Snippet of my Bluesky bio
Hi! This is another edition of Link Roundup here at Forney’s Findings. If you follow me on Bluesky or Instagram (or happen to be in a Discord server with me), you’ll know I love me some links.
At the time of this posting, tomorrow will be my birthday. In lieu of a present, consider subscribing or sending this edition to a friend!
Here are a handful—all read in their entirety by me before adding—that I wanted to share:
Education:
University of Miami is embracing student influencers (Washington Post gift link)
Technical center opens in D.C.’s Ward 8, allowing kids to get healthcare experience before college (Afro News)
The bus driver shortage persists (Stateline)
DC public and charter schools received an anonymous $20 million donation to improve math education (DC News Now)
Makenzie Scott makes another huge donation to HBCUs (The Baltimore Banner)
Texas AG sues school district for failing to display Ten Commandments in classrooms (Austin American-Statesman)
Government:
Black women make huge gains in rural towns and small cities (Capital B)
Longest government shutdown in US history ends at 43 days (CNN)
A government shutdown for nothing? (The New Republic)
‘Absolutely pathetic’ Senate Democrats shamed for caving to Republican demands without restoring healthcare subsidies (Common Dreams)
“Your voters expect you to hold the line for their basic healthcare and food benefits. This is just surrender. Every Senate Democrat that joined Republicans to pass this sold the American people out and we should make sure they have no future in public office.”
Haitians fleeing violence face violent deportations in the Dominican Republic (PBS)
Mayor Bowser swore working with Trump would protect D.C.’s home rule, this investigation begs the question: did it really? (Washington Post gift link)
Chi Ossé will run against democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries for his seat in Congress (Axios)
Judges rule Texas 2026 gerrymandered maps unconstitutional. It’s unclear if republicans will have time to appeal before the deadline (Texas Tribune)
Mike Johnson finally swears in Adelita Grijalva, the decisive vote on releasing Epstein files (CNN)
Oddly, Trump and republicans seem to be pulling a 180 on this vote as its passing became more imminent (NPR)
This comes after Marjorie Taylor Green has become the latest target of Trump’s ire—and threats of violence from his base—for demanding their release (NBC)
The House voted 427-1 to release the files. On to the Senate (NPR)
After months of contesting, Trump quickly signs bill to release Epstein files. Its release timeline remains to be seen (ABC)
Kristi Noem abused South Dakota’s Future Fund so badly as governor that they’re proposing legislation to keep future elected officials from repeating it (South Dakota Searchlight)
Trump administration removes report on missing and murdered Indigenous people, calling it “DEI content” (Oklahoma Watch)
Adelita Grijalva is finally sworn into the House after Mike Johnson’s waffling to delay a vote on the Epstein files (CNN)
Immediately after being sworn in, Grijalva become[s] the decisive 218th member in support of an effort to force the House to vote on the release of all of the Jeffrey Epstein case files, an issue that has roiled the House and sparked division among Republicans. Hours before her signature advanced the effort forward, top Trump administration officials met with at least one Republican who had also signed onto the petition.
The first Chicano representative in Arizona’s history doesn’t mind code switching (USA Today)
Chuck Schumer is a bum bandwagon:
Why is he in charge of anything? (Current Affairs)
Conservatives disdain for cities may cost them (The Nation)
News Media:
PBS’ WETA cuts 34 jobs and eliminates West Coast-focused newscast, citing federal funding cuts (Current)
Men, especially white men, actually do have the majority of popular podcasts, study finds (NPR)
The Olivia Nuzzi/RFK scandal and her new role/book in the face of any actual consequences showcases just how far legacy journalism has to go (The Handbasket)
Teen Vogue’s laying off predominantly women of color and/or queer staff reflect a worrisome trend in journalism (The 19th)
When places like Teen Vogue, NBC, CBS and beyond lose racial and gender diversity on their staff, they lose the ability to not only elevate stories from the Black community, for example, but they also lose the ability to capture nuances and perspectives from different Black communities, Ishmael said.
Teen Vogue took young people and women seriously at a time when media drastically needs to (Columbia Journalism Review)
A thorough investigation into AI-generated scammers getting bylines across the internet (The Local)
Progressive needs to fund and support movement journalism the way the right does (Truthout/Prism)
Science, Environment and Critters:
Federal government decides not to release national wolf recovery plan (Daily Montanan)
Cop30 is happening in Brazil
Indigenous protestors blocked the entrance to the climate summit (Reuters)
World leaders (minus the US) said the consequences for inaction on climate change will be inescapable soon (The Guardian)
He (Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN framework on climate change) told the opening meeting of the UN climate summit: “When climate disasters decimate the lives of millions, when we already have the solutions, this will never, ever be forgiven.”
Thanks to tiny sensors, researchers can now track individual Monarch Butterfly migration patterns (New York Times gift link)
Check out the 12 winners of the SEAL Environmental Journalism Award (SEAL)
Breakthrough HIV medication has its first doses sent to Africa, but Trump’s international aid cuts are limiting its rollout (NPR)
"If you don't have the program that meets people where they are, then those doses aren't going to get used," says Warren. "There's a lot of history of global health products that everyone thinks are exciting, and then they sit in store rooms because we didn't build the program to deliver them."
Technology:
How A.I. and social media contribute to brain rot (New York Times gift link)
People are using ChatGPT to take the fun out of leisure activities like book clubs and escape rooms (the Cut)
The Washington Post analyzed 47,000 publicly available ChatGPT logs to see what people are using it for (gift link)
Alphabet CEO says there is some “irrationality” in current AI boom (BBC)
Why aren’t more Democrats openly anti AI or anti-data center? (The New Republic)
Jeff Bezos will be CEO of yet another AI startup, this one starts with billions in initial investment (New York Times gift link)
Most states don’t disclose which companies get data center tax subsidies, study finds (Stateline)
Google DeepMind hires former Boston Dynamics CTO as they look to put Gemini in robots (Wired)
Sports (not just basketball again!):
Hannah Hidalgo sets Notre Dame program record for points (44), NCAAA record for steals (16) against Akron (SB Nation)
Spike Lee gave Pope Leo a Knicks jersey (Vulture)
MLB signs $800 million annual media deal with Netflix, ESPN and NBC further complicating the lives of sports fans (Associated Press)
Private equity is charging parents for footage of their kids playing sports and other bogus fees in pursuit of profits (The Lever)
Art, Food, Music and Culture:
Outkast inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Rolling Stone)
At 55 years-old, Colman Domingo is finally getting his time in the spotlight (Esquire)
Met Gala announces 2026 theme: Costume Art (USA Today)
Lucy Liu has decades in Hollywood. Rosemead is her first producing and leading role where she can showcase her range as an actor (The Hollywood Reporter)
Other characters that are strong, that are not Asian, are not Dragon ladies. They are strong lawyers or politicians or mothers or doctors. But if I’m a doctor, then I’m going to be categorized as a super smart, nerdy Asian woman. I can’t get away from it because it’s trailing me because they want to label me.
Why are so many, often star-studded, comedies and dramas flopping in theaters? (New York Times gift link)
The Dumbest Things That Happened in 2025 (Vulture)
The insane saga of NewJeans and the Kpop industry (NPR)
After a two-week blackout, Disney and YouTube TV come to a deal (The Hollywood Reporter)
Toy Story 5 will include a tablet character when it releases next summer (Variety)
Explore how some Baltimore bartenders are expanding their craft (Baltimore Beat)
Bugonia’s ending undermines its greatest message, leaving the door open for misinterpretation from the people who could benefit the most (Paste)
AMC launches a streaming platform exclusively for reality TV (The Hollywood Reporter)
Katy O’Brian on her sexuality, finding her footing as an actor and navigating being thirsted over (the Cut)
The Running Man centers on reality TV, but the internet would’ve made more sense (Vulture)
Check out the winners of the Tokyo International Film Festival (The Hollywood Reporter)
How Spotify broke algorithmically recommended music (The Verge)
Market research firm MIDiA published an alarming study in September that said, “the more reliant users are on algorithms, the less music they hear.” It found that while new music discovery is traditionally associated with youth, “16-24-year-olds are less likely than 25-34-year-olds to have discovered an artist they love in the last year.” Gen Z might hear a song they like on TikTok, but they rarely investigate beyond that to listen to more music from the artist.
Books:
Learn about this year’s National Book Award winners (USA Today)
Baltimore County Public Library lays off 14 part-time employees with an hour’s notice (The Baltimore Banner)
Indie bookstores are offering vital community and organizing spaces as democracy is threatened (Prism)
Being a bookstore in America today carries a different set of responsibilities. Beyond selling books, these spaces help communities take action to organize, curate, and preserve intellectual expression.
R.F. Kuang and Olivie Blake discuss their contributions to short story collection and time travel as a storytelling medium (USA Today)
In defense of buying books you may never read (Vogue India)
Tsundoku: is the phenomenon of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in a home without reading them. (Japanese)
Shein is getting into the used book market for some reason (the Cut)
Video Games:
The voice actor for Hazel in South of Midnight discusses the games necessity in a divided world (Polygon)
Rockstar fires workers discussing unionization in a private Discord server, their reps intend to keep the pressure on (Aftermath)
Other Aftermath news, they’re doing a $1 promotion to celebrate their new site. You can redeem the offer for cool video game and internet reporting here
The Game Awards is always full of announcements and frustrations
‘We were effectively props’: young stars of game development feel let down by the ‘gaming Oscars’ (The Guardian)
Endless Mode and Paste Games coverage will now be published under A.V. Club (A.V. Club)
GameStop is allowing people to trade in (almost) anything for store credit in December (Kotaku)
People and Relationships:
[Video] Black MAGA influencers thrive online but struggle at the ballot box (USA Today)
Are leggings for old people? Gen Z thinks so (Vox gift link)
RFK’s neighbors troll him with pro-vaccine window decor (Washingtonian)
The response to Vogue’s “Is having a boyfriend embarrassing?” article was certainly something (British Vogue)
Esquire’s first ever “For Better Men” package highlights positive examples of masculinity (Esquire)
Zohran Mamdani and the radical concept of treating Muslims as human beings (The Rumpus)
African American Civil War Memorial Museum honors Black troops with reading of the names ceremony (Afro News)
Written by me!
Economics:
What should Gen Z do if AI replaces entry-level work? (Intelligencer)
May encounter paywall
RIP the penny (USA Today)
Trump has purchased $82 million in bonds in recent months, disclosures show (Reuters)
Fascinating and infuriating data visualization showing just how much more money Elon Musk is set to make than entire professions if the $1 trillion Tesla agreement happens (Washington Post)
May encounter paywall
First-time homebuyers are continuing to be priced out of the market (Stateline)
Related: [podcast] the case for renting forever, on purpose (Vox)
Real estate CEO says COVID interest rates “probably made housing unaffordable for a whole generation” (Fortune)
DC housing authority left $1 million in first-time homebuyer funds unspent last fiscal year. Residents want answers (Washington City Paper)
The number of rental units available to those earning less than 80% of Arlington’s area median income was higher than anticipated, a report shows (ARLnow)
Worth noting that this is more about wages, in a very high-earning area, rising faster than prices and less about housing supply or rental prices being reasonable
DOT quietly kills proposal for airlines to compensate customers for travel disruptions (USA Today)
