STORIES TO READ 8-7-25

Welcome back, travelers. Hope you're doing OK, considering the state of things. It's OK if you're not. But keep trying, and do your best. Here are some stories to read that you may find interesting and informative (though possibly enraging). Be well.

Union says Providence fired 15 nurses in retaliation for news coverage of girl’s suicide at Spokane hospital (Investigate West) – Washington's largest nurses union is accusing Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center of retaliation after the Spokane hospital fired 15 nurses and disciplined another following news reports about a 12-year-old girl's suicide at the facility.

NOTE: This story and its related pieces include discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

ICE Is About To Go on a Social Media and TV Ad Recruiting Blitz (404 Media) – Reporters at 404 Media reviewed contracting records that show that ICE wants to target Gen Z, including with ads on Hulu and HBO Max. The push for recruitment advertising is the latest sign that ICE is trying to aggressively expand after receiving a new budget allocation of tens of billions of dollars.

Men inside San Quentin had ‘no expectation of survival’ during California tsunami scare (Prism) – Through interviews with incarcerated people and internal staff emails obtained through a FOIA request, Prism reports on California's failure to include incarcerated people in emergency plans following a a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that occurred on Dec. 5, off the coast of Eureka, California.

ICE Is Pressuring People in Custody to Self-Deport. Many Are Giving Up. (Capital & Main) – According to current and former detainees, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are pressuring people in their custody to agree to deportation. The Trump administration is even promising to pay people $1,000 and free flights home if they agree to self-deport.

World Athletics’ mandatory genetic test for women athletes is misguided. I should know – I discovered the relevant gene in 1990 (The Conversation) – "World Athletics asserts the SRY gene is a reliable proxy for determining biological sex. But biological sex is much more complex, with chromosomal, gonadal (testis/ovary), hormonal and secondary sex characteristics all playing a role," writes Andrew Sinclair, who discovered the SRY gene on the human Y chromosome in 1990.

And there you go. Read some stuff and enjoy your Thursday as best you can. If you want more news from independent and nonprofit media sources, follow my feed on Bluesky.