Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12h

Months before catastrophic floods swept through an Alaska Native village on Sunday, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant meant to protect the community from extreme flooding. At the time, the EPA administrator said he was eliminating "wasteful DEI and Environmental Justice grants."

E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant to Alaska, Parts of Which Just Flooded

The remote village of Kipnuk planned to use the money to protect against flooding. On Sunday, it was inundated.

nyti.ms

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Kate Watson @loreandordure.com · 2h

LOLing at “un objet… intime en silicone” and also that someone has corrected the spelling of klepto in biro.

Romenzo Mallas @rommallet.bsky.social · 4h

EXPLOSION DE LA CRIMINOULITÉ EN FRANCE

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 18h

Whether it's young Democrats expressing their support for DEI or young Republicans saying "I love Hitler,' both sides have expressed controversial opinions.

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Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 10h

Robin Weigert (I’m a Calamity Jane loyalist for life )

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Danielle Blake @abradacabla.bsky.social · 13h

People of the future are going to look at that 99-0 confirmation vote, go “what the actual fuck, man?” and we’ll have to explain that no, there genuinely was no indication he’d become Trump’s Heinrich Himmler instead of maybe the only voice of reason in a Project 2025 administration

GHOULLIKEHELLMACHINE @golikehellmachine.com · 13h

rubio remains maybe the most shocking heel turn in the administration

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 13h

Jesus christ. AI coding platform Augment code had to jack up prices because 22.5% of their users were spending 20x of what they paid, and even after raising the prices, they're still running at a loss.
reddit.com/r/AugmentCod...

A handful of users abused the system so all are getting punished.

This isn't about a few high-usage users. The reality is that approximately 22.5% of our users are consuming 20x what they're currently paying us. This isn't sustainable for us to continue delivering the quality service you expect. We have built some very powerful tools and we don’t want to impose artificial limits on what’s possible, but we do need to be able to charge in proportion to the use customers are getting from our platform. Developers are always going to push their tools to their limits, and we encourage that — and we need to be able to charge for it appropriately, too.

You only care about professional developers.

Our core focus is on building the best AI coding agent for professional software engineers and their teams. If people outside of that group are finding value with Augment, they are very welcome to use the product, but we’re not prioritizing features or solutions that non-developers might need, and frankly, there are plenty of vibe coding/low code/no code solutions available on the market that will better serve those customers.

You are just squeezing money out of us at 20x margin.

20x margin sounds great, but isn’t the reality for AI tools: the vast majority are running at a loss, including us, while we work to build sustainable, long-term businesses.

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 15h

“This heckin’ pupperino fucking hates La Migra,” to paraphrase from @weratedogs.com

Rate Dogs & • Follow
...
2h •
This is Chop. He was shot and killed by masked assailants in plain clothes who go by ICE. They showed up at his door "looking for migrants after receiving a tip." The son of the family asked if they could wait before entering the home while he put Chop away in the bathroom, as the dog can be aggressive with strangers.
According to the family, it is at this point that the son went to his pickup truck to retrieve his ID and a Border Patrol agent entered the home, opened the bathroom door, and shot Chop. None of the agents helped the family, who desperately tried to render aid to Chop, as he bled to death on the kitchen floor. Unsurprisingly, the agent who shot their dog then hid from them and refused to give his name. Even more unsurprising, they did not find any evidence of the migrants they were there to terrorize in the first place.
Do not open your door for these fucking losers. Rest easy Chop
14/10
CBP Office of Professional Responsibility:
202-344-1808
JointIntake@cbp.dhs.gov
El Paso Border Patrol Sector:
915-834-8400
fpfelpaso@cbp.dhs.gov
Rep. Veronica Escobar (El Paso):
915-541-1400
veronica.escobar@mail.house.gov
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/el-paso-family-claims-border-patrol-killed-their-dog-during-search-cbp-

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Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 15h

My god, the mental health sustenance I have gotten from mentoring younger members of my profession. It’s the right thing to do AND it feels wonderful

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Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Podcast @gonebabygone.bsky.social · 16h

People are acting like the racist Young Republicans are like that because they’re repulsive to women but that’s not really true, guys who look like that but aren’t Nazis are mostly in really loving relationships and have a bunch of woman friends because they’re funny

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Rose/T.A. Summers @rosepetals1984.bsky.social · 19h

When I was talking about how "nobody wants to be just a body", this was in part what I was talking about. He told it, too. I hope even more people hear it.

Elana Levin @levin.bsky.social · 20h

D'Angelo speaking out about the physical and emotional burden of maintaining a nearly unobtainable physique and sexy image as a Black male artist should be taught in labor studies. It absolutely impacted how I analyze pop culture.

GQ Profile Of D'Angelo Explores The Perils Of Being Sexy

Visit the post for more.

uproxx.com

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Jane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 21h

Oh baby

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · 21h

I'm sorry, is the Trump Administration talking to a tech platform?

Is it...requesting content moderation?

Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago.
The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

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Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 22h

the way writing fanfic from age 13 to 32 has ruined me for most literary criticism… 🤣

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Dante Atkins @danteatkins.bsky.social · 22h

MEDICAID IS INTENDED FOR THE POOR. FOR THE POOR. WHETHER THEY ARE ELDERLY, DISABLED, WORKING POOR, PREGNANT, CHILDREN, OR NOT EMPLOYED. IT IS FOR THE POOR. PEOPLE DO NOT STAY POOR FOR THE MEDICAID.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 22h

Mike Johnson says Medicaid is "intended for vulnerable populations, the elderly, disabled, and young pregnant women, and not young able-bodied men without dependents who are playing video games."

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Robyn Swirling @rswirling.bsky.social · 1d

Once again: this is also happening in DC. Still.

It feels like we’ve been forgotten, maybe because there aren’t huge confrontations to run photos of. But our neighbors are still being taken every day. Routine traffic stops are now done by 12+ feds alongside local police.

Please talk about us too.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

"Residents in Chicago and Portland are living in a police state where masked armed forces kidnap who they want to kidnap, where they have to listen to public officials routinely lie about what is happening in their neighborhoods." donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...

StrictlyChristo 🇺🇦🌻❌👑 @strictlychristo.bsky.social · 1d

Federal Secret Police and plainclothes ICE agents kidnap multiple people from a neighborhood in Chicago. They then deploy teargas and brutally beat neighbors who come out to express their concern.

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First Wordle Problems @fwordleproblems.bsky.social · 4d

I too am worried about everyone’s safety at the big No Kings events. But less because of potential Tiananmen-style crackdowns and more because I feel like EVERYONE is gonna try to hop on the Frog Suit bandwagon and those things probably have poor visibility and people could get hurt.

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Adia Benton @ethnography911.bsky.social · 1d

They used the words but managed to use the worst photo, kudos

Low angle to give the appearance of dominance but also to highlight the labial neck folds and barely there comb-over, good work

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

Just in case the dramatically low Leni Riefenstahl-style angle was too subtle, they used a word from her most famous movie

Time magazine cover featuring a photo of Trump from a dramatically low angle

HIS
TRIUMPH
by ERIC CORTELLESSA
THE LEADER ISRAEL NEEDED
by EHUD BARAK
HOW GAZA HEALS

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 1d

It’s not just bad morally, it’s also bad art. “Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones” has no point or purpose, it’s just a mad lib

Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 1d

I don't know how many times to point out that is absolutely ghoulish and non-consensual and disgusting behavior.
To exploit the image of a dead woman who was also exploited in real life so you can live out your momentary fantasies of "what is possible" with AI is bad science journalism, also.
Sick.

October 10, 2025

4 min read

Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones? AI Could Make It Happen Soon

Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies

Screenshot includes an AI generated image of what looks like a human cross between Daenaerys Targaryen and Marilyn Monroe on the back of a dragon.

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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 1d

I don't know how many times to point out that is absolutely ghoulish and non-consensual and disgusting behavior.
To exploit the image of a dead woman who was also exploited in real life so you can live out your momentary fantasies of "what is possible" with AI is bad science journalism, also.
Sick.

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Linda Holmes @lindaholmes.bsky.social · 1d

This also places unreasonable, unlivable pressure on service workers, as does being surveilled on social media. People are not at their best at every moment. They get terse, they don’t smile, they act rushed. They might even be slightly impatient or impolite! None of this requires tattling.

Amos Posner @amosposner.bsky.social · 1d

I think businesses asking people to rate every single experience has furthered this damage. We shouldn't have this many opinions about this many things, and we certainly shouldn't expect other busy people to care if we do.

rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 1d

few ideas have damaged the average psyche more than ‘the customer is always right.’ it should be a little bit humiliating, being a customer. you should walk into any service transaction knowing that the other person, and not you, is in control over whether you get your treats

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Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 1d

No Einstein and modern life without this guy : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tullio_...

Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 1d

Reminds me of the first letter of the editor that prompted me (age 14) to write a response. It said our local school district should only be funded to the level to create “minimally satisfactory citizens”. 🤬

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Luigi de Guzman @ouij.bsky.social · 1d

My main point is that I have been very encouraged to see that the protests draw people who likely will never have to worry about getting caught up in a Kavanaugh stop.

Their presence makes it safer for folks who *do* worry about getting swept up to join.

Lynn Sacco @urbanexile.bsky.social · 1d

I don't know how many protests you have attended but I can assure you that the retired women like me I see at every protest have been out there since high school. None of us are worried for our own immediate safety, millions of us define 'real victims' in a much broader way than you do.

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Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 1d

The closest we are supposed to get is known as “satisficing”, where the thing is accurate but not *quite* what the user may have asked for

Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 1d

*keens in librarian ethical pain* I mean I am certain there are human librarians who do this, but the whole point of making us get a degree in the first place is giving us a grounding in WHY NOT TO.

Jane A. @jane-in-progress.bsky.social · 1d

So frustrating! So people *want* the LLM ("AI") to invent something random and pretend it's a fact?! Why? Why would you want that?! 🤷‍♀️

And this is a great article btw: futurism.com/artificial-i...

Excerpt from an article on AI:
"For one thing, those hallucinations are a serious issue. They’ve already caused major turmoil in courts of law, medical practice, and even travel. It’s not exactly a simple fix either; in May, testing showed that AI models were hallucinating more even as they technically became more powerful.

There’s also the tricky issue of AI as a tool for profit. Experts say that users roundly prefer confident LLMs to ones that admit when they can’t find data or deliver an accurate answer — even when that information is totally made up. If a company like OpenAI were to stamp out sloppy hallucinations for good, it would scare off users in droves."

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Emma @emmalabizarre.bsky.social · 1d

but seriously, I want to go back and compare the map now with the map in June. What is the proportional increase