Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Holly Fletcher

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · Aug 7

no paywall

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · Aug 7

NEW: Four National Guard armories were breached weeks apart in incidents previously undisclosed, with evidence pointing toward a possible inside job. Sensitive equipment was taken. We learned FBI took point, but it declined to confirm its involvement.

By me w/ records via @propertyofthepeople.org

Thieves Target Tennessee National Guard Facilities, Stealing Night Vision Googles and More

A string of US armory break-ins, kept quiet by authorities for months, points to a growing security crisis—and signs of an inside job.

www.wired.com

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Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Jul 28

The work represents a “quantum leap” in the field, says Gregory Snyder, a speech scientist at the University of Mississippi who himself stutters. 🧪🧬

www.science.org/content/arti...

Genomewide study makes ‘quantum leap’ in understanding stuttering

Analysis of DNA from 23andMe users points to variants in genes linked to brain function and sense of rhythm

www.science.org

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Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Jul 28

fascinating and huge study into the origins of stuttering

I've been anxiously awaiting this @natgenet.nature.com piece from @piperbelow.bsky.social to publish!

news.vumc.org/2025/07/28/l...
🧪🧬

there are clips of the researchers talking about the findings and an animated vid w/study highlights

Large-scale study uncovers 57 genetic hotspots into stuttering origins

Findings published in Nature Genetics point to 48 genes associated with stuttering and highlight neurological pathways of risk.

news.vumc.org

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Kylie Robison @kylierobison.com · Apr 21

Really excited to share…. I’m joining @wired.com (!) as a senior correspondent covering the business of AI.

I start next Monday, based in SF. If you work in AI, lets grab coffee — get in touch with me via Signal @ kylie.01.

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Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Apr 21

thinking about joining signal to see if i can get on hegseth's distribution chat. i have a little free time i could use to volunteer toward DoD wargames

civic duty, etc

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Reposted by Holly Fletcher

Bluesky @bsky.app · Apr 21

We’re introducing a new layer of verification on Bluesky — a user-friendly, easily recognizable blue check.

In addition to account verification issued by Bluesky, we're also introducing Trusted Verifiers. Select independent organizations can verify accounts directly.

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Arkansas Advocate @arkansasadvocate.com · Apr 8

Cuts to a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program that allowed schools and food banks to buy fresh products from local farmers is affecting small farms across the country.

Reporting by @stateline.org

USDA cuts hit small farms as Trump showers billions on big farms • Arkansas Advocate

Anna Pesek saw a federal program supporting local food purchases as much more than a boost to her Iowa pork and poultry farm.

buff.ly

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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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Harry McCracken @harrymccracken.com · Apr 4

For this week’s Plugged In newsletter, I wrote about using Replit’s AI Agent to vibecode a new note-taking app called Doolee. It’s slick and full of useful features. And for now, at least, it has an audience of one: me. www.fastcompany.com/91309330/vib...

How I wrote the notes app of my dreams (no coding required)

The new phenomenon known as vibecoding lets you describe an app and have AI build it to your specifications. The results astounded me.

www.fastcompany.com

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · Apr 4

🚨NEW: NYSE OPENS.

DOW DROPS ANOTHER 1000 PTS

Winning.

A mosaic of company stock prices with everyone showing red

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Anita Wadhwani @anitawadhwani.bsky.social · Apr 4

TVA to reapply for $800M nuclear funds after Department of Energy removes 'DEI' requirement www.knoxnews.com/story/news/e...

TVA to reapply for $800M nuclear funds after Department of Energy removes 'DEI' requirement

TVA must resubmit a funding application for its Clinch River nuclear project to focus solely on "technical merit."

www.knoxnews.com

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Reposted by Holly Fletcher

Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Apr 3

Tennessee governors and biz dev leaders have been on a years-long odyssey to woo foreign investment.

Offering incentives, including training programs to cultivate a workforce in some areas.

Paused, delayed investment from tariffs could be a blow to both urban and rural areas:
2024 TN ECD data

By-the-numbers page from the 2024 annual report that shows the TN ECD's success in 2024 in bringing foreign companies to the state. 51% rural areas, and 3 projects in 'distressed counties' Haywood and Hardeman. Each have vehemently struggled in recent decades and lost hospitals, jobs, workers.

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Reposted by Holly Fletcher

Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Apr 3

1,000+ foreign companies have invested $47 billion+ in Tennessee and employ >161,900 people, per the TN ECD.

Screengrab from TN ECD shows the top countries with direct investment. France's Macron, today, asked French companies to pause investments
#TNleg #nashville
tnecd.com/advantages/i...

Screenshot from the TN ECD showing the top 10 countries with investments in Tennessee: Japan, Germany, Canada, UK, South Korea, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Italy, Ireland.

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Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Apr 3

Tennessee governors and biz dev leaders have been on a years-long odyssey to woo foreign investment.

Offering incentives, including training programs to cultivate a workforce in some areas.

Paused, delayed investment from tariffs could be a blow to both urban and rural areas:
2024 TN ECD data

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Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Apr 3

1,000+ foreign companies have invested $47 billion+ in Tennessee and employ >161,900 people, per the TN ECD.

Screengrab from TN ECD shows the top countries with direct investment. France's Macron, today, asked French companies to pause investments
#TNleg #nashville
tnecd.com/advantages/i...

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Holly Fletcher @hollyfletcher.bsky.social · Apr 3

You wouldn't know tariffs are a thing if you only read #Nashville journalism.
NADA on homepages. I checked.

HCA - up
Bridgestone - down
Dollar General - up
Oracle - down
Tractor Supply - up

Writing the reax, forward looking piece article in my head.
Once a biz reporter, always a biz reporter

Reposted by Holly Fletcher

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · Mar 27

Goldman Sachs on current state of Republican policy making: “While we continue to think that personal and corporate tax changes that Congress is likely to pass will modestly boost growth, fiscal policy is unlikely to offset the hit from tariffs this year.”

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Reposted by Holly Fletcher

Kelly⁷ @skellyton27.bsky.social · Mar 27

new pharaoh just dropped.

Philip Gourevitch @pgourevitch.bsky.social · Mar 27

“The discovery raises questions we didn’t even know to ask before.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/w...

Tomb of Unknown Pharaoh Is Unearthed in Egypt

The burial chamber most likely belonged to a ruler in a line of kings once lost to history, researchers said. “It’s a new chapter in investigating this dynasty,” one noted.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Holly Fletcher

darth™️ @darthbluesky.bsky.social · Mar 26

hello ok i am awake what did i miss
tell me every thing

the classic windows xp wallpaper with your friend darth the red panda, a red panda wearing a darth vader outfit and with blue sky butterfly wings, flying above

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NicolasRobiodux.bsky.social @nicolasrobiodux.bsky.social · Mar 27

yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/03...

Three prominent Yale professors depart for Canadian university, citing Trump fears

History department power couple Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore and philosophy professor Jason Stanley will begin teaching at the University of Toronto’s renowned Munk School in fall 2025.

yaledailynews.com

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Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · Mar 27

We polled Nature readers to ask if they were thinking of leaving the US for jobs abroad. Three-quarters of them (who said they were US-based scientists) said yes. 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving

More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.

www.nature.com

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · Mar 26

Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying.

They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.

From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY

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Kári Tulinius @kattullus.bsky.social · Mar 26

Ursula K. Le Guin on the true pain of being a writer

Screenshot of a single question and answer from interview in the Times Literary Supplement with Ursula K. Le Guin. Here is the quote:

If you could make a change to anything you’ve written over the years, what would it be?

In The Dispossessed, I would mention the communal pickle barrels at street corners in the big towns, restocked by whoever in the community has made or kept more pickles than they need. I knew about the free pickles all along, but never could fit them into the book.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Mar 25

Holy shit: the weirdo running Social Security added administrative burdens to service delivery in Maine after its Governor disagreed with Trump over trans athletes. The idea that public services should be provided consistently and honestly seems beyond them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/u...

In another instance, the Social Security Administration briefly ended a contract that had allowed parents of newborn babies in Maine to sign their children up for a Social Security number at the hospital, instead requiring them to do so in person at an office. Mr. Dudek said he had ordered the move after watching Janet Mills, Maine’s Democratic governor, clash with Mr. Trump at the White House. He quickly reversed that decision, as well as another to end electronic death reporting in the state.

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Edward Russell @byerussell.com · Mar 24

A "clock wall” was designed to connect the old Sydney Central Station with the new Metro station, "a snapshot of an earlier technology that once ruled people’s lives."

In Pictures: Central Station’s hidden clocks

Central Station’s hidden clock tour, a mix of historical and modern clocks.

www.afr.com

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