Steve Rhodes

The Dec 18, 2004 protest sfgate.com/bayarea/articl… @footage @Castro_Theatre @N01/sets/174257" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">flickr.com/photos/4412446… #CastroTheatre #savethecastro #CastroTheater

Read my full investigation here: propublica.org/article/trump-…

This is not a simple story of the Trump admin spoiling a perfect system—the nuclear regulatory apparatus is ripe for reform (& several recent reform efforts have drawn bipartisan support). But even some of the nuclear’s biggest backers are worried about the Trump approach.

At a meeting last year, Seth Cohen, a DOGE official with a broad nuclear portfolio, met with DOE officials & told them not to worry too much about accidents. They joked about potentially exposing babies in Utah to radiation.

Meanwhile inside the Department of Energy, officials are making the ‘business case” for rewriting radiation safety rules. Documents show an effort to save Valar Atomics money on thick, expensive concrete shielding, even though the science behind these changes is disputed.

People working at the NRC say the last year has been like being in a pot of slowly boiling water. They have a massive responsibility to oversee nuclear reactor safety. Independence from political winds—& industry capture—has historically been sacrosanct.

DOGE handed out SWAG for a nuclear start-up that had become an admin favorite: Valar Atomics, backed by Anduril and Palantir execs. (Here’s the Valar CEO wearing the hat that was handed out 👇) The NRC was then ordered to re-write thousands of pages of safety rules.

Then DOGE arrived at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The operatives had no real background in nuclear issues. They boxed out experienced hands, forcing resignations and massive exodus of talent. Over 400 people have since left or been forced out.

Last May, Trump released executive orders demanding a re-write of nuclear safety rules & a massive buildout of nuclear power. The admin let Silicon Valley-backed nuclear energy firms offer redline edits. When Trump signed them in the oval office, he was flanked by nuclear CEOs

Trump is upending the way nuclear energy is regulated. Silicon Valley & the energy demands of AI are at the center of it. Inexperienced DOGE operatives are bringing a ‘move-fast-&-break-things' ethos to safety. Here’s my story of how DOGE went NUCLEAR: propublica.org/article/trump-…

Christmas Eve, 2024: A nuclear energy expert gets an unexpected phone call. It’s Peter Thiel. The billionaire was vetting staff to work in the incoming Trump administration on nuclear energy issues. And he wanted to talk about rapid deregulation and massive nuclear buildout 🧵

@Jordan7th @theliamnissan @jack Jack let @elonmusk destroy Twitter penguinrandomhouse.com/books/737290/c…

@theliamnissan @jack Haha lol, sold us how?

five words. 20 years. unfinished.

Our gorgeous Ramadan film through the eyes of New Yorkers and our first Muslim mayor. Made by @tahseenmachine

@LauraLoomer You & many others on the far said people who acted like Trump should resign or be fired. When will you call Donald & tell him to fire himself? theguardian.com/us-news/2025/s…

President Trump says what everyone is thinking. He’s right. We shouldn’t be sad when bad people die.

I love human beings and to have three hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday connecting with them is the biggest blessing I could ask for, sincerely. See you weekend mornings on @msnownews starting in June.

There’s always a ton of bad media news to go around, but I want to take a moment to spotlight the @SacObserver, a 60+yr Black-owned newspaper that is growing and expanding its coverage into Stockton, California. Check them out! stocktonobserver.com

THIS IS WHAT MASS SURVEILLANCE FEELS LIKE. OpenAI enables the mass surveillance of everyday people, so we tried giving them a taste of their own medicine — right outside their headquarters. JOIN US and #QUITGPT #chatgpt #openai #pentagon #surveillance

@RapidResponse47 Trump wasn’t innocent. Donald obstructed justice during the investigation & continued to do it because he didn’t face any consequences. As @RobertKennedyJr wrote, Trump is a terrible person. Mueller’s family & friends are mourning him. lawfaremedia.org/article/trumps…

At least 500 people were ordered deported in absentia this week at San Francisco immigration court after failing to appear for hearings. Former judges and attorneys question whether immigrants had adequate notice. missionlocal.org/2026/03/san-fr…

Gift link: giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/ac…

The FT's longtime Tehran correspondent Najmeh Bozorgmehr has written an anti-war manifesto that is simultaneously intimate and epic, heart-breaking and hopeful. A reminder how war is an assault on humanity itself.