Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 7h

that's a splendid idea Kat

Gray tabby cat dressed for the lunar new year.

1 1 3

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Kat4Obama @kat4obama.bsky.social · 7h

we should have this for lunar new year

fortune cookies too

1 1 4

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 8h

What do you mean "possible rise," dude is at the top of the pack. He is the literal pope

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 15h

As Pope Leo begins to reveal some of his views on divisive issues, some conservative critics of his predecessor are rejecting the possible rise of another “liberal pope.”

As Pope Leo riles conservatives, some say ‘just focus on the church’

Conservatives who hoped that Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, would be more of a traditionalist instead hear echoes of his predecessor, Francis, in his public statements.

www.washingtonpost.com

59 210 1.7K

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 8h

It’s hard to wash blood money

Vulture @vulture.com · 9h

Comedians like Aziz Ansari and Jessica Kirson need to look elsewhere for organizations to donate their Riyadh Comedy Festival money. Human Rights Watch said they ‘cannot accept’ donations from them.

Human Rights Watch Doesn’t Want Any Riyadh Comedy Festival Money

Comedians like Aziz Ansari and Jessica Kirson need to look elsewhere for organizations to donate their Riyadh Comedy Festival money. Human Rights Watch said they ‘cannot accept’ donations from them.

www.vulture.com

1 17 75

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 8h

😸😸

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 8h

how could i say no to that face

Gorgeous Siamese kitty sits on her perch.

2 1 3

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Kat4Obama @kat4obama.bsky.social · 8h

biscotti cookies and ice creams yes pls pls

Fluffy gray kitten sits amid the remains of a gift box it seems to have demolished.

1 1 1

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 9h

Vanilla Biscotti

www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/vani...

Vanilla Biscotti

A classic Italian cookie to serve with ice cream and soft fruit desserts.

www.kingarthurbaking.com

1 3 12

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 9h

Easy Chinese Steamed Fish

www.cooking-therapy.com/chinese-stea...

Easy Chinese Steamed Fish - Cooking Therapy

A yummy and easy homemade Chinese steamed fish made with cod, topped with ginger and green onions, and served with soy sauce.

www.cooking-therapy.com

1 1 5

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 9h

The New ‘It’ Apples to Look Out for This Fall

www.foodandwine.com/new-apple-va...

5 New ‘It’ Apples to Look Out for This Fall (That Aren’t Honeycrisp)

Move over, Honeycrisp and Red Delicious. We asked apple growers, marketers, and breeders which new apples to look out for at the grocery store, from Cosmic Crisp to Lucy.

www.foodandwine.com

1

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 9h

Pure clownery. If Republicans weren't hurting so many people it would be funny.

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 9h

Second threat walked back after a couple days.

2 4

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 9h

New Yorkers know Attorney General James for who she is: a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people. Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption.

My full statement:

61 1.4K 6.3K

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 21h

This remains the most important piece i’ve written about the goals and ideological principles of the second Trump administration www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

bsky.app/profile/jame...

20 510 1.3K

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 21h

It’s not segregationist though. You can tell because pam bondi, pete hegseth and co are so competent and clearly deserve their jobs

4 18 450

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 21h

yeah, trump has made very clear that he doesn’t think black people deserve to be in jobs of influence! www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration

www.nytimes.com

81 940 3.8K

Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐 @afarray.bsky.social · 9h

Maybe.

Eric L. Robinson @uticaeric.bsky.social · 16h

Begging military spouses to pay attention to partisan politics, evaluate their family’s articulable interests, and vote accordingly.

Yes, I know they’ll still mostly vote R because culture is everything, but some will abandon magical thinking.

Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 16h

“As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party and I’m very disappointed in you,” a Virginia woman named Samantha fumed at Johnson, who was taking calls from the public.

“Because you do have the power to call the House back. You did that -- or you refused to do that just for a show.”

1 4 8

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Eric L. Robinson @uticaeric.bsky.social · 16h

Begging military spouses to pay attention to partisan politics, evaluate their family’s articulable interests, and vote accordingly.

Yes, I know they’ll still mostly vote R because culture is everything, but some will abandon magical thinking.

Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 16h

“As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party and I’m very disappointed in you,” a Virginia woman named Samantha fumed at Johnson, who was taking calls from the public.

“Because you do have the power to call the House back. You did that -- or you refused to do that just for a show.”

6 33 240

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 10h

Donald Trump is not a king — and his administration is not above the law.

Today, the court confirmed what we all know: there is no credible evidence of a rebellion in the state of Illinois.

And no place for the National Guard in the streets of American cities like Chicago.

200 2.8K 11K

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 20h

No Kings. October 18th. Free speech is action. Please join in.
www.nokings.org

No Kings

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...

www.nokings.org

68 1.1K 2.5K

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 10h

I think it’s pretty easy to see the gap in the logical progression between paragraphs 6 and 7 that will doom the case.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 11h

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).)

51 160 750

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 10h

This is the genius of the Portland protests - they make the claims of lawlessness look not just wrong, but comical

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 13h

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

92 1.7K 6.3K

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Reconstructionist @unavaleable.bsky.social · 1d

this is a program of national immiseration unlike any other in the history of advanced democracies

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

So this is funny.
The administration just issued a rule slashing foreign agricultural worker wages. And to justify it, in a public filing, Trump's Labor Department alleges that Trump's immigration enforcement has devastated the Ag workforce and caused a "risk of supply shock-induced food shortages."

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis

In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.

prospect.org

6 51 300

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 1d

wsj seems nervous that the caudillo is destroying the rule of law

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 1d

In his second term, Trump has taken control of the Justice Department in ways he could have only dreamed of during his first.

Inside the Justice Department Where the President Calls the Shots

The president has executed a wholesale transformation of the Justice Department, taking control in ways he could have only dreamed of in his first term.

on.wsj.com

5 22 190

Reposted by Countess Strawberry Gumdrop 💐🍀🌼🌷👸🏾👸🏾👸🏾🌷🌼🍀💐

Drow Paweł Włodkowic 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @dov.bsky.social · 1d

It's truly brilliant how the American state is run by what I can only describe as a small group of child rapists doing everything in their power to dodge even theoretical accountability.

Senator Bernie Sanders @sanders.senate.gov · 1d

Adelita Grijalva won her election fair and square.

Now House Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to swear her in because she would be the final signature to release the Epstein files.

Mr. Speaker, respect democracy. Obey the law. Swear Representative Grijalva in immediately.

5 75 340