Derek Willis
@dwillis.bsky.social
I teach data journalism at the University of Maryland, run OpenElections. Fan of WBB & test cricket. Posting obscure things about campaign finance, Congress & elections.
https://github.com/dwillis
https://thescoop.org
https://github.com/dwillis
https://thescoop.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Something I noticed from @terpswbb.bsky.social's win over George Mason on Sunday: Kaylene Smikle gets beaten on a drive in Q3 (6 min mark) and immediately waves to the bench for a sub. Not limping but not going full speed.
Comes out at 5:33 and doesn't play again.
#NCAAWBB
Comes out at 5:33 and doesn't play again.
#NCAAWBB
November 25, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Something I noticed from @terpswbb.bsky.social's win over George Mason on Sunday: Kaylene Smikle gets beaten on a drive in Q3 (6 min mark) and immediately waves to the bench for a sub. Not limping but not going full speed.
Comes out at 5:33 and doesn't play again.
#NCAAWBB
Comes out at 5:33 and doesn't play again.
#NCAAWBB
Reposted by Derek Willis
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
I get SMS messages:
November 23, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I get SMS messages:
Princeton's 100-93 win over Penn State today is the first #NCAAWBB game this season where the losing team shot >= 58% from the floor (has happened 78 times since 2009-10, according to @herhoopstats.com):
herhoopstats.com/stats/ncaa/r...
herhoopstats.com/stats/ncaa/r...
NCAA reSEARCH | Team Single Games NCAA
Find the NCAA games that meet the search criteria
herhoopstats.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Princeton's 100-93 win over Penn State today is the first #NCAAWBB game this season where the losing team shot >= 58% from the floor (has happened 78 times since 2009-10, according to @herhoopstats.com):
herhoopstats.com/stats/ncaa/r...
herhoopstats.com/stats/ncaa/r...
Lemme just quickly check up on the cricket from Australia …. WTF happened?
November 22, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Lemme just quickly check up on the cricket from Australia …. WTF happened?
But they will 100% use it to raise a bunch of money from donors and waste it.
Trump won MTG's district by ~37 points in 2024, according to @the-downballot.com's calculations. So no, Dems are not going to win that seat.
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 AM
But they will 100% use it to raise a bunch of money from donors and waste it.
Now ask yourself, where else is this happening?
The day Nico Iamaleava's NIL contract dispute broke, UCLA got $60,000 from donors.
But the school didn't have them send the money to its collective, Bruins for Life.
Instead, it had them give it to a local charity for at-risk youth.
Which is run by the founder of Bruins for Life.
But the school didn't have them send the money to its collective, Bruins for Life.
Instead, it had them give it to a local charity for at-risk youth.
Which is run by the founder of Bruins for Life.
How UCLA used a friendly charity to get tax-free NIL money
The school sent donors to a 501c3, but flagged the money for its football team.
www.foiaball.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Now ask yourself, where else is this happening?
Reposted by Derek Willis
What a day!! Get the full summary of a thrilling day 1 of the 2025/26 Ashes from Guerilla debutant Ed Mace, with Messy Jez.
#Ashes2025
#AUSvENG
Guerilla Roundup Ashes Test 1 Day 1 youtu.be/fc_EgS2sOxY?...
#Ashes2025
#AUSvENG
Guerilla Roundup Ashes Test 1 Day 1 youtu.be/fc_EgS2sOxY?...
Guerilla Roundup Ashes Test 1 Day 1
YouTube video by Guerilla Cricket
youtu.be
November 21, 2025 at 11:38 AM
What a day!! Get the full summary of a thrilling day 1 of the 2025/26 Ashes from Guerilla debutant Ed Mace, with Messy Jez.
#Ashes2025
#AUSvENG
Guerilla Roundup Ashes Test 1 Day 1 youtu.be/fc_EgS2sOxY?...
#Ashes2025
#AUSvENG
Guerilla Roundup Ashes Test 1 Day 1 youtu.be/fc_EgS2sOxY?...
A Bloomberg Law analysis of federal civil rights lawsuits from 2017 to 2024 found at least 54 pregnant women or their families have alleged severe mistreatment or medical neglect in jails. And it keeps happening.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Pregnancy Behind Bars Proves Deadly for Women and Their Babies
A yearlong probe reveals dozens of pregnant women in jails face horrific conditions with limited medical care. Many are ignored when seeking help, miscarrying or giving birth on floors or in toilets. ...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:46 PM
A Bloomberg Law analysis of federal civil rights lawsuits from 2017 to 2024 found at least 54 pregnant women or their families have alleged severe mistreatment or medical neglect in jails. And it keeps happening.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
I kind of appreciate the explicit admission that they hope the public doesn't get to know what they are doing. Kind of.
November 20, 2025 at 12:42 PM
I kind of appreciate the explicit admission that they hope the public doesn't get to know what they are doing. Kind of.
The claim "I cannot fly" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that I can, in fact, fly.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 3:09 AM
The claim "I cannot fly" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that I can, in fact, fly.
"If, however, there were a Nobel Prize for Fiction, Judge Brown’s opinion would be a prime candidate." - U.S. District Judge Jerry Smith, in his dissent in the TX redistricting case.
(There is a Nobel Prize for literature, fwiw.)
electionlawblog.org/wp-content/u...
(There is a Nobel Prize for literature, fwiw.)
electionlawblog.org/wp-content/u...
November 19, 2025 at 9:11 PM
"If, however, there were a Nobel Prize for Fiction, Judge Brown’s opinion would be a prime candidate." - U.S. District Judge Jerry Smith, in his dissent in the TX redistricting case.
(There is a Nobel Prize for literature, fwiw.)
electionlawblog.org/wp-content/u...
(There is a Nobel Prize for literature, fwiw.)
electionlawblog.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Derek Willis
Hello, #RStats folks: needing to use some Claude Code credits, I tried implementing the waffle package using only ggplot. Please tell me if this is a bad idea:
github.com/dwillis/waffle
github.com/dwillis/waffle
GitHub - dwillis/waffle: :maple_leaf: Make waffle (square pie) charts in R
:maple_leaf: Make waffle (square pie) charts in R. Contribute to dwillis/waffle development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Hello, #RStats folks: needing to use some Claude Code credits, I tried implementing the waffle package using only ggplot. Please tell me if this is a bad idea:
github.com/dwillis/waffle
github.com/dwillis/waffle
Not the strangest newsroom behavior I've seen, tbh
“Why are you pouring water over your head?” asked Frog.
“I hope that if I pour water over my head, it will help me to think of a story,” said Toad.
“I hope that if I pour water over my head, it will help me to think of a story,” said Toad.
November 19, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Not the strangest newsroom behavior I've seen, tbh
Hot damn.
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
www.govscape.net
November 19, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Hot damn.
Hello, #RStats folks: needing to use some Claude Code credits, I tried implementing the waffle package using only ggplot. Please tell me if this is a bad idea:
github.com/dwillis/waffle
github.com/dwillis/waffle
GitHub - dwillis/waffle: :maple_leaf: Make waffle (square pie) charts in R
:maple_leaf: Make waffle (square pie) charts in R. Contribute to dwillis/waffle development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Hello, #RStats folks: needing to use some Claude Code credits, I tried implementing the waffle package using only ggplot. Please tell me if this is a bad idea:
github.com/dwillis/waffle
github.com/dwillis/waffle
Reposted by Derek Willis
I feel like Person of the Year should go to college student journalists
November 18, 2025 at 9:54 PM
I feel like Person of the Year should go to college student journalists
Since March 2024 I've been collecting SMS alerts from The Washington Post (thanks, undocumented public API!). Had Claude Code whip up a simple app to allow you to browse and search them. The Post has stopped using some topics this year but still does multiple alerts a day:
thescoop.org/wapo-alerts/
thescoop.org/wapo-alerts/
📬 Post Ping Dashboard
thescoop.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Since March 2024 I've been collecting SMS alerts from The Washington Post (thanks, undocumented public API!). Had Claude Code whip up a simple app to allow you to browse and search them. The Post has stopped using some topics this year but still does multiple alerts a day:
thescoop.org/wapo-alerts/
thescoop.org/wapo-alerts/
Reposted by Derek Willis
It takes a long time to get detailed precinct-level data for a presidential election. We're now at 99 percent complete.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2024 Election (Gift Article)
See how your neighborhood voted on our interactive, precinct-level results map of the presidential election.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:51 PM
It takes a long time to get detailed precinct-level data for a presidential election. We're now at 99 percent complete.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
At the @terpswbb.bsky.social game yesterday I was thinking about the game data I've been collecting and what could be done with it. Had a few ideas and set Claude Code to work.
thescoop.org/umdwbb-data/
#ncaawbb
thescoop.org/umdwbb-data/
#ncaawbb
Maryland Women's Basketball Data Browser
thescoop.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM
At the @terpswbb.bsky.social game yesterday I was thinking about the game data I've been collecting and what could be done with it. Had a few ideas and set Claude Code to work.
thescoop.org/umdwbb-data/
#ncaawbb
thescoop.org/umdwbb-data/
#ncaawbb
Great reporting on the Rankin County (MS) sheriff's office & jail conditions by @mississippitoday.org & @revealnews.org, with reporting from @merrillcollege.bsky.social grad Steph Quinn!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
cc @emayfarris.bsky.social @mirya.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
cc @emayfarris.bsky.social @mirya.bsky.social
In a Brutal Mississippi Jail, Inmates Say They Were Enlisted as Enforcers
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Great reporting on the Rankin County (MS) sheriff's office & jail conditions by @mississippitoday.org & @revealnews.org, with reporting from @merrillcollege.bsky.social grad Steph Quinn!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
cc @emayfarris.bsky.social @mirya.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
cc @emayfarris.bsky.social @mirya.bsky.social
I'm a Pitt alum, and the phrase "of the best teams in the country" is doing a lot of work in the context of the Panthers.
Many of the best teams in the country looking awful at the moment. A&M ... Indiana ... Pitt ... Harvard ...
November 15, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I'm a Pitt alum, and the phrase "of the best teams in the country" is doing a lot of work in the context of the Panthers.
Reposted by Derek Willis
NEW: New Jersey’s township data is (mostly) in, so
@shanegoldmacher.bsky.social & I crunched the numbers on NJ’s blue shift/pendulum swing
The same majority-Hispanic cities & towns that swung to Trump in 24 shifted back D, to Mikie Sherrill, in the governor’s race
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
@shanegoldmacher.bsky.social & I crunched the numbers on NJ’s blue shift/pendulum swing
The same majority-Hispanic cities & towns that swung to Trump in 24 shifted back D, to Mikie Sherrill, in the governor’s race
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Maps Show How Latinos Who Shifted Right in 2024 Snapped Back Left in 2025
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM
NEW: New Jersey’s township data is (mostly) in, so
@shanegoldmacher.bsky.social & I crunched the numbers on NJ’s blue shift/pendulum swing
The same majority-Hispanic cities & towns that swung to Trump in 24 shifted back D, to Mikie Sherrill, in the governor’s race
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
@shanegoldmacher.bsky.social & I crunched the numbers on NJ’s blue shift/pendulum swing
The same majority-Hispanic cities & towns that swung to Trump in 24 shifted back D, to Mikie Sherrill, in the governor’s race
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/u...
Still at this high school journalism conference & the student-led investigative reporting session is packed with people and good ideas.
"Open meetings, guys."
Testify
"Open meetings, guys."
Testify
November 15, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Still at this high school journalism conference & the student-led investigative reporting session is packed with people and good ideas.
"Open meetings, guys."
Testify
"Open meetings, guys."
Testify