Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 5h

“Violent and property crimes in CT were down across the board in the first half of this year, while drug offenses were up, according to a quarterly crime report.”

https://www.courant.com/2025/10/08/ct-crime-data-shows-violent-offenses-are-down-in-ct-so-far-this-year-while-drug-violations-are-up/

New crime data shows changing trends in CT. What to know about violence, drug violations, more

The quarterly report, released by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, shows trends in crimes against persons and crimes against property.

www.courant.com

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 1d

“Civil instability in Chicago has been caused by Trump’s surge of federal agents into the city and their lawless assault on the citizens of Chicago.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/emergency-triad-the-chicago-rubicon-and-what-comes-next?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Emergency Triad: The Chicago Rubicon and What Comes Next

We aren’t at the worst-case scenario yet. But if you squint, you can see it looming out there, just over the horizon.

open.substack.com

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 2d

Manipulated Content = Disinformation

"The image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart."
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America

A federal judge had blocked Trump’s request to deploy California national guard to Portland

www.theguardian.com

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 3d

My latest CTNJ op-ed:

“This week marks Banned Books Week 2025, and if any list represents the potentially insidious nature of lists, it’s a list of banned books.”

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2025/10/06/opinion-banned-books-week-2025-reminds-americans-to-beware-blacklists/

Opinion | 'Banned Books Week 2025' Reminds Americans To Beware Blacklists | CT News Junkie

Columnist Barth Keck reminds us that this week marks Banned Books Week 2025, and if any list represents the potentially insidious nature of lists, it’s a list of banned books. Sadly, book banning has ...

ctnewsjunkie.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 3d

My latest Football Chronicles:

"The fourth game of the 2025 football season is best summed up by combining the word 'attrition' with the quote of the week: 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.' — Robert Burns"
medium.com/@barthkeck/f...

Football Chronicles 2025: When Best Laid Plans Go Awry (Chapter 8)

Author’s note: This is the eighth installment of “The HK Cougar Football Chronicles,” 2025 edition. As an assistant coach, my aim is to…

medium.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 4d

The legacy of Trump and RFK Jr:

“If outbreaks continue around the country until the end of January, the United States will lose its status of having had eliminated measles 25 years ago.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/measles-minnesota-double-us-outbreaks-vaccine-continue-rcna235144

Where is measles spreading? Here's what to know.

The country is four months away from possibly losing its measles elimination status.

www.nbcnews.com

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 4d

“Nearly $8 billion in Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left's climate agenda is being canceled,” Vought said on social media site X.

At least it’s not politically motivated. 🙄

https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticut/article/ct-trump-vought-clean-energy-projects-canceled-21083096.php

www.ctinsider.com

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 5d

Gee, go figure.

“Nearly two-thirds of Connecticut manufacturers say tariffs have negatively impacted their business significantly this year, though the majority of those polled remain profitable.”

https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/ct-tariffs-manufacturing-trade-economy-jobs-21080379.php

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 6d

Seems like the responsible thing to do. 🙄

Unusual Whales @unusualwhales.bsky.social · 6d

BREAKING: The Bureau of Labor Statistics has said it won't release or collect any economic data during a government shutdown.

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 6d

“Since 1955, [this North Carolina] hospital has provided emergency care – and until 2017 a birthing center – in one of the poorest corners of Appalachia, a fiercely independent, politically conservative area that voted by nearly 80% for Donald Trump in 2024.”

The Christian Science Monitor @csmonitor.bsky.social · 6d

The shutdown looms large in rural America – with Medicaid under debate

www.csmonitor.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 6d

“About 30 ‘No Kings’ protests have been scheduled so far in Connecticut for Saturday, Oct. 18, including in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, and Waterbury.”

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2025/10/03/no-kings-protests-planned-in-ct-nationwide-for-oct-18/

‘No Kings’ Protests Planned in CT, Nationwide For Oct. 18 | CT News Junkie

About 30 protests have been scheduled so far in Connecticut for Saturday, Oct. 18, including in Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, and Waterbury.

ctnewsjunkie.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 6d

“It is easy to see a government shutdown as a sudden disruption. In truth, the disruption is ongoing. [Asset-Limited] families live with it every day.”

https://www.courant.com/2025/10/02/opinion-federal-government-shutdown-or-not-581000-ct-families-already-live-on-the-brink/

Opinion: Federal government shutdown or not, 581,000 CT families already live on the brink

The numbers tell us we are headed in the wrong direction. The real crisis is already here, and it demands our urgent attention.

www.courant.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 7d

“The Connecticut Pizza Trail, which consists of more than 100 pizzerias, builds on a report from the state comptroller that measured pizza’s economic footprint in Connecticut.”

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2025/10/02/no-matter-how-you-slice-it-ct-pizza-trail-serves-up-tourism-tradition-and-business/

No Matter How You Slice It, CT Pizza Trail Serves Up Tourism, Tradition, and Business | CT News Junkie

The trail, which consists of more than 100 pizzerias out of about 900 submissions, builds on a February report from the state comptroller that measured pizza’s economic footprint in Connecticut.

ctnewsjunkie.com

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 8d

“Fair access to vaccines, backed up by clear guidance and insurance coverage, remains essential. A clear, evidence-based strategy is not just smart — it’s life-saving.”

https://www.courant.com/2025/09/30/opinion-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-connecticut-must-continue-leading-with-science-on-vaccines/

Opinion: In an age of uncertainty, Connecticut must continue leading with science on vaccines

Immunizations remain one of the strongest tools we have, to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death — most of all, among our most at-risk

www.courant.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 8d

This 👇🏻

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 9d

Sure. Benny's the absolute first person a pol would approach to "work across the aisle." 🙄

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 9d

“The US announced its intention to compete for a 21st-century technology using 19th-century energy when Trump revealed new investments in the dirtiest, most greenhouse-gas-intensive fossil fuels.”

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29092025/trump-administration-announces-coal-industry-efforts/

Citing ‘AI Arms Race,’ Trump Administration Announces Efforts to Rekindle US Coal Industry - Inside Climate News

The administration is opening millions of additional acres of public land to mining while slashing royalty rates and environmental regulations for coal. Environmentalists warn of skyrocketing costs an...

insideclimatenews.org

1

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 9d

"I’ve only been in the U.S. as a reporter for eight weeks. I come from Germany and am on the staff at Correctiv, a nonprofit investigative newsroom. I’d been alarmed by videos of masked ICE agents sweeping immigrants off the street, scenes I never thought I’d see in the United States."

Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 10d

"ProPublica’s mission is impact. I don’t think any of us expected we’d help bring it about with my video. The question now is what will the government do the next time something like this happens." www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

I Filmed the ICE Officer Who Shoved a Woman to the Floor Inside a New York Courthouse

I arrived in the U.S. eight weeks ago to report on how the administration’s immigration crackdown was playing out from the front lines. What I saw Thursday was the culmination of ICE’s aggressive beha...

www.propublica.org

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 10d

My latest "Football Chronicles," featuring a back-and-forth game in Hartford:

"Week 3 of the 2025 season presented a major challenge for the Cougars, who entered the game minus some key players."
medium.com/@barthkeck/f...

Football Chronicles 2025: What Football Games Teach Teenagers (Chapter 7)

Author’s note: This is the seventh installment of “The HK Cougar Football Chronicles,” 2025 edition. As an assistant coach, my aim is to…

medium.com

1

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 10d

The man is not well.

“Trump deleted a bizarre AI-generated video he shared in which he promotes a magic bed which purportedly cures all diseases.”

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-deletes-wild-ai-video-he-shared-in-which-he-promoted-a-magic-med-bed-that-cures-diseases-and-regrows-limbs/

Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 11d

“[Misinformation and disinformation] sow division among people, practically ensuring that we won’t band together to take the kind of collective action essential to addressing enormous, complex problems. It is all quite effective.”

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 11d

“Discrediting science and scientists is thus an essential first step for authoritarian regimes to then discredit any other types of learning and truth and destabilize their societies.”

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 11d

“Unless we find a way to overcome antiscience, humankind will face its gravest threat yet—the collapse of civilization as we know it.”

Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 11d

New review of our new book #ScienceUnderSiege @michaelemann.bsky.social @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social @publicaffairs1796.bsky.social in @arstechnica.com

arstechnica.com/science/2025...

The current war on science, and who’s behind it

A vaccine developer and a climate scientist walk into a bar write a book.

arstechnica.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 13d

“Trump understands that many of these people are weak. In many case, those folding have had ample resources to resist Trump’s shakedowns but haven’t been brave enough to do so. They are, in a word, chickenshit.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/freedom-trump-threats-kimmel/684358/

Lower Than Cowards

The surrender of America’s elites

www.theatlantic.com

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Barth Keck @keckb33.bsky.social · 13d

THIS! 👇

James Comey @jamescomey.bsky.social · 13d

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