Courthouse News Service DHS startles Congress with request for millions to develop ICE ‘smart glasses’ The Homeland Security Department requested $7.5 million for research and development projects, including prototype “smart glasses” that will give federal agents access to biometric identification data in the field. Benjamin S. Weiss / April 21, 2026

DHS wants our tax dollars to pay for spy glasses. This isn’t safety, it’s mass surveillance through a shiny new lens: dangerous, dystopian, and authoritarian at its core. No funding for Trump’s surveillance state. Period.

This week's story is "Penis Season" by @jameygallagher.bsky.social, selected by guest editor @demisty.bsky.social necessaryfiction.com/stories/peni...

Tabby cat with skeptical expression beside an open box of many-colored jigsaw puzzle pieces.

With my novel EDGE PIECES on the horizon, I'm starting a newsletter. Please have a look at amaliagladhart.com and consider subscribing. Jigsaw puzzles, cats, climate, thoughts on art--who gets to make it, who decides what it means. Sometimes I get a little help. @regalhouse.bsky.social

‘We were terrified they were going to kill us’: fishers who survived US boat strike speak out An Ecuadorian fishing crew describe their ordeal as victims of Trump’s purported war on ‘narcoterrorists’

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Jared Kushner is seeking peace deals in the Middle East. He’s also raising money for his own firm | Mohamad Bazzi The president’s son-in-law is acting as an envoy even as he looks to secure billions for his company from foreign governments

Why are not hearing more about non-diplomat, non-government employee Jared Kushner’s breathtaking corruption? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

‘Uber for nurses’: gig-work apps lobby to deregulate healthcare, report finds Growing use of AI tech comes at expense of workers’ rights, protections and pay, report warns

No. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

We did it!

Articles about Jared Kushner's diplomatic role with Iran that mention Kushner has received billions from the Saudi government (2/28-4/19):

NYT: 5 of 58
WashPost: 1 of 43
WSJ: 0 of 40
AP: 0 of 26
CNN Wire: 0 of 18
NY Post: 0 of 17
Chicago Tribune: 0 of 4
LA Times: 0 of 4
Boston Globe: 0 of 2

That the president of the United States is personally looting the treasury to the tune of literally billions of dollars and that he is not being immediately removed from office and tried for high crimes against this country is a devastating indictment of every part of our political system!

Straight up milking the market

House Democrats Want Clean Energy Tax Credits Back - Inside Climate News A new bill would reinstate incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act and provide assistance for consumer electricity costs.

Democrats' Energy Bills Relief Act — introduced by @casten.house.gov and @levin.house.gov — would reverse Trump's disastrous energy policies and address rising costs by deploying clean energy, putting affordability over profit, and modernizing the grid.

Congress must pass this bill immediately. ✅

There’s no way to couch this: Vance is getting pillowried during negotiations in the former Ottoman Empire sofar.

The United States is destroying itself | Rebecca Solnit The daily news can’t adequately convey the administration’s sabotaging of our government, economy, alliances and environment

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

⚕️ The Journal of American Medicine says abortion pills are so safe, they should be stocked with the cough drops and nasal decongestants. Lawmakers are trying to bury abortion under bureaucracy, but data says: ABORTION OVER THE COUNTER IS THE WAY TO GO. bit.ly/4czcfz0

🌵 It’s not a desert mirage… democracy is WERKING in at least one state! Arizonans voted FOR abortion access two years ago, and now clinics can mail abortion pills and use telehealth. Cuz in this economy?! NO ONE has the gas money to road trip for bodily autonomy. bit.ly/4vmy24h

You don’t say.
Wake up Congress, time to reassert your authority

Data centers are creating ‘heat islands’ and warming the land around them by up to 16 degrees | CNN The vast data centers that power artificial intelligence are so energy hungry that they’re heating up their surroundings, according to new research. It’s an alarming finding given the number of data c...

Just wait until these eyesore monstrosities want to come to your neighborhood. Goodbye trees. Expect to hear a constant, electrical humming, warmer temperatures and higher energy bills. Fight like hell to keep data centers out of your area.

Tabby cat with skeptical expression beside an open box of many-colored jigsaw puzzle pieces.

With my novel EDGE PIECES on the horizon, I'm starting a newsletter. Please have a look at amaliagladhart.com and consider subscribing. Jigsaw puzzles, cats, climate, thoughts on art--who gets to make it, who decides what it means. Sometimes I get a little help. @regalhouse.bsky.social

Actions lawmakers can propose, roughly from most to least powerful
*Impeachment
*Pass law/override veto
*Withhold/give $
*War powers resolution
*Block nominees
*Subpoenas
*Strongly worded letter
*Tweet of concern
*Sandwich tweet that puts kernel of criticism btw slices of praise
*Silence

So many! From the current list— I loved Liz Prato’s Purgatoire @lizprato.bsky.social, Forest Avenue Press, @forestavenuepress.bsky.social; I’m about to start The Origin of Ava, by Annie Lampman @annielampman.bsky.social from Torrey House Press. #IndieBooks. I didn’t know #IndieApril was a thing!

Close up of blooming yellow flowers on a green background overlaid with the words "Good morning! It’s #IndieApril and we want to take a moment to celebrate #IndieBooks! Tell us about an indie book you’ve loved - and be sure to tag the author!"

Good morning! It’s #IndieApril and we want to take a moment to celebrate #IndieBooks!

Tell us about an indie book you’ve loved - and be sure to tag the author so they know you loved it too!

Johnson and Thune do not get to continue recess as normal. It is time to act. Congress needs to use every tool available to stop this illegal and catastrophic war from spiraling further — starting with passing a War Powers Resolution.

No Member of Congress should trust any ‘ceasefire’ announced by Trump on social media. They must do their duty to end this war themselves.

Congress must act immediately before Trump can do more damage. Mike Johnson and John Thune must do their jobs and reconvene Congress.

Trump agrees to 2-week ceasefire deal with Iran after threatening to wipe out its 'whole civilization.' How we got here, and what could happen next. As Tuesday's deadline approached, the president accepted a proposal from Pakistan to temporarily pause hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz while negotiators work to end the war.

Let’s be crystal clear: This war never should have started, and Congress cannot allow Trump to continue on this horrifying path of escalation. While we’re relieved Trump has walked back his threats of genocidal war crimes from this morning, words are not enough. 🧵

Precisely. The ceasefire does not absolve the statement. A social media message from the POTUS is an official government statement. We cannot forget that.

@wyden.senate.gov @merkley.senate.gov @repvalhoyle.bsky.social @schumer.senate.gov @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social Congress needs to recall itself to session and act.

Trump’s reckless brinksmanship imperils the US, civilians in Iran and throughout the Middle East, the global economy, the climate. He hints at nuclear strikes for no purpose beyond the satisfaction of his own ego, threatening the annihilation of an entire people. He must be removed from office. Now.

Last year, the Trump administration killed a VA program that helped veterans make their mortgage payments and keep a roof over their heads.

As a result, over 10,000 veterans have lost their homes and 90,000 more are heading toward foreclosure.

Chaco Canyon is sacred. Chaco Canyon is holy. These places should not be drilled on.

Raise your voice and public comment by tomorrow—to say NO to drilling in the Greater Chaco Landscape!

eplanning.blm.gov/Project-Home...