2026 Hillman Prizes The Sidney Hillman Foundation honors journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good.

An amazing group of journalists honored for their work pursuing stories in service of the common good. Especially proud of @gingerthompson.bsky.social and Doris Burke for @propublica.org www.hillmanfoundation.org/hillman-priz...

The Counterterrorism Czar Without a Counterterrorism Plan Amid Trump’s war in Iran and an exodus of intelligence staffers, Sebastian Gorka has asserted that a blueprint for fighting terror threats is “imminent” — but has not released it. Iranian threats have...

Nearly a year ago, Sebastian Gorka declared a national counterterrorism strategy “imminent.” By July, he was “on the cusp” of unveiling the plan — a phrase he repeated three months later in October. And again in January.

To date, no strategy has appeared.
@hannahallam.bsky.social

The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court

Great reporting from the NYTs, The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

Join #Maine Monitor editor Kate Cough at the Ellsworth Public Library at 2 p.m. on April 25, where she will lead a conversation following the screening of “The Librarians”. Learn more and register for the free event by clicking the link below.

ellsworth.libcal.com/calendar/EPL...

So glad to see you following what became of some of them! My colleagues spent months reporting the disintegration...
www.propublica.org/series/the-e...

A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls. A new investigation from ProPublica and FRONTLINE examines federal agents’ response to protesters and bystanders at the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps. “We see, just, use of excessive force...

READ and WATCH: A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls. w/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social

A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls. A new investigation from ProPublica and FRONTLINE examines federal agents’ response to protesters and bystanders at the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps. “We see, just, use of excessive force...

NEW: “We see, just, use of excessive force after use of excess force,” said Christy Lopez, who spent years investigating law enforcement misconduct at the DOJ. “In no scenario is it OK to be pepper-spraying people as you're leaving the scene.”

w/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social

These federal workers lost their jobs. They’re starting over in Maine. Former aid workers, whose careers took them around the globe, are carving out new opportunities across the state.

Great reporting from @joelawlorph.bsky.social in the @pressherald.com on the fallout from DOGE's gutting of USAID. On the bright side: the world's loss is Maine's gain: www.pressherald.com/2026/04/16/t...

Vance disciple-splaining to the Pope.

The Internet's Most Powerful Archiving Tool Is in Peril As major news outlets cut off the Wayback Machine, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the Internet Archive’s vast collection of web pages.

As major news outlets including USA Today Co. and the New York Times restrict the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine from archiving their stories, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the vast collection of web pages.

Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held. But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would l...

Detailed reporting from @propublica.org 's @dougbockclark.bsky.social @jenafifield.bsky.social on the dismantling of our elections: “The election denial movement is now interwoven within the federal government...in ways that undermine the freedom to vote". www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held. But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would l...

A deep dive: When Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election, the institutional guardrails of American democracy held. But if faced with the same tests today, those barriers — and people who held the line — would largely be missing. @dougbockclark.bsky.social @jenafifield.bsky.social

NEW: “A Slap in the Face”: Trump’s DOJ Plans to Settle Predatory Lending Case Without Compensating Victims, by @zachdespart.bsky.social w/ @texastribune.org

Also of note: Earth would be around 65F /36C degrees hotter if it weren’t for the ocean!!! 🩵

Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal — including for climate solutions. So: THANK YOU, OCEAN. 🩵

#TeamOcean #Artemis #OceanHugger

For sources: www.getitright.earth/references

Why We Went Looking for National Defense Areas Along the U.S. Southern Border The federal government is charging a skyrocketing number of migrants with trespassing in military zones. The boundaries can be hard to pinpoint — even for investigative reporters.

If we, as reporters who investigate things for a living, couldn’t get a straight answer on where these military zones were, how did the government expect people crossing the border to do better?

Top DOJ Official Todd Blanche Shut Down Crypto Enforcement While Holding Crypto Assets The second-highest official at the DOJ, Todd Blanche rose to prominence as Trump’s personal defense attorney. His actions violated the federal conflicts of interest law and his ethics agreement, exper...

With Pam Bondi’s ouster, Todd Blanche is now the interim AG. Here’s our story on him from December: Todd Blanche Shut Down Crypto Enforcement While Holding Crypto Assets

DHS says it has body-cam footage related to Pretti shooting in Minneapolis The lawsuits aim to prevent federal officials from destroying evidence related to Alex Pretti’s killing and to end the surge of immigration officers in Minnesota.

It's been 66 days since agents killed Alex Pretti.

DHS has body-cam footage.

They haven't released it.

66 days and counting.

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

In Supreme Court Justices’ Histories, a Story of Immigration in America

Terrific reporting and phenomenal research by @abbievansickle.bsky.social and Julie Tate for the @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/u...

WNBA Players Had an Ace Up Their Sleeve in Pay Negotiations: A Nobel Laureate Harvard economist Claudia Goldin helped WNBA players win a nearly 400% raise. Starting this season, players’ average salary will top $580,000.

After Claudia Goldin became the first woman to win a solo Nobel in economics, she got hundreds of invitations.

She accepted three.

One was advising WNBA players on a labor deal. She helped players land the biggest % raise in US sports history.
www.wsj.com/economy/wnba...

Video: RLUK 2026 Keynote by Dr. Carla Hayden www.infodocket.com/2026/03/30/v... #libraries #librarians #RLUK26

Trump Called My Neighbors “Paid Agitators.” This is Who They Really Are. After ICE came to Minneapolis, ProPublica journalist Peter DiCampo saw his community step up to patrol the streets, drive strangers to work and provide aid to families in hiding. These are his neighbo...

"I don't want to be one of those people that sat. I don't want to be somebody's history lesson." Beautiful photo essay by @propublica.org @peterdicampo.bsky.social @zisiga.bsky.social projects.propublica.org/why-minneapo...

Maine DEP recertifies Juniper Ridge Landfill, allowing expansion Earlier this year, the project was stalled when a court ruled Maine DEP had failed to meet necessary criteria in its review of the expansion.

Opponents say the latest proposal — which would add 11.9 million cubic yards of capacity at the Juniper Ridge Landfill near the Penobscot Reservation — poses unacceptable risks to public health in #Maine.

themainemonitor.org/maine-dep-re...

1) THREAD: Federal cybersecurity reviewers said this @microsoft.com cloud package was “a pile of shit.”

They gave it their seal of approval anyway.

Here’s how it happened 👇

Thread by our reporter @reneedudley.bsky.social 🧵

Maine lawmakers targeted by campaign opposing data center ban The Augusta-based law firm representing companies trying to build data centers in Sanford and Jay launched the ads late last week.

A law firm based in Augusta #Maine, which is representing companies trying to build #datacenters in Sanford and Jay, launched a social media campaign targeting #lawmakers who are set to weigh in on data center legislation.

themainemonitor.org/maine-data-c...

Greg Bovino wanted to deport 100 million people -- a quarter of the U.S. population.

Oh, and DHS's X account is onboard.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/u...

Hochul Moves to Delay and Alter Climate Law, Citing Energy Prices

A bunch of us wrote (or cried, according to the NY Times) to ask her not to do this but to no avail. The letter is linked in the gift article.

An Open Letter to the Inspectors General Community If you work in or have recently left the office of a federal inspector general, we need your insights to do important journalism.

I'm asking for help covering the IG community. Please reach out if you have info and/or share with anyone you think might be receptive.

Thanks 🙏

www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues The health secretary is spreading doubts about vaccine safety and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market. History has shown how plagues from the past can roar back...

This is horrifying. How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues, by @sheinvestigates.bsky.social

Federal Cyber Experts Thought Microsoft’s Cloud Was “a Pile of Shit.” They Approved It Anyway. A federal program created to protect the government against cyber threats authorized a sprawling Microsoft cloud product, despite the company’s inability to fully explain how it protects sensitive dat...

Expert: “This is not a happy story in terms of the security of the U.S. This is not security. This is security theater." Incredible reporting from @propublica.org 's @reneedudley.bsky.social with research by Doris Burke www.propublica.org/article/micr...