@slooterman

Disability and aging reporter @19thnews. Opinions are my own. Send tips to: [email protected] or slooterman.18 on Signal.

 Washington DC
19thnews.org/author/sara-luterman/
Joined March 2011
  • Tweets6.8K
  • Following6.5K
  • Followers27.8K
168Media
In June, DoJ announced they were withdrawing from Olmstead enforcement. Earlier this month, they took one of their first actions in Florida, withdrawing from an ongoing case to protect medically fragile children. My latest. 19thnews.org/2026/08/medical…

For families of medically fragile children, a policy change threatens the care they need at home

“We have worked so hard to keep him alive, and here we are talking about potentially having to put him into a facility, but there is no facility to keep him alive and safe.”

19thnews.org
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Sara Luterman retweeted
molly taft@mollytaft
6h
just love it when the piece you reported out for months gets read word for word by someone looking into their front facing camera who then gets ad revenue from it
Kyle Chayka@chaykak
8h
people have said it before but the whole shortform video / youtube / podcast content industry is so extractive of actual newsroom labor, and as far as I can tell very few of those studios have hard news operations, reporters / checkers / researchers...
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Sheryl Gay Stolberg
@SherylNYT
9h
ICYMI: "It's a zombified CDC." What was once the world's "undisputed leader in public health" is a skeleton of its former self. @apoorva_nyc nytimes.com/2026/09/26/healt…

‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)

The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.

nytimes.com
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PBS News
@NewsHour
13h
More than 1.2 million children lost access to food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program between July 2025 and 2026, according to a new analysis. to.pbs.org/4dwuKEf

More than 1.2 million children have lost SNAP benefits since last July. Experts explain why

Experts say that the drop is a cause for worry, and that it’s unlikely that the need for food assistance has dropped.

pbs.org
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Alayna Treene
@alaynatreene
12h
A CNN KFile investigation has uncovered since-removed posts from the past six years in which Texas GOP candidate Bo French repeatedly advocated having public executions for political opponents, including former President Barack Obama cnn.com/2026/09/28/politics/…

KFile: Texas GOP candidate Bo French has a history of calling for public executions | CNN Politics

Bo French, the Republican nominee for one of Texas’ most powerful statewide offices, is facing bipartisan criticism over a racist post about the crowd at a University of Texas football game.

cnn.com
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Happy Shake a Weird Expensive Lemon at God Week to all who observe it.
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NYT parachuting in to the small town lesbian mask bar is more embarrassing for them than it is for anybody else involved.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons@emmagf
Sep 27
“Four people in masks came out of the Last Ditch and confronted a small group of journalists hanging around outside. When one photographer snapped a flash photo of them, they demanded he delete the picture, and threatened to call the police.” nytimes.com/2026/09/27/us/la…

Saturday Night, No Mask Required, at the Last Ditch Lesbian Bar in Massachusetts (Gift Article)

Last Ditch, a bar and art space, ended its Covid mask requirement as a way to attract more people. What it got instead was outsized attention.

nytimes.com
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Part of what makes the original lesbian mask bar story charming is that it was relatively local news. International press using their largess to converge on a small stakes, small town controversy is, for lack of a better term, extremely cringe.
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Not knowing when it's a bit and when someone is doubling down into the most unhinged thing is the art of this website
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I wish people would be more normal about masking. I wear one during air travel, at doctor’s offices, on public transportation and at crowded indoor events. Or if I’m sick and need to be out and about in public for some reason. It really doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.
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Being sick and miserable less often is nice in and of itself. I haven’t gotten a cold or similar after traveling in years.
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Sara Luterman retweeted
Jeff Stein
@jstein_sun
Sep 24
Scoop: The National Security Agency is spending billions this year on testing AI models - far more than previously known Per a classified NSA estimate described by sources Compute costs for AI have exploded - including for taxpayers washingtonsun.com/technology…

Classified Estimates Show the NSA Is Paying Billions to Test AI Models

The price tag is significantly higher than previously known.

washingtonsun.com
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Almost every furry i've ever met is great at a very technical job. So yes, I am 100% comfortable with a furry flying my plane.
Coach Tommy Tuberville
@SenTuberville
Sep 24
Just a few weeks ago at the “Furry Migration” convention in Minneapolis, there was an “Aviation Furs Meet-up.” Ask yourself… would you be comfortable with a MENTALLY ILL FURRY being your pilot? furrymigration.org/schedule/

Online Schedule • Furry Migration

View the up-to-date hours and schedule for Furry Migration.

furrymigration.org
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Airline pilots must meet 1st-class medical requirements; being a part of the furry fandom or playing dress-up is not listed in 14 CFR 67.107(c) as a disqualifier. Hiring is entirely merit-based per OpSpec A134; airlines will hire whomever is qualified and certified. ecfr.gov/current/title-… faa.gov/documentLibrar…
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If someone in a technical role *hasn’t* at least considered what their fursona might be, I am suspicious of their qualifications.
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ej
@ejdickson
Sep 24
EXCLUSIVE: You know that BookTok smut-themed scare zone at SeaWorld that's going viral? I talked to the art director who came up with the idea. "I remember texting my manager being like, 'Don't judge me, but I have an idea,'" she told @WIRED. Full interview (and yes, she talks about the spraytanned abs) below: wired.com/story/seaworld-wan…

SeaWorld Wants to Make You Horny

The Orlando theme park’s immersive Halloween experience now includes hot, brooding guys in an homage to romantasy antiheroes—and it’s leading to record-breaking ticket sales.

wired.com
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I’m not saying the discontinuation of Sunkist Fruit Gems is antisemitic, but I’m also not not saying it…
Jay Deitcher (he/him)@jaydeitcher
Sep 24
They had the perfect softness to pelt at 13 year olds. You don't know what you got till it's gone. My latest in @eJPhil ejewishphilanthropy.com/sunk…

Sunkist Fruit Gems, a colorful staple of synagogue celebrations, discontinued 

The kosher confection appears to be the latest victim of private-equity firms acquiring classic candy brands and then shaping them for the mass market

ejewishphilanthropy.com
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The only thing I’m going to say about the lesbian mask bar story is that the kind of person depicted in it is really marginal in most real life disability advocacy and support spaces, even if they don’t act like it online.
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Supporting disabled people’s inclusion in society *is* important and it involves stuff like supporting robust, home and community-based disability services. If you wanna get more hands on, try out stuff like Special Olympics Unified Sports.
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I love this.
This American Life
@ThisAmerLife
Sep 23
Some NPR podcasts started getting mysterious comments on Spotify. They made no sense to the staff reading them – until someone from a younger generation cracked the code. Hear the story: link.podtrac.com/phns92ui
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Sara Luterman retweeted
ettingermentum
@ettingermentum
Sep 23
No you’re not. That’s not true. You’re the 83 year old ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Rosa DeLauro
@rosadelauro
Sep 23
getting a group together to visit the weird lesbian bar in western mass dm if interested, can’t talk here
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Sara Luterman retweeted
Dan Diamond
@ddiamond
Sep 23
Trump’s first ballroom architect was worried the project didn’t comply with building safety codes. Trump’s response: “I am the code.” (The architect stepped aside.) Terrific reporting by @Blaskey_S @jocwapo. washingtonpost.com/investiga…

‘I am the code’: Trump clashed with ballroom architect over safety issues

James McCrery II resigned in October after warning that the president was insisting on designs that violated fire and safety codes.

washingtonpost.com
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