Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ken Burnside

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 20h

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper raised $14.5 million during the first 65 days of his new Senate campaign — a record-breaking total for a Senate challenger in their first fundraising quarter in one of the most competitive races of 2026.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2h

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · 33m

“Why don’t people trust the press”

Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 13h

Fascinating report just released by DropSite which reveals that David Frum, while working on a profile of an Israeli ambassador to the United Nations for the Atlantic, was also shadow-writing speeches for that same ambassador.

David Frum, Douglas Murray Secretly Drafted Speeches for Israeli Ambassador

Leaked emails from former Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor show David Frum, Douglas Murray offering to write his speeches and a CNN producer fundraising for Israel’s Iron Dome during Israel’s 2014 war

www.dropsitenews.com

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 39m

I can’t believe I have to say this, but historically, masked men who kidnap families in the middle of the night are usually not the good guys.

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 31m

Yet, the AI "industry" that spends tens of billions per year to make about half of that in revenue would collapse if it had to pay fair market value for the art and writing that those "rip-off degrees" make.

Utterly shameless, isn't she?

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 9h

Badenoch and Co see education only as a means to a massive income in some soul destroying career.

Devoid of imagination and the power of knowledge they view life entirely through the prism of the CV.

My advice always is to study what interests you and the rest will follow

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 43m

Pelosi: "Democrats who created Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA, all of that, are now being asked to reject that so we can give a tax cut to the rich. We're not doing it. It isn't a question of, 'let's come back together so we can discuss it.' That isn't going to happen."

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Phil Murphy @crashtesterx.bsky.social · 30m

Maybe the LGBTQ people of the US should stop paying their taxes if their country will not treat them like citizens or with basic human decency.

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 25m

Nazis own the outlets.

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Vanessa is the name of the Doctor! @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 29m

Q is anyone else in the UK having a problem accessing archive dot org today (8 oct)? It's not loading but weirdly if I put on a vpn it functions just fine when I pretend to be in Australia or Belgium...

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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 2h

it should be a tell about what's happening in the media now that most mainstream commentators seem openly frustrated that polling does not blame democrats for the shutdown

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 34m

One of the (many) legal gaps that needs to be filled after this nightmare is over is to prohibit federal law enforcement agencies from using federal funds to create propaganda videos with anyone in custody. This is all about spectacle and content creation, remove the incentive and the means

Tina Smith @smith.senate.gov · 2h

Weird how that didn’t make the cut.

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Joanna Blackhart [They/Them] @joannablackhart.com · 16h

*sigh* i'm down like $300 bucks in bills and doing real bad can anyone help us out?

ko-fi.com/joannablackh...

Support Joanna Blackhart

ko-fi.com

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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 41m

MAGA is freaking out & splintering over a leaked text chain—which TPUSA’s Andrew Kolvet says is real—where Kirk wrote “Just lost another Jewish donor…Jewish donors play into all the stereotypes. I cannot & will not be bullied like this. Leaving me no choice but to leave the pro Israel cause.” 1/

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Reposted by Ken Burnside

ljoeckel.bsky.social @ljoeckel.bsky.social · 22h

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 31m

Yet, the AI "industry" that spends tens of billions per year to make about half of that in revenue would collapse if it had to pay fair market value for the art and writing that those "rip-off degrees" make.

Utterly shameless, isn't she?

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 9h

Badenoch and Co see education only as a means to a massive income in some soul destroying career.

Devoid of imagination and the power of knowledge they view life entirely through the prism of the CV.

My advice always is to study what interests you and the rest will follow

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Reposted by Ken Burnside

Nathaniel Stinnett @nathanielstinnett.bsky.social · 1h

So glad @volts.wtf is highlighting the Georgia PSC elections.

At @environmentalvoter.bsky.social, we're mobilizing 366,557 low propensity climate voters in GA this fall with mail, postcards, digital ads & phone calls.

Join us 🔗 environmentalvoter.org/get-involved

open.substack.com/pub/davidrob...

Pay attention to the most important political race of 2025

With energy affordability set to dominate national politics, Peter Hubbard and Brionté McCorkle explain why a down-ballot Georgia race is ground zero for the fight.

open.substack.com

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 39m

Woohoo! Congratulations!

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North West Bylines @northwestbylines.co.uk · 6h

In the last few years, trans people are experiencing more and more hate from prejudiced strangers
northwestbylines.co.uk/news/equalit...

Hate against trans people surges!

In the last few years, trans people are experiencing more and more hate from prejudiced strangers

northwestbylines.co.uk

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Reposted by Ken Burnside

Cathrin Machin Space Art @cathrinmachin.bsky.social · 55m

Can you help?… I’m trying to find my people

I know there’s more space fans here… just not sure how to reach you

Feels weird to ask, but would you give me a signal boost by hitting share?

If you’re new… Hi I’m Cat, I make pretty picture of space 🥹 let’s connect if you like weird space art

Woman standing next to large artwork on an easel. The painting is of a wormhole with gravitational lensing that shows stars and galaxies are warped around a central point.

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 42m

What was it he campaigned on 9 years ago?

"Lock Her Up!"

We tried to warn you. Three times.

Chuck Taggart, Private Eye @sazeracla.bsky.social · 1h

If someone told me a year ago this would be a headline in 2025, I would have screamed at them “I KNOW IT WILL, HE’S FUCKING SAYING RIGHT NOW THAT THAT’S WHAT HE’S GOING TO DO!”

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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 1h

GOOD NEWS! Researchers have discovered a powerful antibody, known as 04_A06, that is able to neutralize 98.5% of MORE THAN 300 different HIV strains AND permanently reduce HIV viral load to undetectable levels, making it one of the broadest-acting antibodies against HIV identified to date.

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Jessica Price @delafina777.bsky.social · 1h

Reupping for the daylight US crowd.

Data so far is… chaotic (and I’m still figuring out how to use data analysis and visualization in the database so…)

If anyone knows a big-name author in here who could get it more spread, could you ask them for a boost?

Jessica Price @delafina777.bsky.social · 13h

Hey all, I'm trying to get a baseline for how good people are at detecting whether fiction is AI-generated or human-written (most of the research on this is for nonfiction and my hypothesis is we're better with fiction).

If you have time, give it a try?

jlp-experiment.github.io/ai-detection...

AI vs Human Fiction Detection Test

jlp-experiment.github.io

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 2h

I should resurrect my Tax Cuts for Job Creators Only After They've Created Jobs white paper.

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 2h

"For instance, CNBC found that one Microsoft data center in Illinois received more than $38 million in data center sales tax exemptions but created just 20 permanent jobs."

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/20/t...

In race to attract data centers, states can forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue to tech companies

Amazon, Meta and Google are among the beneficiaries of state tax exemptions for data centers that help power AI.

www.cnbc.com

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Reposted by Ken Burnside

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 2h

"For instance, CNBC found that one Microsoft data center in Illinois received more than $38 million in data center sales tax exemptions but created just 20 permanent jobs."

www.cnbc.com/2025/06/20/t...

In race to attract data centers, states can forfeit hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue to tech companies

Amazon, Meta and Google are among the beneficiaries of state tax exemptions for data centers that help power AI.

www.cnbc.com

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Reposted by Ken Burnside

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 2h

37 states have passed legislation specifically granting sales tax exemptions for data centers.

Among the beneficiaries of these exemptions are Amazon, Meta and Google, all companies worth over $1 trillion.

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