Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Brian Owens @scibri.com · 10h

It took them 15 innings to beat a team that doesn't even play baseball? I think they might struggle against the Jays then.

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 1d

Since my order would start with "Montreal-style bagel" I'm just gonna assume I'm finishing last.

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 1d

Why not do this for everyone?

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 1d

NB health minister John Dornan has said one reason the province hasn't signed a pharmacare deal is the insurance industry said they would cut coverage of Ozempic. But the industry association told me that isn't true. My story for @chco-tv.bsky.social
chco.tv/n-b-health-c...

N.B. Health Coalition pushes province to sign pharmacare deal - CHCO TV26

By Brian Owens, Reporter Healthcare campaigners in New Brunswick are pushing the province to join the federal government’s national pharmacare plan, which would provide free coverage for contraceptive...

chco.tv

Reposted by Brian Owens

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 1d

A+ headline, no notes.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

You won’t believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned

Communication must be freed from clickbait and misguided thinking, head of Catholic church tells journalists The pope has condemned clickbait as a “degrading” part of journalism, at a private audience with global newswires. Australian media representatives were among those to hear directly from Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday with about 150 members of newswire alliance Minds International. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

And, picking up on your point about finding the right discipline, it took me a while to learn what I'm good at. I'm never going to write a 7000 word New Yorker feature that brings readers to tears. But so far this week I wrote 4 solid 600-800 word news stories, while also working on a longer feature

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

I am only now, 20 years and two National Magazine Awards into my career, beginning to think of myself as a "good" journalist. And there is no way I would be without those 20 years of work.

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

Oh god, I've been silently (thank God) judging people who say primm-er for years because I didn't know this.

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 2d

Here’s a primer on ‘primer.’

It’s pronounced ‘PRIMM-er’ if you mean “a small book” or “a short informative piece of writing.”

It’s pronounced ‘PRY-mer’ if you mean “an initial coat of paint.”

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

Where the hell did Matthews get one of those hats with the ridiculous logo? Surely they were all burned and the ash consigned to a bottomless pit!

Reposted by Brian Owens

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 2d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 2d

When I was reporting in Sudan several years ago, a driver warned me not to tell government officials when I was leaving because the airport is where they stop and detain writers.

So, yeah, this is a very bad sign. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

US anti-fascism expert blocked from flying to Spain at airport

Rutgers University professor who published book on antifa was informed at boarding gate that his trip was cancelled

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Brian Owens

blair @blairaf.com · 2d

Looks like Canada's approach to "sovereign AI" will involve creating structural dependencies on large US tech companies

Excerpt from an article that reads: Lehane met with AI Minister Evan Solomon on Monday. Solomon told The Logic in June that his mission is to “create sovereign AI.” But “sovereignty is not solitude,” Solomon said, noting that Canada still needs technology and capital from other countries.

OpenAI is participating in similar initiatives in other advanced economies. In May, the firm launched OpenAI for Countries, a new program that localizes ChatGPT and its underlying models for a nation’s particular customs and the requirements of its public sector. It is also offering to build data centres for countries that help pay for the infrastructure.

Countries are turning to OpenAI because of its “cutting-edge technology,” which can be used to build homegrown tools and applications, and because the firm can help stimulate their domestic AI ecosystems by building or buying compute capacity, Lehane said.

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Reposted by Brian Owens

Mike Wilner @wilnerness.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah. This is one of the greatest things I have ever seen. #Bluejays

Jordan @jordanmackinnon.bsky.social · 2d

The Vladdy-David Ortiz interaction on Fox in front of Jeter & A-Rod is the stuff of legends.

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

I get a lot of weird pitches from PR folks, mostly entirely irrelevant to my work. This one is extra weird, as it seems to be trying to link the pitch to a topic I've covered before... except I've never written anything about Gen X and food.

I read your story on Gen X and food. Wanted to alert you to new research that shows Gen X might be more addicted to chips and fries than other generations.

📘 Story Idea

Any interest in taking a closer look at why certain foods are scientifically more addicting, how it impacts generations differently, and what our brain looks like when we consume them?

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Reposted by Brian Owens

Robert Llewellyn @bobbyllew.bsky.social · 2d

Useful comparison

A graphic showing the enormous improvements since the launch of the original Nissan Leaf 14 years ago the new one goes four times further charges three times faster has two times more power and is 36% cheaper than the original

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

As the US cuts medical research, China's research hospitals are getting huge boosts. But questions remain about the quality of research. My story for @nature.com 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

China’s research hospitals push for prominence

The country’s output in quality health research is going from strength to strength, but can it overcome questions about the integrity of its publishing practices?

www.nature.com

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

On to the the ALCS! #BlueJays

a logo for the toronto blue jays with a bird and a maple leaf

Alt: a logo for the toronto blue jays with a bird and a maple leaf

media.tenor.com

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

They don't boo nobodies. #BlueJays

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The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 2d

PM Carney announces Charter of Rights to be renamed Charter of Optional Ideas

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney held a press conference today to announce a renaming of the “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, the document that enshrined our foundational set of rights in...

www.thebeaverton.com

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 2d

Calais.

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 3d

My local MP had a Facebook meltdown last year when he accidentally bought plant-based ice cream. Which was, of course, clearly labelled as such.
www.reddit.com/r/onguardfor...

From the onguardforthee community on Reddit: Conservative MP on accidentally buying vegan ice cream: "Vote for the NDP-Liberal Trudeau government coalition if you want to eat stealthy plants and bugs....

Explore this post and more from the onguardforthee community

www.reddit.com

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Brian Owens @scibri.com · 4d

New Brunswick wants to bring in a province-wide organic waste diversion program. But some Regional Service Commissions doubt it will achieve the desired emissions savings. My story for @chco-tv.bsky.social
chco.tv/n-b-rscs-con...

N.B. RSCs concerned about province’s plans for organic waste - CHCO TV26

By Brian Owens, Reporter New Brunswick aims to have a province-wide program for diverting organic waste from landfills preventing related greenhouse gas emissions by the end of 2028, according to the ...

chco.tv

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 5d

"We’re operationalizing our old corridors—taking ancient trade routes our elders told us about and articulating them in a modern context."

Indigenous nations plan tariff-free trade corridor across US-Canada border.

From our friends at @nationalobserver.com:

Indigenous Nations Plan Tariff-Free Trade Corridor Across US-Canada border

“We’re not begging for crumbs anymore. We’re demanding what’s rightly ours."

www.motherjones.com

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ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 5d

Broken Eggs, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1756

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