Keri Blakinger

As happens every four years, my Facebook feed has been cluttered with US presidential election memes for months now. There’s the fabulous “Who wore it better?” juxtaposing the (now presumptive Republican nominee) Donald Trump with a hairy ear of corn, the “Things I trust more than Ted Cruz” meme, and my personal favorite, the Toy Story meme with Buzz telling Woody, “Election posts, election posts everywhere.”

New York governor Mario Cuomo did it 37 times in 12 years.

On Dec. 18, Congress passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill filled with numerous additions and addendums, including, somewhat surprisingly, a rider that might be really important to drug addicts. It restores the possibility of federal funding for needle exchange programs. For both drug users and those who advocate for them, this is a huge step—but there’s still more to be done.

When Christine got out of prison in 2009, she couldn’t find a job no matter how hard she tried. She turned in a dozen or more applications for all types of positions, growing increasingly frustrated as opportunities failed to pan out. The one thing all the applications had in common? A small box asking applicants to disclose whether they had any criminal history.

This week, 2,000 inmates at a private prison in Texas started a riot. Although no one actually escaped, prisoners set fires and made the facility temporarily uninhabitable, garnering national headlines in the process.