Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Andrew Weinstein @andrewjweinstein.com · 2h

It's wild that we've reached a point where the President openly admits to firing people for political reasons, and his OMB director tweets about it like it's a victory. This is page one of the authoritarian playbook, happening in plain sight.

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Isabel Santos @isabelsantos.bsky.social · 5h

🦫 Did you know? Utah dropped beavers into its desert rivers, and in just two years—boom! Water bounced back, fish threw a revival party, and biodiversity made a comeback. Who knew that fluffy, dam-building rodents were the ultimate eco-superheroes? (Upworthy, PopSci, Utah State Mag)

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 1h

It's official:

-2025 is now a more threatening year for the survival of the republic than 1968.

-John Roberts will now go down in history as a worse chief justice than Roger "Dred Scott" Taney.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Oliver Markus Malloy @malloy.rocks · 13h

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 2h

The biggest news story of the week that you may have missed is the real possibility that TikTok will go MAGA. Subscribe now to have all of Democracy Docket's premium content, including my exclusive newsletters, sent straight to your inbox. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0

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fintechernest.bsky.social @fintechernest.bsky.social · 2h

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 4h

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 14h

The shameless GOP lying about the No Kings gatherings scheduled for next Saturday reveals how deeply hostile much of the Republican Party is to “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” I look forward to our local No Kings event, and urge my fellow Americans to attend in their communities.

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Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics @leilabelkora.bsky.social · 4h

“Muon” is a word, Spelling Bee!

The seven letters of the puzzle, the word muon, and the statement “not in word list.”

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jbshakerman.bsky.social @jbshakerman.bsky.social · 2h

Totally disappointed in The Atlantic.

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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 14h

The editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were apparently fired today.

The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.

We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.

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Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 18h

ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.

ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.

A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 4h

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The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 5h

1. Yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said there would be no votes next week. (That’s after canceling votes this week.) The White House, meanwhile, said it has begun mass firings of federal workers because the Democrats haven’t caved to reopen the government.

apnews.com/article/gove...

Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown

Mass firings of federal workers have begun. That was the announcement Friday from the White House as Republicans worked to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers to end the government shutdown.

apnews.com

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Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 4h

🚨 Allowing GOP operatives to buy a company that supplies 1/2 of the voting machines in America should have been blocked folks. www.cnn.com/2025/10/09/p...

Former GOP election official buys Dominion Voting Systems, says he’ll push for paper ballots | CNN Politics

Dominion Voting Systems, the election vendor that was falsely accused of rigging the 2020 election, is being sold and rebranded as Liberty Vote effective immediately.

www.cnn.com

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 2h

In this video I run through all of the big voting and democracy cases the Supreme Court will hear this term and what we need to be watching for. youtu.be/0iKo6YdLxhA

Supreme Court's SHOCKING New Agenda Revealed!

YouTube video by Democracy Docket

youtu.be

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 4h

Imagine that

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Mike Levin @mikelevin.org · 22h

I voted twice in Congress to make independent redistricting the law of the land nationwide, but I’m voting YES on Prop 50.

Here’s why:

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 5h

Is it just me, or does it seem the press is actually and completely terrified to report about Donald Trump's physical and mental health the way it would have if anyone else were president?

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Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 7h

🚨NEW: A panel of three federal judges will soon decide whether to block Texas from using its new congressional map in the 2026 election, after a contentious nine-day hearing concluded Friday. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

‘We Could Not Have Clearer Facts’: Minority Advocates Say Racial Motive Is Evident As Texas Redistricting Hearing Wraps Up

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

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Bruce Little @brucedlittle.bsky.social · 13h

First there was the Portland Cop threatening to arrest an ICE agent if they drive their truck through a crowd.

Now the General of the Oregon National Guard says if they get called up they will protect the protesters.

People are fed up!

Oregon general’s testimony that National Guard troops ‘will be protecting any protesters’ gains traction online

Brigadier General Alan R. Gronewold made the comments to state lawmakers Sept. 30, and they drew notice on social media this week.

www.oregonlive.com

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The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 1d

In a democracy, presidents don’t wield the military against citizens or weaponize the Justice Department against political opponents.

Since Congress won’t act, voters must.

We must decide what kind of country we want

A president who uses the military and the Justice Department to exact revenge against his perceived enemies is as un-Ame

contrarian.substack.com

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jbshakerman.bsky.social @jbshakerman.bsky.social · 7h

Trump wants to fill DC with cheap knock-offs of the gaudy Las Vegas knock-offs of the sterile Epcot Center knock-offs of real monuments in Europe.

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Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 7h

This week’s Orange Mussolini news: “On Trump’s desk in the Oval Office today was a plan for a triumphal arch on the other side of the river from the Lincoln Memorial.”

Trump Unveils Plan for Tacky Giant Golden Addition to D.C.

www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump...

Trump Unveils Plan for Tacky Giant Golden Addition to D.C.

The president appears to be planning a massive triumphal arch that could rival the Lincoln Memorial in scale.

www.thedailybeast.com

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 14h

🤷🏽‍♂️ 🇺🇸 💰

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