Rich Mathieson

Words, music, photos, design, dogs. Steelers. Nittany Lions. Hokies. (Not necessarily in that order.) “Educational exchange can turn nations into people.”

[Wendell Pierce @WendellPierce]

Today, July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of America

[Wendell Pierce @WendellPierce]

Due to a shortage of Independence the 4th of July has been moved to November 3rd!
Midterm elections!

[Rich Mathieson @rmathieson]

@nxthompson @mehdirhasan @TheAtlantic Appreciate @Peter_Wehner’s essay, though!

[Rich Mathieson @rmathieson]

@nxthompson @mehdirhasan Now, which @TheAtlantic reporter is going to ask the vice president the logical follow-up question and push him on his reply?

[nxthompson @nxthompson]

"Trump is cultural heroin. He makes some feel better for a bit. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it." - JD Vance, ten years ago today. https://t.co/VO0oVhyHXj

[Lauren Rinaldi 🧚‍♀️ @LRinaldiArt]

Made Jell-O shots to bring to the 4th of July bbq 🤗

[Rich Mathieson @rmathieson]

Amen.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all Americans on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This anniversary stands as an invitation not only to celebrate the nation’s remarkable journey, but also to reflect upon the responsibilities that the sons and daughters of this country bear to one another, and to the generations who will inherit the nation that is being shaped today. https://t.co/jIio4BBg9v

[Acyn @Acyn]

CNN: Absolutely has in a picture perfect day here on Mount Rushmore, has turned into anything but. We are experiencing a hail storm at the moment, and some rain and wind as well. That is expected to blow over. Presidents Washington and Jefferson and Roosevelt and Lincoln now look like they have tears because of the the rain

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

Mamdani: "As we mark 250 years, what do we see? ... we see the wealthiest country in the history of the world -- one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more ... we see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans"

[Travis Akers 🇺🇸 @travisakers]

In the past hour, the Trump admin has deleted their web page that recommended setting thermostats between 75-78 during heat waves, and 85 if you are not home, after the GOP learned that Mayor Mamdani was urging New Yorkers to follow White House guidance.

[Samantha Power @SamanthaJPower]

Huge thanks to @Newshour and @GeoffRBennett for giving the deadly dismantlement of USAID by Musk & Trump such serious and sustained treatment. Clip below, full interview here: https://t.co/Yv9X6RiP1g

[Samantha Power @SamanthaJPower]

Starting in early 2025, Elon Musk and the Trump administration began terminating USAID's programs and firing its staff — with Musk himself boasting about "feeding it into the woodchipper." One year ago today, USAID was officially dissolved, its remaining programs haphazardly folded into the State Department. Amid all the lies and misinformation that have followed, some facts about what has actually been lost:

• USAID saved more than 3 million lives a year at a cost of less than $10/month per American. That is what was destroyed. On purpose.
• According to Boston University's Global Impact Counter — which tracked deaths attributable to the cuts until it stopped operations in February 2026 — an estimated 781,000 people died preventable deaths in the first year, including 518,000 children.
• Global child mortality (the number of children who die before their fifth birthday) rose in 2025 for the first time in 35+ years — by 200,000 additional deaths.
• USAID's 50-country disease surveillance network — the system that cut outbreak response times from 2 weeks to 48 hours — is gone. We are now watching an unprecedented Ebola outbreak unfold in real time — with the highest first-month caseload and death rate in modern history.
• Programs reaching 93 million women and children were cut 92%. TB programs cut 56%. Water and sanitation cut 86%. Over 2,000 health facilities permanently closed.
• 25 million fewer people received humanitarian assistance in 2025. The overall humanitarian budget was slashed 74% — from $14.1 billion to $3.7 billion.
• 363 million people face acute hunger in 2026. The famine early-warning system that would have seen it coming went dark for five months.
• $1.7 billion in democracy and governance funding (election monitoring, anti-corruption work, support for independent media and civil society) was terminated.
• 360+ independent media outlets lost funding. Hundreds of legal clinics closed.
• Far from saving money, the Trump administration itself has already said the dismantlement will cost taxpayers at least $19.2 billion in cancellation fees, severance, and penalties. That's more than half of USAID's annual budget — spent on destruction and closeout, not support for vulnerable people.
• American farmers, universities, and businesses are among the casualties too. USAID partnered with more than 3,500 U.S. companies and maintained 17 university-based research labs. Its work with U.S.-based contractors and the private sector generated hundreds of thousands of American jobs and multiplied the return on every dollar spent. Those markets and partnerships are gone.

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

Elon Musk says that no one died because of his demolition of USAID, and that "Kristof is lying through his teeth." So here I invite him to join me on a visit to Africa to see for himself: https://t.co/TVEoFX8gzj

[Crooked Media @CrookedMedia]

Share this so Elon Musk can’t pretend kids didn’t die when he destroyed USAID.

[Tommy Vietor @TVietor08]

Elon Musk lies and claims that not one child has died because he decided to destroy USAID and feed it "into the wood chipper." @NickKristof went to South Sudan and Uganda and saw for himself. Share this to push back on Musk's gaslighting.

[Steve Schmidt @SteveSchmidtSES]

This is grotesque and un-American. 11 stars represents the Confederate States of America, not the United States of America.

[Aaron Rupar @atrupar]

JD Vance: "I think Nixon's historical legacy is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, and deservedly so. I joked that if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12 hours news story. The idea that it took down a presidency is crazy."

[Norm Clark @Normsmusic]

James Robison
What Joyce Carol Oates wrote to Elon Musk on Twitter. I am told it rattled him. I love it.
“So curious that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates – scenes from nature, pet dog or cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads); pride in a friend’s or relative’s accomplishment; condolences for someone who has died; pleasure in sports, acclaim for a favorite team; references to history. In fact he seems totally uneducated, uncultured. The poorest persons on Twitter may have access to more beauty & meaning in life than the ‘most wealthy person in the world.’”

[Andy Bitter @AndyBitterVT]

#Hokies officially announce Brian White as new AD.

[Andy Bitter @AndyBitterVT]

Our news story on the #Hokies hiring Brian White to be their new athletic director.

He comes to Virginia Tech after eight years at FAU, where he famously hired Dusty May before the coach's Final Four run with the Owls.

https://t.co/WGvQHn07G5