Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Alice Goodman

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 17h

Reposted by Alice Goodman

Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 13h

"Eye-catching..." is kinda how much of the West has ended up in this clown car hurtling towards authoritarianism. I think it's time to acknowledge that.

Lewis Goodall @lewisgoodall.com · 2d

Strong speech from Badenoch. Well delivered. Sharp critique of government. Focussed on politically fertile territory on the economy. Eye catching policy which will get a lot of v positive press attention.

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 17h

This morning there is one Nobel Peace Prize winner, 8.1 billion or so people who did not win the Nobel Peace Prize, and one Nobel Peace Prize loser.

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Alice Goodman @revdalicegoodman.bsky.social · 11h

Church of England take note.

Robert G. Callahan, II ⚖️ 📚 ⚖️ 📚 @rcallahanwaco.bsky.social · 4d

When churches start using the language of capitalism to describe community, don’t be surprised when discipleship sounds like a franchise.

You can’t preach stewardship while selling ownership. Pick a kingdom.

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Jack Tripper @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 15h

“We should replace Bad Bunny with Lee Greenwood” is an also a perfect summation of the “deal” they’ve offered universities.

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Satyros Phil Brucato @satyrosphilbrucato.bsky.social · 1d

Folks who think "cats are not loving" have never been loved by a cat.

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Laura Webster @lauraewebster.bsky.social · 19h

Scotland's languages have historically faced subjugation, and today still face discrimination and nasty rhetoric.

I'm very proud that The National puts Gaelic front and centre in today's splash, thanks to a gorgeous illustration by Caitlin Ferguson, as the Mòd kicks off.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 18h

Congratulations to Maria Corina Machado, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize - her incredible optimism has already changed her country. I spoke to her, and wrote about her, at the beginning of this year:
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

The ‘Anthropological Change’ Happening in Venezuela

Maduro is still in place, but a pro-democracy movement is transforming the beleaguered country.

www.theatlantic.com

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Jonathan Healey @jonathanhealey.bsky.social · 17h

It was two OUP books.

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The Palestine Project @palestineproject.bsky.social · 21d

The denazification process of Israel must begin now.

— Orly Noy
@972mag.com
tinyurl.com/verukd3a

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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 3d

I did not believe Israel would reach the point of starving people to death.
I did not believe it would, on average, erase a classroom of children every single day for two whole years.”

- Orly Noy www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Disappearing people, disappearing morals – how two years has changed Gaza and Israel | Orly Noy

There can be no healing until the world stares into and acknowledges the void torn open by this conflict, says Israeli journalist Orly Noy

www.theguardian.com

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Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 19h

The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 has been awarded to Venezuelan democracy activist María Corina Machado.

The Nobel Committee recognised her “struggle to achieve a just & peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

In other words, exactly the opposite of what Trump is doing to the United States.

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Seána @grantsana.bsky.social · 1d

Oil being delivered next door. My 3 year old was in our garden. As the delivery man was dragging the oil hose through next doors garden, she roared over to offer him “a wee go of the baby’s dummy?” He replied dead seriously, “no you’re grand I’m only after one”

Both were delighted with themselves

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Popehat Agitates And Irritates @kenwhite.bsky.social · 1d

I’ve never seen anything remotely this petty charged as bank fraud.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 1d

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

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Hedy Lamarr Stands with Ukraine🌻🌻🌻 @hedylamarr1987.bsky.social · 2d

OMG! Totally the EXACT same guy! @symonedsanders.bsky.social Rip into this as only you can do, girl!
www.mediaite.com/media/tv/fox...

Fox News’ Masked ‘Antifa Whistleblower’ Looks Suspiciously Similar to Its ‘Former Mexican Mafia Member’

Jesse Watters interviewed an "Antifa whistleblower" who looked suspiciously similar to a "former Mexican Mafia member" he interviewed in 2023.

www.mediaite.com

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Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) @hcrichardson.bsky.social · 1d

20 paragraphs down in the NBC News story that broke the information that the administration is considering invoking the Insurrection Act is the report that Stephen Miller is driving the issue.

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Edith Hall @edithmayhall.bsky.social · 1d

This coming Sunday, three historic performances of the late, great Tony Harrison's masterpiece "v." in the Leeds graveyard where it's set. I'm speaking before the final reading. Please come. slunglow.org/v-a-homecomi...
@lrb.co.uk
@richardburgon.bsky.social

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Edith Hall @edithmayhall.bsky.social · 1d

Pre-Raphaelite Simeon Solomon was born this day 1840. He suffered prosecution and persecution, aggravated by antisemitism, for homosexuality. His Toilet of a Roman Lady (1869) was inspired by Pompeii frescoes, especially this one of Dido

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Steven (with a PH) @sjksalisbury.bsky.social · 2d

Turns out that when Americans said "If it weren't for us you'd be speaking German now..." their objection was to learning a second language, not fascism.

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Paul Marshall @pmarsha11.bsky.social · 2d

This is the result of Farage and Jenrick’s far-right, divisive rhetoric. Hard working, responsible people feeling afraid for their future.
Disgraceful.

Doncaster chippy owner 'scared for his children' after vandalism - BBC News

Poseidon's Fish Bar had the word "England" painted on its front, says Iraqi-born owner Darin Ahmed.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 2d

NEW: Comey is going to file selective and vindictive prosecution motion to dismiss AND he will challenge the legality of Halligan’s appointment! There’s more, too… so glad @annabower.bsky.social is there to bring us the whole story! Thread below with details:

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 2d

The judge also set an initial schedule for pre-trial motions.

The first set is expected by Oct. 12. Per Comey’s defense counsel, that batch will include motions to dismiss for selective and vindictive prosecution, as well as a motion challenging the legality of Halligan’s appointment as US attorney

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Reverend Jesus "H" Christ @reverendjesus.com · 2d

"A government doesn't announce they have become fascist; they announce anti-fascists are enemies of the state."

CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective @crimethinc.com · 2d

Jack Posobiec explicitly says that "Antifa" dates back to the Weimar Republic, explicitly acknowledging that this administration is opposed to those who resisted the arrival of Adolf Hitler in Power.

A screenshot of C-Span showing Jack Posobiec speaking during a panel on "Antifa."

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

Reporter's notebook: I actually began working on this story shortly after footage of the incident showed up last month.

But by the time I finally got ahold of folks, the story grew: 2 *other* faith leaders I spoke with *also* reported being shot w/pepper balls while protesting this ICE facility.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 3d

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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Sharon @sharonk.bsky.social · 2d

pope leo please write a migration encyclical

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

Oh: @clairegiangrave.bsky.social with an exclusive:

Pope Leo, in addition to urging U.S. bishops to speak out about mistreatment of immigrants, also told a group of U.S. Latino Catholics who work w/immigrants their job is important — "perhaps especially" in the U.S. religionnews.com/2025/10/08/i...

In private audience Pope Leo XIV encourages Latino Catholics serving fearful U.S. immigrants

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — ‘He treated us like dignitaries. He sent a message by having us there. He lifted us,’ said Elizabeth Román, president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry.

religionnews.com

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