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  • Fake News Friday: 12/12/2025

    Isaak Spain
    December 12th, 2025

    This week, I divided what I’m reading under new headers. They are: Maine, National, International, and History. I used collapsible sub-headers like “immigration” and “the economy” where I shared more than one story from the same “genre” of news. Click to expand the sub-header and read all the headlines. This was all subjective, but I hope loose categories help with accessibility.

    I nixed the header for “Labor” because of subjectivity, too. I’m a union member reading the news. The news I select in every category is already biased toward labor. Take Nicole Foy’s article, for example. Foy is an Ancil Payne Fellow at ProPublica reporting on immigration and labor. Her coverage at ProPublica started in a shipyard earlier this year. She reported on the impact of immigration policy on the staffing crisis in American shipbuilding. This line of questioning led her to uncovering immigration authorities’ frequent abuse of US citizens. The story I shared below was informed by her reporting on labor issues. Union members’ immigration cases are getting the most media attention. I shared some of their stories below. Immigration, the economy, and every other subject I am interested in is deeply connected to labor. Foy’s fellowship ends in January, but I look forward to continuing to follow her work.

    In other news, the Maine AFL-CIO and Southern Maine Labor Council will be hosting a town hall with gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson in South Portland. Troy Jackson is a member of the IAM, and Local S6 has endorsed him in the Democratic primary. RSVP by following this link. I hope to see you there!

    When: Sunday, January 11, 3 to 5 PM

    Where: Teamsters Local 340 Hall, 27 Main St, South Portland

    Maine

    The Economy
    • IAM Union: IAM’s Maine Lobstering Union testifies before U.S. trade representative on USMCA’s unequal impact on American lobstermen
    • Maine Beacon: How to spend $250 million [Ethan Strimling]
    • Maine Morning Star: Maine exports to Canada down nearly 20%, with forest products hardest hit by tariffs
    • Maine Public: Governor Janet Mills says her Student Loan Debt Relief program has returned $140 million to Mainers
    • Portland Press Herald: Lewiston mill eyed for $300 million AI data center
    • Portland Press Herald: New England’s shrimp fishery to shut down for the long haul after years of decline
    Healthcare
    • AP: Senate rejects extension of health care subsidies as costs are set to rise for millions of Americans
    • Maine Beacon: Collins votes to advance bills that leave health care costs soaring
    • Portland Press Herald: Maine could be asked to vote on health care for all in 2026
    Immigration
    • Amjambo Africa: Rockland passes ordinance limiting city employees from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement [Andy O’Brien]
    • Bangor Daily News: Attacks on Somali Americans are attacks on all Americans [opinion]
    • Bangor Daily News: Rockland council gives final OK to law to restrict city aiding ICE
    • Portland Press Herald: He waited 40 minutes for a ticket from Maine State Police, then spent 2 months in a Texas immigration facility

    Maine Public: Proposed ballot initiative seeks to repeal Maine’s recreational marijuana sales law

    Maine Public: U.S. House passes Rep. Golden’s bill to restore federal workers’ collective bargaining rights

    The Nation: The Maine lawsuit that could save democracy from big money

    National

    The Economy
    • American Prospect: Regulatory capture is at the root of the affordability crisis in electricity. Public power could offer a way out.
    • AP: Trump is giving farmers $12B in aid. They’ve been hit hard by his trade war with China
    • AP: Trump’s speech on combating inflation turns to grievances about immigrants from ‘filthy’ countries
    • Daily Beast: Mom-and-pop business bankruptcies hit record high under Trump
    • Reuters: US private payrolls post largest drop in more than 2-1/2 years in November
    Immigration
    • The Boston Globe: Trump’s ICE arrest of Rümeysa Öztürk tests America [part 1]
    • The Boston Globe: Inside the ICE detainment of Rümeysa Öztürk [part 2]
    • NPR: Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from ICE custody after federal judge’s ruling
    • ProPublica: Immigration agents have often grabbed and mistreated citizens, congressional investigators find [Nicole Foy]
    • Vanity Fair: What I witnessedinside an ICE women’s prison [Rümeysa Öztürk]
    Starbucks Strike
    • CNN: Starbucks workers are still without a labor deal four years after their first union win. Here’s why
    • Labor Notes: Red cups raised in rebellion, Starbucks strike spreads

    AP: House votes to nullify Trump order and restore bargaining rights for federal workers

    AP: Railroads will be allowed to reduce inspections and rely more on technology to spot track problems

    The Guardian: DIY publications find new life as a form of resistance against Trump

    Northwest Labor Press: U.S. ranks near bottom in worker rights commitments

    NPR: In a setback for Trump, Indiana lawmakers defeat redistricting plan

    International

    Venezuela
    • AP: US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, Trump says
    • Forbes: U.S. seizes oil tanker near Venezuela as tensions rise

    The Nation: Ukraine’s war on its unions

    Reuters: Mexican government hikes minimum wage, pushes shorter work week

    History

    In These Times: What socialism got right [Kristen Ghodsee]

    Museo Egizio: The so-called “Strike Papyrus” written by Amunnakht

    Reuters: Oldest evidence of human fire-making discovered at site in England


    Did I miss something? Share what you’re reading with me, and I’ll try to include it next Friday!

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