Oh boy. In March, as we prepared an article about the political influence of billionaires, @TimSheehyMT preemptively attacked my reporting. Numerous influencers then amplified the senator’s post, including Trump Jr., Riley Gaines, and DC_Draino.

But there's a twist...

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@TimSheehyMT One of the influencers, Jessica Reed Kraus, now says she had been paid to amplify Sen. Sheehy’s attack as part of an organized campaign offering influencers money to boost his message. She declined to say who paid for her post.

2/5

nytimes.com/2026/05/16/bus…

NEW: Howard Lutnick, the billionaire who serves as President Trump’s commerce secretary, planned a visit to Epstein’s island in 2012.

Lutnick previously claimed that he was so revolted by Epstein that he had cut ties with him years earlier.

1/6

nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/… Last year, Lutnick said in an interview that he visited Epstein’s home around 2005 and was so troubled by what he saw that he decided never to associate with him again.

“So I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy.”

2/6

Amid all the noise, it can be hard to figure out the facts of the Epstein-Trump relationship.

Here is a year-by-year timeline thread summarizing their connections (with sourcing and documentation) from 1990 until present.

🧵 1/17 1990: Epstein buys a property two miles north of Mar-a-Lago.

Two years later, in 1992, NBC video shows Epstein and Trump partying at Mar-a-Lago at an event featuring Buffalo Bills cheerleaders.

2/17

We have been mapping and studying the known flood risks at Camp Mystic.

It turns out that not only was the camp in a flood zone, some cabins were located in areas that local county officials had deemed “extremely hazardous.”

Here is more of what we found.

🧵 1/9 The riskiest areas are known as “floodways,” where rushing waters are expected during flood events.

In Kerr County, like many places, officials put strict limits on development in those areas “to protect human life.”

Story link:

2/9 nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Texas officials have long worried about the dangers to children who packed into camps each summer along the flood-prone Guadalupe River. They knew that warning systems were inadequate.

So why was nothing done? We have reviewed documents spanning a decade to find answers.

🧵 1/9 Without a more advanced warning system, the youth camps on the river had instead relied on a word-of-mouth strategy: Upstream camps would warn downstream peers of water surges coming their way.

2/9

nytimes.com/2025/07/06/us/…

NEW: There is a fascinating political drama unfolding right now at Indian Creek Village, the small gated island known as the “Billionaire Bunker,” home to the likes of Jeff Bezos, Tom Brady and Ivanka Trump.

It is a saga revolving around the island's 💩

THREAD (1/8) Despite the island’s extreme luxury (an empty lot sold for $110M), Indian Creek does not have a sewer system. The island proposed sending waste into the pipes of neighboring Surfside but then balked at the town’s $10M ask.

That was just the start.

(2/8)
nytimes.com/2025/06/13/us/…

Seattle’s only national park honors the grit of the Klondike gold rush, where Donald Trump's grandfather built the family's early wealth.

But the DOGE cuts have placed the park’s future at risk.

A 🧵 about the park and Frederick Trump...
There are some fascinating twists of history in this story.

Frederick Trump had his first foray into the world of hospitality as a 22-year-old in Seattle, when he opened a restaurant very close to the site of the current national park.

nytimes.com/2025/03/14/us/…

NEW:

A preliminary FAA report says staffing in the air traffic control tower at Reagan National was "not normal" last night.

One controller was managing both helicopters in the vicinity and planes — tasks typically divided between two controllers. More here:
nytimes.com/live/2025/01/2…

So, did Los Angeles cut the Fire Department budget or increase it? There are lots of people trying to score political points on that question.

If you are among the exclusive group of people who care about understanding the more complicated reality, here is a brief thread.

1/6 Last year, the mayor approved a $23 million budget cut for the fire department, including:

• Eliminating 73 civilian positions
• Reducing money available to pay firefighters’ overtime by $7.9 million

BUT…

2/6
nytimes.com/2025/01/09/us/…

NEW: We have obtained more details about Shamsud-Din Jabbar, his descent into radicalization, and some of his final words as he drove toward his attack in New Orleans.

THREAD 1/8 In one of his final messages, Jabbar told his family: “I wanted you to know that I joined ISIS.”

Then, a chilling addendum: “I don’t want you to think I spared you willingly.” He described how he had considered a fake “celebration” for them.

Story:

2/8nytimes.com/2025/01/04/us/…

We spent much of today interviewing a series of people who knew New Orleans attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar, including his brother, who spoke to Jabbar recently.

“I would have never imagined him doing something like this,” he told us.

1/8 There is much more detail here in this story, thanks to reporters on the ground in New Orleans and Houston, and others digging through his history on the internet and in the military.

But I’ll also thread some of the details we learned today.



2/8nytimes.com/2025/01/01/us/…

NEW: We have reviewed search warrant records in the case of Idaho killings suspect Bryan Kohberger. Among items seized from his apartment:
• a black disposable glove
• possible hair strands
• computer
• items with red or brown spots/stains
nytimes.com/article/univer… Investigators said in one document they wanted to see if hair had transferred onto Kohberger and then back to his apartment. That included not only the hair of victims but the hair of Kaylee Goncalves’s dog.

One of the items collected was a “possible animal hair strand.”

We reviewed hundreds of messages (spanning 10+ years) from Idaho killings suspect Bryan Kohberger. In them, he describes prolonged and sometimes deep mental health struggles, along with an interest in high-profile criminals.

Thread with screenshots. 1/10

nytimes.com/2023/01/13/us/… By 2009, at age 14, Kohberger reported struggling with a little-known neurological condition that impacts vision. He turned to a web forum for help, asking other people with the condition about feelings of hopelessness and depersonalization.

2/10

Inside high schools, JROTC instructors have turned to NRA funding to help teach students about guns. And documents show those instructors have vowed to promote the NRA to students.

Here is a thread with a closer look at some of the records.

1/12
nytimes.com/2022/12/20/us/… Some JROTC programs told the NRA how their weapons training could advance 2nd Amendment rights, such as this instructor in Texas that said it would foster positive attitudes “for these future voters and their families.”

2/12

Let’s talk about textbooks 📚

Many of the study materials used in U.S. classrooms go through extensive vetting, scrutiny and line-by-line revision.

But then there are textbooks brought by the military’s JROTC program to thousands of high schools…

1/10
nytimes.com/2022/12/11/us/… We reviewed numerous books distributed by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, finding that they include a series of false and unusual takes on history and American life.

Let’s take a look inside.

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nytimes.com/2022/12/11/us/…

🎖️ NEW 🎖️

Thousands of high schoolers are being funneled into the military’s J.R.O.T.C. program, sometimes over the objections of the students or parents.

Here’s our look at this hidden practice, pieced together from 200+ records requests.

THREAD 1/9
nytimes.com/2022/12/11/us/… After hearing rumors of compulsory J.R.O.T.C. enrollment, we were frankly shocked to find how widespread it is, with explicit mandates or elevated enrollment numbers in schools across all parts of the country, rural and urban.

2/9
nytimes.com/2022/12/11/us/…

🧵
1. Die Hard is an Easter movie because it's all about renewal and resurrection. John McClane's character is reborn as a hero, rising from the ashes of his failed marriage and personal struggles. 2. The setting of the film, a high-rise office building, is a metaphor for the tomb where Jesus was buried. Just like Jesus, McClane must overcome obstacles to save the day.

We have been investigating the delayed evacuations in Lee County, where Hurricane Ian's death toll is at 16 rising.

Gov. DeSantis and local leaders said that officials acted swiftly in response to forecasts. But there is much more to the story…

1/10
nytimes.com/2022/09/30/us/… Lee County had a meticulous plan to help officials decide when to evacuate. We have a copy. Here is an excerpt.

If forecasts indicate a 10% chance of a 6-foot surge, the county proposes evacuations near the water (zone A). Higher surges or probabilities = more evacuations.

2/10

I have spent the past few days researching the training of Uvalde officers, including the tactics they were expected to use to halt school shooters.

The documents are jarring. Here’s a thread of our findings so far.

1/9 In the past two years, the Uvalde school district has hosted at least two active-shooter training days. One of them was just two months ago.

The trainings included both classroom teachings and role-playing scenarios inside school hallways (below).

nytimes.com/2022/05/26/us/…

2/9

The eventual megaquake that will strike the Pacific Northwest will propel a tsunami to shore within minutes.

Tens of thousands of people are in its path. Many won’t have time to get out.

Here’s our look at how 3 states are modeling the dire impacts:
nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/… In places like Ocean Shores, home to 6,700 people and two schools, the tsunami may rage across the entire peninsula.

“The fact of the matter is that if a tsunami occurs tomorrow, we are going to lose all of our children,” the schools superintendent says.

nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/…

TSUNAMI ADVISORY FOR WEST COAST:
• Hawaii has already recorded waves exceeding 2 feet
• Possible impacts from California to Alaska
• Impacts may include inundation of low-lying areas and coastal flooding
• Arrival times below. Impacts may last hours

tsunami.gov/events/PAAQ/20… More on tsunami:
• Predictions of 1-3 foot waves along Washington and Oregon coast.
• Police in Berkley, Calif. have ordered mandatory evacuation of marina
• Weather service says people should "move off the beach and out of harbors and marinas"

nytimes.com/2022/01/15/wor…