Midnitte

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.

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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.

Ten years after the Supreme Court extended marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide, the justices this fall will consider for the first time whether to take up a case that explicitly asks them to overturn that decision.

Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for six days in 2015 after refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds, is appealing a $100,000 jury verdict for emotional damages plus $260,000 for attorneys fees

The U.S. military is said to be preparing to activate National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., as part of President Trump’s crackdown on crime.

Sort of depressing that someone standing up and contradicting Trump is news...