Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mauricio Torres

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 16h

CHICAGO — Outside an elementary school during dismissal… horrifying. What have we become?

Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Public Citizen @publiccitizen.bsky.social · 12h

Rep.-Elect Grijalva won her race weeks ago.

But Speaker Johnson is refusing to swear her in.

Johnson isn't working to stop the shutdown. He's not working to swear in members.

What the hell is he doing for the American people? Absolutely nothing.

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

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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Mauricio Torres @mauriciotorresjr.bsky.social · 12h

Fire engulfs home of South Carolina judge who had received death threats

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Fire engulfs home of South Carolina judge who had received death threats

State’s chief justice says fire that sent three people to the hospital appeared to have been caused by an ‘explosion’

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

The Advocate @advocate.com · 16h

“I simply asked if they had a signed judicial warrant,” Jessie Fuentes told The Advocate. “That’s not a crime. That’s a constitutional question."

Chicago alderperson describes ‘sanctioned violence’ after ICE detained her for simply asking questions

“I simply asked if they had a signed judicial warrant,” Jessie Fuentes told The Advocate. “That’s not a crime. That’s a constitutional question."

bit.ly

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 5d

After some of the biggest health care cuts in American history, Trump and his Republicans are now promoting one of the biggest health care cost increases in American history.

They can lie to our faces all they want, but that’s what the GOP's government shutdown is all about.

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 7d

This was done at the direction of Pam Bondi. The US government is now dictating what apps you can have on your phone.

The underlying threat here is if Apple didn't comply, they'd slap billions in tariffs on Apple products.

Alt text: Screenshot of a Fox News Digital article reporting that Apple removed the ICEBlock tracking app from its App Store after the Department of Justice raised safety concerns. The article states DOJ officials, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, asked Apple to take down the app, claiming it endangered law enforcement officers and shielded illegal immigrants. Bondi confirmed the removal in a statement, saying ICEBlock put ICE agents at risk and emphasized DOJ’s commitment to protecting federal officers.

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 7d

This raid is disgusting, abominable behavior, traumatizing children and families in their homes.
abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chi...

"They was terrified. The kids was crying. People was screaming. They looked very distraught. I was out there crying when I seen the little girl come around the corner, because they was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other," Watson said. "That's all I kept asking. What is the morality? Where's the human? One of them literally laughed. He was standing right here. He said, 'f*** them kids.'"

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 13d

We are so humiliatingly deep into tinpot dictatorship territory. The government has just brokered the coerced sale of a major media platform to an ally of the president, who is openly boasting about converting it into (even more of) a partisan propaganda outlet.

Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 13d

Trump says TikTok should be tweaked to become “100% MAGA”

Uncertainty reigns as Trump claims China approved TikTok deal.

arstechnica.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Democrats @democrats.org · 16d

Reminder: Republicans control all 3 branches of government.

If the government shuts down, it WILL be because of Trump.

Politico @politico.com · 16d

NEW: Trump canceled a meeting with Schumer and Jeffries “after reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands” he claims they made.

Trump cancels meeting with Schumer and Jeffries

The president was due to meet with Democratic leaders on Thursday.

www.politico.com

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Mauricio Torres @mauriciotorresjr.bsky.social · 16d

New Poll: 84% of Latinos in California say the wealthiest corporations should pay their fair share of taxes to fund programs such as healthcare, child tax credits, and food assistance.

www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...

www.businesswire.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

California Budget & Policy Center @calbudgetcenter.org · 17d

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 21d

After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel

Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.

www.yahoo.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 22d

A coordinated effort to silence critics and free speech.

Must be a coincidence.

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Mauricio Torres @mauriciotorresjr.bsky.social · 22d

Censoring the media isn’t normal.

Deporting student activists isn’t normal.

Doxxing critics isn’t normal.

Threatening funding isn’t normal.

The fascist Republican Party is working overtime to take away your freedom of speech.

Reposted by Mauricio Torres

California Budget & Policy Center @calbudgetcenter.org · 22d

President Trump’s signature domestic policy law could make it harder for states to fund programs to help people find stable housing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/u...

Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Could Hamper Efforts to House the Homeless

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Jason Sisney 🏳️‍🌈 @jasonsisney.bsky.social · 23d

Updated data on "donor state" California: federal COVID spending and drops in wealthier filers' taxable income affect 2023 data. open.substack.com/pub/jasonsis...

Thanks to @shg29.bsky.social & @nishinair.bsky.social of @calbudgetcenter.org and @rockefellerinst.bsky.social for helpful insights.

Updated data on "donor state" California

Federal COVID spending and drops in wealthier filers' taxable income affect 2023 data

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 26d

Horrific. Note that this is sworn testimony, not a mere allegation.

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 26d

It is truly horrifying what is being alleged against the Trump administration in the Ghana case.

Here is from an affidavit filed in the case today: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

3. I was granted withholding of removal by an immigration judge in the Otero Immigration
Court on April 30, 2025 on account of the likelihood that I would be persecuted or killed
Case 1:25-cv-03135-TSC Document 21-1 Filed 09/13/25 Page 2 of 5
if removed to Nigeria. My wife is a U.S. citizen. She filed an I-130 petition on my behalf
for me to receive a family visa. That petition was approved four months ago.
4. I am currently detained in Dema Camp in Ghana, where myself and other people who were also deported from the United States are being imprisoned. We are constantly
surrounded by military guards.

5. I am originally from Nigeria. In Nigeria, I was a member of one of Nigeria's main
political parties, the P.D.P. In 2018, 1 started being violently targeted by members of the
ruling political party, the A.P.C. In November 2018, members of the A.P.C. beat me and
other party leaders with plank woods, iron rods, and machetes. The attacks escalated from then and happened several times until I left Nigeria.

6. I fled Nigeria in 2019 after being tortured by the military and police officers for the
Nigerian Department of State Services. They tortured me and kept me locked in a dog
cage for three days until they let me go and told me they would kill me if they ever saw
me again. After this incident I had to leave Nigeria to save my life.

7. Nothing in Nigeria has gotten better since I left. The situation in the country has become worse. The political party that targeted me is still in power.

9. The officer finally told me that we were going to Ghana. I told him that I am afraid of
going to Ghana and that I cannot go to Ghana.
10. He told us "whether you like it or not, your ass is getting on that plane." He then
straitjacketed me extremely tightly, tying me from my shoulders to my feet.
11. I was put onto a military plane with the other people who were taken from their cells. I
remained straitjacketed for several hours until I pleaded with the officers to remove it so
that I could use the restroom. I begged the officers over and over again to take off the
straitjacket so that I could use the restroom, otherwise I would urinate on myself. They
finally removed the restraints on my legs after pleading with them for a long time, but left
the restraints on my upper body.

23. We are all afraid for our lives. We are not safe here, and now they are planning to hand us over to our country's government for further persecution and torture. We don't know
what our futures hold.
24. We urgently need help. We do not want to meet with government officials of our
countries or to be returned to those countries.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on September 13, 2025.
/s/
Signature
September 13. 2025
Date

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 27d

Extremist murders by ideology, 2013 to 2022. www.pbump.net/o/reassessin...

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 28d

We're close to reaching a chilling moment; the first time in history where the single largest group of people arrested by ICE in the interior and held in detention are people with no criminal record. The gap is now down to fewer than 300 people.

Chart showing Detention Population, Among Those Arrested by ICE in the Interior, by Criminal Record. The data goes back to 2019 and is divided into three groups of people who were arrested by ICE: Any prior conviction, pending charges, and no criminal record. The chart shows that until 2025, the single largest group was always people with prior criminal convictions. But starting in the Trump admin, the population of people arrested with no criminal record began skyrocketing. It surpassed people with pending criminal charges in June and is now extremely close to those with prior convictions.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 28d

A threat to authoritarianism anywhere is a threat to authoritarianism everywhere

Reuters @reuters.com · 28d

Rubio vows US response following conviction of Brazil's Bolsonaro reut.rs/4piCG0f

Rubio vows US response following conviction of Brazil's Bolsonaro

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said the United States would "respond accordingly to this witch hunt" after former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.

reut.rs

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

Axios @axios.com · 28d

Trump spent his 2024 campaign promising Americans he'd lower grocery prices.

Virtually all major grocery categories are now more expensive than they were a year ago, however, some substantially so.

Grocery prices rise at the fastest pace since 2022 as Trump tariffs bite

On the campaign trail, Trump promised lower grocery prices.

www.axios.com

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Reposted by Mauricio Torres

EdSource @edsource.org · 28d