Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Conor Sen @conorsen.bsky.social · 5h

Congressional Dems say (or at least are posturing) that they’re willing to hold out for weeks: www.cnn.com/2025/10/09/p...

Democrats say even missed paychecks for US troops won’t be enough to end shutdown alone | CNN Politics

Congressional Democrats are privately preparing to hold their position in the shutdown standoff for several more weeks if Republicans do not agree to their health care demands – and not even a missed ...

www.cnn.com

5 7 39

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Conor Sen @conorsen.bsky.social · 5h

Bluesky (who didn’t think Schumer had it in him) and the DC guys (who assumed a quick Dem fold and/or Dems would lose while getting nothing) have both been wrong too. Life, man, life!

8 3 70

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1h

Ubisoft: I will not forgive. I will not forget. And I *will* buy this video game when you revive it in 2029 www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...

The new game would have brought the history-spanning series to one of its most modern settings: The American Civil War and, moreso, the Reconstruction period that followed in the 1860s and 1870s.

In this Reconstruction-era Assassin’s Creed, gamers would play as a Black man who had been formerly enslaved in the South and moved west to start a new life. Recruited by the series’ Assassins, he would return to the South to fight for justice in a conflict that would, among other things, see him confront the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan.

That’s according to interviews with five current and former Ubisoft employees who spoke to Game File on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the project. (Ubisoft did not respond to a request for comment for this story.)

The people were enthusiastic about the game but were also frustrated by its cancellation, which they perceived as Ubisoft bowing to controversy.

2 3 35

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Zac Estrada @zacestrada.com · 1h

Pretty much everything we've already heard about the 2027 Chevy Bolt is now official by GM: under $30k, ~150kW charging speed, NACS, V2H capability, optional SuperCruise, Angry Birds and HBO Max capable

THEY estimate 255 miles of range and on sale Q1 2026 news.gm.com/home.detail....

It’s back: Introducing the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt

news.gm.com

2 14

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 4h

Oh no, my second-favorite store is closing :((( gothamist.com/news/rei-shu...

REI shutting down SoHo store, its only NYC location

The company's Paramus location is also closing.

gothamist.com

13 9 80

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 3h

from @jeremywallace.bsky.social’s new essay at @heatmap.news, on China’s new UN climate pledge: heatmap.news/ideas/china-...

The new pledge — known in UN jargon as a nationally determined contribution, or NDC — reveals a disconnect between the government’s official position and the optimistic discourse that now surrounds China’s clean energy sector. China today is described as the world’s first electrostate; it stands at the vanguard of the solar and EV revolution, some say, ready to remake the world order against a coalition of petrostate dinosaurs.

The NDC makes it obvious that the Chinese government does not yet view itself in such a fashion. China might look like an adult, but it more closely resembles a gangly teenager who is still getting used to their body after a growth spurt. As the analyst Kingsmill Bond recently put it on Heatmap’s podcast Shift Key, Chinese clean tech manufacturers have unlocked a cleaner and cheaper path to economic development. It isn’t yet clear that China is brave enough to commit to it. If China is the adult in the room, in other words, we’re screwed.

1 11

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 3h

We have a fantastic new essay on China’s new climate pledge by @jeremywallace.bsky.social at @heatmap.news this morning. He argues the country’s indecision about its green future is more than just an environmental disappointment — it is a serious governing mistake.

heatmap.news/ideas/china-...

China Can’t Decide if It Wants to Be the World’s First “Electrostate”

The country’s underwhelming new climate pledge is more than just bad news for the world — it reveals a serious governing mistake.

heatmap.news

5 15

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 14h

There we go. Man.

1

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Conor Sen @conorsen.bsky.social · 16h

Well well well www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | Republicans Caution White House on Inflicting Shutdown Pain

Some GOP lawmakers have warned the president’s aides against mass layoffs and sharp cuts to government assistance.

www.wsj.com

3 7 60

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 17h

Generate Capital, a key source of clean energy & infrastructure finance, has commenced layoffs, @heatmap.news has learned heatmap.news/climate-tech...

After Replacing Its CEO, Generate Capital Lays Off Staff

“We grew quickly and made some mistakes,” Generate executive Jonah Goldman told Heatmap.

heatmap.news

3 7

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 22h

NEW SHIFT KEY

What China’s New Climate Pledge Says About Its Power Grid

We chat with @michaeldavidson.bsky.social about China’s new Paris Agreement pledge — and the policies + factions that have made its grid run on coal *and* solar. I learned a lot in this one.
heatmap.news/podcast/shif...

How China’s Power Grid Really Works

Rob and Jesse break down China’s electricity generation with UC San Diego’s Michael Davidson.

heatmap.news

2 6

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

jael holzman @jael.bsky.social · 22h

please keep asking me if i’m “jael from heatmap” at the gigs. it’s my favorite question

1 3 77

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

Yeah I looked for it and couldn’t find it either. Deleted!

1

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

Ok I’m deleting the image of that Trump post because I can’t find it on his Truth Social account, even though the source is generally trustworthy.

6

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

In some ways that makes it more meaningful!

3

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, but the Freedom Caucus won’t agree to that (at least right now). And if the HFC is out of the picture, then you need House Dem votes, and then the math of what can be in the final deal shifts.

1

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

If you have left or center-left views on healthcare, then it’s worth thinking for a moment about how Democrats have successfully used the issue in the shutdown debate; it has lessons for how other issues (where the public does *not* usually agree with Dems) work in the discourse.

5

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

What I did not understand would happen — but which follows from Dems’ credibility & popularity on the issue — is that staking the shutdown on healthcare has divided the House GOP so much as to usefully shift expectations in Dems’ direction about the coalition that will ultimately end the shutdown.

2 18

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

This is neither here nor there but the shutdown experience has helped convince me the polling folks are *right*; Dems have successfully made the shutdown about health care (as Shor et al encouraged) even though the core problem is destruction of the budget process/unconstitutionality of rescissions.

mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 1d

it should be a tell about what's happening in the media now that most mainstream commentators seem openly frustrated that polling does not blame democrats for the shutdown

3 6 57

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

I love logging on to LinkedIn every day and absolutely crushing my beloved former coworkers in the little maze game

1 11

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

A children’s hospital was set to get a new backup power system. The Trump administration just canceled it during the shutdown, claiming that it was part of the “Green New Scam.”
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

How a Children’s Hospital Became Collateral Damage in the Government Shutdown

Last week’s Energy Department grant cancellations included funding for a backup energy system at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California

heatmap.news

18 44

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

My apartment has a sunken living room, so I’d like to think I’ve already started on this one

8

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · 1d

Feels like jazz/bossa nova and tropical fish tanks are both due for a big comeback. No hard evidence here. Just a feeling I have.

8 2 55

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 1d

10 out of 13 grants awarded for domestic Heat Pump manufacturing (the IRA’s Heat Pump Defense Production Act Program) are also listed. 🔌⚡

Awards for Gradient, Mitsubishi, and York International appear to be safe.

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 1d

Some additional info on the new list of axed DOE projects circulating.
- All 7 H2 Hubs
- All 13 IRA grants to convert at-risk auto plants to EV mfg
- 11 of 15 grants to speed domestic clean energy mfg in former coal communities
- 10 of 38 grants for battery materials
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

Trump to Axe All 7 Hydrogen Hubs, Bucking Bipartisan Law

A new list of Department of Energy grants slated for termination will hit clean energy and oil majors alike, including Exxon and Chevron.

heatmap.news

2 22 44

Reposted by Robinson Meyer

Emily Pontecorvo @emilypont.bsky.social · 1d

Some additional info on the new list of axed DOE projects circulating.
- All 7 H2 Hubs
- All 13 IRA grants to convert at-risk auto plants to EV mfg
- 11 of 15 grants to speed domestic clean energy mfg in former coal communities
- 10 of 38 grants for battery materials
heatmap.news/politics/doe...

Trump to Axe All 7 Hydrogen Hubs, Bucking Bipartisan Law

A new list of Department of Energy grants slated for termination will hit clean energy and oil majors alike, including Exxon and Chevron.

heatmap.news

14 95 210