Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Brian Tyler Cohen

@briantylercohen.bsky.social

Target in Minneapolis has pulled Hispanic employees off of pick-up order duty after ICE arrested two US citizen Hispanic employees while on the job.

“I’m literally a U.S. citizen!” one shouted as they escorted him into a van.

January 26, 2026 at 12:23 AM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

So Tired in Maryland 🦀

@howie.schoolbread.com

"You do not get to attack law enforcement officials in this country without any repercussions."

🤔

January 25, 2026 at 3:47 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

MS NOW

@ms.now

Ted Cruz bashes Vance and Trump in secret recordings
www.ms.now/news/ted-cru...

Ted Cruz bashes Vance and Trump in secret recordings

In recordings obtained by Axios, the Republican senator from Texas is heard criticizing the policies and alliances of the president and vice president.

www.ms.now

January 25, 2026 at 9:43 PM

Lyda Astrove

@lydaa.bsky.social

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0... Americans who support liberal democracy need to recognize what we’re dealing with in order to cope with it, and to recognize something, one must name it. Trump has revealed himself, and we must name what we see.

Yes, It’s Fascism

Until recently, I thought it a term best avoided. But now, the resemblances are too many and too strong to deny.

www.theatlantic.com

January 25, 2026 at 5:03 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Marc Elias

@marcelias.bsky.social

It has been more than 30 days since the Department of Justice was required by federal law to make all of the Epstein Files public. According to the DOJ’s own estimates, it has released less than 1% so far. The last time the Department of Justice released any documents was Dec. 23, 2025.

The DOJ offers only excuses as the Epstein Files remain secret

Read more here.

www.democracydocket.com

January 25, 2026 at 4:58 PM

Lyda Astrove

@lydaa.bsky.social

Waiting for the #TrumpEpstein files to be released

January 25, 2026 at 4:21 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social

You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.

1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting.
2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value.
3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE.
4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on.
5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle."
6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground.

7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack.
8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video.
9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk.
10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun.
11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him.
12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes.

13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times.
14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him.
15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1.
16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.
17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building.
18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear

witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values.
I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct.

Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.

January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM

Lyda Astrove

@lydaa.bsky.social

Wonder if Senator Cassidy is “disturbed” by the lies being pushed by Bondi and Noem.

Jeff Rueter @jeffrueter.bsky.social · 1d

Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.

"Please get the truth out about our son."

Statement from Michael and Susan Pretti
Parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti

“We are heartbroken but also very angry.

Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.

I do not throw around the ‘hero’ term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.

Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.

January 25, 2026 at 4:10 AM

Lyda Astrove

@lydaa.bsky.social

Wow. “Disturbing”? That’s the best adjective Cassidy can come up with? How about #wrong, #unconstitutional, #horrifying, #evil, #fascist, #sickening, #criminal… etc

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

Cassidy performing the familiar ritual of Republicans who suddenly find a speck of courage to offer weak criticism of the Trump admin after they’re been excommunicated.

January 25, 2026 at 4:07 AM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Ryan Goodman

@rgoodlaw.bsky.social

Imagine this in a trial.

Devastating first-hand witness to Alex Pretti's killing

Declaration filed in federal court:

"I don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him."

January 25, 2026 at 1:20 AM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

The Wolfpack

@wolfpack11720.bsky.social

January 25, 2026 at 2:32 AM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Kyle Cheney

@kyledcheney.bsky.social

Since July, I've tracked at least 2,300 cases in which federal judges have ruled ICE has illegally detained people without bond or due process.

This is one that stands out:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

January 25, 2026 at 2:36 AM

Lyda Astrove

@lydaa.bsky.social

Where are the #TrumpEpsteinFiles

January 24, 2026 at 11:34 PM

Lyda Astrove

@lydaa.bsky.social

Where are the TrumpEpstein files

January 24, 2026 at 11:34 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸

@gtconway.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/live/2026/us...

Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing

www.nytimes.com

January 24, 2026 at 10:51 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Aaron Rupar

@atrupar.com

The unc who went viral a few weeks ago protesting in MN is back: "5 shots they put into that man's body. How do you look me in the eye and tell me you can justify this? I'm a veteran. I swore an oath back in 1969 to protect this country against all enemies foreign and domestic. This is unbelievable"

January 24, 2026 at 6:51 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Tim O’Brien

@timobrien.bsky.social

A 51-year-old man shot Saturday by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis has died, a hospital record obtained by The Associated Press shows.
apnews.com/article/immi...

Man shot during Minneapolis immigration crackdown has died, hospital record shows

A 51-year-old man shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis has died, a hospital record obtained by The Associated Press shows. Gov.

apnews.com

January 24, 2026 at 5:16 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Aaron Rupar

@atrupar.com

The Star Tribune reports that federal agents "attempted to order local police from the scene" where a man was shot and killed by feds this morning, but Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara refused and "instructed his officers to preserve the scene."

Live: Man shot and killed by federal agents in south Minneapolis this morning, police chief says

A video appears to shows federal agents wrestling a man to the ground then shooting him.

www.startribune.com

January 24, 2026 at 4:40 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Tim O’Brien

@timobrien.bsky.social

Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation say federal agents shot a man multiple times in south Minneapolis this morning.

A video taken from inside Glam Doll Donuts shows agents wrestling a man to the ground then shooting him multiple times.
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

Live: Man shot by federal agent in south Minneapolis this morning, witnesses say

A video appears to shows federal agents wrestling a man to the ground then shooting him.

www.startribune.com

January 24, 2026 at 4:06 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

The New York Times

@nytimes.com

Breaking News: Rejecting decades of science, the chair of the federal panel that recommends vaccines for Americans said that shots against polio and measles — and perhaps all diseases — should be optional. The vaccines are credited with preventing disability and millions of deaths worldwide.

Vaccine Panel Chair Says Polio and Other Shots Should Be Optional, Rejecting Decades of Science

Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist who leads the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, said a person’s right to refuse a vaccine outweighed concerns about illness or death from infectious diseases.

nyti.ms

January 23, 2026 at 6:18 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

@whysharksmatter.bsky.social

Folks, I'm getting married! Next weekend!

I'd love to spead the good news around. Here's a list of science, conservation, and education charities I love, and instructions on how to donate in our honor if you're so moved.

Please share!

I’m getting married! Want to honor us? Here are some great charities you can donate to.

Some, as they say, personal news: I’m getting married! I’d love to use this happy occassion to spread good news around. To that end, if you’re so inclined to make a donation &#822…

www.southernfriedscience.com

January 23, 2026 at 2:41 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

Nancy French

@nancyfrench.bsky.social

Please listen to the courageous Elizabeth Philips on the Shawn Ryan Show. Elizabeth is the brother of a Kanakuk victim who has been trying to get justice ever since he died of suicide. Listen and please share this comprehensive interview! open.spotify.com/episode/5O8W...

#272 Elizabeth Phillips - Inside Camp Kanakuk: One of America’s Darkest Child Summer Camps

Spotify video

open.spotify.com

January 19, 2026 at 4:02 PM

Reposted by Lyda Astrove

The Bulwark

@thebulwark.com

BREAKING: When ICE agents dragged out ChongLy Thao half-naked in the snow, they were looking for a man named Lue Moua. He was already in prison. bit.ly/3ZwwVjK