Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Matthew Buckley

Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 8h

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 13h

With the exception of HHS, these are not particularly large RIFs for science agencies, compared to previous attempts to reduce staff.

NOAA (within Commerce) has already lost about 1,500 FTEs since the beginning of the year, per the shutdown contingency plan.

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Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 9h

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

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Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 16h

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 14h

Confirmation & details about RIFs at DOE, per agency source:

Federal employees working in renewable energy offices (solar, wind, and hydrogen fuel cell) received a 'general' notice of possible RIF at a meeting this afternoon. If identified individually, DOE employees will be sent specific RIFs.

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 14h

Breaking news that I don't think anyone else had about the, uh, Department of Justice for some reason telling employees at the, uh, National Institutes of Health that they could not attend a major public health association's annual meeting.

Per one NIH source: "What the actual fuck?"

Why Is the DOJ Telling NIH Staff They Can't Attend a Public Health Conference?

Hello, welcome to my relaunched newsletter, read more about the deal here and please subscribe! On Wednesday, employees at various parts of the National Institutes of Health received an odd email. Sh...

www.gravityisgone.com

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Congresswoman Gwen Moore @repgwenmoore.bsky.social · 18h

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 14h

New: Judge Murphy vacates DoD's 15% indirect cost plan, adding to court losses for DOE, NSF, and NIH.

www.courtlistener.com/docket/70552...

Memorandum & Order – #90 in Association of American Universities v. Department of Defense (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-11740) – CourtListener.com

Memorandum & Order

www.courtlistener.com

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Bob Kopp @bobkopp.net · 15h

Rutgers TPUSA says they don't condone harassment of anyone who opposes them, but I hear from colleagues that people who signed the petition calling for them to be banned are receiving email threats to publicize their home addresses if they don't remove their name and apologize.

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d

The Rutgers TPUSA chapter — whose characterization of a historian there as a “outspoken, well-known antifa member” led to death threats and moving his family to Europe — think *other* people are being “blatantly defamatory.”

Not them, though. They’re doing politics the right way.

Rutgers TPUSA officers slam petition to shut down chapter, ‘Blatantly defamatory’

Alexander Di Filippo accuses Turning Point USA of inciting violence against Antifa handbook author Mark Bray.

www.foxnews.com

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Rep. Jamie Raskin @raskin.house.gov · 17h

And the lawsuits will follow promptly. Government shutdowns give presidents no additional authority to dismiss federal workers. We’ll fight these outrageous assaults on civil servants and public services.

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Po Murray @pomurray.bsky.social · 20h

Breaking News! MIT became the first university to reject the Trump administration’s compact of demands, after its president Sally Kornbluth said the practices of the school already “meet or exceed many standards outlined” by the federal government.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/10/b...

MIT becomes first school to reject proposed ‘compact’ with Trump administration - The Boston Globe

MIT president Sally Kornbluth said the university’s practices already “meet or exceed” the federal government’s list of demands.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Matthew Buckley @physicsmatt.bsky.social · 21h

As a clever little boy*, I was sure that I was smarter than the complex systems that develop when large numbers of people work under constraints that I didn't have the experience to understand.

Unlike the Smartest Little Boys and Girls running the world today, I grew out of it.

*read: annoying ass

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 21h

News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."

One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."

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Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 22h

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Todd Wolfson @proftwolf.bsky.social · 1d

Mark Bray and Yesenia Barragan, and the family, have safely embarked on their trip to Spain after being questioned by DHS.

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Matthew Buckley @physicsmatt.bsky.social · 1d

rutgersaaup.org/defending-ou...

Defending Our Colleagues from Attacks by the Rutgers Chapter of Turning Point USA - Rutgers AAUP-AFT

This week, our colleague Dr. Mark Bray has come under attack by Turning Point USA’s Rutgers chapter for his public scholarship. Their campaign to have Dr. Bray fired has resulted …

rutgersaaup.org

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Matthew Buckley @physicsmatt.bsky.social · 1d

a man is dancing on a beach next to a boat .

Alt: Maui from Moana singing "You're welcome"

media.tenor.com

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Matthew Buckley @physicsmatt.bsky.social · 1d

a man with long hair and a mustache says no there is too much .

Alt: Inigo Montoya saying "Let me explain..." then pausing and finishing with "No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

media.tenor.com

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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d

Shapiro: I filed that amicus brief last night to make it very clear that the Pennsylvania National Guard is under my command.

The way the President has chosen to deploy the Guard in other states—and, in at least one case, deploy the Guard from one state into another—is extremely dangerous.

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Matthew Buckley @physicsmatt.bsky.social · 1d

Look man, I'm just a simple country theoretical physicist and I don't know all the ins and outs and whatnots of epidemiology and neurology, but I do know how science works and this ain't it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

RFK Jr on Tylenol and autism: "It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."

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Jocelyn Leitzinger @jocelynl.bsky.social · 2d

Armed, masked thugs are kidnapping our neighbors and terrorizing our communities

This was in front of an elementary school in the West Loop in Chicago today. Sharing because everyone needs to see what is happening here daily

Originally posted by @erynfreepress on IG. Her story is in the alt text

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

yeah, trump has made very clear that he doesn’t think black people deserve to be in jobs of influence! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration

www.nytimes.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2d

Bray is a historian at Rutgers who received death threats after landing on Turning Points USA's Professor Watchlist. As a result, he announced he was moving to Europe. And then this happened.

This kind of harassment and abuse of scholars is Charlie Kirk's legacy and it's only getting worse.

Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 2d

“Someone” cancelled my family’s flight out of the country at the last second.

We got our boarding passes. We checked our bags. Went through security. Then at our gate our reservation ‘disappeared.’

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Mark Bray @mark-bray.bsky.social · 2d

Solidarity!

RutgersAAUP-AFT @ruaaup-aft.bsky.social · 2d

This week, our colleague Dr. Mark Bray came under attack by Turning Point USA’s Rutgers chapter for his public scholarship. Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union condemn this campaign and stand in solidarity with our colleagues. Read our full statement here: https://loom.ly/BDXasRY

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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 2d

“This is a man who’s suffering dementia,” said @govpritzker.illinois.gov. “This is a man who has something stuck in his head … He doesn’t read. He doesn’t know anything that’s up to date. It’s just something in the recesses of his brain that is effectuating to have him call out these cities.”

Gov. JB Pritzker says President Trump deploying troops to Chicago due to ‘dementia’ and obsessive fixations

Democratic governor’s comments came as he continues to oppose President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago area for deportation efforts.

www.chicagotribune.com

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

For the uninitiated: The pope being this direct and explicit to U.S. bishops about how to respond to a domestic policy happening in real time is…unusual.

Joshua McElwee @joshmcelwee.org · 3d

Pope Leo told U.S. bishops visiting him at the Vatican on Wednesday that they should firmly address how immigrants are being treated by President Donald Trump's hardline policies, attendees said, in the latest push by the pontiff on the issue. For @reuters.com:

www.reuters.com

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