Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Tom Philpott

Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 9d

NPR giving "Hillbilly Elegy" tons of friendly coverage, only for Vance to sign the de-funding of NPR, was one of the most ironic things I've lived through.

Jack Tripper @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 9d

And it’s not a coincidence both came to prominence through the liberal media by offering “necessary correctives” to imagined liberal bubbles.

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 9d

Bari Weiss and JD Vance are very similar figures with very similar skills.

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 9d

Apple did something very similar to the people of Hong Kong in 2019, removing an app that allowed protesters to track police movements via crowdsourced information:

gizmodo.com/apple-sells-...

Reuters @reuters.com · 9d

Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration reut.rs/4mIfztt

Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration

Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump's administration.

reut.rs

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Tom Philpott @tomphilpott.bsky.social · 9d

Bari's CBS News will be like Fox News, but: instead of takes designed to indulge the presumptions of your aggrieved geriatric right-wing uncle, it will be deliver takes tailored to flatter aggrieved right-wing tech oligarchs: Ellison, Musk, Andreessen, David Sacks.

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 9d

Bari Weiss is set to be named the editor in chief of CBS News, the New York Post reports

Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days — giving the hard-charging journalist unusual clout to revamp the struggling network as it also acquires her scrappy news site the Free Press, The Post has learned.

Weiss — a 41-year-old former New York Times opinion writer who has built the Free Press into a buzzworthy site with a contrarian bent — is expected to be named to the top post in a Monday announcement, although the talks are in flux and the timing could change, a source close to the situation said.

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 9d

Bari Weiss and JD Vance are very similar figures with very similar skills.

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Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 9d

In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation. www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...

Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report

Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday, accordin...

www.mediaite.com

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Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 14d

This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...

Opinion | Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines

www.nytimes.com

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Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 14d

This man is a buffoonish shill for the fossil fuels industry. The stupidity here is staggering.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14d

Zeldin on why renewable energy is bad: "Those battery storage sites cost a whole lot of money, and they then catch on fire and these local municipalities, fire departments, they aren't prepared for those massive fires that end up resulting and those environmental impacts."

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 15d

In a statement ICE claimed Arias-Mendoza had a number of previous arrests and entered the country illegally at some point. This journalist is not in the business of taking ICE at their word.

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 15d

UPDATE: The man ICE violently arrested has been identified as Job Arias-Mendoza. Two weeks ago he published a video to his social media accounts of ICE handcuffing a man in front of a liquor store—it has more than 200,000 views on TikTok. streetcarsuburbs.news/arias-mendoz...

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 16d

NEW: ICE agents violently arrested a man in a busy Hyattsville, MD intersection this week, at one point brandishing guns and pointing them at bystanders.

I spoke to multiple witnesses—including a local priest whose church is a sanctuary for undocumented people: www.thehandbasket.co/p/ice-agents...

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 23d

So, a university president fired a professor because they taught a course that discussed there being more than two genders, and now the university president is being fired for not having fired the professor quickly enough, is where we're at. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/u...

Texas A&M President to Step Down After Controversy Over ‘Gender Ideology’

www.nytimes.com

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 23d

Worth noting that Khalil (and others) who have everything to lose, have shown more bravery and commitment to free speech than elites across academia, corporate America, culture and politics bsky.app/profile/josh...

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 23d

Ben Smith: "What you saw with Mahmoud Khalil is that in some ways he is *less* vulnerable than Jimmy Kimmel. The people who are most vulnerable are the employees of big consolidated megacorporations—"

Chris Hayes: "Yeah, although he's about to get deported."

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Tom Philpott @tomphilpott.bsky.social · 25d

Committee to Elect John Fetterman President

Oliver Willis @owillis.bsky.social · 25d

lol new clown car just rolled up

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · Sep 8

This is a great video. If you want to learn more about "agrivoltaics" read this piece by *another* @motherjones.com long-time contributor @tomphilpott.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/environment/...

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Julie K. Brown @jkbjournalist.bsky.social · Sep 6

What Epstein records have not been made public?

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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · Sep 6

The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents.

In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Sep 6

Today marks *1 year* since Israeli forces killed 26-year-old American Ayşenur Eygi.

Her family has heard nothing from Biden & Trump admins, and Israel.

State Dept. told us it has “no higher priority” than US citizens — but then referred us to Israel for info on Israel’s killing of the US citizen.

First Biden, Now Trump: US Has Done 'Nothing' to Hold Israel Accountable for Killing of Young American

Ayşenur Eygi’s family is still fighting for justice one year after an Israeli soldier killed the 26-year-old peace activist in the occupied West Bank.

zeteo.com

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Tom Philpott @tomphilpott.bsky.social · Sep 6

Right now, I’m laughing

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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · Sep 6

Variety describes Bari Weiss as “a well-regarded opinion writer who has tilted at extreme views, particularly those who are emblematic of the progressive “woke” movement.”

Not sure whether to laugh or cry.

CBS News Agrees Not to Edit ‘Face The Nation’ Interviews Following Homeland Security Backlash

CBS News said it would cede its power to hold "Face the Nation" interviewees to account after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem complained

variety.com

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 30

On Wednesday, as firefighters worked to contain a 9,000-acre blaze in western Washington's forests, federal officials escorted 44 of those firefighters off the premises, arresting two of them on charges of illegally entering the country.

Border Patrol arrested firefighters as they were battling a wildfire

Veteran firefighters worried a DHS raid on the Bear Gulch fire in Washington could make it more difficult to find contractor crews.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Tom Philpott @tomphilpott.bsky.social · Aug 28

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · Aug 28

The AJC, with 40,000 print subscribers in a metro area of 6.3 million, will publish its last newspaper at the end of the year

Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · Aug 28

The era of print newspapers is coming to an end: Atlanta Journal-Constitution to Quit Print Cold Turkey, via @nytimes.com

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JW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · Aug 26

The IRA was surprisingly effective at spurring investment in green energy. Where it failed was making it *politically* sustainable by delivering immediate tangible benefits to the public. In that sense, the Green New Deal was, in retrospect, the more prudent and realistic approach. on.ft.com/4n4Ayra

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Tom Philpott @tomphilpott.bsky.social · Aug 26

What a horrifically sinister Black Mirror episode.

Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · Aug 26

"In an exclusive statement to the New York Post, first lady Melania Trump has revealed her next official project: leading the Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge to inspire children and teachers to embrace AI technology and help accelerate innovation in the field."

Exclusive | First lady Melania Trump will head effort to teach next generation about AI

First lady Melania Trump will lead the Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge to inspire children and teachers to embrace AI technology and help accelerate innovation in the field.

nypost.com

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Jim Hankins @fincaelsordo.bsky.social · Aug 21

Farm work is dangerous in ways that most of us will probably never understand or appreciate.

#colorado #medsky @tomphilpott.bsky.social

www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...

6 people found dead during confined space rescue at Northern Colorado dairy farm

Six people were found dead Wednesday evening at a dairy farm in Northern Colorado, officials said.

www.cbsnews.com

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · Jul 29

I woke up a year ago 100% certain that I had to make a documentary about the Winston Salem chapter of the Black Panther Party. So I did.

We aim to release it early next year. This weekend I’m at Blackstar, looking for inspiration. If you’re in town, DM to meetup.

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GRAIN @grain.org · Aug 15

Trump family-backed golf resort in Vietnam are grabbing over 900 hectares of land that currently currently supports fruit farms. Farmers are offered rice and fistful of dollars as compensation www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...

Exclusive: Fistful of dollars and rice for Vietnam farmers displaced for $1.5 billion Trump golf club

Vietnamese farmer Nguyen Thi Huong has slept poorly since authorities told her to vacate her farm for a Trump family-backed golf resort, offering just $3,200 and rice provisions in return.

www.reuters.com

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