Christopher Leighton
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ccleighton.bsky.social
Christopher Leighton
@ccleighton.bsky.social
Radiation Oncologist & Palliative Medicine (ret), Undergrad medical educator (about ret), occasional disability rights & public health advocate. I don't let sleeping dogs lie.
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM
An Army battalion reports for morning PT and are surprised to see their Commanding Officer. They are called to attention. The CO then orders: ” If your mother is still alive, take one step forward.”

He then looks to his right singling out one Private: “ Not so fast Kowalski!”.

Breaking Bad News
February 5, 2026 at 1:45 PM
This story is incredible. What has caused grade inflation?Ontario students should not need a 90+ average in order to receive a university education.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Ontario high schoolers need higher grades to get into university than ever before, data shows | CBC News
The numbers paint a stark picture of what it’s like to be a graduating student in the province right now, as university admissions ramp up and education experts call for an overhaul of both the high s...
www.cbc.ca
February 5, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
February 3, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
MeidasTouch sent a reporter to look for waste, fraud, and abuse behind the Melania movie. Here’s what we found.
February 3, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Q: Pope Leo cited Matthew 25:35 to critique Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. How would you respond to Pope Leo in scripture?

MIKE JOHNSON: Sovereign borders are biblical and right and just. It's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside.
February 3, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Breaking

The world’s first vaccine targeting the entire SARS coronavirus family has commenced human testing.

GBP511, developed by UW Medicine and tested by SK Bioscience, seeks to provide protection against COVID-19 and future coronaviruses, potentially preventing the onset of the next pandemic.
February 3, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
“.. This list should give pause to anyone — no matter his or her political beliefs — who cares about the rule of law,” Judge Schiltz added.

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...
January 29, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
(Bloomberg) - The regional premium for aluminum delivered to the US market climbed above $1 a pound for the first time as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs make the metal more expensive in the domestic market. 🤡

@bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
January 29, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
I continue to believe that the fastest way to get Stephen Miller fired is to convince Trump that Miller's ICE operations are what cost him the Nobel Peace Prize.
January 27, 2026 at 4:54 AM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
One human rights observer in Maine said agents followed her home, blocked off her street, and came to her door to say they know where she lives. Her children are now staying elsewhere, to keep them safe.
January 27, 2026 at 4:14 AM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
America is bleeding scientific talent

U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Ironic isn’t it? Had an ICE thug been hurt at the very same location 5 minutes earlier, Alex would have dropped everything to save his life.

But 5 minutes later….
January 25, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
The Washington Post published a clear video of federal agents removing Alex Pretti's handgun moments before he was fatally shot. There's nothing in the video to suggest Pretti even reached for his weapon.

wapo.st/49Zqv1L
January 25, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Minnesota National Guard members have arrived at a federal building and were directed to distribute donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate to anti-ICE protesters. Guard members were issued reflective vests so they would not be mistaken for federal agents.
January 25, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
"ICE will leave Minnesota if you hand over your voter rolls" tells you everything you need to know.

This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.
January 25, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Some good news....

Influenza activity is finally waning in Canada.
January 26, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Minneapolis residents are risking their lives so that the world can see what is actually happening to their city, Charlie Warzel reports.
Believe Your Eyes
People are risking their lives to document agents in Minneapolis.
bit.ly
January 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
NYT video review confirms this. Pretti had a 2nd Am right to carry a firearm. But even if he didn’t he wasn’t pointing it at anyone or threatening agents. There is no legal justification for the execution-style shooting & no basis for DHS’s claim he was there to massacre them. He was a helper.
Brandishing is a legal term that means to display all or part of a firearm, or otherwise make its presence known to another person to intimidate them, regardless of whether it's directly visible to that person. Given the video, that's not what Alex Pretti was doing when he was shot & killed.
Important context, this is the victim’s behavior BEFORE being tackled

He’s not threatening, he’s not brandishing, he’s filming
January 25, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Alex Pretti was an American hero. He saved lives. He protected people. He cared deeply about his community, unlike the murderous thugs who killed him.

The very last thing he did was try to help a woman who had been pepper-sprayed and violently shoved to the ground by ICE. 1/
January 25, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
The available videos clearly show that ICE agents killed an innocent man that they had already disarmed. Now the government is lying about it and trying to smear him as a “terrorist”.

News organizations not willing
to say this clearly are not doing journalism. Period.
January 25, 2026 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
Pam Bondi just sent a letter to Minnesota officials saying ICE will leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump.

Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.
January 25, 2026 at 12:35 AM
An ICU nurse is a gifted professional who has spent years of training to hone his craft! His last action before his murder was checking on a fellow protester. ICE & DHS lies. I hope this occupation ends soon. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
Videos Show Moments in Which Agents Killed a Man in Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
🚨“You’re gonna have to kill me!" Minneapolis protester SCREAMS as swarm of Border Patrol agents pin him to the ground.

"I have done nothing at all! I am a United States citizen! You're gonna kill me! That's what you want! You want to kill me on this street!" LIVE NOW ⬇️
January 24, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Christopher Leighton
“My background is in international humanitarian response in conflict zones in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. What I've seen here is what I've seen there. A powerful entity violently and intentionally terrorizing people."
That’s Rachel Sayre, director of emergency management in Minneapolis.
January 24, 2026 at 6:21 PM