Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kat O’Brien

@lavidagata.bsky.social

2.4K followers 540 following 6.8K posts

Iowa-born, NYC-influenced, Spain living. Former sports journalist working in sustainability. Runner, traveler, pro-democracy, love to read. My own opinions. Signal @Democracy.23

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 8d

I know the vibes are beyond atrocious. A bigoted dictator regime is taking hold in the U.S., & I’ve spent all summer looking for a job.
On the latter, watch this space. I’m going to start a business, and returning to my sports origins! Please send good thoughts for business visa getting approved!

3 12

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 12h

Pretty insane stuff from DHS Acting General Counsel Joseph Mazzara:

www.thehandbasket.co/p/dhs-fps-me...

Accordingly, if an individual across the street from a federal building throws a rock or bottle at FPS officers on federal property, as many of these rioters are wont to do, FPS can leave federal property and either arrest the malefactors or take other appropriate action in line with FPS's continuum of force policies. FPS could even enter a private residence containing an identified sniper blocks away from a federal facility in order to eliminate that exigent threat. There is simply no legal barrier to FPS taking action off federal property where a reasonable nexus to protecting that property exists.

41 150 520

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 10h

“There are now more than 80,000 Mexican restaurants in the U.S., making it the second most popular cuisine in the country,” said one top restaurateur. “It is not just about taste but about how food is sourced and the story it carries.” #HispanicHeritageMonth

Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 10h

“October is #HispanicHeritageMonth, and Latino food has become one of the driving forces of American gastro-culture, with about 11% of all U.S. restaurants serving Mexican food …” www.forbes.com/sites/johnma...

For Hispanic Heritage Month, Three Latino Chefs Explain The Soaring Interest In Their Cuisine

From Mexico to Peru and Argentina, Hispanic Cuisine has become a major force in U.S. restaurants.

www.forbes.com

1 7 38

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 11h

Outrageous -- and apparently in blatant violation of yesterday's ruling protecting protesters and journalists from this kind of shit. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/10/w...

WGN-TV producer detained during ICE enforcement action in Lincoln Square

A WGN-TV video editor and producer was roughly detained by two Border Patrol agents on Friday morning during a highly visible rush hour enforcement action in Lincoln Square.

www.chicagotribune.com

24 280 670

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 14h

Today my daughter's preschool is holding a farewell assembly for one of her classmates whose mother has no choice but to self deport. The school is hoping it will be joyful in tone, so we might make this less upsetting for this 3 year old.

There's just no words for the uselessness of this cruelty.

16 2.1K 9.2K

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

AnniePdD 📎 @anniepdd.bsky.social · 12h

In Spain, #NoTyrants. Join us in #Barcelona, #Madrid or #Málaga

#DemocratsAbroad

Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 12h

My former political party is scared to death of these #NoKings rallies. That’s great. So let’s have a gazillion Americans out rallying all around the country on October 18th! Let’s scare the shit out of Trump & his party.

1 3

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 14h

They’re now publicly threatening a military crackdown of the No Kings protest.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

Sen. Roger Marshall: "October 18 is when the protest gets here. This will be a Soros paid-for protest for his professional protesters. The agitators show up. We'll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it."

120 330 940

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Molly Knight @mollyknight.bsky.social · 14h

Some women get their periods every 24 days, some every 35 days. Some women are irregular! Some women (like me!) are on birth control that takes away their periods entirely.

But I’m happy to see these incel freaks who have never met a woman light money on fire lol

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 15h

Gambling really just makes everything worse, in this case misogynoir.

Men Are Betting on WNBA Players' Menstrual Cycles

Some sports gamblers are trying to predict WNBA players’ performance—and the outcomes of games—based on the athletes’ periods. One betting content creator has dubbed it “blood money."

www.wired.com

4 11 100

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Keith Law @keithlaw.bsky.social · 16h

I wish I could write this well. what a savage takedown.

Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 1d

With receipts!

www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/o...

‘Amoral, evil’: vitriolic backlash builds against comics who played Riyadh festival

Murder by bone-saw, lashings for rape victims, punishment amputation, jail for satirists … these are the Saudi human rights abuses fuelling the fury being directed at the likes of Louis CK, Dave Chapp...

www.theguardian.com

3 13 89

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 1d

Picture how big the Hoover Dam is. An absolute unit. The Hoover Dam has a power capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW).

The solar farm that the Admin just cancelled could have produces 6.2 GW of power. That's more than 3 Hoover Dams.

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 1d

SCOOP: The Bureau of Land Management says the largest solar project in Nevada — the Esmeralda 7 mega-farm — has been canceled

The news was quietly dropped via a sudden website update with no public word from any of the companies involved or a statement from the agency

@heatmap.news

Esmeralda 7 Solar Project Has Been Canceled, BLM Says

It would have delivered a gargantuan 6.2 gigawatts of power.

heatmap.news

120 2.3K 4.5K

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 18h

Immigrant Nobel Prize winners exiting the United States

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · 20h

I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.

🧵 1/7

47 840 3K

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 18h

Of all the people who should be concerned over the hard right authoritarian tilt, very very low down the list are conservative white male billionaires.

Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 18h

All these anxious billionaires....

“It’s become quite difficult to hide one’s money,” Thiel said, according to the recordings. “An incredible machinery of tax treaties, financial surveillance, and sanctions architecture has been constructed.” Wealth gives the “illusion of power and autonomy,” Thiel added, according to the recordings, “but you have this sense it could be taken away at any moment.”

1 1

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 18h

Me ha sorprendido cuántos medios tenían titulares que él era entre los favoritos, a pesar de que las nominaciones acabaron hace muchos meses. Hasta me hizo dudar.

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 18h

Which might be the thing that makes him maddest in the world.

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

María Ramírez @mariaramirez.bsky.social · 20h

"Vivimos en un mundo en el que la democracia está de retirada".

1 2 4

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Eduardo Suárez @eduardosuarez.bsky.social · 20h

"Democracy relies on people who refuse to stay silent"

Great news as the Nobel Peace Prize recognises Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. A brave woman and the true leader of a country who deserves to be free

1 2 4

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 18h

The @demsabroad.bsky.social Spain protests are planned for Barcelona, Madrid & Málaga. There’s no DA chapter in Pamplona, sorry.

1 1 7

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 18h

Pulling this from a piece by @davekeating.substack.com: “The only EU leader who has shown backbone in this respect is Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. But Spain is unfortunately an often overlooked country without significant political capital in Brussels.”
open.substack.com/pub/davekeat...

France's political chaos could bring down Europe

This continent has a leadership vacuum at its most dangerous moment since World War II, facing an unprecedented threat from both Russia and America.

open.substack.com

1 3

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

ESPN FC @espnfc-m.bsky.social · 22h

Notice the missing names on the shirts worn by England and Wales during the second half of their friendly?

The two teams had come together to raise awareness on memory loss as one of the symptoms of dementia.

1 1

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 22h

Se ha podido salir ahora. bsky.app/profile/mark...

Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 1d

Our plane to Spain is in the air!

🙌🙌

Thank you so much to the countless people supporting us in every way and in particular all of the Rutgers students and faculty who have supported us every step of the way.

1 1

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 22h

Bienvenido, Mark! Spain is an absolutely wonderful place to live. If you’ll be in Barcelona, we have a protest Oct. 18th at noon in the Plaça Sant Jaume. All are welcome!

No Tyrants: Global Day of Defiance. Noon, October 18. Plaça Sant Jaume, Barcelona. Democrats Abroad.

1 1 17

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 22h

Triste evidencia de la actualidad. Pero bienvenido sea aquí. Además, es experto en la historia de España así que España tenía que ser el lugar.

Kat O’Brien @lavidagata.bsky.social · 22h

Están llegando, y sí, vendrán más.

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 1d

We're spending $20B to bail out Argentina, but they cut USAID down to the bone, causing deaths around the world. The entire budget of USAID, the whole agency, was $21B last year. Shameful.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 1d

The Trump administration confirmed that the U.S. bailed out Argentina.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had directly bought Argentine pesos in global currency markets in a bid to relieve pressure on the nation’s embattled President Javier Milei, a supporter of President Trump.

The U.S. just bailed out Argentina, Treasury Secretary confirms

The US Treasury has finalized a $20 billion financial rescue of Argentina, including a currency swap arrangement with the country's central bank.

www.washingtonpost.com

31 390 790

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Heidi Schlumpf @heidischlumpf.bsky.social · 1d

RIP Sr. Jean

2 5

Reposted by Kat O’Brien

Dara Lind @daralind.bsky.social · 1d

This, and also: if your answer is “I can’t afford to be fearless,” ask yourself at least once if you are sure.

You don’t owe it to anybody else to offer a defense but you do owe it to yourself.

Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 1d

The title verse of “We Shall Overcome” and most of the others are in the future tense. One verse is in the present: “We are not afraid TODAY.”

That is the most important message for our current moment. If you can “afford” to be fearless, do it.

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1d

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

4 15 95