Erin Cunningham
@erinmcunningham.bsky.social
🪬Middle East News Editor @washingtonpost; previous life as a correspondent in Cairo, Kabul, Gaza, Istanbul, Baghdad. Now in D.C. All the pieces matter.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
"In a 40-page filing to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, the administration insisted that being forced to spend money Congress has already appropriated is a graver injury than the hunger and disruption that would follow from withholding it."
abcnews.go.com/US/snap-appe...
abcnews.go.com/US/snap-appe...
In SNAP appeal, Trump administration says it faces more harm than people who can't buy food: ANALYSIS
The Trump administration is appealing a federal judge's requirement that it make full November SNAP payments.
abcnews.go.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
"In a 40-page filing to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, the administration insisted that being forced to spend money Congress has already appropriated is a graver injury than the hunger and disruption that would follow from withholding it."
abcnews.go.com/US/snap-appe...
abcnews.go.com/US/snap-appe...
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
If you’re trying to catch up on what went down with #SNAP late last night at #SCOTUS, here’s my attempt to read the breadcrumbs on the “administrative stay” issued by Justice Jackson—and why a justice so critical of the Court’s grants of emergency relief to Trump still granted temporary relief here:
190. SNAP WTF?
A very quick explainer on why Justice Jackson issued an "administrative stay" in the SNAP case late on Friday night, and on what's likely to happen next
www.stevevladeck.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:18 PM
If you’re trying to catch up on what went down with #SNAP late last night at #SCOTUS, here’s my attempt to read the breadcrumbs on the “administrative stay” issued by Justice Jackson—and why a justice so critical of the Court’s grants of emergency relief to Trump still granted temporary relief here:
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
Record levels of meth are flooding Asia. This doesn't just mirror the fentanyl crisis in the Americas; it's directly linked. The companies supplying Mexican cartels are the same as those supplying Myanmar warlords.
A year-long investigation out on the @washingtonpost.com now:
wapo.st/3LmdDdo
A year-long investigation out on the @washingtonpost.com now:
wapo.st/3LmdDdo
China’s chemical exports are behind a ‘tsunami’ of meth flooding Asia
Chinese manufacturers are shipping meth precursor chemicals to warlords in Myanmar, precipitating a drug crisis across the Asia-Pacific, a Post investigation finds.
wapo.st
November 8, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Record levels of meth are flooding Asia. This doesn't just mirror the fentanyl crisis in the Americas; it's directly linked. The companies supplying Mexican cartels are the same as those supplying Myanmar warlords.
A year-long investigation out on the @washingtonpost.com now:
wapo.st/3LmdDdo
A year-long investigation out on the @washingtonpost.com now:
wapo.st/3LmdDdo
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
NEW: Inside the Biden administration debates in late 2024 that could have changed the course of the Gaza war
-top intel official sought to cut support for Israel but Brett McGurk pushed back
-talk of "very likely" US liability
-Blinken spoke of "ethnic cleansing"
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
-top intel official sought to cut support for Israel but Brett McGurk pushed back
-talk of "very likely" US liability
-Blinken spoke of "ethnic cleansing"
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
Biden Discussed Potential Israeli War Crimes In Gaza. He Kicked The Can To Trump.
New intelligence shocked officials in late 2024, spurring heightened fear of U.S. liability, HuffPost has learned. The period saw Secretary of State Antony Blinken ask if Israel’s actions constituted ...
www.huffpost.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:59 PM
NEW: Inside the Biden administration debates in late 2024 that could have changed the course of the Gaza war
-top intel official sought to cut support for Israel but Brett McGurk pushed back
-talk of "very likely" US liability
-Blinken spoke of "ethnic cleansing"
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
-top intel official sought to cut support for Israel but Brett McGurk pushed back
-talk of "very likely" US liability
-Blinken spoke of "ethnic cleansing"
www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-...
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
New — While some states have received SNAP benefits for November and USDA is supposedly pushing through all federal payments soon, that doesn’t erase the psychological terror of the last few weeks.
I spoke with 20+ SNAP recipients in 16 states about preparing for a possible future with no food:
I spoke with 20+ SNAP recipients in 16 states about preparing for a possible future with no food:
The voices of SNAP
Recipients have become political pawns. They explained, in their own words, what Trump withholding funds has been like.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 7, 2025 at 10:55 PM
New — While some states have received SNAP benefits for November and USDA is supposedly pushing through all federal payments soon, that doesn’t erase the psychological terror of the last few weeks.
I spoke with 20+ SNAP recipients in 16 states about preparing for a possible future with no food:
I spoke with 20+ SNAP recipients in 16 states about preparing for a possible future with no food:
“At a time when masked agents of the state act with impunity, emboldened neo-Nazi groups march in the streets, and one institution after another legitimizes authoritarian consolidation, there’s a need for unflinching reporting to hold these forces to account.” 👏 @decoherence.media decoherence.media
Decoherence Media
Decoherence Media investigates authoritarian and anti-democratic movements using open-source and data-driven methods
decoherence.media
November 7, 2025 at 5:06 PM
“At a time when masked agents of the state act with impunity, emboldened neo-Nazi groups march in the streets, and one institution after another legitimizes authoritarian consolidation, there’s a need for unflinching reporting to hold these forces to account.” 👏 @decoherence.media decoherence.media
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
today’s information came out piecemeal, and people should be able to share their own situations on their own time, but I could share this much ^ as it is pretty cut and dry on the facts.
Teen Vogue also no longer has any trans staffers as of today.
Teen Vogue also no longer has any trans staffers as of today.
November 3, 2025 at 11:28 PM
today’s information came out piecemeal, and people should be able to share their own situations on their own time, but I could share this much ^ as it is pretty cut and dry on the facts.
Teen Vogue also no longer has any trans staffers as of today.
Teen Vogue also no longer has any trans staffers as of today.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
if there was a rich person with the will, you could build the most incredible news organization that has ever existed just from the wreckage of this year alone.
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 8:11 PM
if there was a rich person with the will, you could build the most incredible news organization that has ever existed just from the wreckage of this year alone.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
Teen Vogue took young people seriously. It's impossible to overstate how important, how rare, and how profoundly needed that is.
November 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Teen Vogue took young people seriously. It's impossible to overstate how important, how rare, and how profoundly needed that is.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
...and less than 24 hours later Condé Nast has fired Lex and the rest of the Teen Vogue political desk, even as stories like this were bringing huge numbers of readers to the site
dissatisfied by the New York Times coverage of Zohran Mamdani?
great news! I talked to the guy Thursday about his campaign’s success at bringing community together beyond this election, and contextualized how it’s potentially shifted youth engagement with politics by simply listening @teenvogue.com
great news! I talked to the guy Thursday about his campaign’s success at bringing community together beyond this election, and contextualized how it’s potentially shifted youth engagement with politics by simply listening @teenvogue.com
Zohran Mamdani's Establishment-Fighting Campaign Built Community for Young People
“What Mamdani has done is not only inspire and mobilize young people, but he has exposed the establishment and some of their calcified views of participation and inclusion.”
www.teenvogue.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:16 PM
...and less than 24 hours later Condé Nast has fired Lex and the rest of the Teen Vogue political desk, even as stories like this were bringing huge numbers of readers to the site
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 7:52 PM
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
Today marks International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists which serves as a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do to hold those accountable for the violence, including murder, committed against many of our colleagues in the press.
November 2, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Today marks International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists which serves as a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do to hold those accountable for the violence, including murder, committed against many of our colleagues in the press.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
Don’t forget to destroy your clocks tonight and reclaim what they’ve taken from you
November 1, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Don’t forget to destroy your clocks tonight and reclaim what they’ve taken from you
A classified report by a U.S. gov’t watchdog found that Israeli military units committed “many hundreds” of potential violations of U.S. human rights law in the Gaza Strip that would take the State Department “multiple years” to review. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec... @johnphudson.bsky.social
Classified U.S. report finds backlog of hundreds of possible Israeli human rights violations
The report found “hundreds” of possible Israeli human rights violations, further complicating a process to review credible allegations against IDF military units in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:45 PM
A classified report by a U.S. gov’t watchdog found that Israeli military units committed “many hundreds” of potential violations of U.S. human rights law in the Gaza Strip that would take the State Department “multiple years” to review. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec... @johnphudson.bsky.social
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
October 30, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
DHS says our new piece is "dishonest, slanted, and fundamentally inaccurate" but won't say why. Here's the story where we show with evidence that DHS spliced together clips spanning years and multiple locations to create its own reality. Gift link wapo.st/4nuDGwf
October 30, 2025 at 3:26 AM
DHS says our new piece is "dishonest, slanted, and fundamentally inaccurate" but won't say why. Here's the story where we show with evidence that DHS spliced together clips spanning years and multiple locations to create its own reality. Gift link wapo.st/4nuDGwf
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
Scoop - Trump has fired all the sitting members on the Commission on Fine Arts, an independent agency expected to review his construction projects.
White House fires arts commission expected to review Trump construction projects
The moves comes as President Donald Trump pursues efforts to build a White House ballroom and a triumphal arch in Washington.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Scoop - Trump has fired all the sitting members on the Commission on Fine Arts, an independent agency expected to review his construction projects.
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
NEW: The Trump administration is racing to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia as soon as Friday, conceding it does not intend to follow through on his criminal case despite earlier assurances.
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
October 27, 2025 at 9:08 PM
NEW: The Trump administration is racing to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia as soon as Friday, conceding it does not intend to follow through on his criminal case despite earlier assurances.
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
New with @natashabernal.bsky.social:
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok have all been founding citing Russian sources—including Russian media sanctioned by the EU—in response to queries about the war in Ukraine
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok have all been founding citing Russian sources—including Russian media sanctioned by the EU—in response to queries about the war in Ukraine
Chatbots Are Pushing Sanctioned Russian Propaganda
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok are serving users propaganda from Russian-backed media when asked about the invasion of Ukraine, new research finds.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:47 AM
New with @natashabernal.bsky.social:
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok have all been founding citing Russian sources—including Russian media sanctioned by the EU—in response to queries about the war in Ukraine
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok have all been founding citing Russian sources—including Russian media sanctioned by the EU—in response to queries about the war in Ukraine
where they were operating* <sigh>
Just weeks before a ceasefire, Israel killed 5 Palestinian journalists at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, twice firing high-explosive tank rounds at the stairwell where they were operated. Experts said the strike fit a "pattern of recklessness" on the part of the IDF. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
How Israeli strikes that killed 5 journalists at a Gaza hospital unfolded
The strikes on Nasser Hospital fit what military and legal experts said has been a pattern of reckless targeting and weaponeering by Israeli forces in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:08 PM
where they were operating* <sigh>
Just weeks before a ceasefire, Israel killed 5 Palestinian journalists at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, twice firing high-explosive tank rounds at the stairwell where they were operated. Experts said the strike fit a "pattern of recklessness" on the part of the IDF. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
How Israeli strikes that killed 5 journalists at a Gaza hospital unfolded
The strikes on Nasser Hospital fit what military and legal experts said has been a pattern of reckless targeting and weaponeering by Israeli forces in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Just weeks before a ceasefire, Israel killed 5 Palestinian journalists at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, twice firing high-explosive tank rounds at the stairwell where they were operated. Experts said the strike fit a "pattern of recklessness" on the part of the IDF. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
“CBS News declined to comment on whether Ms. Weiss’s expression of strong opinions on major news events ran afoul of its ethics rules, or belied CBS News’s efforts to appear nonpartisan.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/b...
Booking Big Guests and Irked by Leaks: Bari Weiss’s First Days at CBS
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:30 AM
“CBS News declined to comment on whether Ms. Weiss’s expression of strong opinions on major news events ran afoul of its ethics rules, or belied CBS News’s efforts to appear nonpartisan.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/b...
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
This story is extraordinary even by 2025 standards. Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, made a deal with Bukele and agreed to renege on informant agreements in a years-long DOJ investigation into MS-13, totally undercutting credibility of such agreements.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal
To secure U.S. access to President Nayib Bukele’s notorious CECOT prison, Rubio agreed to turn over several MS-13 leaders central to a long-running Justice Department investigation.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
This story is extraordinary even by 2025 standards. Marco Rubio, the nation's top diplomat, made a deal with Bukele and agreed to renege on informant agreements in a years-long DOJ investigation into MS-13, totally undercutting credibility of such agreements.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Erin Cunningham
NYT - A 155-millimeter shell fired during a live-fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton prematurely detonated, dropping fragments of the shell on a CHP vehicle and motorcycle that were part of Vice President Vance's protective detail. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/us...
www.nytimes.com
October 19, 2025 at 9:58 PM
NYT - A 155-millimeter shell fired during a live-fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton prematurely detonated, dropping fragments of the shell on a CHP vehicle and motorcycle that were part of Vice President Vance's protective detail. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/us...