costs.

@ence.bsky.social + me.

Home | ChitChart with Hannah A weekly dose of visual storytelling, creative projects, and the ideas (and people) behind what we make.

I've just seen that @hannahdormido.bsky.social has launched a #dataViz #dataVisualization newsletter! Don't miss it: chitchart.beehiiv.com

The top donor for Virginians for Fair Maps is Virginians for Fair Maps, a separate group that shares its name with the referendum committee. "It will probably not report its income or spending for at least another year, but it has given over $19 million to oppose the amendment."

Massive amounts of money are flowing into Virginia’s redistricting referendum as Democrats and Republicans wrestle for control of the House of Representatives, but the identities of individual contributors — and their agendas — remain cloaked in secrecy.

Wow: About 95% of the total $93 million raised so far in Virginia, as of a Monday night filing deadline, came from nonprofit groups not required to disclose their donors, according to state elections records. Via @ence.bsky.social @schneidergs.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Over 95% of the money that's gone into Virginia's wildly expensive redistricting battle has been from dark-money nonprofits concealing their donors — including the group that sent Black voters anti-redistricting mailers invoking the Klan. w/ Greg Schneider

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Largely secret donors pour millions into election that could tip Congress The vast majority of the nearly $100 million raised to sway Virginia’s redistricting battle, mostly on the Democratic side, consists of untraceable dark money.

Almost all the $93 million that has fed Virginia's current redistricting debate is from untraceable dark money sources, leaving identities of individual contributors — and their agendas — cloaked in secrecy.
By @ence.bsky.social and Gregory S. Schneider:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Despite electoral victories, the Democratic National Committee faces financial struggles.

The Republican National Committee, fueled by donors keen to stay in President Trump’s good graces, ended February with $109 million — seven times what Democrats had. https://wapo.st/41ZBUuC

Under attack by their own congressman Muslims in Rep. Chip Roy’s Texas district react to their Republican congressman’s campaign against Islam with concern — and eye-rolls.

Chip Roy has posted about Muslims, Islam or “sharia law” more than 244 times — that’s the most of any member of Congress.

Recently, he tweeted “no more Muslims.”

I flew out to Roy’s district.

His Muslim neighbors & constituents respond:

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

per this report, only 30 people *nationwide* gave over $100,000 to the DNC in the last year

Line chart showing the number of donors giving $100k+ over time to the DNC and RNC, by year, where the RNC maintains a slight advantage until 2025 and 2026, when they record far more than the DNC.

In the first two months of this year, after big wins for Democrats throughout 2025, just two people cut six-figure checks to the DNC. The RNC had 50.

Our latest on the DNC's top-dollar donor woes, w/ @danmerica.bsky.social & Hannah Knowles

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The DNC expected big money after big Democratic wins. It never came. The Democratic National Committee has scaled back some of its plans as donors remain reluctant to give, despite candidates’ recent victories.

The DNC expected a surge of big donations after the big Democratic wins in November.

It didn’t happen, and the DNC shelved plans for investments in the South & a midterm convention, sources tell the Post www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Grassroots small donor support for the DNC is still robust. But big donors are fueling the RNC’s financial advantage, and the DNC is struggling to keep up.

This and more from @ence.bsky.social’s data analysis www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Because I have no chill, believe deeply in AP’s mission, and think covering the Middle East is more important than ever… some personal news!

www.ap.org/the-definiti...

A Columbia fencer was accused of sexual assault in 2013. Fencers say head coach Michael Aufrichtig engaged in a ‘cover-up’ to protect him. <html><head><meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>A Columbia fencer was accused of sexual assault in 2013. Fencers say head coach Michael Auf...

Unbelievable piece by the Columbia student paper on sexual assault and coverup on the Columbia fencing team.

www.columbiaspectator.com/sports/2026/...

Super PAC spending passes $200M, with some groups hiding their cause Groups that include pro-Israel organizations obscured their spending in some midterm races to try to defeat candidates that oppose their cause.

AIPAC’s political arm funneled over $5 million to groups to defeat Illinois Democrats critical of Israel, according to filings.

The secretive giving is the latest example of how outside groups are obscuring their spending in competitive campaigns.

Our use of our audience's own data to unspool how TikTok works won a @sabew.bsky.social for best data journalism! Thrilled for the whole team that brought these stories to life:

www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/int...

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

In Trump’s war messaging, veterans see something new — and disturbing Service members and families who lost loved ones say the Trump team’s memes and jokes trivialize combat and sacrifice. Trump aides say the backlash sends views soaring.

In Trump’s war messaging, veterans see something new — and disturbing, new via @drewharwell.com www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 U.S. Citizen Kids A ProPublica analysis of new ICE data shows that Trump has detained parents of U.S. citizen children at about twice the rate that Biden did, and moms have been deported four times as often.

NEW: More than 11,000. That’s how many US citizen children have a parent who has been detained under Trump, our new data analysis shows. When Doris Flores was separated from her four-month-old who was still breastfeeding, she turned to her pastor for help.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Super PAC spending passes $200M, with some groups hiding their cause Groups that include pro-Israel organizations obscured their spending in some midterm races to try to defeat candidates that oppose their cause.

There's been lots of criticism of AIPAC's use of shell PACs. But an AIPAC spox told @danmerica.bsky.social that the group would continue to “use a number of different tactics to make sure that pro-Israel Democrats make their voices heard”.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

AIPAC-funded groups didn't mention Israel or Palestine in any of their Illinois ads. Pro-crypto PACs didn't talk about crypto.

Instead, super PACs in IL spent $5.7m on ads attacking candidates for their connections with... other super PACs or wealthy donors. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

NEW: Outside spending on the 2026 midterms has passed $225 million — a March record.

And some of the biggest spenders, including AIPAC, are masking their identities behind shell PACs that hide their donors until after the election. w/ @danmerica.bsky.social

washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Super PAC spending passes $200M, with some groups hiding their cause Groups that include pro-Israel organizations obscured their spending in some midterm races to try to defeat candidates that oppose their cause.

Special interest groups, including the pro-Israel #AIPAC, have sometimes veiled spending, using what appear to be unrelated organizations to support or attack candidates.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... via @ence.bsky.social @danmerica.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com

Leading the Future is putting more money into its allied super PACs, Think Big and American Mission. Both reported getting $5 million from the pro-AI group in late February.

(Think Big just spent $2.4 million to back Jesse Jackson Jr. and Melissa Bean in Illinois.)

Thrilled for @caitlingilbert.bsky.social, Craig Whitlock and Lisa Rein for on being named finalists for the Goldsmith Awards for their coverage last year of VA disability fraud:
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Markwayne Mullin’s leadership PAC spent nearly $1.5 million on travel, events and other expenses Federal rules do not require Oklahoma’s U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin to shut down his leadership PAC if he is confirmed to lead the Department of Homeland Security. The committee has spent money on f...

House members are prohibited from using campaign funds or leadership PAC money for private jets.

That's not the case for senators.

@readfrontier.bsky.social reveals that Markwayne Mullin's PAC spent ~$170K on private jets & chartered air travel last cycle

www.readfrontier.org/stories/mark...

Cesar Chavez, a Civil Rights Icon, Is Accused of Abusing Girls for Years

oh my god

A journalist reported a missile strike. Then came the death threats. An Israeli war reporter says online gamblers demanded he change a published story so they could win a payout on prediction market Polymarket.

A journalist filed a brief live blog entry on an apparent Iranian missile strike that hit no one and caused no serious damage.

Next thing he knew, angry Polymarket users were demanding he change the story—and threatening his life and family if he refused.

My story: wapo.st/4lI6Pon (gift link)