Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 42m

I wish they focused their obsession on plant genitals (i.e., flowers) instead.

Peter Flax @pflax1.bsky.social · 13h

When enough time elapses for historians to take measure of this truly batshit era, one theme that will become oddly clear is how the American right was obsessed with other peoples' genitalia.

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 14h

Besides linking Tylenol in pregnant women to autism, RFK Jr. now says circumcision is part of the reason why kids are autistic.

"Children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism, and it's highly likely because they're given Tylenol. None of this is positive..."

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 8h

@theonion.com is now indistinguishable from real life.

A man in a suit is speaking at a lectern, looking derranged. The text is about autism being linked to circumcision, attributed to RFK Jr.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 8h

because it's an ebike

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 8h

Are we great yet?

Mark Bray, a Rutgers University professor and expert on anti-fascist groups, is fleeing to Spain with his family due to death threats that stem from a campaign by Turning Point USA and other conservative groups to get him fired, falsely labeling him as an antifa member.

Antifa expert at Rutgers University says he is moving to Spain because of death threats

An expert on anti-fascist groups who teaches at New Jersey’s flagship state university is moving his family overseas.

apnews.com

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Reposted by David Ho

Nicole Chung @nicolechung.bsky.social · 11h

I’m not autistic, just a parent to an autistic kid w/ fairly significant support needs, but I personally find it very frustrating to see so many people fixated on preventing, reducing, or “curing” autism and neurodiversity instead of talking about inclusion + getting folks whatever support they need

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10h

I'm outta here, everyone. 👋

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 12h

after careful study, I believe only people born between 1975 and 1995 should be allowed to use the internet

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The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 11h

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · 14h

How over- and underrepresented are different causes of death in the media?

Another way to visualize this data is to measure how over- or underrepresented each cause is.

To do this, we calculate the ratio between a cause’s share of deaths and its share of news articles.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 10h

The New York Post has been honest brokered.

The IPCC is lucky to have @frediotto.bsky.social as a coordinating lead author.

Climate critics try to discredit IPCC author for linking disasters to global warming

Roger Pielke Jr. and oil industry supporters are attacking climate scientist Friederike Otto, whose work has been used in lawsuits against polluters.

www.eenews.net

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Reposted by David Ho

Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 18h

NEW An EPA report found that PFNA, a chemical in the drinking water of some 26M people, interferes with development and likely causes liver problems & male reproductive harms. The report was done in April, scientists told me. But the agency hasn't released it

www.propublica.org/article/epa-...

Scientists Completed a Toxicity Report on This Forever Chemical. The EPA Hasn’t Released It.

Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the ...

www.propublica.org

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 12h

Listen to scientists and not sociopaths in public office. Get your annual COVID vaccine.

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

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The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 14h

We are once again asking etc. etc.

Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 1d

Zohran Mamdani hops on a Citi Bike and a woman heckles him, shouting “communist!” He responds, “That’s cyclist”

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Nature @nature.com · 14h

Of the 202 Nobel laureates who have been awarded prizes in physics, chemistry and medicine this century, less than 70% hail from the country in which they were awarded their prize.

go.nature.com/4ocbFu6

More than 30% of this century’s science Nobel prizewinners immigrated: see their journeys

The most common destination for eventual Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine since 2000 is the United States, Nature has found.

go.nature.com

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Peter Sagal @petersagal.bsky.social · 15h

"He works from an office dubbed the “Freedom Suite” on one end of a hallway on the deputy attorney general’s fourth floor, which visitors have described as being decorated with oversize photos of Trump and a small cup of holy water on the wall."

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Inside the Justice Department Where the President Calls the Shots

The president has executed a wholesale transformation of the Justice Department, taking control in ways he could have only dreamed of in his first term.

www.wsj.com

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Reposted by David Ho

Zahra Hirji @zhirji.bsky.social · 17h

Exclusive: FEMA Tells Staff to Name Whistleblowers or Risk Losing Jobs

Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

FEMA Tells Staff to Name Whistleblowers or Risk Losing Jobs

Investigators are looking for staffers who anonymously endorsed an open letter criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts to disaster funding.

www.bloomberg.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 15h

Carbon dioxide removal research and development should be government-funded and government-led.

Is Trump about to squash America’s carbon-removal moonshot?

Nascent direct air capture projects were hit with funding cuts last week. A new list has caused confusion over the fate of DAC hubs in Louisiana and Texas.

www.canarymedia.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 15h

Hey US scientists, the NY Times wants to hear from you if you've had your funding cut. 🌊🧪

Has Your Scientific Work Been Cut? We Want to Hear.

www.nytimes.com

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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 16h

New from 404 Media: the Discord hack is every users' worst nightmare. Yesterday the hackers started posting Discord users' selfies, identity documents, email addresses, phone numbers, more. I watched in real time. This is risk of tech storing ID for age verification
www.404media.co/the-discord-...

The Discord Hack is Every Users’ Worst Nightmare

A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive informa...

www.404media.co

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 15h

"Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, this week fired two agents who were identified as having worked with Jack Smith, the special counsel who led the federal investigations into Donald J. Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the situation."

Kash Patel Fires Two F.B.I. Agents Who Worked on Trump Investigation

www.nytimes.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 16h

The 16th sucks 😆

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Julia Simon @juliaradio.bsky.social · 16h

This story was inspired by a conversation with a fossil fuel exec in Paris a few days after the big outage in Spain. He blamed too much renewable energy as the cause.

Was that really it? Turns out: No.

@npr.org takes you through a new report on what happened + impacts of renewable misinformation.

After Spain's blackout, critics blamed renewable energy. It's part of a bigger attack

When millions lost power in Spain and Portugal this spring, some were quick to blame too much solar and wind power. That wasn't the cause, but the misinformation had an impact.

www.npr.org

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Center for Climate and Energy Solutions @c2es.bsky.social · 2d

Hello Bluesky! 👋

We're the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) — an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to forge practical solutions to climate change.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 16h

I don't need to hear about how terrible you think the NY Times or WaPo are.

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Aug 29

Also, if you don't like that I post articles from the NY Times, you don't have to click. We are aware of what's going on because of the efforts of journalists. Independent journalists are great, and so are those at the NY Times who are backed by its resources and institutional protection.

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Jun 23

Please stop telling me how to post. Get your own account; it's free.

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MC Hammond @mchammond.bsky.social · 19h

This! If you have the means, pay for your journalism. Buy subscriptions for everyone for the holidays!

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19h

It seems there are two main reasons things haven’t gone completely to shit in the US: 1. Lawyers and the courts; 2. Journalists and the media. Most of us can’t do anything about the first, but we can support journalism. Stop complaining about paywalls and subscribe to news & donate to public media.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19h

It seems there are two main reasons things haven’t gone completely to shit in the US: 1. Lawyers and the courts; 2. Journalists and the media. Most of us can’t do anything about the first, but we can support journalism. Stop complaining about paywalls and subscribe to news & donate to public media.

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