Sarah Williams
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williamssarah78.bsky.social
Sarah Williams
@williamssarah78.bsky.social
Retired broadcaster 33 years @voanews.
Broadcast to Asia & Africa. Working on family history involving Liverpool, North Wales, Rochester, NY and Haverhill, MA.
Reposted by Sarah Williams
In American high schools, many teenagers are assigned few full books to read from beginning to end — often just one or two per year, according to researchers and thousands of responses to an informal reader survey by The New York Times. trib.al/gNp7kWK
December 12, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
A rare 15th-century Jewish prayer book, confiscated from the Rothschild banking dynasty during the Holocaust, has been returned by Austria to the Rothschild family. It will be sold at Sotheby's next year for an estimated $5 million to $7 million.
Rare 15th Century Jewish Prayer Book, Looted by the Nazis, to Be Sold
The illuminated manuscript, confiscated from the Rothschild banking dynasty during the Holocaust, is expected to draw at least $5 million.
nyti.ms
December 10, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
(Reuters) - Federal tax prosecutions fell to their lowest level in decades this year, declining more than 27% from the year before as the Trump administration cut the ranks of attorneys and agents who pursue those cases. Exclusive: Tax prosecutions plunge as Trump shifts crime-fighting efforts - www
Exclusive: Tax prosecutions plunge as Trump shifts crime-fighting efforts
Federal tax prosecutions fell to their lowest level in decades this year, declining more than 27% from the year before as the Trump administration cut the ranks of attorneys and agents who pursue those cases, a Reuters examination has found.
www.reuters.com
December 10, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Anyone interested in the rise of techno-authoritarianism/broligarchs and why they're targeting Europe, I've stumbled on this great resource. Use it. authoritarian-stack.info cc @francescabria.bsky.social
The Authoritarian Stack
How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America — And Why Europe Is Next
authoritarian-stack.info
December 9, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Imagine spending more than a decade in jail—when you haven’t even broken a law. On this International #HumanRightsDay @chrdnet.bsky.social remembers—and calls for the immediate release of—these and all #humanrights defenders wrongfully imprisoned by #China govt.

www.nchrd.org/2025/12/chin...
China: End Long-Term Imprisonment of Human Rights Defenders | Chinese Human Rights Defenders
www.nchrd.org
December 10, 2025 at 10:45 AM
A rare right whale stunned Ireland last summer. Now it’s turned up off Boston – and scientists are buzzing. A Cape Cod group made the sighting. www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/e...
Cape Cod right whale season starts with surprise. 'Irish connections'
A rare right whale stunned Ireland last summer. Now it’s turned up off Boston – and scientists are buzzing. A Cape Cod group made the sighting.
www.capecodtimes.com
December 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
“As these essential outlets go dark, North Korea, already the world's most information-scarce regime, is becoming an even greater blind spot at precisely the moment when accurate intelligence matters most.”
Ending RFA, VOA Korean services threatens national security, AI system - UPI.com
The recent shutdown of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America Korean language services impacts security policy decisions and artificial intelligence.
www.upi.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
A big deal (or it should be):
December 4, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
They are beating people who maybe once had a broken taillight and sending them to foreign slave prisons while freeing the worst fraudsters and every corrupt pol. The juxtaposition is so stark and appalling.
NEW: The commutation Trump issued to David Gentile wipes away all further fines & restitution.

Gentile had been sentenced to 7 years for his role in a $1.6B scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.

Prosecutors had been seeking $15.5M in forfeiture.

www.justice.gov/pardon/media...
December 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Columnist George Will on the Trump administration.
Opinion | A sickening moral slum of an administration
Regarding Venezuela, Ukraine and much more, Trump and his acolytes are worse than simply incompetent.
wapo.st
December 3, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
This World AIDS Day, we remember the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers lost to HIV and AIDS, and those living with HIV today. We must remind ourselves and each other that the fight isn’t over until the epidemic is over for everyone.
December 2, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Posting stupid memes after being accused of murder is the response of a sneering, spoiled punk who has been caught doing wrong and is now daring the local fuzz to take him in and risk the anger of his rich dad—a role fulfilled by Donald Trump, in this case.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Pete Hegseth Needs to Go—Now
A man with such contempt for the military should not run the Pentagon.
www.theatlantic.com
December 2, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Breaking News: Contractors at the Hong Kong housing estate where a fire killed more than 150 people wrapped the buildings in substandard scaffolding netting and then sought to hide it from inspectors, officials said.
Hong Kong Contractors Used Unsafe Netting at Fire Site, Officials Say
Investigators say contractors wrapped the buildings in substandard scaffolding netting and then sought to hide it from inspectors. The toll from the fire rose to 151.
nyti.ms
December 1, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine met with President Emmanuel Macron of France on Monday, seeking support from European allies while the Trump administration pushes to end the war with Russia. Here's what to know.
Zelensky Turns to Europe After Talks With U.S. Officials
Ukraine’s president met with President Emmanuel Macron of France on Monday as Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, travels to Russia.
nyti.ms
December 1, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
There's a lot going on, and immigration law is notoriously labyrinthine. But it's still wild both that (1) the Trump administration is trying to treat millions of non-citizens who have lived here for years/decades as "arriving aliens"; & (2) *hundreds* of courts have (almost unanimously!) said "no":
195. The Immigration Detention Flood
The Trump administration's attempt to quietly—but massively—expand who can be detained pending their removal has been met with overwhelming pushback from a remarkably large number of district courts.
www.stevevladeck.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Trump at odds with the architect working on the new ballroom.
Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.
The president and James McCrery had argued in recent weeks over the project’s size, with Trump pushing him to expand the ballroom.
wapo.st
November 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Top U.S. military officials are meeting leaders of Caribbean nations this week as the Trump administration has escalated its firepower in the region as part of what it calls a campaign against drug trafficking. https://to.pbs.org/3KlWq3s
Top U.S. military officials will visit Caribbean leaders as Trump weighs next steps
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and meet Wednesday with the country’s top leaders, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
www.pbs.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:31 AM
At 88, one Cape Cod man has a passion for restoring and creating tiny boats. How he helps keep the history of Woods Hole’s tiniest vessels alive.
His hands, his craft, his boats: How one man helps preserve Woods Hole’s sailing history
At 88, one Falmouth man has a passion for restoring and creating tiny boats. How he helps keep the history of Woods Hole’s tiniest vessels alive.
www.capecodtimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
For a decade, Russia has been seeking to divide Europe and America, to undermine NATO and weaken the transatlantic alliance. This peace plan, if accepted, will achieve that goal.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
The Murky Plan That Ensures a Future War
Who will benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
www.theatlantic.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Excellent!
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, which had canceled naturalization ceremonies in several upstate New York counties, has reinstated the celebrations after an appeal from a congressman who said “the decision shouldn’t have happened.”
Citizenship Ceremonies Are Back On in Upstate New York After Abrupt Halt
At least seven counties had been affected by the interruption in celebrations for people who were becoming naturalized citizens.
nyti.ms
November 23, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Today is Holodomor Memorial Day
holodomor mini doc
YouTube video by - hrec
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Absolutely horrible!
The Trump administration this week moved to weaken the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among other deregulatory moves. If the proposals are finalized and upheld in court, they could reshape U.S. environmental policy for years to come, environmental lawyers and activists said.
In One Week, Trump Moves to Reshape U.S. Environmental Policy
The Trump administration this week moved to weaken the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, two bedrock laws, among other deregulatory moves.
nyti.ms
November 23, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Opposition-minded Russians who remain in the country are trying to keep politically active in whatever causes they can, whether that’s recycling, clean air or parking. Activists have held what they call “letter-writing evenings,” gathering at cafes or clubs to write letters to political prisoners.
What Russian Activists Do When They Can’t Criticize Putin
Opposition-minded Russians who remain in the country are trying to keep politically active in whatever causes they can, whether that’s recycling, clean air or parking.
nyti.ms
November 17, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Sarah Williams
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
November 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM