Chief correspondent, America Media. Send me tips and pitches at clarke@americamedia.org: www.americamagazine.org/dispatcheshttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mtwfmoqyqk2tWhy I protest against ICE—even when it feels hopeless John Feister in America mag https://www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus/2026/08/21/protest-ice-haitians-tps-catholic/25 Aug 2026 18:01 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtwfmoqyqk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mtw2hucuek2upretty solid report here from @heidischlumpf.bsky.social https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/schlumpf-pfleger-church-sex-abuse-priests25 Aug 2026 14:42 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtw2hucuek2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mtrzqxoyq222Oh snap [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Aug 2026 00:18 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrzqxoyq222https://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mtrxooit6222Driving through many scary storms down from Montreal but there are always other signs and wonders too ….23 Aug 2026 23:41 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtrxooit6222https://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mthovr5o3c2rHanging with an old friend i n Quito ....19 Aug 2026 21:37 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthovr5o3c2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mteo72hbkk25It’s one thing to have had concerns 30 years ago about vaccines and autism, but when study after study concludes no link and you cling to your original conviction, something else is happening. https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2026/do-vaccines-cause-autism/18 Aug 2026 16:47 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mteo72hbkk25https://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mt2krvfmi22qHaitians have begun moving to nations that may respect asylum claims. Others remain in the United States but are now afraid to leave their homes. Many may choose to self-deport, but they will have no homes to return to in communities under siege by gangs. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/08/11/haitians-tps-ice-trump-deportation/14 Aug 2026 16:19 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2krvfmi22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mslgjm4rps2fThis is quite a bit more than a theater review… fathers esp please read I’m the father of three sons. Nathan Lane’s Willy Loman reminded me how to truly love them. https://www.americamagazine.org/theater/2026/07/31/death-of-a-salesman-nathan-lane-broadway-father-sons/08 Aug 2026 15:53 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mslgjm4rps2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3msj745uahk2tOur mad king strikes again https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e1vg0gjl5o07 Aug 2026 18:35 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3msj745uahk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3msehwkmos22qIt is no small irony that vaccine objectors for years have turned to Catholic sources for model religious exemption letters that now present a threat to Catholic school funding in Florida. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/08/05/vaccine-florida-attorney-general-catholic-schools-exemptions/05 Aug 2026 21:29 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3msehwkmos22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3msedyib2cs2tBut that suit! What a scandal!! [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Aug 2026 20:19 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3msedyib2cs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3msdlzzf3r22u“I can’t explain the thinking other than that [Mr. DeSantis] wants to come across as a tough guy,” Archbishop Wenski said, noting that “there was a long stretch of time that he didn’t do any executions, then all of a sudden, he ramped them up.” https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/31/florida-execution-death-penalty-abolition-catholic-desantis/05 Aug 2026 13:10 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3msdlzzf3r22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3ms6jptzehc2zfirst place, internet yarn of the day award [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Aug 2026 12:46 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6jptzehc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3ms6j6czx5c2zteapot dome all the time [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Aug 2026 12:36 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6j6czx5c2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3ms6j466nbs2z“I don’t take joy in doing that; it’s a weighty thing,” DeSantis said. The governor explained to the sheriffs that the Covid-19 years had thrown the state “off its schedule.” https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/31/florida-execution-death-penalty-abolition-catholic-desantis/03 Aug 2026 12:35 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6j466nbs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrxrnswcac2u“Horrifying that we just had two executions in one day, the fact that [Florida] had 19 executions last year and we’ve got 25 percent more executions in Florida in 2026 already.” https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/31/florida-execution-death-penalty-abolition-catholic-desantis/31 Jul 2026 20:19 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrxrnswcac2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrpkz44ah22uOne of the glaring ironies of global warming is that its worst effects often land the hardest on the people least responsible for contributing to the problem. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/24/canada-first-nations-ontario-wildfires/28 Jul 2026 13:59 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpkz44ah22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrnsxpsnck2iHere’s the new prime minster quoting Billy Bragg during a speech in Belfast … https://www.compassonline.org.uk/speech-to-the-alliance-party-conference-by-andy-burnham/27 Jul 2026 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrnsxpsnck2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrkrs5cyrk2yThis is going to be horrendous https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-haitian-migrants-arrest-deport-temporary-protected-status/26 Jul 2026 16:17 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrkrs5cyrk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrkrcawzlc2y“What we’re seeing, I think, is really a direct impact of climate change.” Northwestern Ontario “has never seen fires like this before.” https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/24/canada-first-nations-ontario-wildfires/26 Jul 2026 16:08 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrkrcawzlc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrimasn5jc27“It looked like a war zone,” with nothing but ashes left for community members to sift through. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/24/canada-first-nations-ontario-wildfires/25 Jul 2026 19:32 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrimasn5jc27https://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mrg6m5jtas2l“It looked like a war zone,” with nothing but ashes left for community members to sift through. https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/weekly-dispatch/2026/07/24/canada-first-nations-ontario-wildfires/24 Jul 2026 20:23 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrg6m5jtas2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mqvcwkvbmc2pOur nefarious plan to restore the House of Stuart is finally coming closer to fruition! Meet Britain’s first Catholic prime minister in 500 years https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/dispatches/2026/07/16/catholic-britain-prime-minister-andy-burnham/18 Jul 2026 03:25 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqvcwkvbmc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mqhk5v5vlk2bThe unsung story behind the growth and impact of the Catholic Church in Africa https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/dispatches/2026/06/25/kenya-small-christian-communities-50-years/12 Jul 2026 15:57 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqhk5v5vlk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/clarkeatamerica.bsky.social/post/3mqhk3c4t7s2bHow churches can respond to Europe’s historic heatwave https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/dispatches/2026/07/07/heat-dome-europe-churches-climate-change-air-conditioning/12 Jul 2026 15:55 +0000at://did:plc:4jesvrne4ml22v3dex7juc4c/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqhk3c4t7s2b