Jake Blumgart
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Jake Blumgart
@jblumgart.bsky.social
Reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer https://www.inquirer.com/author/blumgart_jake/
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Now White’s launching a bid for Congress, saying he will challenge Democrats who he thinks aren’t doing enough to keep their seats — starting with his own congressman.

I’ve been talking with White about his long-shot bid, and his desire for a “tea party” moment on the left.

Read the story here:
Jonathan White fought the first Trump administration’s efforts to separate migrant families.

Now, White says he has a new mission — challenging Democrats that he believes aren’t doing enough to fight the Trump administration.
He reunited families separated under Trump. Now he’s running for Congress.
Jonathan White, a longtime civil servant who fought Trump officials’ efforts to separate migrant families, says Democrats must do more to combat the president.
wapo.st
November 29, 2025 at 9:53 PM
As activists critique demolition-first plans for East Market Street, two Councilmembers in different parts of Philadelphia are considering legislation that would require property owners to pull building permits before that are allowed to raze a structure www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
Is a vacant lot better than a decrepit building? Inside Philly’s latest debate over aging buildings.
Councilmembers Jeffery “Jay” Young and Jamie Gauthier have introduced similar legislation to prevent demolition of buildings without a redevelopment plan.
www.inquirer.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:44 PM
"Build American AI’s leader Nathan Leamer visited the White House just hours before Trump announced his decision to back the move that had already ignited outrage among some Republicans." www.ft.com/content/e087...
Donald Trump’s support for pro-AI proposal fuels Maga backlash
US president endorses move to restrict regulation by states after lobbying from Silicon Valley
www.ft.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:39 PM
RIP! I don't keep up on theater as much as I would like to and I'm curious if there are any newer playwrights you all would recommend to someone who loves Stoppard's work? www.bbc.com/news/article...
Sir Tom Stoppard, playwright famed for his wit and depth, dies at 88
The King and Queen pay tribute to a "dear friend who wore his genius lightly".
www.bbc.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
"Still, nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to, according to a New York Times analysis of his schedule...Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Has this discourse cured anybody else's imposter syndrome?

I'm not that smart but I have never had medieval peasant brain. No, the fucking computer isn't a person!
November 25, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Russia has gained less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory this year.

But President Putin said Russia is ready to keep fighting if Kyiv refuses to discuss a draft peace plan that demands deep military cuts and the ceding of territory Russia hasn’t yet taken.
Russia’s tiny advances in 2025 sold Putin on inevitable victory in Ukraine
Grinding progress for Russia on the battlefield this year has resulted in thousands of casualties but enough progress for Putin to refuse any compromises in diplomacy.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Breaking news: Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) will not seek reelection, a seismic decision in D.C. politics that will bring to a close more than a decade in leadership.
D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term
Bowser, who has led D.C. over a turbulent decade, will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision bound to open up a highly competitive mayoral race.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
"The D.C. business community recently launched an effort to 'draft' Bowser for a fourth term, saying it was not the time for 'on-the-job training,' but by then Bowser had largely made up her mind."

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term
Bowser, who has led D.C. over a turbulent decade, will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision bound to open up a highly competitive mayoral race.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here: penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here: penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
November 25, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
“.. This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are — a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”

@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
November 25, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
Two years after Vermont passed a huge investment in childcare, more programs opened than closed for the first time since officials started keeping track www.sevendaysvt.com/news/educati...
Vermont’s Bold Investment in Childcare Is Largely Paying Off
Passed in 2023, Act 76 has increased state funding to help create more than 1,700 new childcare slots and enroll more than 4,000 additional kids in the state’s financial-assistance program.
www.sevendaysvt.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Jake Blumgart
NEW: Gov. Josh Shapiro is sending $220 million to SEPTA to help repair fire-prone Silverliner IV Regional Rail cars and a damaged overhead power system in the trolley tunnel.

With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
Gov. Shapiro allocated $220 million to SEPTA to get Regional Rail back on track
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
www.inquirer.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Feds suspect arson: "Two days before an apartment complex once hailed as a shining example of Philadelphia’s urban renewal went up in flames, its owner, embattled city landlord Phil Pulley, transferred the vacant property to a New York investment firm."
www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
Landlord Phil Pulley transferred ownership of West Philly apartments days before suspected arson, records show
Property records show the notorious landlord signed a deed transfer two days before the June 2025 fire. The new owners are now demolishing the building.
www.inquirer.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:42 PM
“In 2025, America built fewer homes per 100,000 people than it did in 2005, 1995, 1985 or 1975.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
Opinion | America’s Housing Crisis, in One Chart
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Patel Under Scrutiny for Use of SWAT Teams to Protect His Girlfriend
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
"Costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Even though the inflation rate is below its recent 2022 high, certain essentials like coffee, ground beef and car repairs are up markedly this year."

www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
The Middle Class Is Buckling Under Almost Five Years of Persistent Inflation
Workers are growing tired of an economy in which everything seems to get more expensive.
www.wsj.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:21 PM