Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 8h

A story indistinguishable from those depicted/dramatized in all the WWII / Holocaust movies and plays and novels we grew up with

Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 14h

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

1 130 350

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 12h

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

33 790 2.8K

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Django Wexler @djangowexler.bsky.social · 14h

My boss: so how's our fourth quarter looking?

Me, the sales manager at the company that makes inflatable frog suits: well, you're never going to believe this, but

110 3.1K 15K

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 12h

The comments and letter this week on immigration…he is under zero illusions about the USCCB.

1 17

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 12h

He is *heavily* leaning into being the first American Pope and using that position.
They can’t hand-wave that he isn’t from here and doesn’t know, and when he tells them off, he isn’t doing it through translation, but in his own first language.

1 25

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 12h

HUGE

3

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 12h

I’ve quoted Dickens twice this week as a comment on public policy proposals, and that is two too many.

1 3

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 20h

IDK, man. School started 2 weeks ago for us, and once again students remind me that they’re so curious and interested in the world and anxious to ask big questions. We hear that these questions are no longer useful or relevant, but wherever that’s coming from, it’s not what students believe.

1 35 200

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 15h

I am so sorry.

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 16h

I am so sorry.

1 2

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 20h

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."

330 1.9K 8.2K

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 21h

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

32 460 1.8K

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1d

I've decided to dedicate my life to confidently popping into people's replies and saying "why are people surprised by this" despite nobody, anywhere, expressing any surprise

68 150 1.5K

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 20h

Wachusett Dam Day is this Sunday (the 12) from 10 to 1!

2

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 22h

I am not voting for anyone for Governor of Massachusetts whose response to the detentions of Marcelo Gomes Da Silva and of Rümeysa Öztürk is "the government didn't execute well"

Just to be clear

1 9 49

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 22h

Look, my congressman talking to my senator! www.youtube.com/watch?v=8paY...

@repmcgovern.bsky.social @warren.senate.gov

Instead of working to reopen the government, House Republicans are taking their 4th week of vacation

YouTube video by Senator Elizabeth Warren

www.youtube.com

1

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 23h

A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security from using riot control weapons against journalists covering protests and immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area.

Judge orders halt to DHS agents’ targeting of journalists in Chicago

The temporary restraining order comes amid clashes between protesters and federal agents in the Chicago area, where journalists have repeatedly been hit with pepper balls and tear gas.

www.washingtonpost.com

6 40 120

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Renée Graham 🏳️‍🌈 @rygraham.bsky.social · 23h

“When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

The Nobel committee didn’t just snub Trump — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado received the peace prize — its announcement gave him the middle finger. Bravo.

15 33

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING NEWS
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2025 #NobelPeacePrize to Maria Corina Machado for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

6 35 100

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 1d

Guess we know who’s shut down the government, then, don’t we.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 1d

In the eight days since the government shut down, President Donald Trump and his allies have engaged in a furious public campaign against Democrats. But behind the scenes, Trump and his aides have still not engaged with Democrats at all.

White House declines to engage Democrats as shutdown drags into second week

The White House has yet to engage Democrats on ending the government shutdown, despite the potential political ramifications of the closure.

www.washingtonpost.com

6

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Prof Anna Watts @profannawatts.bsky.social · 1d

Lol the Nobels can't even acknowledge women's contribution to discovery. But sure let's acknowledge The Machines.

Headline from an article in Nature this week that states "Prizes must recognize machine contributions to discovery. The future of science will be written by humans and machines together. Awards should reflect that reality."

85 770 3.4K

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

Jason Wilson @jasonaw.bsky.social · 1d

The radical antifas are reclaiming frogs

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 1d

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

4 11 94

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

redrum scare(d) corncob (no one said it made sense) @inquiline.myatproto.social · 1d

"Emails from Heriot-Watt University (HWU) suggest Raytheon UK asked the university to “monitor university chat groups”" Oh
www.theguardian.com/education/20...

UK universities offered to monitor students’ social media for arms firms, emails show

Loughborough, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow corresponded with companies concerned about campus protests

www.theguardian.com

9 11

Reposted by Tracy O’Connell Novick

jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 1d

. @404media.co is investigating book bans. They could use your pointers on where to be looking. You can do it anonymously.

"We need help deciding... which school districts and cities to seek public records from and... where we should point our reporting efforts. "

www.404media.co/help-us-inve...

Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America

404 Media has gotten a grant to unearth public records about systematic censorship of books, schools, and libraries in the U.S.

www.404media.co

1 63 81

Tracy O’Connell Novick @tracynovick.bsky.social · 1d

…which I believe is typical of the commuter rail as opposed to the subway

1 1