Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 7h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 4h

FULL STORY HERE: Emails began flooding CDC inboxes late Friday night announcing dozens of layoffs. HR people brought back from furlough to oversee the RIFs. Disease detectives, entire Washington office, global health, injury prevention, MMWR staff among those hit.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 16h

Federal agents aren’t trying to keep the peace. They want violence to escalate so that Trump can declare martial law.

They shot a reverend in the head with pepper balls while he was praying in front of an ICE facility. If that doesn’t tell you where we are as a country, nothing will.

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Doug McVay @dougmcvay.bsky.social · 5h

US clashes with Venezuela and allies at emergency UN meeting on US strikes in Caribbean
apnews.com/article/vene...

US clashes with Venezuela and allies at emergency UN meeting on US strikes in Caribbean

The United States has clashed with Venezuela and its allies at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

apnews.com

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Stephen Wolf @stephenwolf.bsky.social · 16h

Looking forward to when the next #NoKings protest in Portland looks like this

A photorealistic computer-generated image of Kermit the Frog leading a large crowd of protestors through a city street. The protesters are all muppets of various colors. Kermit is holding up an American flag in his right hand.

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Heather Knight @heatherknightsf.bsky.social · 10h

For years, San Franciscans considered him the rare big-hearted billionaire. But days before his Dreamforce conference begins, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said he would support President Trump sending the National Guard to SF and that Trump is doing “a great job.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Marc Benioff Says Trump Should Send Guard Troops to San Francisco

www.nytimes.com

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 10h

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 15h

‘Some librarians were fired; some received death threats. At one point in the film, a grandfather turns up at a school meeting with a gun to tell the library supporters: “We know what you do. We know where you live.”’

Anna Aslanyan on book bans and censorship: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/oc...

Anna Aslanyan | The Censor’s Scissors

John Heartfield was forced to leave Germany in 1933. Even before the Nazis put him on their hit list, his art had caused...

www.lrb.co.uk

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 15h

BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook)

Follow @heartlandsignal for more.

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 13h

On WCPT 820, Tennessee Democratic U.S. House candidate Justin J. Pearson:

"All these millionaires in Congress now, they're talking about, 'I'm not gonna take my check during the shutdown.' But you don't need a check in the first place, right? ... So no, you shouldn't be getting a check."

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 13h

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says he has been denied 4 times to see what is going on inside the Broadview, IL ICE facility:

"Something's going on in there that they don't want us to see. I don't know what it is, but all Americans should be asking the same question."

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13h

The campaign against “antifa” is about establishing a beachhead for further attacks on speech and assembly rights. We see that today in the effort to preemptively label No Kings protesters as “terrorists.”

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 17h

The corruption and self-dealing is staring you in the face. Hello?

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Doug McVay @dougmcvay.bsky.social · 14h

New at Psymposia: The Psychedelic Syndicate
www.psymposia.com/psychedelic-...

The Psychedelic Syndicate: Executive Summary

A year-long investigation reveals how a small group of Silicon Valley elites sought to capture the psychedelic therapy industry — using a network of affiliated organizations to scapegoat critics whi

www.psymposia.com

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Congresswoman Andrea Salinas @salinas.house.gov · 15h

After cutting Medicaid and shuttering rural hospitals, Republicans have now shut down the government, driving up health costs for nearly 30% of workers. Rural communities are once again paying for Republican dysfunction.

Occupations with Large Shares of Workers Who Rely on Individual Market Coverage | KFF

This analysis examines the share of adult workers in occupations that rely more heavily on individual market coverage for health insurance, which is largely made up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Ma...

www.kff.org

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Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 15h

A WGN-TV video editor and producer was roughly detained by two Border Patrol agents on Friday morning during a highly visible rush hour enforcement action in Lincoln Square.

WGN-TV producer detained during ICE enforcement action in Lincoln Square

A WGN-TV video editor and producer was roughly detained by two Border Patrol agents on Friday morning during a highly visible rush hour enforcement action in Lincoln Square.

trib.al

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Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 15h

Mass layoffs of federal employees are underway today, according to several White House senior officials.

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 16h

EXCLUSIVE — DHS Acting General Counsel sent out a memo Wednesday to all Federal Protective Service staff (the sub-agency that guards federal buildings) letting officers know they could take any action necessary "in the vicinity" federal property to protect themselves.

The Handbasket reports:

DHS top lawyer says 'no legal barrier' to actions officers can take to defend federal property

In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein.

www.thehandbasket.co

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Doug McVay @dougmcvay.bsky.social · 15h

"The High Court has formally received a legal claim involving almost 4,000 people, who allege that poultry producers and a water company are responsible for serious pollution in the Wye, Usk and Lugg catchments."
www.farminguk.com/news/high-co...

High Court to hear biggest UK pollution claim over River Wye

Legal claim involving almost 4,000 people allege that producers and a water company are responsible for serious pollution in the Wye, Usk and Lugg catchments.

www.farminguk.com

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The BMJ @bmj.com · 16h

The Trump administration and its allies have taken several steps to ensure that medical schools in the US dismantle all diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

It is patients who will be the victims of this, write @gavinyamey.bsky.social and @michaeldgreen.com
www.bmj.com/content/391/...

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Doug McVay @dougmcvay.bsky.social · 16h

DHS top lawyer says 'no legal barrier' to actions officers can take to defend federal property
In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein.
www.thehandbasket.co/p/dhs-fps-me...

DHS top lawyer says 'no legal barrier' to actions officers can take to defend federal property

In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein.

www.thehandbasket.co

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Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 19h

News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."

One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 17h

Lawyers have been publicizing a new term to describe ICE's racially targeted detainments: a “Kavanaugh stop.”

Mother Jones reporter Pema Levy explains in this new video:

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 16h

Immigration raids in Nashville have made crime victims afraid to cooperate with police and seek counseling.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/08/i...

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Doug McVay @dougmcvay.bsky.social · 17h

Gift link.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment

www.nytimes.com

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