Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Greylace

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 1h

"Wealthy New Yorkers who take the bus" might be the most astounding seven words any NYC mayoral candidate has ever spoken.

Colin Dickey @colindickey.com · 1h

[Me, a poor, on the subway, glowering jealously at all those fat cat, fancy pants rich people on the public bus]

Andrew Cuomo tweet:

@ZohranKMamdani's "plan" provides no relief for working families who take the subway, and unnecessary benefits to wealthy New Yorkers who take the bus and can afford the fare.

I focus on working families, while @ZohranKMamdani the mansion boy focuses on helping the rich.

14 64 380

Reposted by Greylace

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 1h

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."

210 1.1K 4.6K

Reposted by Greylace

Sen. Pumpkin Gogurt @ugarles.bsky.social · Jan 16

your honor, while plaintiffs are horrified at the slanderous lyrics, we concede that it is, legally, a banger

from the Drake complaint against UMG over Not Like Us

10. UMG's campaign was successful. The Recording cloaks cleverly dangerous lyrics behind a catchy beat and inviting hook. Capitalizing on these attributes, UMG used every tool at..." [screencap cuts off]

24 330 2.2K

Reposted by Greylace

Chris Sprigman @cjsprigman.bsky.social · 9d

Every elected Democrat should be talking every day about what retribution will look like. People want payback. And they aren’t wrong to want it. Tell them how you’re going to give it to them. Be explicit. It will get them to the polls better than a zillion egghead policy promises.

Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 9d

Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.

Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.

7 16 50

Reposted by Greylace

COOLJEN @cooljenim.bsky.social · 3h

A VERY REAL WASHINGTON POST REPORTER WAS MURDERED BY THIS REGIME...

Sam Brunson @smbrnsn.bsky.social · 3h

I’ll be frank, Mr. Djalili: I don’t care why you took a job entertaining a murderous autocratic dictatorship. There is literally one excuse that would make it okay, and that excuse is “the Saudi regimes kidnapped my family and threatened to dismember them like a journalist if I didn’t perform.” 1/

I have been criticised for being part of the Riyadh comedy festival. This is why I did it | Omid Djalili

The headlines focus on money, but the gigs were great and I think there are different ways to achieve progress. Art, especially comedy, can be part of that, says stand-up comedian, Omid Djalili.

www.theguardian.com

3 8

Reposted by Greylace

Reuters @reuters.com · 6h

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

110 1.6K 4.4K

Reposted by Greylace

Chris Sprigman @cjsprigman.bsky.social · 5d

When this is over--and it will end--there has to be a sustained and severe campaign of retribution, from Trump down to the masked ICE fascists who carried this out. No fucking kumbaya. Consequences.

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 5d

A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A.

ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why.

A judge has ordered his immediate release.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

9 40 150

Reposted by Greylace

Laura Jedeed @laurajedeed.bsky.social · 4h

This video is everywhere because it's a hilarious visual refutation of Portland being on fire. You can't get a mass movement going without convincing the masses

so yes, this does do something actually

Post

Dallas Steele

@Cherrykickstart

Follow

This literally does nothing. You are not beating fascism by dressing up in inflatable suits and dancing

Quote tweeting Claude Taylor @TrueFactsStated

Follow

|

Portland is leading the way. This is how you (non violently) beat Fascism. Humor and ridicule are key.

Stillframe from a video of Portland protesters dancing in inflatable suits

9:17 AM 08 Oct 25 758K Views

13:01 09 Oct 25 32.6K Views

88 Reposts

11 Quotes

1,049 Likes

41 220 1.4K

Reposted by Greylace

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 12h

Thiessen having a good chuckle about his fired liberal colleagues - some of whom he worked with for 15 years - is a good reminder that token conservatives at mainstream news outlets are/were there to destroy them, not to contribute to them.

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 15h

58 1.2K 5.7K

Reposted by Greylace

Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 6h

White House staff should just make and show him an AI-generated video where he wins, fly him to Duluth and tell him it’s Oslo, and dare the New York Times to say anything more than “Experts disagree about whether Mr Trump was awarded the Nobel Prize”.

49 570 2.7K

Reposted by Greylace

Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 17h

I’ve never seen anything remotely this petty charged as bank fraud.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 18h

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

180 1K 4.8K

Reposted by Greylace

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4h

Immigrant Nobel Prize winners exiting the United States

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · 7h

I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.

🧵 1/7

39 700 2.4K

Reposted by Greylace

David Roberts @volts.wtf · 5h

All I want in life is to persuade everyone, when encountering politics & culture, to ask, "why are we talking about this?" I mean that very literally: anything you encounter on your screens reflects a choice. Someone covered that, talked about that, rather than the many other things out there. Why?

29 360 1.3K

Reposted by Greylace

Jason Wilson @jasonaw.bsky.social · 18h

I am the last in a long line of Catholics which is why I would not have characterized a pope raising the plight of the poor as divisive

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 22h

As Pope Leo begins to reveal some of his views on divisive issues, some conservative critics of his predecessor are rejecting the possible rise of another “liberal pope.”

As Pope Leo riles conservatives, some say ‘just focus on the church’

Conservatives who hoped that Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, would be more of a traditionalist instead hear echoes of his predecessor, Francis, in his public statements.

www.washingtonpost.com

6 31 150

Reposted by Greylace

Alyssa Katz @alykatzz.bsky.social · 18h

Your timely reminder that Donald Trump tried to claim NYC residence to take a $49,000 tax break on his Manhattan condo while he and Melania lived in the White House, only to get it yanked after my colleague and I caught the misrepresentation.

EXCLUSIVE: City nixes property tax break for Trump’s NYC apartment

New York City has nixed a $48,000 tax break President Trump was set to receive on his Trump Tower condo following inquiries from the Daily News about whether he is still eligible for the savings. O…

www.nydailynews.com

8 190 480

Reposted by Greylace

paris martineau @paris.nyc · 21h

after the 10th radioactive shrimp recall in 7 weeks, i decided to do some digging

little did i know it would lead me to an underreported industrial accident that may have released an airborne plume of radioactive debris over swaths of indonesia
www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

What Is Really Going on With All This Radioactive Shrimp? - Consumer Reports

Here’s the latest on how shrimp and spices got contaminated with cesium-137, how the FDA has responded, and why consumers should not panic.

www.consumerreports.org

31 880 1.6K

Reposted by Greylace

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 20h

Has anyone ever asked this man to explain what the is wrong with being Palestinian? Seems like a simple follow up question. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

JD Vance describes Chuck Schumer as "one of the most famous Palestinians in the world"

50 330 2.1K

Reposted by Greylace

Michelle 🪷🇲🇽🇺🇸🌵 @chicana74.bsky.social · 1d

This headline 🤣🤣🤣

140 1.2K 4.2K

Reposted by Greylace

Gary Legum @glegum.bsky.social · 22h

And I thought Mike Pence doing his faux tough guy squint at North Korea was the dumbest of this genre.

Michelle 🪷🇲🇽🇺🇸🌵 @chicana74.bsky.social · 1d

This headline 🤣🤣🤣

7 30

Reposted by Greylace

Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 22h

You want to make a bet. I'll take those odds

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

Trump: "I think gasoline is gonna be below $2 at some point in the pretty near future."

9 16 110

Reposted by Greylace

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 1d

My choice for the Nobel Peace Prize this year:

Chef José Andrés and the World Central Kitchen.

230 1K 6.4K

Reposted by Greylace

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 22h

Noem claims Portland hid their war zone from her.

2.3K 2.8K 11K

Reposted by Greylace

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

84 150 520

Reposted by Greylace

The Ass is the father of the legs @internethippo.bsky.social · 1d

I joked about it but it may actually be worthwhile for every Dem who gets on tv to start saying Stephen Miller is the real president

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 1d

U.S. Northern Command says that elements of the Texas national guard are now “employed in the greater Chicago area.”

The statement claims that they’ve been deployed to protect ICE and federal property.

U.S. Northern Command &
@USNorthernCmd
X.com
Effective today, elements of the Texas National Guard, under Title 10 authority and command and control of U.S. Northern Command, are employed in the greater Chicago area.
These soldiers are employed to protect U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other
U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property.
For the latest information on our Federal Protection Mission, please see the link below:

47 540 3.6K

Reposted by Greylace

Schnorkles O'Bork @schnorkles.bsky.social · 1d

This is what "The internal polls show us in absolute freefall" looks like.

Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 1d

oh my god they are panicking so hard right now

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Mike Johnson: "It's about keeping Congress operating so we can get to healthcare. We always were going to. They're lying to you. Okay? The healthcare issues were always gonna be something discussed, deliberated, contemplated, and debated in October and November."

2 16 81