This week @jamellebouie.net had some questions for me about where the US is at now and why the term "concentration camp" might be a useful way to think about the crisis. (He interviewed me eight years ago for Slate on a similar topic. Let's hope we don't end up having the same discussion in 2034.)

I could really use a Punch/Moo Deng collab right now.

TEAM USA TAKES GOLD 🥇

Megan Keller wins it in overtime, helping the U.S. to a 2-1 victory over Canada.

The $38.3 billion they are going to spend for interment camps could fund the annual budget of NASA, the EPA, and all clean energy R&D at the Department of Energy—combined.

Trump administration drops its appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked its $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. But it ...

NEW: The Trump administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court order blocking its $1.2-billion settlement demand to UCLA over alleged campus civil rights violations: www.latimes.com/california/s...

This episode has been a nightmare for my city and state, but I hope people realize it’s also a profound defeat and political catastrophe for Trump and DHS, who are slinking away having accomplished nothing. Minneapolis simply wouldn’t bend to them and they lost

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Three thoughts.

1. It’s always been about the white nationalism

2. He is returning to the old favorites because his support is waning

3. He dabbled with this trope before but would always leave a hair of deniability. Going straight there also seems like a sign of weakness

Trump Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed he had not spoken with Epstein after 2005.

We now know that’s a lie. What is he hiding? He must answer our questions.

tinyurl.com/w43nht5z

The use of chain emojis is disgusting.

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

"We do not get out of fascism by saving ourselves and turning our backs on others. We get out through solidarity with everyone — especially the most vulnerable." -- @nbedera.bsky.social ⬇️

"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car. I got six kids in the car"
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."

Minneapolis, after the murder of Renee Nicole Good.

Frey: I have a message for ICE: Get the fuck out of Minneapolis

Laugh Factory worker detained by federal agents on Chicago’s North Side • The TRiiBE Two people were detained by federal agents Friday morning at Broadway and Belmont Avenue on Chicago’s North Side.

STORY HERE — Video footage obtained by The TRiiBE shows federal agents pulling Laugh Factory Night Manager Nate Griffin as he holds on to a scaffold.

Bystanders screamed at the agents, saying "Show your face," as they detained Griffin.

thetriibe.com/2025/10/laug...

Great fun to noodle with this crossword designed by #Illinois alumnus, @nickofferman.bsky.social [I solved the Wednesday 10/15/2025 New York Times Daily Crossword in 46:57!]

So sad. #not

Björn Borg’s life after tennis: ‘Heartbeats’ book documents near-death experiences and recovery www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advoc...

Citing concerns about DEI, the Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states.

“How low can you go?” one advocate asked. “How can you do this to children?”

By @jodiscohen.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

Donald Trump complaining about violent crime in DC is rich.

60 years later, Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters face new threats Sixty years after the Voting Rights Act became a landmark law against racial discrimination, legal challenges heading to the Supreme Court could curtail its remaining protections for minority voters.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law 60 years ago today.

People struggled for it. Were beaten for it. Murdered for it.

The Supreme Court brutalized it. MAGA aims to murder it.

Don’t just get mad. Do something. The movement to protect democracy needs you.

@indivisible.org
#VotingRightsAct

Thanks for regularly sharing articles of interest; I've already saved three today alone for future reading. #EPOL :)

You can also send me an email at crhipm@illinois.edu.

"I have been chasing this methodological high all my life"

So relatable!

Our military deserves better than this empty charade. Yikes. The tank squeaking over silence is incredible.

Remember when Republicans argued that changing the names of military bases and removing statues was tantamount to erasing history?

They forgot to add that this only holds for straight white men, who made war on the United States during the Civil War.

This framing is all wrong

Our international students are not a “crucial funding source”

They are our STUDENTS

They are the reason we EXIST

We teach STUDENTS

say it again:

4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities

ROI for NIH and NSF for local economies is conservatively 4x, often close to 10x

demolishing higher education is economic sabotage