Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Burt Herman @burtherman.com · 17d

This angle from The Verge seemed missing from much of the other coverage
www.theverge.com/policy/78370...

Despite crowning himself the headliner, Trump couldn’t win over Charlie Kirk’s mourners

At Kirk’s memorial service, Christian nationalism upstaged the president’s vindictiveness.

www.theverge.com

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Sep 9

Apple found a new person to say “a-loo-min-ee-um”

Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Sep 2

Spotted in the neighborhood recently, whose car could this possibly be? @semafor.com @semaforben.bsky.social

Car with a personalized license plate that reads “SEMAFOR”

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Aug 8

Spotted in front of the Cobble Hill funeral home. I wonder who died?

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Aug 7

The AI overview feature in Google is so shockingly bad, it’s amazing that the company has released it to users. It regularly confabulates and hallucinates results, mixing facts together, undermining confidence in Google altogether — and likely is driving people even more to other AI products.

Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Jul 29

Some of the best writing about the self-sabotaging and hypocritical acts of the current US administration come from @electrek.co and specifically @jamesondow.bsky.social electrek.co/2025/07/29/e...

EPA's chief saboteur, Lee Zeldin, announces plan to delete climate science

Zeldin announced plans to end the EPA's "endangerment finding," which is the scientific recognition that climate pollution harms humans.

electrek.co

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Reposted by Burt Herman

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · Jul 2

A sad day for press freedom in the United States. This was a frivolous lawsuit and the payment being described as a “settlement” is more accurately labeled a payoff. Trump’s presidential library will be a permanent monument to Paramount’s surrender. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/b...

Paramount to Pay Trump $16 Million to Settle ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit

www.nytimes.com

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Jun 8

Nothing new here that rising authoritarianism eventually leads to a clash between the regime and oligarchy -- see Russia in the early 2000s, Khodorkovsky: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail...

Mikhail Khodorkovsky - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Jun 2

After AI can do all the jobs, at least us humans will still have CAPTCHAs to keep us busy

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · May 28

This looks like what Apple Intelligence should have been by now: www.macstories.net/stories/sky-...

From the Creators of Shortcuts, Sky Extends AI Integration and Automation to Your Entire Mac

Over the course of my career, I’ve had three distinct moments in which I saw a brand-new app and immediately felt it was going to change how I used my computer – and they were all about empowering peo...

www.macstories.net

Burt Herman @burtherman.com · May 13

What a tool Eric Adams is for just getting free plane tickets. Next time he should’ve just asked for the whole plane.

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · May 7

We are live at the first-ever @hackshackers.com AI x Journalism Summit! Thanks to @therealnews.com for hosting us in Baltimore. Here’s our program for the next two days: bit.ly/hh-ai-journa...

A movie theater marquee showing the Hacks/Hackers AI X Journalism Summit

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 22

The words “policy structure” are doing a lot of work here …

“It’s impossible to commit capital to an economy that is unstable and unknowable because of policy structure.”

stocks.apple.com/Ah5l2eW48RRu...

Dow Headed for Worst April Since 1932 as Investors Send ‘No Confidence’ Signal — The Wall Street Journal

Few think administration’s negotiations with trade partners will yield results soon enough to ease the strain

stocks.apple.com

Reposted by Burt Herman

City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · Apr 22

“A groundbreaking microscope at Harvard Medical School could lead to breakthroughs in cancer detection... But the scientist who developed computer scripts to read its images and unlock its full potential has been in an immigration detention center for two months” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

New images could change cancer diagnostics, but ICE detained the Harvard scientist who analyzes them

Without scientist Kseniia Petrova’s expertise, no one can fully unlock the data’s potential, putting crucial advancements in early cancer detection at risk.

www.nbcnews.com

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 10

This is not The Onion: www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Makes America’s Showers Great Again

UNDOING THE LEFT’S WAR ON WATER PRESSURE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to end the Obama-Biden war on water pressure and make

www.whitehouse.gov

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 9

The only certainty is that nothing is certain. The only stability is the lack of stability. The only principle is there are no principles. The only way to make sense of things is to assume nothing makes sense. We are living in the upside down world.

Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 9

Don’t forget that we are also every day on the brink of a constitutional crisis too, whatever that means

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Reposted by Burt Herman

Derek Thompson @dkthomp.bsky.social · Apr 9

There's no logical or moral or strategic defense for what we're doing right now. It's an idiotic plan being implemented with a level of incompetence that has no possible explanation.

Soumaya Keynes @soumayakeynes.ft.com · Apr 9

Cars from Mexico and Canada are being hit with tariffs *now*, even if they are compliant with the USMCA. US officials saying don't worry, trust us, we'll refund you the amount associated with any US content when we all work out how to calculate it.

Trust us...

on.ft.com/4cvyVPi

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 8

Big win for @apnews.com for standing up for the First Amendment, a lesson for many others who bend the knee apnews.com/article/trum...

AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t bar its journalists

A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events.

apnews.com

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 6

I'm hoping you are joking? The amount lost in the markets is far more and just getting started — even if you were to believe the claimed DOGE "savings" ... and before considering the amount these "savings" will cost the U.S. long-term in conflict, disease, tax evasion, lost tourism, etc.

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 6

National security officials … they’re clueless about tech just like your parents, clicking whatever pops up on devices without reading it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Exclusive: how the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg got added to the White House Signal group chat

Internal investigation cleared the national security adviser Mike Waltz, but the mistake was months in the making

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Burt Herman

Joanna Stern @joannastern.bsky.social · Apr 5

Trump's tariffs could increase the cost of an iPhone 16 Pro by almost $300. Who pays for it? Us or Apple?

And if we moved iPhone manufacturing to the U.S.? Let’s just say… get ready for a bajillion-dollar iPhone.

We broke down the bill of materials. www.wsj.com/tech/persona...

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 2

Because the last month as the worst in the markets in years wasn't enough recognition of "America's renewed strength"

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · Apr 2

Today’s White House tariff announcement schedule includes the time (8pm) when “global markets” will respond to “America’s renewed strength”. 🇺🇸

Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 2

Pics or it didn't happen

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Burt Herman @burtherman.com · Apr 2

I can hardly wait to be "liberated" today from my own retirement savings and investments, then pay more for everything, so that we can be "liberated" from our allies and friends across the world. The goal is clearly the opposite - to subjugate citizens and isolate the U.S.

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