Midnitte

The Trump administration told states on Saturday that they must “immediately undo” any actions to provide full food stamp benefits to low-income families, in a move that added to the uncertainty surrounding the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the government shutdown. In late-night guidance seen by The New York Times, the Agriculture Department also threatened financial penalties against states.

Why is feeding people political? What value add is forcing people to starve? Monsters.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/23037393

A former Navy pilot, first elected to Congress in 2018, will be New Jersey's next governor.

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, according to a race call by The Associated Press, capping a closely-watched gubernatorial election that some polls predicted would be a coin flip.

Protesters nationwide are gathering at more that 2,500 locations today to rally against President Donald Trump in what organizers predict will be the largest one-day protest in modern American history.

The protests are meant as a celebration of free speech, the right to assemble and the First Amendment broadly, according to organizers. They say they also want to push back against recent moves by the Trump administration, including ramped-up immigration enforcement, sending troops into a handful of Democrat-controlled cities, making massive changes to American health care and eroding First Amendment rights, organizers say.

A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on one count of bank fraud, after steady pressure from President Trump to prosecute one of his longtime political foes.

The indictment was confirmed by a source who was not authorized to discuss the charge publicly.

....

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia spent months on the case this year. A Republican career prosecutor there determined there was not enough evidence to bring a case against James. Then he was forced out of his job by the White House, only to be replaced by Lindsey Halligan, a former insurance lawyer in Florida with no experience as a prosecutor.

The US is now officially in Banana Republic territory.

Dozens of Bob Ross paintings — many of them created live on the PBS series that made him a household name — will be auctioned off in the coming months to support public television.

...

Now, the nonprofit syndicator American Public Television (APT) is auctioning off 30 of Ross' paintings to raise money for public broadcasters hit by federal funding cuts. APT has pledged to direct 100% of its net sales proceeds to APT and PBS stations nationwide, auction house Bonhams said in a statement.

Now we just need to beat the devil out....

President Donald Trump on Monday said he would consider using the Insurrection Act to deploy the military if federal courts prevented him from deploying the National Guard to protect federal buildings and conduct law enforcement operations.

Jesus, irony must have been murdered on fifth avenue in broad daylight.

After nearly two decades, the classic kids' show Reading Rainbow is back — with a new host and a new digital format, but with the same mission of encouraging children to "take a look, it's in a book."

The new host is library evangelist Mychal Threets, who became a social media star while working as a librarian in Solano County, Calif. (His tattoos include PBS cartoon aardvark Arthur Read's library card.)

Very cool to see this coming back - quite surprising given funding cuts to PBS.

Remember to support your local PBS and NPR stations in these troubled times.

The inclusion of overtly political messages in federal agency communications raised immediate alarm bells for some federal workers and ethics experts. They said it could violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits civil servants in the executive branch from engaging in most political activity inside federal buildings or while on duty.

"We just all accept that the Hatch Act is null and void," one federal worker, who requested anonymity because they fear retaliation from the Trump administration for speaking out, told NPR. "Nothing matters."

Simply astounding how quickly they've dismantled civil society and democracy. Just really at a loss of words.

Friday's reports that Electronic Arts planned to go private were publicly confirmed Monday morning. Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners will join together to pay an estimated $55 billion for the video game mega-publisher in a deal being described as the "largest all-cash sponsor take-private investment in history."

Gross - guess I won't even wait for BF6 reviews to not buy the game.

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a subpoena for records related to the travel history of Fani Willis, the Atlanta area prosecutor who charged President Donald Trump in an election interference case, The New York Times reported on Friday.

First James Comey, now Willis - we're now at the purging enemies you hate stage.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/22326498

New Jersey PBS is expected to cease operations in July 2026 following WNET’s decision not to renew its agreement, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

The decision comes after the federal government decided to cancel funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funded WNET, the parent company of THIRTEEN, the PBS New York affiliate.

Unless they can find a new non-profit funding source, New Jersey could be left without a public television station next year.

Top Trump administration officials used Charlie Kirk’s podcast on Monday to threaten a governmental crackdown on left-wing organizations in the name of the slain conservative activist. Administration officials who appeared on the podcast, guest-hosted by Vice President JD Vance, made broad and unsubstantiated claims about their political opponents and alleged that liberal groups were responsible for Mr. Kirk’s death — even though investigators have said they believe that the suspect acted alone.