Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Nicole Flatow

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 13h

Three newly published books argue that cars are destroying society as well as the planet.

Is the world finally ready to rein in the automobile?

My essay, in @bloomberg.com (gift link below)

‘Car Brain’ Is Making the US Unhealthy and Dangerous. EVs Won’t Fix It.

A trio of new books argue that we need to confront the full range of costs that car-based living has imposed on our cities, our health and our society.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Nicole Flatow

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks, New Yorker

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fola @folaak.bsky.social · 16d

Tom Homan said he was recused from anything to do with government contracts.

Turns out he wasn't. He played a role in the process to move immigration detention contracts through the Defense Department

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

With @racheladhe.bsky.social and @sooophie.bsky.social

Trump’s Border Czar Involved in Detention Contract Talks Despite Recusal

Ethics experts say Tom Homan’s participation could violate rules meant to ensure impartiality. The White House says he has not crossed that line.

www.bloomberg.com

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 17d

This school shooting tip line started by the mother of a Sandy Hook victim receives 200 tips a day from KIDS. I can't really imagine what it's like to be on their internet. abc7news.com/post/planned...

Planned shooting stopped at Bay Area high school via Sandy Hook Promise tip line

"What we know is that a student saw a concerning post on a friend's Instagram feed and reported it to our anonymous reporting system manned at our crisis center down in Miami," said Nicole Hockley, co...

abc7news.com

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 17d

This approach doesn't seem to grasp that even if you prefer to drive, you should still want OTHER people to take alternative modes so you can go faster.

Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 17d

Any grant that isn't retaining or expanding roads is apparently vulnerable now.

Ted Mann @whereisted.bsky.social · 18d

Trump is rescinding road safety grants all over the country, in blue states and red ones.

The reason: those projects are "hostile" to cars.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump Cancels Trail, Bike-Lane Grants Deemed ‘Hostile’ to Cars

The Trump administration canceled grants for street safety measures, pedestrian trails and bike lanes in communities around the country this month, each time offering a simple rationale for yanking ba...

www.bloomberg.com

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Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 21d

I have a major piece in Bloomberg Citylab today. Should the US let transit fail, as Pennsylvania is already doing? And if not, what are the arguments we need to let it succeed?

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Should We Let Public Transit Die?

Urban-rural hostility is fueling a public transportation crisis in US cities. But demands to abandon bus and train riders ignore the economic and social costs of cutting service.

www.bloomberg.com

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 21d

Florida man calls out Trump legal action as rant dressed in lawsuit's clothing

Zoe Tillman @zoetillman.bsky.social · 21d

"Improper" "impermissible" "repetitive" "superfluous" "florid" "protracted"

A US judge in Florida tossed, for now, Trump's $15B defamation suit against the New York Times, finding it "unmistakably and inexcusably" ran afoul of court rules. Trump's lawyers get 28 days to try again.
buff.ly/FKQnQqx

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Amanda Kolson Hurley @amandakhurley.bsky.social · 23d

Well well well

Bessent, Like Fed Governor, Made Contradictory Mortgage Pledges

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent once agreed to occupy two different houses as his “principal residence” at the same time, mortgage documents show — the same kind of contradictory pledges that Pres...

www.bloomberg.com

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 23d

After 2080, 80-90% of the world is still expected to be living in cities. But with overall population declining, many cities will likely face a reversal of the strains they need to plan for today. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Steep Curve to Peak Urban

The century from 1980 to 2080 will be a period of rapid urban expansion that strains housing and planning capacity around the world. Then comes population decline, and an uncertain future.

www.bloomberg.com

Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 23d

Even the NYC metro area is projected to have 23.4m people in 2080. Not nearly as steep of a curve as some of the others but also something we're not prepared for. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 23d

Take Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is projected to have more than 63 MILLION PEOPLE IN 2080, while Seoul is already declining. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · 23d

When we talk about housing crises and other such resource strains we don’t always take the long view. And the long view is that the world is urbanizing FAST. Before population decline comes rapid population growth, especially in some cities. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Sep 5

Every word and picture.

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Sep 5

Impressive and rare kind of judicial reporting here

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · Sep 4

This is an absolute must read by Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social - federal judges spoke to him about their frustrations with the Supreme Court (how it's enabling Trump's attacks on them, how it's making a hash of the law on the shadow docket, etc.)

www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...

In rare interviews, federal judges criticize Supreme Court's handling of Trump cases

Ten judges tell NBC News the Supreme Court needs to explain its rulings better, with some urging Chief Justice John Roberts to do more to defend the judiciary against external criticism.

www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Nicole Flatow

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · Sep 4

Something rare—maybe unprecedented—is unfolding in D.C.: Grand juries are refusing to indict Trump opponents whose minor acts of defiance have been inflated into felony charges.

Washingtonians have few tools to resist the occupation of their city. This is one of them.
slate.com/news-and-pol...

Grand jury proceedings are secret, so it is impossible to know exactly why jurors declined to indict in these five cases. But it’s not hard to guess. Each failed prosecution was transparently motivated by partisan anger toward opponents of Donald Trump and his agenda. Each weaponized the criminal code against a dissident who opposed the regime’s agenda, inflating a minor act of disobedience into a felony offense. And in every instance, a group of D.C. residents saw through the charade, refusing to legitimize political retribution dressed up as law enforcement.

For nearly a month, the president has staged a hostile “takeover” of the District, flooding the streets with federal police, masked immigration agents, and National Guard members. Because they lack the protections of statehood, Washingtonians have few concrete means of fighting back. Grand juries are one of them. And they have begun to wield that power to frustrate Trump’s attempt to criminalize dissent.

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Sep 4

"People don’t even know what the government does until it’s not doing it. HUD is one of the perfect examples of that.”

◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · Sep 4

Housing Secretary Scott Turner wants to build-baby-build. But so far his tenure at HUD has looked more like slash-slash-slash — with plunging numbers for staff, grants and proposed funding.

@sarahholder.bsky.social and I profiled Turner and his unorthodox agenda: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s Housing Chief Wants to Build, But With What?

HUD Secretary Scott Turner says it’s time to put millions more Americans in homes. He’s also standing by while his agency’s staff and funding disappear.

www.bloomberg.com

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◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · Sep 4

Federal housing agenda looks a bit different under Turner: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · Aug 27

National Guard soldiers called into service for President Trump's law enforcement surge in D.C. have been assigned to spread mulch at federal monuments.

Normally the Park Service does that, but the administration laid off the workers.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

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◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · Aug 15

Trump's comments about gilding federal buildings in Washington are wedded to his pledge to remove homeless people from D.C. When the president talks about beauty, he always talks about disgust: www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Trump’s Politics of Urban Disgust

The president’s unprecedented takeover of Washington, DC law enforcement weds a crime crackdown to a gilded vision for remaking the capital.

www.bloomberg.com

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Aug 6

"These service cuts are unprecedented and not just for SEPTA. No major transit agency has had to take steps this drastic." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Philadelphia Transit System Sets One-Week Deadline to Avoid Cuts

Philadelphia’s transit system must secure new state funding by next Thursday to avoid drastic cuts to its train and bus service that shuttles people around the US’ sixth-largest city.

www.bloomberg.com

Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Aug 6

Meanwhile, the central government is making moves to advance a giant multibillion-dollar canal project that detained Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu had called “a dagger intended to be thrust into the city’s heart” www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

A map shows the proposed canal bisecting the European side of Turkey.

Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Aug 6

Dozens of opposition leaders elsewhere including other mayors were also detained. Grateful to @jenhattam.bsky.social for this essential story on what this has meant for the region. Officials left behind are “engaged in a fierce struggle” to protect services www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail

The arrests of the mayor and key city officials have battered Turkey’s political opposition – and left issues critical to the city’s future hanging in the balance.

www.bloomberg.com

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Nicole Flatow @nicflatow.bsky.social · Aug 6

I’ve had Istanbul on my mind since the mayor was arrested on the eve of his presidential run. Since March, >100 other city officials have been arrested, including the heads of the water utility, housing authority, public transit authority and urban planning agency. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail

The arrests of the mayor and key city officials have battered Turkey’s political opposition – and left issues critical to the city’s future hanging in the balance.

www.bloomberg.com

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Dr. Samantha Montano @samlmontano.bsky.social · Aug 5

Really important story here about the shockingly (even to me) small operating budget for LA county emergency management — $15 million.

This is the most populous county and one of, if not the highest, risk counties in the country. The irresponsibility of this!

www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...

Documents reveal Los Angeles County’s meager budget for disaster response

Los Angeles County is no stranger to catastrophes. It has declared 74 disasters in the past 20 years and often hosts major events, such as the Summer Olympics in 2028.

www.washingtonpost.com

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