Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Corinne Blalock @corinneblalock.bsky.social · 1h

When Justice Powell was nominated to the Supreme Court, Philip Morris (his long time client) threw a party for him in which they gave him judges robes emblazoned with their logo

1 7

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 2h

The situation in America is not great. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

87 840 2.8K

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 6h

Does "fix" mean something different in Europe?

A headline in Politico: “European businesses barely use AI. Brussels wants to fix that.”

2 2 29

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 7h

I may not "know the rules of basketball," but this is now a Napheesa Collier stan account

Jezebel @jezebeldotcom.bsky.social · 19h

But Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is proving herself a labor rights legend.
www.jezebel.com/the-wnba-con...

The WNBA Contract Negotiations Are as Intense as the Finals

But Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is proving herself a labor rights legend.

www.jezebel.com

2 14

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 16h

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

180 4.5K 9.8K

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Loren DeJonge Schulman @lorenraeds.bsky.social · 1d

Former OMB associate director on personnel here: This is blatantly false and inexplicably undermines Congress's authority. Congress made extremely clear in 2019 that furloughed feds are to be paid, full stop, period. There is no question, except why the Speaker would make such a statement.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

12 64 160

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Bat 🦇 Borus @matthewborus.bsky.social · 1d

Back pay for furloughs used to be a question. It certainly caused me stress when I was furloughed in 2013.

That changed in 2019 with the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, which unambiguously guarantees back pay.

It passed the House 411-7. Mike Johnson voted for it. Donald Trump signed it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

22 47

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Nick Bednar @nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, they are. "Each employee of the United States Government or of a District of Columbia public employer furloughed as a result of a covered lapse in appropriations shall be paid for the period of the lapse in appropriations..." 31 USC 1341. It's not even close.

www.axios.com/2025/10/07/t...

Scoop: White House memo says furloughed federal workers aren't entitled to backpay

A move to deny backpay to up to 750,000 furloughed workers would dramatically escalate Trump's pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown.

www.axios.com

11 59 140

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: In May, a Texas police department said they used the powerful Flock surveillance network against a woman who had an abortion "for her safety"

Newly obtained court records show it was a 'death investigation,' and they considered charging her with a crime

www.404media.co/police-said-...

Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime

Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.

www.404media.co

29 740 1.3K

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 1d

I know it's tiresome to play the "imagine if the parties were reversed" game, but thinking about how Republicans (and right-wing media) would be reacting if a Democratic-controlled House was refusing to swear in a newly elected *Republican* member may be the apotheosis of this particular meme.

29 160 740

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Speaking of:

bsky.app/profile/maxt...

max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 1d

Bari Weiss introduced herself to CBS News staff today on the network's 9AM call, saying she wants to "win," which requires restoring trust to CBS. She also said she was excited for staff to get to know the Free Press, and ended her remarks by saying: "Let's do the fucking news."

1 6

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

But no need to press the suit for either version

2

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

One thing to take from this is that legacy media’s attempts to win back GOP audiences have utterly failed. If those attempts have also eroded trust among Dems and Independents, then they’re a massive own-goal.

Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 1d

Gallup has been surveying Americans' trust in legacy media since 1972. This year, a mere 28 percent of the public have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust in legacy media, its lowest level in more than five decades of tracking.

news.gallup.com/poll/695762/...

10 45 150

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Union lawyer, union organizer, union president

Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 1d

University general counsel, university trustee, university president

3 4 42

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

That’s a movie I haven’t thought about for ages…

1 1

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Jamal Greene @jamalgreene.bsky.social · 1d

Law review article, symposium piece, book

Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 1d

University general counsel, university trustee, university president

2 3 28

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 1d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

130 5.2K 15K

Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 1d

Union lawyer, union organizer, union president

Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 1d

University general counsel, university trustee, university president

3 4 42

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

The shuttered DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties “was one of the very few tools we had to check ICE, to hold ICE accountable,” immigration lawyer Sophia Genovese said. “Now you see them speeding to complete authoritarianism.”

(Published April 2025)

“They Don’t Care About Civil Rights”: Trump’s Shuttering of DHS Oversight Arm Freezes 600 Cases, Imperils Human Rights

The closure of the 150-person office, which protected the civil rights of both immigrants and U.S. citizens, strips Homeland Security of its internal guardrails as the Trump administration turns DHS i...

www.propublica.org

23 360 910

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Nancy Kanwisher @nancykanwisher.bsky.social · 1d

I am proud of MIT, where our branch of AAUP has voted unanimously to endorse this statement urging MIT leadership and the MIT Corporation to reject the Compact wholesale
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Letter Regarding Compact

MIT Chapter of the American Association of University Professors October 6, 2025 Statement on the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” MIT has been invited by the federal governmen...

docs.google.com

11 180 740

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 1d

It feels crazy even saying out loud everything that they're doing but this is all really happening.

Alt text: Screenshot of an article from The Cut titled “What happened at the South Shore apartment raid, exactly?” The article reports that on September 30, about 300 federal immigration agents stormed a five-story residential apartment in South Shore during an overnight raid. Witnesses said agents rappelled from helicopters, kicked down doors, used flash-bang grenades, and detained adults and children with zip ties. Thirty-seven people were arrested, including four U.S. citizen children. A resident, Pertissue Fisher, said she was handcuffed, had guns pointed at her, and held for hours despite being an American citizen. Photos from the scene showed broken doors, scattered toys, shoes, and food.

3 58 250

Reposted by Charlotte Garden

Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 1d

Trump 2.0 has really exposed how brittle and broken the West Coast states' tax systems are. WA, OR, and CA all have a 1% property tax cap. WA has a sales tax but no income tax; OR has an income tax but no sales tax. It is not possible to effectively resist Trump without fixing these tax systems.

CalMatters @calmatters.org · 1d

The news has sent counties throughout California into a panic. The state is bracing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars for permanent housing, which is the one thing experts agree on as the most effective way to solve homelessness. https://cal.news/4nBKuZI

📷 Fred Greaves