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Francesca Block Profile
Francesca Block

@FrancescaABlock

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Reporter for @thefp , formerly @dmregister . Send tips to francesca @thefp .com

New York, NY
Joined February 2020
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 months
Caught in a brutal divorce, Catherine Kassenoff committed medically assisted suicide. Then the campaign to destroy her ex-husband truly began. My eight-month investigation into the divorce that ended in tragedy — and the social media firestorm that followed for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 months
"You should be found guilty. We as the workers, y'all violated us" Columbia custodian speaks out after the NYC DA drops charges of 30 protestors who broke in and occupied a building on Columbia's campus. W/ @jonasydu for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
EXCLUSIVE: Over a dozen female athletes are suing the National Collegiate Athletics Association for letting biological males compete against them and use female locker rooms in college sports. The lawsuit—the first federal action of its kind—seeks to change the rules, rendering
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
9 months
The ideology fueling antisemitism on college campuses isn’t limited to higher education. I spoke to over 30 public school teachers, administrators and parents across four states who told me it now begins in public high schools and even elementary schools — as early as pre-K.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
For the past few months, I’ve been working on this story for @TheFP about the growth of Stanford’s administrative state, and the potential consequences of its disciplinary system. I hope you’ll give it a read:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
I’m here at Columbia, where the protesters have warned they are “prepared to escalate” against the university, who asked them to clear out by 2p.m. Students are chanting “intifada intifada”
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 months
One of the custodians told me the night of the break-in, he thought he could "have been killed in there." Here's just a glimpse of the aftermath. Last week, the Manhattan DA dropped the charges against 30 people responsible.
@TheFP
The Free Press
2 months
Exclusive video obtained by The Free Press shows the aftermath of anti-Israel protesters’ occupation of Hamilton Hall last month. Last Thursday, June 20, the majority of the charges against them were dropped. @FrancescaABlock and @JonasYDu report:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
“He was following the rules, which is why we’re challenging the rules. Because it is the rules that are the problem. Not Lia Thomas." @Riley_Gaines_ on why she and 15 other NCAA athletes are suing the NCAA Exclusive for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
5 months
A few years ago when I started saying I wanted to be a journalist, a lot of people tried to talk me out of it. “Journalism is dying,” I was told over and over and over again. Today, I’m proud to prove them wrong.
@bariweiss
Bari Weiss
5 months
Today there are 630,591 Free Pressers. Next stop: one million. If you believe in independent, honest journalism help us get there:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
“Protesting peacefully is one thing, but you can’t call this a peaceful protest when you are destroying property” Two more Columbia custodians speak out in @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
8 months
A NYC public elementary school hung a map of the "Arab World" in its arts classroom — only Israel was labeled "Palestine." It's part of a program funded by Qatar Foundation International, and there's more funding coming in... Read my latest for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
7 months
If the @TheFP existed when I was in college (just a few years ago!), I think I would have had more courage to think for myself and stand up for what I believed in. That’s why we are offering 1,000 free subscriptions to college students. Sign up 👇:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
Columbia students use an app called Sidechat. Here they talk about my reporting about Columbia’s custodians: “These custodians need to grow a pair.”
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
26 days
Today is a great day to subscribe @TheFP
@TheFP
The Free Press
28 days
Our growing community of Free Pressers come from every corner of our modern, subdivided world. For Free Pressers, complexity is a virtue and curiosity isn’t a liability—it’s the healthy condition of free people. Today we want to introduce you to some of them.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
25 days
NEW in @TheFP — After the encampment strategy ‘did not win' last spring, young socialists are adopting a new protest strategy for the fall: skipping class.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
“We don’t expect to go to work and get swarmed by an angry mob with rope and duct tape and masks and gloves.” Mario Torres, a custodian pictured in the now viral image from after protestors stormed the building where he works on Columbia’s campus, speaks out for the first time.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
This guide, called the “The Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide,” contains detailed diagrams on how to break into buildings using tools like crowbars, clamps, metal cables, chains, bolt cutters, and a miniature saw known as an angle grinder. Read More @TheFP :
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
3 months
Meet the Never Trumpers who turned Trump Now in the wake of his felony conviction. "The 2016 version of myself would have hated this version of myself." With @Olivia_Reingold @rupasubramanya for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
3 months
My colleague, @Olivia_Reingold , is one of the most genuine truth seekers I know. No one should be surrounded, taunted and harassed like this, especially when they're just trying to do their jobs.
@Olivia_Reingold
Olivia Reingold
3 months
An anti-Israel mob surrounded me for nearly an hour, tearing up my notebook, pushing me, calling me names, blowing an air horn in my ear, boxing me in to restrict my movement, but I refused to leave. I did, however, file a police report. It’s now in NYPD’s hands.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 months
Don’t worry she got her drumsticks
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@TheFP
The Free Press
2 months
WATCH: Our reporter @FrancescaABlock sat down with her 84-year-old grandmother to take the cognitive test that Biden won’t.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
I’m here in front of the Governor’s mansion where DMPS students are staging a walk out to protest legislation they say will hurt LGBTQ student.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
NEW: Wondering how college students learned to break into buildings and barricade themselves inside? I obtained nine manuals shared among organizers of the Gaza Solidarity Encampments across the country that encourage “militancy” and instruct protesters to break laws, seize
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
Time for some personal news 🌟 After an amazing year working for @DMRegister , I'm excited to announce I've taken a new job as a reporter for @TheFP starting in August. 1/x
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 months
My grandma, the social media star!
@TheFP
The Free Press
2 months
WATCH: Our reporter @FrancescaABlock sat down with her 84-year-old grandmother to take the cognitive test that Biden won’t.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
Watch my exclusive interview:
@anton
Anton Vuljaj
4 months
lol NYT I already read this in @TheFP two days ago, but thx for the push alert!
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
7 months
SCOOP: Parents are "shocked" that a BLM coloring book used in a Brooklyn elementary school is teaching fourth graders revolutionary politics and communist terms over black history. My latest for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
Members of the nation’s oldest legal union are attacking the pro-Israel voices in their ranks, calling them "deranged," "fascist" and "mentally disturbed." Now Congress is investigating. My latest for @TheFP with @EliLake
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
An activist group in California is using taxpayer money to pay high schoolers $1,400 each to learn about racial and social justice. One teacher told me it's a “horrible propaganda strategy.” More at @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
11 months
Chants of "Israel, go to hell!" echoed through the streets of Manhattan on Monday, days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. @Olivia_Reingold and I report for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
10 months
The pro-Palestinian protests over the last month, where tens of thousands in the U.S. have chanted for the end of Israel, are not merely a story of organic rage. Read my latest for @TheFP on some of the funders behind the fury exploding on our streets
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
At the Roast and Ride, @NikkiHaley told me her campaign has already surpassed the RNC’s fundraising reqs for the debate. “We're gonna be on that debate stage. And I look forward to being side by side with everybody and letting Americans see the difference in all of us.”
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
3 months
Shilo Brooks of @MadisonProgram believes he has the "antidote" to the Anti-Americanism flooding college campuses today. Read more in today's @TheFP about the "cowboy" who is using old-school methods to teach Ivy League kids how to be great
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
3 months
Meet the professor who has the audacity to teach Princeton students that there are things about the Western world worth celebrating.
@TheFP
The Free Press
3 months
“​​Shilo Brooks is on a mission to teach Ivy League students how to read.” @FrancescaABlock meets an academic “cowboy” doing something so old-school it feels radical: teaching Princeton kids to absorb the stories of great men and women. Read The FP:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
Today marks my first day with @TheFP and I could not be more excited! Got any tips? Wanna say hi? Reach out at francesca @thefp .com
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Today, I graduated from Princeton University (and I made it all the way through commencement despite having the stomach flu). Thank you to everyone who made this place and this experience so special 🧡🖤
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
Got lost in rural Iowa reporting on @RAGBRAI_IOWA but at least I stumbled upon this gem
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
11 months
"There is no Israeli flag on these posters. There is no mention of politics. They are as anodyne as the missing children that used to appear on the side of American milk cartons. And still. People all over the world—especially young, cool-looking people, with nose rings and neon
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Follow our coverage from across the state: 'We say gay': Hundreds of students across Iowa walk out of class to protest LGBTQ bills
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
5 months
I only graduated from college two years ago, yet I can barely recognize campus life today.
@SnoozyWeiss
Suzy Weiss
5 months
This is so beautiful. Campus safety culture combined with hyper-aggressive Karen behavior, crashing into the real world of 911, the police. "An increased risk of toxic shock syndrome?!" Unbelievable. Couldn't script it. Thank you @FrancescaABlock for bringing this to my
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 months
The Free Press! In person! Come hang with me in Jacksonville where we'll be discussing all things true crime, psychology, and Florida.
@TheFP
The Free Press
2 months
A sexy true-crime thriller that reads like a novel. A classic novel that eerily echoes it. Join @River_Is_Nice to discuss Southern Gothic at the first-ever LIVE Free Press Book Club event at @HappyMBooksCafe . Tickets are free but limited here:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
11 months
Dr. Jeff Levenson partnered with @MrBeast to cure blindness, but then the internet called them both ableist. Is it wrong to cure disabilities? Read my latest for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
Guess I'm into basketball now
@MarchMadnessMBB
NCAA March Madness
1 year
(15) PRINCETON SHOCKS (2) ARIZONA 😱 The Tigers come up with a stunning upset over the Wildcats, winning 59-55 to move on to the second round! #MarchMadness
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
I’m so excited to officially announce that starting this July, I’ll be the newest breaking news reporter at @DMRegister ! I can truly say this is my dream job - one where I can tell stories, meet new people, learn from the best, and work to try to make the world a better place.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
Student protesters inside Columbia’s gates have joined up with outside protesters — chanting “resistance is justified when people face genocide” Yesterday, a professor protecting Columbia’s encampment called the students “anti war” protesters. Reporting for @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
There was a mass shooting in Highland Park, IL today, 3 blocks away from the house I grew up in. My family and I are safe
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
@NikkiHaley closes out her time in Iowa with a town hall at the Ford Garage in Davenport
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
I'm so excited for this opportunity to delve into longform writing for a news organization dedicated to the bedrock principles of journalism. But none of this would have been possible without my incredible editors and mentors here in Des Moines.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
An administrator tells me potentially more than 400 students are participating - about half the number of students in the building.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
3 years
Thankful for all the staffers, editors, designers, and people (especially @hopemperry @Reallyjanderson @MarkDodici @isabelinspace ) at @princetonian who make podcasting possible!! Enjoy daybreak at its best — purely wholesome vibes
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
I’m here at the Big Ram contest at the @IowaStateFair . The rams are now being lined up to be weighed
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Sanibel Island has been my home away from home since before I could walk or talk. My heart breaks for the devastation this beautiful community is going through
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
I’m here in Ankeny where @NikkiHaley is kicking off her fourth swing through Iowa. Attendees are slowly filing in, including Iowa AG @BrennaBird
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
“How would you feel when you have a guy in front of you, demanding asylum, holding his young daughter’s hand, smiling at you, and lying to your face, using the same line he’s been coached what to say to get into the country, even though his rap sheet shows he was arrested for
@TheFP
The Free Press
4 months
“We regularly see things that people should never see, like rotting human remains, abuse of every kind, babies and kids dying or dead. Do you know what that does to you over time? You have to shut down a part of yourself to keep going.”
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
Columbia students have set up another tent city in front of the Hamilton Hall, where students are still barricading themselves inside.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Hello ice my old friend…
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
7 months
"Putin’s Russia has recast itself as the great, white, Christian redoubt, the antidote to the progressive-identitarian-corporate complex that has co-opted so many American institutions." @petersavodnik on why the New Right is pandering to Putin
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
“We cannot allow to let our voices go unheard,” East High senior Josue Alemán said. “We are the next generation and we are the ones that who can truly make the change we desperately need by coming out here”
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
@BrennaBird praises Iowa as a “bright spot” in the rest of the country and says the country needs more strong conservative leadership. “We are looking for strong leaders to take our country back and we‘ve got that in @NikkiHaley ,” she said.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
"when we arrived in Israel, we thought we already knew all about what happened that day. But there is a difference between knowing something intellectually, and actually standing in a killing field." @TheFP in Israel. A new can't miss podcast mini series:
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
I’m back with more big animal news! The super bull contest starts soon, and fans are already piling in to the Livestock Pavilion
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
This week, I interviewed @CoryBooker about #TheVeggieTable at the @IowaStateFair . Turns out, he’s quite the fan!
@DMRegister
Des Moines Register
2 years
“I really truly hope that my journey takes me back to the Iowa State Fair," New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a fan of the Veggie Table, said. "And they better stock up on vegan corn dogs."
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
“The model is just a reflection of the people who trained it,” one former AI researcher at Google Brain told us. “It’s just a series of decisions that humans have made.” @Olivia_Reingold & me on what went wrong with Google Gemini in @TheFP
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
5 months
Shoutout to the amazing people who encouraged me to stick with it. And to my young journalist friends— the industry isn’t dying, it’s due for a reckoning. And I think @TheFP is leading the way
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
oops
@POTUS
President Biden
1 year
Good luck to every team in this year's NCAA tournament. I’ve got Arizona in the men’s tournament and Villanova in the women’s – and as you know, in this household, Villanova always wins.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Come ice skating with @brianneDMR and me! ⛸️❄️
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Enjoying my first of many Iowa Cubs games! Looking forward to calling this place home 🤩
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
From inside the Iowa State Capitol
@sgrubermiller
Stephen Gruber-Miller
2 years
High school students protesting LGBTQ-related bills have arrived at the Iowa Capitol, chanting "we say gay" and "trans rights are human rights."
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
5 months
This 28-year-old's psychiatrist told her “there’s nothing more we can do for you. It’s never gonna get any better.” Now, she is scheduled to die in May. @rupasubramanya reports on the rise of medically assisted suicide
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
This would not have been possible without my incredible mentors along the way! A special shout out to @Joe_Stephens @joannakakissis @giacomonyt and everyone at @princetonian . And to @ad_wilson - my soon to be boss! Thank you all so much for believing in me.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
When I moved to Iowa last year, I didn't know anyone and I'd barely stepped foot in the state. Iowa has since become my home, full of incredible friends and mentors. This state will forever hold a special place in my heart.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 years
@ Princeton Students: If you want to chat about all the tech needed to participate in online school (all the different platforms used by Princeton profs, any tech problems you've encountered, etc), please reach out to me (for an upcoming article in The Prince)!
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
A huge shoutout to @Philip_Joens who worked tirelessly on this story for the past year.
@DMRegister
Des Moines Register
2 years
Update: Pieper Lewis on Tuesday received five years' probation and a deferred judgment.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
“One of the reasons that they were hired is to help our students find their voice and be able to express it,” a teacher told me. “But in reality," he said the activist group "is not helping students find their own voices. It’s giving them a scripted voice that’s not their own."
@TheFP
The Free Press
6 months
A California activist group is using taxpayer money to reward high schoolers for learning how to fight for “racial justice.” @FrancescaABlock investigates the training sessions that “horrified” teachers are now calling a “horrible propaganda strategy.”
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
From Iowa City
@ShillcockGeorge
George Shillcock III
2 years
100 students and local electeds have gathered in front of Iowa City High School to protest anti-LGBTQ legislation in Iowa They’re walking to the Old Capitol now and gathering at the Pentacrest to speak against these bills Here with @presscitizen
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
Last thing, please consider applying for my job and others at the Register! I can say from personal experience that this is a great place to work and this newsroom is full of some of the smartest and most hardworking journalists I know.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
So proud of @hopemperry and the entire @princetonian staff. Hard work pays off!
@hopemperry
Hope Perry
2 years
Just watched the #SpotifyWrapped for Daybreak @princetonian and I'm so excited to share our growth with all of you! We're in the top 5% most shared podcasts in the WORLD and in the top 15% most followed! Thank you so much for supporting us ♥️
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
6 months
Trump and Biden might not debate. But @TheFP will. We’re hosting a series of 2024 debates on the issues that matter most. First up: Should the U.S. shut its borders? With @AnnCoulter , @SohrabAhmari , @nickgillespie , and @cenkuygur .
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Marie-Rose puts so beautifully into words the importance of community journalism and the credit student journalists deserve. @princetonian has had one heck of a leader this past year!
@RoseSheinerman
Marie-Rose Sheinerman
2 years
Tried to put into words some of what I’ve learned over the past year — and more generally, my reflections on community journalism based on my time @princetonian . Hope you’ll give it a read.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 months
Protesters are starting to gather outside Columbia’s gates chanting “disclose divest we will not stop we will not rest” One of the students leading the chants told me earlier today he was suspended and can’t get into campus.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
7 months
"The way to confront denialism is by showing the facts. There is no magic." In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and in the wake of October 7, I sat down with Yad Vashem Chairman @AmbDaniDayan for @TheFP on the importance of bearing witness.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
3 years
Most fun I've ever had making a podcast. hands down.
@princetonian
The Daily Princetonian
3 years
Happy Halloween from the Daybreak team! Listen to our latest episode, where our staffers visit three farms in central New Jersey to find the right place for your Instagram photos this fall
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
7 months
“We live in a Zionist city,” NYU Professor Amin Husain told a group of students at The New School. "No, let’s be real about this, let’s be fucking real.” An exclusive for @TheFP on inside an SJP teach-in.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
1 year
A very special thank you to @ad_wilson , who gave me my first shot in journalism and for whom I am forever grateful, and to @KimNorvellDMR , @SteidenDMR , @carolhunter , @DMRPoliticsCzar and many more.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
The crowd is starting to gather at the @Alanis concert tonight @IowaStateFair . You oughta know the crowd is coming out in the rain (lol)
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
2 years
Put my foreign policy cap back on for this one!
@DMRegister
Des Moines Register
2 years
The Iowa National Guard has spent over a decade developing a close military and civil partnership with Kosovo, marking the first of its kind between a U.S. state and an entire country.
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 years
So incredibly proud and grateful for the work of @MarkDodici @hopemperry and Jack Anderson, and special thanks to @kewhittington and @seanwilentz for their perspectives. If you’re still grappling with what happened in the Capitol yesterday, give it a listen 👇
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@FrancescaABlock
Francesca Block
4 years
Check out my first piece at the @princetonian about the amazing work of the @evictionlab !!
@princetonian
The Daily Princetonian
4 years
FEATURES | “Every year in America, there are about 3.7 million evictions filed,” said Matthew Desmond, sociology professor and founder of @Princeton 's Eviction Lab. “We know that because of our work.”
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