Russell Contreras
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russcontreras.bsky.social
Russell Contreras
@russcontreras.bsky.social
Senior Race and Justice Reporter for Axios. Houston born, New Mexico-based. #ColumbiaMFA #UH #race #journalism #writing #history #immigration #latino https://www.axios.com/authors/rcontreras
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Every reader deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of a book. Join us this Giving Tuesday in our work to recruit and keep underrepresented literary agents in publishing. Read more and help us change the industry for good at the link in our bio ❤️

#givingtuesday #literaryagentsofchange
November 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Artificial intelligence is rewriting the playbook for crime, from cheap deepfake scams and AI-written ransomware to mass identity hijacks and critical-infrastructure hacks www.axios.com/2025/11/14/a... #ai
AI is reinventing crime and cops aren't ready
AI-powered crimes surge as law enforcement lags.
www.axios.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Only 31% of Latinos now say it's a good time to be Latino in America.

Down from 67% in June 2022.

Trump erased a decade of Republican gains in 10 months.

@mikemadrid.bsky.social sits down with @russcontreras.bsky.social to discuss the latest @axios.com poll:
open.substack.com/pub/thelatin...
The Economy Trumps Everything: Inside the Latest Latino Polling with Russell Contreras
In a revealing conversation with Axios reporter Russell Contreras, Mike dives into the latest polling data that confirms what many have been saying all along: IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID.
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Fewer than half of Americans now say religion is an important part of their daily lives, a 17 percentage point drop since 2015, which ranks among the largest declines in the world, according to a new Gallup poll www.axios.com/2025/11/13/g...
U.S. faith levels plummet to lowest on record
The U.S. is rapidly becoming more secular.
www.axios.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
A new digital awakening is unfolding in churches, where pastors and prayer apps are turning to artificial intelligence to reach worshippers, personalize sermons, and power chatbots that resemble God.
Meet chatbot Jesus: Churches tap AI to save souls and time as pews get more empty
Chatbots answer prayers and algorithms write sermons.
www.axios.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:37 PM
A new digital awakening is unfolding in churches, where pastors and prayer apps are turning to artificial intelligence to reach worshippers, personalize sermons, and power chatbots that resemble God www.axios.com/2025/11/12/c...
Meet chatbot Jesus: How churches are using AI to save souls
Chatbots answer prayers and algorithms write sermons.
www.axios.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Dozens of white clergy are signing up to run as Democrats in 2026, as progressive faith leaders push back on the political dominance of the Christian right www.axios.com/2025/11/09/c...
"Shocking" number of white clergy run as Democrats in 2026
"We're tracking about 30 white clergy who are running for office as Democrats around the country."
www.axios.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Who is ‘fedora man’? Dapper French teenager in viral Louvre heist photo unmasked apple.news/AoggXQT_GQ5q...
Who is ‘fedora man’? Dapper French teenager in viral Louvre heist photo unmasked — Guardian US
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux was captured looking suave in a picture outside the Paris museum on the day of a crown jewels heist
apple.news
November 10, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Dozens of white clergy are signing up to run as Democrats in 2026, as progressive faith leaders push back on the political dominance of the Christian right www.axios.com/2025/11/09/c...
"Shocking" number of white clergy run as Democrats in 2026
"We're tracking about 30 white clergy who are running for office as Democrats around the country."
www.axios.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia and his wife mourn death of their baby daughter
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia and his wife mourn death of their baby daughter
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia posts on social media that his baby daughter died on Oct. 26. He thanks Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays players and fans for their support.
www.latimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
I don't think enough people understand how much we're living in an AI-enabled panopticon now.
"According to documents obtained by FOIAball, the Ole Miss-Georgia matchup was one of at least two games last year where the school used a Department of Homeland Security information-sharing platform to keep a watchful eye on attendees."

Crazy reporting from @foiaball.com:
Scoop: Inside DHS's vast college football surveillance effort
If you go to a college football game, the feds have cameras on you.
foiaball.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Nearly 2 in 3 Latinos say it's a bad time to be Latino in the U.S. — a spike in pessimism since just last year and a total reversal from three years ago — according to a new @axios.com @ipsosgroup.bsky.social Latino Poll in partnership with @noticiastelemundo.com www.axios.com/2025/11/06/l...
"A bad time to be Latino": Pessimism surges in new Axios-Ipsos poll
Latinos' overall sense of optimism, safety and belonging has plunged across several measures since President Trump took office.
www.axios.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was groped Tuesday by a man on the street who kissed her neck and touched her chest.

“If they do this to the president," she said, "what must happen to all the young women women?"

She's calling for new measures to end harassment

www.latimes.com/world-nation...
Mexico's president was groped on the street. Now she's waging war on rampant sexual harassment
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's first female president, is pushing measures against sexual harassment after she was groped by a stranger on the street.
www.latimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
From Edel Rodriquez, on the cover of nex week’s @newyorker.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Zohran Mamdani claimed victory in the New York City mayoral race Tuesday night, and will become the city's first Muslim mayor, per AP www.axios.com/2025/11/05/z...
Zohran Mamdani wins NYC's mayor race
The race to lead the Big Apple captivated the nation.
www.axios.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Homicide rates continued to decline in major U.S. cities — by more than 40% in some communities — during the first nine months of the year, according to new data reviewed by @axios.com. www.axios.com/2025/11/04/c... on
Homicides keep plunging in Trump's "hellhole" cities
New data show killings dropping dramatically in D.C., Memphis, Chicago and Portland, Ore., where Trump has focused his National Guard plan.
www.axios.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Proud of my former AP colleague.

Two years ago, writer Jeri Clausing was diagnosed with breast cancer and has since traveled to Antarctica, South America, Europe, Egypt, and the South Pacific. Here’s what she learned along the way www.afar.com/magazine/cru... #FuckCancer #travel
After My Breast Cancer Diagnosis, I Decided to Cruise the World. It Was Both Hell and a Dream.
Two years ago, writer Jeri Clausing was diagnosed with breast cancer and has since traveled to Antarctica, South America, Europe, Egypt, and the South Pacific. Here’s what she learned along the way.
www.afar.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Remembering the ancestors on this #diadelosmuertos

Their fights here and abroad give us life today

#diademuertosmexico #diadelosmuertos2025🏵️🇲🇽
November 2, 2025 at 4:47 AM
This is gonna be like the 1991 World Series ending #minvalt
November 2, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Rooting not just for a Game 7 of the World Series, but another 18 inning game that goes so long on Saturday night that the clocks fall back at 2am before it’s ended and everyone gets tremendously confused about what time it is.
October 30, 2025 at 4:27 AM
A @bostonglobe.com Spotlight Team investigation found that many of the DEA’s targets in New England were precisely the people DEA speak agent Forget said they were not: addicts, low-level dealers, shoplifters, and people living at a homeless encampment, not cartel members flip.it/DbLFmP
The DEA said it arrested 171 ‘high ranking’ Sinaloa Cartel members. A Spotlight investigation found that’s not true. - The Boston Globe
A Globe investigation found that the federal agency misrepresented the stature of its targets, claiming cartel ties at a time when the Trump administration is taking lethal military action against suc...
flip.it
October 31, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Cancer killed his parents. He’s facing the same disease alone — and unhoused, @oriion.bsky.social reports 19thnews.org/2025/10/canc...
Cancer killed his parents. He’s facing the same disease alone — and unhoused.
Marcus Ford, like other Black men around the country, lives with a higher risk of dying from cancer due to factors out of his control. But Medicaid cuts may take away his treatment.
19thnews.org
October 30, 2025 at 6:45 PM
A former Illinois sheriff's deputy has been convicted of second-degree murder after body cam footage showed him fatally shooting a 36-year-old Black woman who had called 911 for help last year www.axios.com/2025/10/30/s...
Ex-deputy convicted in 2024 shooting death of Sonya Massey
Sean Grayson now faces up to 20 years in prison.
www.axios.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
On this day in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy began serving sentences in Birmingham after defying a city ban on anti-segregation protests.
Oct. 30, 1967 | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy Jailed in Birmingham
Learn more about our history of racial injustice.
calendar.eji.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Russell Contreras
Evangelicals and Catholics uneasy with President Trump's rhetoric and immigration policies are subtly distancing themselves from MAGA — and taking some congregation members with them www.axios.com/2025/10/29/e...
Some evangelicals are "quietly quitting" Trump and MAGA
The administration's immigration raids and cuts to humanitarian aid are among the factors.
www.axios.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM