Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Katie J. Wells

C Ó Gallachóir @cgallaher.bsky.social · 3d

@washingtonpost.com is having a Maoist style cultural revolution. Get rid of people w/ experience & seniority to push back & replace them w/ Will Lewis' London buddies & young people who don't know how newspapers should work & don't want to lose their 1st big gig. The result? A compliant newsroom.

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Reposted by Katie J. Wells

This Day (A History Podcast) @thisdaypod.com · 12d

Announcing a good ol’ fashioned Teach-In in Washington, DC on Sunday, October 26th.

We’ll convene for a series of lectures, stories, and conversations to celebrate and stand up for the work of history and museums.

Shoutout to @natedimeo.bsky.social for bringing this idea to us.

See you in DC!

A poster announcing a teach-in in washington DC.

Sunday, October 26th - Sunup to Sundown
Washington, DC - The National Mall
“AMERICA’S FRONT YARD”

FEATURING KELLIE CARTER JACKSON, NICOLE HEMMER, DEREK MUSGROVE, NATE DIMEO, TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM, AMANDA SEALES, JODY AVIRGAN, JAMES FALLOWS, MARTHA JONES, MARCIA CHATELAIN, PAUL BUTLER, NATHAN CONNOLLY, AND MORE

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 6d

According to eyewitnesses, armed ICE agents dragged kids out of their beds in the middle of the night, zip tied them and put them in rented vans while raiding an * entire apartment building* on the South Side of Chicago.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXO...

‘F--- them kids’: ICE agents drag children out of bed, ransack Chicago building

YouTube video by MSNBC

www.youtube.com

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Melissa Ryan @melissaryan.bsky.social · 6d

I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...

ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls

Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...

people.com

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Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock @warnock.senate.gov · 7d

I was sent this by a Georgian this morning. 2025 premiums vs 2026 premiums for someone making $65k a year.

Republicans in Washington did this.

This is what I'm fighting to stop. This is what’s at stake in this shutdown fight.

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · 7d

so so thankful.

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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 8d

Another violent attack by an ICE officer on a civilian at 26 Federal Plaza—this time on a journalist, who had to be carried out on stretcher.

Another attack on the First Amendment, our neighbors, and our democracy.

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Marko Kloos @markokloos.bsky.social · 20d

The Third Reich had an agency called the Reichskulturkammer, "Reich Culture Chamber". All singers, writers, musicians, journalists, and actors had to apply for membership and were ideologically vetted. Expulsion or failure to gain admission resulted in an occupational ban. Jews were not admitted.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 20d

These are precedented times and the precedent is a loud ass warning

www.nytimes.com/1939/02/04/a...

Goebbels Ends Careers of Five 'Aryan' Actors Who Made Witticisms About the Nazi Regime (Published 1939)

www.nytimes.com

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Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid @dcmigrantmutualaid.org · 20d

🚨ICE Alert 🚨ICE has been spotted at the intersection of 14th St NW and Missouri, with various arrests since this morning. Please avoid the area if possible.

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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 20d

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama.

His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful.

Now he is tweeting in support of me.

This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*.

Or used to work.

Tweet From Obama mentioning my firing from the Washington post. Wirh a photo of me

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · 21d

thankful for your leadership in this

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Alex Taliadoros @alexctaliadoros.bsky.social · 21d

Congress caused a judicial vacancy crisis in DC by repeatedly failing to confirm judges for DC courts.

Instead of fixing it, today it will vote on a bill to eliminate the little say DC gets on selecting the judges in our local courts.

The bill would let President Trump handpick DC judges instead.

Councilmember Charles Allen @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social · 22d

The JNC ensures DC has judges who are vetted and qualified for the President to select. A new House bill would eliminate it and let President Trump handpick our judges without any say from DC residents. That’s not accountability: It’s control.

Hear more from CM Allen:

A Dangerous Bill for DC's Courts

The Judicial Nomination Commission ensures DC has judges who are vetted and qualified for the President to select. A new House bill would eliminate it and let President Trump handpick our judges…

youtu.be

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · 26d

“Instacart has built a model that is based off exploitative practices.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/n...

In Rebuke of Mayor Adams, City Council Overrides 3 Vetoes

www.nytimes.com

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 26d

statehood for DC

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 26d

Trump on DC: "We have actually more power in DC. I can change the mayor if I want. I can do whatever I want."

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · 29d

Here, in our city. And, at the end, the worker shows how he earns $9 for two orders. A workforce we've chosen as a city not to protect or dignify. www.nytimes.com/video/world/...

Video: The D.C. Delivery Workers Hiding From ICE

On Monday, the Supreme Court lifted a ban on immigration agents’ use of factors like ethnicity or speaking of Spanish to make arrests in Los Angeles, affirming fears among delivery drivers in Washingt...

www.nytimes.com

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Cas Ⓜ️udde @casmudde.bsky.social · Sep 9

The Snitch State

This is the nightmare of many faculty at public institutions in GOP-controlled states… being ratted out by students to hostile administrators.

A&M Dean removed following student complaints over curriculum

The Department of Justice has also acknowledged the situation and said it would be investigating.

www.kbtx.com

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Meredith Whittaker @meredithmeredith.bsky.social · Sep 9

📣 NEW -- In The Economist, discussing the privacy perils of AI agents and what AI companies and operating systems need to do--NOW--to protect Signal and much else!

www.economist.com/by-invitatio...

An illustration of me, and the headline: "AI agents are coming for your privacy, warns Meredith Whittaker
The Signal Foundation’s president worries they will also blunt competition and undermine cyber-security"

To put it bluntly, the path currently being taken towards agentic AI leads to an elimination of privacy and security at the application layer. It will not be possible for apps like Signal—the messaging app whose foundation I run—to continue to provide strong privacy guarantees, built on robust and openly validated encryption, if device-makers and OS developers insist on puncturing the metaphoric blood-brain barrier between apps and the OS. Feeding your sensitive Signal messages into an undifferentiated data slurry connected to cloud servers in service of their AI-agent aspirations is a dangerous abdication of responsibility.

Happily, it’s not too late. There is much that can still be done, particularly when it comes to protecting the sanctity of private data. What’s needed is a fundamental shift in how we approach the development and deployment of AI agents. First, privacy must be the default, and control must remain in the hands of application developers exercising agency on behalf of their users. Developers need the ability to designate applications as “sensitive” and mark them as off-limits to agents, at the OS level and otherwise. This cannot be a convoluted workaround buried in settings; it must be a straightforward, well-documented mechanism (similar to Global Privacy Control) that blocks an agent from accessing our data or taking actions within an app.

Second, radical transparency must be the norm. Vague assurances and marketing-speak are no longer acceptable. OS vendors have an obligation to be clear and precise about their architecture and what data their AI agents are accessing, how it is being used and the measures in place to protect it.

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NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 29d

Art 🖼️

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · Sep 8

"How Are the Very Rich Feeling About New York’s Next Mayor?"

A Dramatic Reading of The Recent New York Times Dispatch from the Hamptons.

Presented by The Gilded Age's Morgan Spector.

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Free DC @freedcproject.bsky.social · Sep 6

This is what democracy looks like! A people united will never be defeated. We want federal forces out of DC NOW! #WeAreAllDC #FreeDC

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · Sep 5

wow, congrats tuckers! and enjoy all the transit!

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Tim Newman @tnewmsblues.bsky.social · Aug 31

“The future is not inevitable. There are a lot of choices that people can make along the road.”

So good to see @mishal-khan.bsky.social of @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social get a spotlight from @sfexaminer.bsky.social! Check out this great interview: www.sfexaminer.com/news/technol...

Labor, leaders seek AI ‘rules of the road’

Researcher tracking laws says moment “a new frontier.”

www.sfexaminer.com

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · Sep 2

omg mishal!!! YAY!!!

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · Sep 2

if you're not reading brian's work yet, here's a beautiful essay to get you started. so thankful we have his voice in this moment. the rise of the gig economy and the rise of homelessness go hand in hand.

"it’s not just that wages are too low; it’s that work has become more precarious than ever."

Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · Sep 1

A Labor Day reminder: today there isn't a single city, metro area, or state in the U.S. where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest 2-bedroom apartment.

Millions of people with jobs—even multiple jobs—aren't safe from homelessness in this country.

Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness

www.nytimes.com

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Katie J. Wells @katiejwells.bsky.social · Aug 31

“Uber will only support expanding the state’s 6% sales tax if the commonwealth classifies app-based drivers or couriers as independent contractors, not employees.” www.standard-journal.com/news/local/a...

Uber says it has a solution to Pa.'s public transit problem

HARRISBURG — Uber is trying to sell Pennsylvania lawmakers on a partial solution to the two-month budget impasse, telling them it supports taxing ride-hailing trips statewide to raise desperately need...

www.standard-journal.com

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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · Aug 28

Tae Heung “Will” Kim, a doctoral student at Texas A&M University and longtime US permanent resident, has been in ICE detention for OVER one month. The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding Mr. Kim’s release.
www.aaup.org/news/aaup-st...

AAUP Statement on Continued Detention of Tae Heung “Will” Kim

The AAUP stands with the Texas AAUP state conference in demanding the release of Tae Heung "Will" Kim from ICE detention.

www.aaup.org

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