A mom and widow who had benefits cut because of a mistake on a form. A home health aid making $13/hour who said food pantries are so overwhelmed, they couldn't help. A student who said SNAP access supported eating disorder recovery.
My reporting for @slate.com & @economichardship.bsky.social:
Black-and-white chest X-ray image overlaid with the headline, âAfter Decades of Quiet Rumbling, an Epidemic Is Erupting Among California Stoneworkers.â Smaller text reads: âThe engineered stone industry is worth nearly $30 billion. But the workers at its core are falling sick and dying from an illness called silicosis. Now these workersâmost of whom are young immigrantsâare suing manufacturers.â The byline reads âBy Kayla Yup,â with the In These Times logo at the bottom.
"The California Department of Public Health has described silicosis as an epidemic, one primarily plaguing young Latino immigrants like Hernandez who work in shops that fabricate engineered stone."
@kaylayup.bsky.social reports on the dangers of stoneworking.
inthesetimes.com/article/deca...
With the help of the Sandy Hook families, The Onion has reached a long-awaited deal to take over InfoWars.
We've enlisted the help of @timheidecker.bsky.social, who will be InfoWars' Creative Director.
Please stand by for more.
Union Now is a new organization that will provide material resources for union organizing in what amounts to a national strike fund, writes @whitneycwimbish.bsky.social. Delta, Starbucks, and Amazon are among the first targets.
prospect.org/2026/04/20/u...
NEW: Flight data reveals that the LAPD's "Drone as First Responder" programâsold to the public as a public safety measureâis in fact being used to spy on anti-ICE/anti-Trump protests in Los Angeles.
theintercept.com/2026/04/20/l...
I secured some funding last year to revive the Stevie Wilson DIY Young Artists Residency. Iâm excited to announce that applications are open today until May 11 for young artists (ages 16-24) directly impacted by criminalization, policing, or punishment.
New from me: Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi put a dollar amount on information journalists are privy to. I asked a bunch of news outlets how they're handling the rise of prediction markets, where users gamble on the news.
Gift link: www.theverge.com/report/91415...
Breaking: HHSâs ban on gender-affirming care is struck down. Rarely have I read a ruling this sharply worded.
âThis case is one of a long list of examples of how a leaderâs wanton disregard for the rule of law causes very real harm to very real people.â
www.advocate.com/politics/nat...
The EEOC has officially reversed its decades-long position that workers are protected from gender identity discrimination by federal anti-discrimination law and says trans people don't exist www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Hope you'll spend some time w/ this incredible piece by @jazzmyth.bsky.social. It reveals how the underfunded system set up to protect domestic violence survivors is unraveling under immense strain. Expertly done & w/ a lot of heart, told through the eyes of a survivor.
19thnews.org/2026/04/dome...
CHICAGO!
How to Sell a Genocide
Join @citationspod.bsky.social co-host @ahjohnson.bsky.social in conversation with Nashwa Bawab on the media's complicity in the destruction of Gaza. With @plutopress.bsky.social.
Fri April 24 at 6:30 PM
RSVP:
this is completely insane: since when is it acceptable for a tech company to rewrite news outlets' headlines without their consent? especially at a time when audiences are sensitive to how stories are framed in headlines? (ie Israel/Palestine, the Trump admin, ICE)
www.theverge.com/tech/896490/...
The AP's story on the IOC's new policy mentions that it "also restricts" athletes like two-time Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya. That word "also" is doing a lot of work. New piece on who this policy is actually about: www.readtpa.com/p/the-iocs-n...
A few copies of In These Times magazine. On the cover is a picture of a state agent wielding a baton against student protestors.
Molly and Eman are both contributors at the great @inthesetimes.com. Eman is a regular columnist, and Molly's antifascist artwork is featured on some of the most memorable covers of the magazine over the past year, including our favorite below:
BREAKING: 1,700 RN in Chicago are unionizing with @NationalNurses.
BREAKING: 1,700 RNs in Chicago are unionizing with @nationalnurses.bsky.social.
Workers in the US are obviously not the primary victims of US imperialism, but they are abandoned and fleeced by the same war state that kills countless people abroad. From blood banks to food pantries, a snapshot of a country whose raison dâetre is increasingly open sadism and violence. My latest.
New: CNN decided against airing a potential segment interviewing Mark Ruffalo over his advocacy against the Paramount/WBD merger.
A producer privately said there were âlegal considerations around what we can and cannot cover or say while the merger is ongoing.â
www.semafor.com/article/04/1...
We are very close to hitting our goal of 10,000 signatures to sign the Committee to Protect
Journalists petition demanding the release of Ahmed Shihab-Eldin.
Please sign & share to get us over the top, to show the world how much we love our colleague #FreeAhmed cpj.movements.mov/pet/kuwait-r...
NEW: A key Senate vote today could send a big signal about the US-Israel relationship & Trump's warsâand the future of the Democratic Party
Details on who to watch as the chamber considers $450 million in bombs+bulldozers + how this fits into other anti-war efforts: www.huffpost.com/entry/democr...
April 2: guards cut all phone access in the housing units without warning. When detainees protested, CRS officers allegedly punched a man, threw another to the ground, kicked him in the head, and pinned him by the neck. A third detainee's wrist was broken. The entire cage was pepper-sprayed.
Breaking: Aliya Rahman, a disabled woman who was dragged from her car and detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis, is filing a tort claim acainst the agency. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Some news: Iâm now a full-time breaking news reporter @motherjones.com. Iâll be continuing my coverage of conflict, climate, repression and resistance.
Send me tips, or just say hi: Iâm on Signal @ shurwitz.18 / email shurwitz @ cir . org đŤĄ
An ICIRR alert warning people to stay vigilant amid an uptick of ICE activity in Chicagoland communities. Full release: https://www.instagram.com/icirr_il/p/DW7bZOblH_Y/?img_index=2
An ICIRR alert warning people to stay vigilant amid an uptick of ICE activity in Chicagoland communities. Full release: https://www.instagram.com/icirr_il/p/DW7bZOblH_Y/?img_index=2
An ICIRR alert warning people to stay vigilant amid an uptick of ICE activity in Chicagoland communities. Full release: https://www.instagram.com/icirr_il/p/DW7bZOblH_Y/?img_index=2
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights is reporting an uptick in ICE activity across the Chicago area over the last week, incl. reported abductions at Cook County courthouses and immigration check ins.
Chicago neighborhoods of reported activity include Rogers Park, Austin and Pilsen.
![Harper Collins Union Ratifies New Contract; Secures Highest Starting Pay in Publishing
The Harper Collins Union, part of UAW Local 2110, has ratified a new contract, which mandates a starting salary of $52,500, for a 35-hour weekâthe highest in the industry. All covered employees will get annual pay increases, and time and a half for overtime. Notably employees "at the beginning of their careers" can work up to three hours of overtime per week without prior approval. With that overtime included, that effectively "brings the lowest annual compensation" for junior employees to $57,000 for a 38-hour week, the union notes.
Starting pay will increase every year up to $55,200 in 2028. Employees will also receive ratification bonuses based on seniority, between $1,000 and $3,000.
The three-year contract also includes language around promotions, severance, separation, time off, and discipline, the union shared on social media. Entry-level employees must be considered for a promotion after two years. Performance improvement plans are extended to six weeks from three, with an option for a voluntary separation with severance after that time. Eligibility and amount of severance is increased.
Additionally, the contract adds one floating holiday to a total of 18 throughout the year, calls for a three-month notice to changes in the hybrid work policy, and "memorializes [the] company's parental leave language."
"This contract is a testament to the solidarity we have built in the Harper Collins Union. We are all proud to continue to set new standards in publishing," union chair and Harper Children's designer Caitlin Stamper said. "We were able to achieve provisions that will provide life changing support to current members, and a more sustainable future for new employees."
The union went on strike for nearly three months in 2022 and 2023, asking for a starting salary of $50,000. According to recent job listings, Penguin Random House's current starting salary is $51,000 and SimoâŚ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:kznis4fckmo2s2qnwdukzt7k/bafkreia2xyy5jnoh7lqung5pkn3ulz7375of5lys45hv5yp75apkik6hwi)
Harper Collins Union Ratifies New Contract; Secures Highest Starting Pay in Publishing The Harper Collins Union, part of UAW Local 2110, has ratified a new contract, which mandates a starting salary of $52,500, for a 35-hour weekâthe highest in the industry. All covered employees will get annual pay increases, and time and a half for overtime. Notably employees "at the beginning of their careers" can work up to three hours of overtime per week without prior approval. With that overtime included, that effectively "brings the lowest annual compensation" for junior employees to $57,000 for a 38-hour week, the union notes. Starting pay will increase every year up to $55,200 in 2028. Employees will also receive ratification bonuses based on seniority, between $1,000 and $3,000. The three-year contract also includes language around promotions, severance, separation, time off, and discipline, the union shared on social media. Entry-level employees must be considered for a promotion after two years. Performance improvement plans are extended to six weeks from three, with an option for a voluntary separation with severance after that time. Eligibility and amount of severance is increased. Additionally, the contract adds one floating holiday to a total of 18 throughout the year, calls for a three-month notice to changes in the hybrid work policy, and "memorializes [the] company's parental leave language." "This contract is a testament to the solidarity we have built in the Harper Collins Union. We are all proud to continue to set new standards in publishing," union chair and Harper Children's designer Caitlin Stamper said. "We were able to achieve provisions that will provide life changing support to current members, and a more sustainable future for new employees." The union went on strike for nearly three months in 2022 and 2023, asking for a starting salary of $50,000. According to recent job listings, Penguin Random House's current starting salary is $51,000 and SimoâŚ
god this rules so hard (for context, I was making $30k a year as an editorial assistant at Harper in 2010)
Btw I pitched this to three different outlets that passed, two for budget reasons. I'm so glad I started @autonomynews.co
with @garnethenderson.com so this could have a home!
Please support our worker-owned publication with a one-time gift or a paid subscription:
www.autonomynews.co/tip-jar/
After taking time to connect with the Pretti family and with their consent, we are honored to share that we have created the Alex Pretti Nursing Scholarship.
For those interested, you can learn more and make a gift here: crowdfund.umn.edu/campaigns/Al...
Youâve seen the suspected insider trading on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. Allow me to explain an even more cursed possibility: fake insider trading, boosted by influencers to get people to make trade that can then be exploited.
Gift link: www.theverge.com/business/905...
We're on strike! Don't visit propublica.org on April 8
Weâre on strike today! Support our fight for a fair contract by NOT visiting the @propublica.org website or engaging with ProPublica stories today.
Tell ProPublicaâs management you wonât cross the picket line: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
NEW: Officials said there was no âimminent threatâ after an oil explosion.
An internal EPA memo said it was a âgrave threat to human health.â
Residents in Roseland have been living in the gap between those two sentences.
I went to hear them out.
STORY: capitalbnews.org/roseland-tox...
