Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · 11d

Subsidizing billionaire tech oligarchs to build out AI to surveil us so AI can take our #jobs. Ain't it grand? www.utilitydive.com/news/pjm-dat...

Customers in 7 PJM states paid $4.4B for data center transmission in 2024: report

Transmission lines built for data centers fall into a "regulatory gap,” with utility customers on the hook for the costs, the Union of Concerned Scientists said.

www.utilitydive.com

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · 12d

"A secret report shows that Florida underwriters were banking massive profits while stiffing customers. Welcome to insurance in the era of climate collapse." newrepublic.com/article/1997...

How McKinsey and Climate Change Wrecked Insurance

A secret report shows that Florida underwriters were banking massive profits while stiffing customers. Welcome to insurance in the era of climate collapse.

newrepublic.com

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · 15d

Let's be very clear: this is a fail-by-design plan so Trump and Burgum can privatize. #SaveOurParks #NationalParks www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

Trump Is Setting the National Parks Up to Fail

Workers say the real crisis is happening behind the scenes.

www.theatlantic.com

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · 17d

New map to check out the destruction to your favorite #NationalPark by Trump and diva Doug Burgum. These losers' assault on our national heritage is disgusting. #SaveOurParks www.saveourparks.us/home#parksun...

Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · 17d

Say no to censorship and violations of our constitutionally protected #FreeSpeech rights. www.saveourparks.us/news-index/b...

Burgum Removes Trump-Epstein “Best Friends Forever” Statue, Escalating Censorship Campaign Across America’s Parks — Save Our Parks

HELENA, MT –  Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is facing mounting criticism after his National Park Service removed a statue depicting Donald Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein f...

www.saveourparks.us

Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · 24d

Two of Trump's racist revisionists, diva billionaire Doug Burgum and digbat Sean Duffy, will be at Independence National Historical Park on Friday.

#SaveOurParks #KeepItPublic
www.union-bulletin.com/news/nationa...

Doug Burgum and Sean Duffy will be at Philly's Independence Park for America 250 prep as Trump admin mulls fate of President’s House

PHILADELPHIA — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will join Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at Independence National Historical Park on Friday in preparation for the July 4, 2026, celebration of the 2...

www.union-bulletin.com

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Michael Derby @michaelsderby.bsky.social · Sep 12

Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as “vacation home,” documents show: “Cook’s declarations on loan, job-vetting forms appear to undercut fraud claims.” Via Reuters

Exclusive: Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as “vacation home,” documents show

A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

www.reuters.com

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · Sep 9

Trump’s Former Interior Secretary Rakes In Corporate Cash At New Lobbying Firm
www.publicdomain.media/p/trumps-for...

Trump’s Former Interior Secretary Rakes In Corporate Cash At New Lobbying Firm

David Bernhardt's new firm is making big bucks lobbying for major energy corporations, agricultural giants and more.

www.publicdomain.media

Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · Sep 7

All state insurance commissioners must work to address legal system #abuse and #climate risks by P&C insurance corporations. Represent your constituents and policyholders. #DoYourJob www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Florida’s fix for its struggling insurance market hurt homeowners, data shows

Florida enacted legal changes meant to curb insurance litigation, but the number of lawsuits filed by policyholders has stayed high — topping all other states.

www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Aaron Weiss @aweiss.bsky.social · Aug 7

I never thought I'd come to JD Vance's defense, but you really do need a lot more water in a river if you want to successfully float a couch

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · Jun 25

“What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought." #ClimateCrisis www.c-span.org/clip/house-c...

User Clip: Rep. De La Cruz Insurance and Climate Change Political Agenda

Rep. De La Cruz talks about the inflationary pressure of insurance rates but ignores climate changes' contribution to financial risks and instability.

www.c-span.org

Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · Jun 20

👀The Republican Banking Committee Chair Senator Tim Scott is attempting to openly violate rules in Trump's big P.O.S. budget bill. www.politico.com/live-updates...

Parliamentarian nixes key pieces of Tim Scott’s megabill proposal

Senate Banking Republicans will be forced to go back to the drawing board on the core components of their proposal for the GOP’s “big beautiful bill.”

www.politico.com

Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Kate Aronoff @katearonoff.bsky.social · Jun 18

Wild how the Fed chair saying that *entire regions of the United States* won’t be able to get a mortgage in the next decade barely registered as a news event

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · Jun 10

📣👋 New paper from @sierraclub.org out today! It's been a long time in the making.

It challenges conventional sustainable investing and urges asset owners to confront climate change as a systemic threat to the global economy and long-term portfolios.

👉 Full paper: www.sierraclub.org/systemic-cli...

Cover of paper from the Sierra Club titled "The Long Term Will Be Decided Now: Why Climate Risk Demands System-Level Action from Investors" (June 2025)

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Elyse Schupak @elyseschupak.bsky.social · Jun 6

The Fed should address climate change in proportion to the impacts it will have on the economy, financial system, and banks under its supervision. But backtracking on climate initiatives post-election reveals it is instead political pressure driving Fed decisions.
www.citizen.org/news/the-fed...

The Federal Reserve’s Approach to Climate Is a Stain on Its Independence - Public Citizen

Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, the Federal Reserve has abruptly changed course on its approach to measuring…

www.citizen.org

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · Jun 5

There’s another scandal buried in the Trump-Republican budget plan that’s not getting enough attention: massive giveaways to Big Oil.

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · May 20

False advertising by State Farm. Jake is a joke, and the entire company is run by Bateman's. Spending hundreds of millions on advertising only to deny claims, hoard profits, exorbitant CEO pay, and reward shareholders while jacking up rates and getting bailouts. www.designrush.com/news/state-f...

State Farm's Star-Studded 'Batman vs. Bateman' Ad Makes You Rethink Your Insurance Choices

State Farm teams up with Batman, Jason Bateman, Kai Cenat, SZA, and more for a crossover campaign that will make you rethink your insurance choices.

www.designrush.com

Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Public Citizen @publiccitizen.bsky.social · May 20

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is selling off our public lands to fund tax cuts for his millionaire and billionaire buddies.

Our parks are NOT for sale.

It's time for him to undo the harm that’s already been done and keep public lands in public hands.

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · Apr 28

This 🤡 doesn't know jack sh*t about our #NationalParks. www.publicdomain.media/p/trumps-int...

Trump’s Interior Chief Rewrites History Of National Monuments As He Prepares Cuts

Doug Burgum says modern presidents have abused the Antiquities Act, using sweeping national monuments as "precursors" to national parks. The Grand Canyon would like a word.

www.publicdomain.media

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Better Markets @bettermarkets.bsky.social · Apr 25

Register now for our webinar on April 29: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Our policy experts will analyze President Trump’s first 100 days in office, exploring key personnel appointments, policy decisions, and emerging risks, along with their potential impact on the broader economy.

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · Apr 22

The key chart right now:

Usually US economic pain is cushioned by falling bond yields and a strengthening dollar, which mean lower interest rates and more spending power for consumers.

This time we’re seeing the opposite, meaning the pain will be amplified.

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · Apr 22

Asset managers need to hear it from their clients loud and clear: caving to political pressure and ditching climate risk management efforts is unacceptable—and it will have consequences.
www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...

Asset Managers Under Pressure To Do Better On Climate As NYC Pension Lobs Threat

Sierra Club calls on other investors to hold asset managers accountable on climate

www.sierraclub.org

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

Jessica A. Shoemaker @jessicashoemaker.bsky.social · Apr 9

As markets churn and world orders reset, @jamesftierney.bsky.social and I have a new piece forthcoming in Yale Law Journal that couldn't be more timely. "Trading Acres" traces the risks of farmland financialization and analyzes the role of law in this ongoing rural land grab. 🧵

Abstract - Trading Acres - forthcoming Yale Law Journal - Jessica A Shoemaker and James Fallows Tierney - Farms are places where people live their lives, sustain their families, and produce food and fiber for the wider community. And now, farms are assets swept up into global financial channels—converting before our eyes from repositories of the best of our agrarian ideals into paper playthings for the very rich. This asset-class-ification of farmland echoes patterns of financialization occurring across other elements of our daily lives, including housing, and compounds wider crises of concentration and industrialization in agriculture. But as an active land grab unfolds across rural America, farmland’s recent capture by absentee investors is particularly concerning. Farmland’s conversion to asset class threatens rural livelihoods, agriculture and food system resilience, and economic and spatial justice. In this article, we argue that Wall Street’s arrival at rural America’s gate is not merely a market trend but rather the product of deep social choices governing the accumulation of investor wealth: property, corporate, and securities law. We explore the ways in which these deep structures of our legal system—from the primacy of market logics to a range of biases that skew our spatial, temporal, and social relations—constitute the conditions for this profound transformation in the way farmland, as a basic and essential rural resource, is being integrated into the modern capital economy. Together, business and property law create the conditions for land concentration, rural depopulation, environmental degradation, and labor exploitation. Today’s rural land grab is meeting little resistance. But historically, investor-owned farmland was seen as a deep and politically-motivating threat to rural life. We situate past reform attempts to rein in financialized farmland and conclude that many attempts failed because modest doctrinal interventions result in playing shell gam…

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Reposted by Jayson O'Neill

pattikeebler.bsky.social @pattikeebler.bsky.social · Apr 14

#mtpol #mtleg #mtnews Sen. tax was posted to start at 9 this morning. Instead, Hertz started the committee meeting at 8. Curious that Non-Profit, donation-driven policy center knew to be there to oppose simple homeowner prop tax fix. Cheating at its worst and sad to see friends are part of it.

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Jayson O'Neill @jdogmt.bsky.social · Apr 14

Red tape for thee but not me. #BigOil www.dailyclimate.org/new-rules-wo...

New rules would require wind and solar projects in Texas to get state approval

Texas lawmakers are pushing new rules that would force wind and solar developers to seek state permits and meet stricter environmental standards, drawing a stark contrast with the state’s looser regul...

www.dailyclimate.org

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