Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Emily Williams

Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · 9h

Here’s some Abel Klaer art to make your Tuesday a little better.

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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 9h

Just wild to me that anyone thinks that the former host of Celebrity Apprentice should have any power beyond firing Gary Busey for screwing up the week’s Omaha Steaks challenge.

Senator Ed Markey @markey.senate.gov · 11h

Trump just bombed six more people in the Caribbean, for a total of 27 civilians who have been killed so far by the US military. It’s illegal for the military to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat. This is murder.

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says
In a social media post, the president said the people aboard a boat were suspected of smuggling drugs for an unspecified group his team had labeled terrorists.

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NPR @npr.org · 19h

Multiple sources tell NPR that, as part of the Trump administration's latest reduction-in-force, the U.S. Department of Education has gutted the office that handles special education.

Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education

Multiple sources tell NPR that, as part of the Trump administration's latest reduction-in-force, the U.S. Department of Education has gutted the office that handles special education.

n.pr

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bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 1d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 19h

1. Nations that have bestowed lavish gifts to President Trump — or enriched Trump and his family by striking business deals with Trump-connected companies — have later received extraordinary benefits from the Trump administration.

Quid Pro Presidency

Nations that have bestowed lavish gifts to President Trump — or enriched Trump and his family by striking business deals with Trump-connected companies — have later received extraordinary benefits…

popular.info

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Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 19h

A Turkish phrase for when you have a peculiar experience is benim basima gelen cig tavugun basina gelmez. It means “what happened to me would not happen to a raw chicken.”

There’s also a Venezuelan equivalent that translates to “this only happens to me and to the Pink Panther.”

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 19h

Around 80% of the psychiatric hospitals in the U.S. that have violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act in the past 15 years are owned by for-profit corporations.

Only a few have faced any repercussions from regulators.

By @emcahan.bsky.social

For-Profit Corporations Are Buying Up More Psychiatric Hospitals. Some Flout Federal Law With Scarce Repercussions.

Psychiatric hospitals — increasingly owned by for-profit corporations — are illegally turning away patients during crises. Yet only a handful face penalties, with fines that are trivial, a ProPublica ...

www.propublica.org

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Tanvi Misra @tanvi.bsky.social · 19h

his summer, I went to Panama and met Jharana, a 33-year-old from Nepal who had been deported there in a group of 300 others — the 1st group to be sent to a third country. I wrote about what happened to her and others over the year for
@nymag.com -->

nymag.com/intelligence...

What Happened to The Migrants The U.S. Dumped In Panama?

Nearly 300 people were sent to a country they’d never lived in. The journey didn’t end there.

nymag.com

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Reposted by Emily Williams

K. Chen @tznkai.bsky.social · 18h

Rescission: it was really really fucking bad.

NARRATOR: Much of what we know about rescission has surfaced thanks to the reporting of
L.A. Times reporter Lisa Girion. Insurance companies say the basic justification for rescission
is to protect them against fraud.

LISA GIRION, Los Angeles Times: Fraud means that an individual knew something, was
aware of something, and didn't put it down. They were trying to put one over on the
insurance company. But that is not what typically is happening in these rescission cases that
I uncovered. It would be something where individuals would fill out an application and the
question would be, "Do you have a mental illness?" And they would say, "No, I'm not
mentally ill." And the thing that they get rescinded for is being on Prozac for six months after
their father's death 10 years ago. You know, a brief period of grieving didn't seem to be, you
know, the answer to the question, "Are you mentally ill?"

NARRATOR: Most insurers practice rescission. It turned out that Jennifer Thompson's
insurer, Blue Cross, has an entire department dedicated to investigating people who had
filed substantial medical claims. Girion's reporting revealed that another California insurer,
Health Net, took it even further.

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weeder @weeder.bsky.social · 2d

The "you wouldn't download a car" screen but it reads "you wouldn't scrape all the art ever made and use it to create an Anime titty generator"

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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 2d

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 3d

After Trump got his Covid shot, he chose to fire the scientists protecting the rest of us from diseases.

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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 3d

⚠️ USAToday reporter confirms the office in charge of special education funding has been “decimated”:

Zach Schermele
Follow
@ZachSchermele
NEW: The Education Dept. layoffs continued overnight, w/ the main office in charge of special ed funding being
"decimated," as one person described.
"They cut just about everyone that works with IDEA funding," said another.
"I'm not sure how these programs exist moving forward."
10:21 AM • 10/11/25 • 2.1K Views

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 3d

The universe is too fucking fabulous for capitalism, y'all!

Last night's evidence:
1. North America Nebula (1 hour)
2. Andromeda (20 min)
3. Pac-Man Nebula (15 min)

The universe is basically just hydrogen, dark matter, and dark energy. Plus trillions upon trillions of perturbations lol
🔭
1/3

North America Nebula. Lots of red because of all of the hydrogen gas.

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Cory Booker @corybooker.com · 3d

House Republicans are denying Arizona voters their basic rights of representation.

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 3d

"Trump has so backed the U.S. into a corner that China recognizes that they can withhold rare earths, shut down data center construction, and essentially shut down the economy. It's pathological to give another country this much leverage over your affairs." - @ddayen.bsky.social

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 3d

I've realized that a whole lot of smart and well-informed people are overestimating the value and potential of "AI" tools because they underestimate how smart and well-informed they themselves are and how much expertise they bring to the interaction.

It's the curse of knowledge all the way down.

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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 3d

A library director in Wyoming who was fired two years ago because she refused to remove books with sexual content and LGBTQ themes from a library's children and young adult sections has just been awarded $700,000 in a settlement. t.co/EA5L1kOZfV

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/us/wyoming-library-settlement-book-bans-terri-lesley.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwdGRjcANWLXdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHhlnY6nKj_j4zuP3VjNSstXWBaV1t8-sPQ5C3b_jS6WN...

t.co

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Emily Williams @emilyw00.bsky.social · 3d

just glad the frog has been reclaimed by the resistance

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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 3d

I have a theory www.theverge.com/policy/79849...

American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming

The Frog is owning the president.

www.theverge.com

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Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 5d

In 1857, Thomas Howland became Providence, RI's first Black elected official.

Later that year, he decided to emigrate to Liberia with his wife & daughter after the Dred Scott case denied Black people protections of U.S. citizenship. He was denied a passport.

Thomas Howland, 1856
John Blanchard

Portrait of a distringuished Black man from the 19th centrure wearing fine clothes, including high collar and tie of the day.
Museum Text:
Thomas Howland, the subject of this unusually expressive portrait, was a dock worker in Providence, Rhode lsland, In 1857 he became the city's first Black elected oficial when he was amed warden of its Third Ward. However, that same year he decided to emigrate to Liberia with his wite and daughter, perhaps in response to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case that denied African Americans the protections of U.S. citizenship. Because of this decision, Howland's application for a passport was denied, despite his status as a free man with the right to vote in his home state (he did eventually make it to Liberia). Howland's confident posture echoes that of the earlier Portrait of a Gentleman shown nearby, the fashionable attire of both sitters serving to reinforce thelir self-possession.

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The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 5d

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 4d

“Oh my god… I have no words.”

Listen to the emotional moment this year’s laureate Maria Corina ( finds out she has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, shared the news.

NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 4d

The widespread media decision to frame international affairs as "will Donnie get the prize he wants?" is pathetic.

He's not the protagonist of human events. And to the extent he's a significant character in world affairs, whether or not he gets a prize is one of the least important things about it.

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Kate McKean @katemckean.bsky.social · 5d

I saw two people do rock, paper, scissors for the last citibike dock in front of NY Comic Con and that is the essence of New York.

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