Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sy Islam

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 11h

Great point from @mjtoma.bsky.social: Millions of us absolutely do see what's happening to the USA.

"We are horrified, shocked, enraged, and ashamed. We are acting, in a thousand ways, to oppose it. This cannot, and will not, be how the United States ends."

newrepublic.com/post/201625/...

Memo to Future Historians: This Is Fascism, and Millions of Us See It

From Chicago to Portland, James Comey to Letitia James, and so much else—this is no longer America.

newrepublic.com

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Bill McBride @calculatedrisk.bsky.social · 1d

Goldman: “We estimate that seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased to about 235k for the week ended October 4th, by combining the Department of Labor (DOL)’s pre-released seasonal factors with this afternoon’s release of state-level claims.”

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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 12h

High inflation and lack of jobs leave Americans frustrated with the economy
#NumbersDay
www.marketwatch.com/story/high-i...

High inflation and lack of jobs leave Americans frustrated with the economy

Americans have soured on the prospect of finding new jobs, a new survey shows. And they’re still frustrated by persistent inflation, giving them little confidence that the economy will improve soon.

www.marketwatch.com

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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 12h

Our latest paper in @jamanetworkopen.com where we asked: Following the #COVID pandemic, has SARSCoV2 circulation been associated with health-related absences from work and labor force exits? @yaleemd.bsky.social @princetonecon.bsky.social @brookings.edu 1/ jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Enduring Outcomes of COVID-19 Work Absences on the US Labor Market

This cohort study examines the extent to which COVID-19 continues to generate work absences and decrease labor force participation beyond the pandemic period in the US.

jamanetwork.com

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𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗 𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐍𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚜 @outlawvern.bsky.social · 1d

In 2018 I was going through some stuff and I wrote a very personal essay interpreting what was then the entire HALLOWEEN franchise. I think it's pretty good so check it out some time.

The Shape of Evil: Confronting darkness through the ‘Halloween’ series | VERN'S REVIEWS on the FILMS of CINEMA

Two years ago, but it seems closer to ten, a nice deputy editor for a new publication approached me to write a piece. He had been reading me forever and was

outlawvern.com

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1d

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d

It's time we kick medical practitioners off the university campus and deny them the term "doctor" while we're at it.

Obligatory clip:

Brooklyn Nine Nine - Doctor - S05E14

YouTube video by Nyko

www.youtube.com

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Sapphire Papi @al-weighs.bsky.social · 1d

“You muzzled APPA!?”

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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 1d

Some exciting news: 404 Media just won a grant via Muckrock to investigate book bans and educational censorship in the U.S. The plan is to file hundreds of public records requests around the country and to report on and archive all the documents for public use:

www.404media.co/help-us-inve...

Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America

404 Media has gotten a grant to unearth public records about systematic censorship of books, schools, and libraries in the U.S.

www.404media.co

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1d

you'd think a prominent news outlet like the New York Times might mention that "antifa" isn't an actual organization in a long story about antifa, but nope!

and the subhead helps props up a false claim this professor was up to something seedy as something up for debate

NYT headline: "Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats"

subheadline: "Mark Bray was teaching courses on antifascism. Turning Point USA accused him of belonging to antifa, which he denies. His flight to Spain was canceled abruptly on Wednesday night."

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Chris 🎃 DevPods.gg gamedev community @chrisdeleon.bsky.social · 2d

Portland protestor frog costume: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge pepper balls?

Morpheus from Matrix movie: No, Frog. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.

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Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 1d

I want to remind everybody that it is extremely not normal for academics to “flee” the United States.

Sarah Szalavitz💡 @dearsarah.bsky.social · 1d

Rutgers Professor @mark-bray.bsky.social, who studies & writes about Antifascism,Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats

By the time he & his family reached the gate, their tickets were cancelled.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/n... flagrantly & appallingly lawless. Hope he & his family are ok.

Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats

www.nytimes.com

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 2d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Sy Islam @iosyislam.bsky.social · 2d

10 horrors to get to know me

✝️ Frailty
🪡 audition
👰 ready or not
🏒 Friday the 13th part 4
🐺 the howling
🧙‍♂️ the witch
🔥 drag me to hell
🪰 the fly
💀 night of the living dead
🎃 Haloween

Michael C. Bailey - Indie Author @mbaileywriter.bsky.social · 2d

10 Horrors to Get to Know Me

🎃 Halloween (original)
🦈 Jaws
💀 Army of Darkness
📕 In the Mouth of Madness
🐕 John Carpenter's The Thing
📽️ Sinister
🧟 Night of the Living Dead (original)
📖 Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
👾 Alien
🐙 Creature From the Black Lagoon

James Van Fleevil Dead @horrorfilms101.bsky.social · 3d

10 Horrors to Get to Know Me

🪐 Alien
🛍 Dawn of the Dead
📖 Evil Dead II
🪰 The Fly
🎃 Halloween
✉️ The Invitation
🐆 The Leopard Man
📽 Peeping Tom
⌨️ Pulse
🪦 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

It’s a start anyway.

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Sy Islam @iosyislam.bsky.social · 3d

This is unexpected....

a man stands in a room holding a glass and says " gentlemen you had my curiosity but now you have my attention "

ALT: a man stands in a room holding a glass and says " gentlemen you had my curiosity but now you have my attention "

media.tenor.com

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Maryellen MacDonald @maryellenmacdonald.bsky.social · 3d

Yes, kids must read outside of school. Educators know this, sometimes tell parents/caregivers, who sometimes have the resources/interest/time to promote home reading. Estimates of kids' reading (aka print/text exposure) predict reading skill big time. One example from the research lit: rdcu.be/eJTI3

Effects of individual differences in text exposure on sentence comprehension

Scientific Reports - Effects of individual differences in text exposure on sentence comprehension

rdcu.be

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Josh Sternberg @joshsternberg.com · 3d

66% of US companies “have already passed through up to 50% of tariff costs” to customers, per KPMG’s latest Tariff Pulse Survey, which polled 300 US-based C-suite and business leaders of companies with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion.

www.cfobrew.com/stories/2025...

Tariff-driven price hikes are (still) coming

The increases are just getting started.

www.cfobrew.com

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الكسندرا ميراي @lexialex.bsky.social · 3d

Bluesky firmly on the side of genocide. Please donate to or share Abo Jameel's fundraiser. Thank you

ultrakin.bsky.social @ultrakin.bsky.social · 3d

@lexialex.bsky.social
Friend الكسندرا
Abo jameel
Today you made a quote for me and it was deleted immediately

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 4d

@cantb.bsky.social and I shared some thoughts/concerns about the proposed higher education compact in this @chronicle.com piece. But I still think that quite a few red-state publics would sign up, if for no other reason than state legislatures would expect it.

Trump Says Signing a New ‘Compact’ Will Benefit Colleges’ Finances. It Could Also Do the Opposite.

Despite the promise of more federal dollars, several provisions could upend an already precarious business model.

www.chronicle.com

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Larry Savage @profsavage.bsky.social · 5d

The advantages of unionization are obvious, so why don’t more workers join unions?

Employer-led union suppression strategies are a key explanatory factor.

theconversation.com/the-advantag...

#canlab

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Marc Veldhoen @marcveld.bsky.social · 5d

Maternal Acetaminophen Use and Offspring's Neurodevelopmental Outcome: A Nationwide Birth Cohort Study

Paracetamol/Tylenol during pregnancy does not pose a risk for ADHD, or Autism development.

onlinelibrary.wiley....
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Maternal Acetaminophen Use and Offspring's Neurodevelopmental Outcome: A Nationwide Birth Cohort Study

Background Maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy is common globally. However, its potential risks for neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disor...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 6d

“.. a Hollywood studio chief was crowing about how great A.I. is because he wouldn’t have to pay ‘all these idiot producers and actors and lighting people and composers and writers and agents.’”

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/o...

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Natalia Cecire @ncecire.bsky.social · 6d

theonion.com/nation-shudd...

Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text

WASHINGTON—Unable to rest their eyes on a colorful photograph or boldface heading that could be easily skimmed and forgotten about, Americans collectively recoiled Monday when confronted with a solid ...

theonion.com

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 6d

I think we’re really going to have to do a lot more of this. A massive deprogramming so that people can read more than ten words at a time without anxiety.

www.thetimes.com/uk/education...?

Universities teaching literature students how to cope with long novels

Critics blame GCSE English for deterring teenagers from the subject, describing the literature syllabus as boring and repetitive

www.thetimes.com

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 6d

Given what I've heard from undergrads, it seems a lot of K-12 schools no longer assign novels, especially outside AP classes. Instead, it's all anthologies or even digital anthologies (like Savvas offers) that come with read-aloud options so that kids never have to engage directly with the text.

Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 6d

I think we’re really going to have to do a lot more of this. A massive deprogramming so that people can read more than ten words at a time without anxiety.

www.thetimes.com/uk/education...?

Universities teaching literature students how to cope with long novels

Critics blame GCSE English for deterring teenagers from the subject, describing the literature syllabus as boring and repetitive

www.thetimes.com

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