Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 1h

This is one of the most frightening weeks. The administration’s attacks on the CDC, its threats of invoking the Insurrection Act, casting liberal groups as so-called domestic terrorists to shut them down, the Kavanaugh arrests based on solely race — this is it, we’re here. We’re in full-on fascism.

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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 3h

You would not fire these people—including the staff of the hugely, HUGELY important 'Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report'—if you cared at all about public health, if you wanted people to live.

And you would not let your thuggish henchmen fire people like this if you were a responsible president.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 4h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 1h

This puts the U.S. public is in grave danger — it’s the equivalent of firing all the weather reporters, desks and apps at the start of hurricane season.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 2h

The editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were apparently fired today.

The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.

We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.

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Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 6h

ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.

ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.

A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 7h

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 10h

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 6h

Literally nothing about politics in Donald Trump’s America is sparking joy right now — so only dumb TikTok dances and pranks and makeup reviews are allowed from US content creators now?

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Stephen Turner @stephenturner.us · 21h

Lost Science is a new NYT series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding. You can send your story to the Times here www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

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Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 6h

Just an absolutely quiet night, nothing of consequence happening on social media at all. 😅

Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 1d

Brought to us by the same folks who swear the Civil War was just about states’ rights…

Jamie Dupree @jamiedupree.bsky.social · 1d

The Senate has defeated a plan from Democrats to block President Trump's use of National Guard troops in various cities - if local officials oppose their deployment from other states.

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Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 1d

This is darkly funny — and also the inevitable outcome of policies that fail to make corporations and billionaires pay what they owe. It’s enabled them to make decisions with disastrous consequences for the planet because they think they can inoculate themselves from the effects of those decisions.

Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 1d

Lol

I once met a former bodyguard of one billionaire with his own "bunker", who told me his security team's first priority, if this really did happen, would be to eliminate said boss and get in the bunker themselves. And he didn't seem to be joking.

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Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 1d

The DOJ retaliating against the president’s enemies seems like the kind of scandal that should lead to the president’s impeachment and the disbarment of the U.S. attorney involved.

apnews.com/article/leti...

New York Attorney General Letitia James charged in fraud case after pressure campaign by Trump

New York Attorney General Letitia James was charged Thursday as part of a mortgage fraud investigation aggressively pushed by the Trump administration.

apnews.com

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Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 1d

It’s is beyond time for the GOP to urge RFK Jr. to step down. To politicize public health is dangerous for all of us — but it’s especially dangerous for GOP and their constituents. For the future of their party they should put a stop to this!

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 1d

"Any mother who is taking this stuff [Tylenol] during pregnancy just to get back at Donald Trump is doing something that is pathological."

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Jenn Kauffman (ANC 4D08) @ancjenn.bsky.social · 1d

It was a privilege to celebrate the 1️⃣0️⃣,0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ lead service line replacement with @dcwater.bsky.social in beautiful ANC 4D!💧

#LeadFreeDC is helping to protect children and families from the harmful effects of lead. Sign up today! www.dcwater.com/resources/lead

CM Janeese Lewis George @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social · 1d

Great news for #Ward4 and DC! 💧🛠️

Today, #Petworth was the site of the 10,000th lead pipe replacement in DC. It’s a testament to the hard work of @dcwater.bsky.social and thousands of neighbors who have stepped up to make their homes and our city safer.

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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 2d

Can’t believe I have to say this, but in Minnesota you will continue to have the freedom to get your COVID and flu shots.

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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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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2d

Bray is a historian at Rutgers who received death threats after landing on Turning Points USA's Professor Watchlist. As a result, he announced he was moving to Europe. And then this happened.

This kind of harassment and abuse of scholars is Charlie Kirk's legacy and it's only getting worse.

Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 2d

“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.

We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’

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Marko Kloos @markokloos.bsky.social · 2d

"the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa"

An image of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, twirling on an alpine meadow in a long Austrian skirt, next to an image of Christopher Plummer as Georg Von Trapp in the same movie, tearing a Nazi flag in half.

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Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · 4d

Such a smart take without the pearl clutching or the slavish sucking up that obscures much media criticism

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Lydia Polgreen @polgreen.bsky.social · 4d

Not to be a pedant but Bari Weiss was a junior editor who occasionally wrote opinion pieces in the opinion section, not a columnist.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 3d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 4d

Blue states need to band together to protect immigrants, science, health, and our values. Some of this is happening already, we just need to face what more we can and must do www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

It’s time for soft secession

How blue states can use their economic clout to stand up to Trump’s agenda—starting with California.

www.motherjones.com

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Jenn Kauffman @jennaudrey.bsky.social · 3d

Axios DC misses the broader but very relevant point! Yes, undocumented workers make up a portion of the industry, but ALL workers regardless of status are vulnerable because SCOTUS has said this sort of racial profiling is ok. Anything could happen once you’re picked up — even if you have a visa.

D.C. construction hits delays as Trump crackdown sparks worker fears

Many workers will only take jobs in Maryland and Virginia, and some contractors say they might stop bidding on projects in D.C.

www.axios.com

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 4d

eventually politicians need to start advocating for criminal and civil penalties for people involved in fabricating stories to get citizens incarcerated.

or, put another way: a society that would like to keep functioning has to discourage baldfaced lying, especially by authorities

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 4d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 4d

"At the Pentagon, some military lawyers, including international law experts within DoD’s Office of General Counsel, have raised concerns about the legality of the lethal strikes on suspected drug traffickers....

Multiple current and former JAGs ... told CNN that the strikes do not appear lawful."

Exclusive: Classified Justice Department opinion authorizes strikes on secret list of cartels, sources say | CNN Politics

The Trump administration has produced a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes against a secret and expansive list of cartels and suspected drug traffickers, according to multiple peop...

www.cnn.com

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Gillian Brockell @gbrockell.bsky.social · 4d

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 4d

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed.
trib.al/9Sxu9IN

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.

trib.al

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