Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Trump's shutdown firings hollow out special education office

1 2

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 7h

Trump's shutdown firings hollow out special education office and the Office of Civil Rights at the Dept of Education
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

On Friday, the Trump administration fired most employees at the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The Department of Education office is tasked with protecting the rights of mill...

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier on adjusting to life at home after decades in prison

Reposted by Jan McVicker

NPR @npr.org · 10h

A Statement from NPR’s Editor in Chief on the Pentagon’s Press Policy.
Read More: www.npr.org/2025/10/13/g...

280 2.5K 8.5K

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 7h

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier on adjusting to life at home after decades in prison
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

To many supporters, Leonard Peltier was a political prisoner unjustly punished for his activism with the American Indian Movement. To his critics, he is a remorseless killer of two FBI agents in 1975,...

“The white deer appeared on the road to his sister / As she returned from looking for him.”

1

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 10h

Happy Indigenous People's Day! a poem from the great Joy Harjo
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

“Shapeshifter”

www.newyorker.com

Reposted by Jan McVicker

Ken Struck @kenstruck.bsky.social · 2d

Beware Antifa!

8 77 260

Reposted by Jan McVicker

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 11h

Across the country, airports are refusing to air a video from the Homeland Security chief blaming Democrats for the shutdown. trib.al/tw3Hd3X

Airports Are Pushing Back Against Kristi Noem’s Shutdown Propaganda

Across the country, airports are refusing to air a video from the Homeland Security chief blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

trib.al

110 500 2.6K

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 19h

MacArthur Foundation Announces 2025 ‘Genius Grant’ Winners www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/a...

MacArthur Foundation Announces 2025 ‘Genius Grant’ Winners

Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 19h

Coal Miners With Black Lung Say They Are ‘Cast Aside to Die’ Under Trump
President Trump has been a cheerleader for coal miners. But these miners say his administration is failing to enforce limits on a lethal workplace hazard.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/c...

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...

Reposted by Jan McVicker

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 2d

Make your plans for #NoKings. October 18th. Free speech is action. Please join in. You'll see me at one of the events.
www.nokings.org

No Kings

www.nokings.org

210 3.1K 8K

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 1d

Farm bankruptcies were already on the rise when Trump's trade war added to the financial pressures on America's soybean farmers. Now, the world’s largest soybean consumer, China, has stopped buying American beans in a retaliatory move against the Trump administration. www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Minnesota farmers struggle to stay afloat as China boycotts U.S. soybeans

Farm bankruptcies were already on the rise when President Trump's trade war added to the financial pressures on America's soybean farmers. Now, the world’s largest soybean consumer, China, has stopped...

Documentary argues George Orwell's greatest fears are materializing

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 1d

Wow, a film by Raoul Peck on Orwell!! could not be more timely
Documentary argues George Orwell's greatest fears are materializing
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

George Orwell's writings warning of the dangers of totalitarian and authoritarian states gave the English language the term "Orwellian." A new documentary called "Orwell: 2+2=5” argues that Orwell's g...

At Least 1 Dead and 3 Injured After Shootings at Mississippi Universities

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 1d

At Least 1 Dead and 3 Injured After Shootings at Mississippi Universities www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

CDC ‘Not Functional’ After Trump Administration Orders Mass Firings

1

Reposted by Jan McVicker

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 2d

Trump just used the shutdown to wipe out the special ed department. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

190 1.2K 2.1K

Reposted by Jan McVicker

Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · 2d

“CDC will have lost its ability to detect outbreaks and respond to them. It will no longer be able to track diseases, in America and around the globe. That includes infectious threats like flu, foodborne illnesses, and Ebola, as well as chronic diseases and injuries.”
time.com/7325192/cdc-...

The layoffs targeted leaders in departments related to respiratory diseases, chronic diseases and global health.

time.com

15 190 360

Reposted by Jan McVicker

ProPublica @propublica.org · 2d

WATCH: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

➡️ Read more: https://propub.li/4odsKnn

65 1.1K 1.8K

Reposted by Jan McVicker

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 2d

Illinois law requires all registered vehicles to display front and back license plates, without exception. But to evade accountability, masked federal immigration agents are driving around in unmarked cars without plates.
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...?

Federal immigration officers wear masks, no name tags — now some drive cars without license plates

The Sun-Times has documented four unmarked cars carrying federal officers without required plates, offering another way to shield their identities. Federal officials say they’re meeting regulations.

chicago.suntimes.com

330 2.1K 4.1K

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 1d

Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different. Federal layoffs and an end to diversity initiatives have weakened a historically strong labor market for Black workers.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...

Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different.

An Immense Solar Project Just Got Canceled Under Trump

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 2d

An Immense Solar Project Just Got Canceled Under Trump Known as Esmeralda 7, the project planned in the Nevada desert would have produced enough energy to power nearly two million homes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/c...

Librarian Fired in Books Dispute to Receive $700,000 Settlement

1

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 2d

Librarian Fired in Books Dispute to Receive $700,000 Settlement
County officials in Wyoming fired Terri Lesley, a library director, after she refused to purge children and young adult books that contained sexual content and L.G.B.T.Q. themes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...

C.D.C. Layoffs Included 2 Top Measles Experts Amid Rising Cases

Reposted by Jan McVicker

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 2d

The mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday night swept up the top two leaders of the federal measles response team, even as the nation grapples with the most cases recorded since 2000, when measles was declared eliminated in the U.S.

Scientists who focused on other infectious diseases, like an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also were let go.

nyti.ms

19 88 170

Reposted by Jan McVicker

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 2d

“We’ll tell our grandkids that we defeated fascism with six-dollar clickers”: how a group of community activists is tracking ICE’s movements in Los Angeles.

The Volunteers Tracking ICE in Los Angeles

How a small group of activists dubbed the “Peace Patrol” stymie the deployment of federal agents in California.

www.newyorker.com

10 100 390

Jan McVicker @jmcvicker.bsky.social · 2d

Video: Opinion by Kathleen Kingsbury | This Is Un-American
www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...

Video: Opinion | This Is Un-American

A lot has happened this week. The New York Times Opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury highlights one thing you shouldn’t miss: After President Trump tried to send the National Guard into Portland, Ore., ...