Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 12h

This👇

Seth Abramson @sethabramson.bsky.social · 14h

The subhed here is a master class in corporate journalism rewarding malfeasance via semantics

Bondi didn't valiantly fend something off, she refused to answer legitimate questions before Congress because the answers would be horrifying and politically inconvenient

And that's a profile in cowardice

Opinion | Six surgeons general: It’s our duty to warn the nation about RFK Jr.

Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 16h

'Kennedy is entitled to his views. But he is not entitled to put people’s health at risk. He has rejected science, misled the public and compromised the health of Americans.... This is bigger than politics. It’s about putting the health of Americans first.'

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

We took an oath to declare dangers when we found them. We’re doing that again today.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Lisa Fung

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 17h

very cool that if you are working on behalf of right-wing culture warriors, you no longer need standing to have your claim adjudicated by the supreme court

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 19h

It's not just that they're going to strike down a law against conversion therapy, it's that they're going to do it on behalf of made-up claims from a straw plaintiff who can't honestly show the law affected her at all

Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 19h

One thing about American's widespread distrust and disapproval of the Supreme Court is that mainstream news coverage mostly doesn't dwell on stuff like standing, so people don't even begin to grasp how rigged the Court truly is www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10...

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 17h

This entire hearing demonstrates how Bondi plays to her audience of one. Schiff is right: She came armed with canned attacks to avoid answering serious oversight questions.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h

Schiff gets Bondi so flustered that she starts blurting things out while he details what a farce this "oversight" hearing has been and the Republican members' lack of interest in doing their jobs

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 1d

When Trump says, ‘I don’t know anything about it,’ he knows everything about it.

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d

Trump on pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell: Haven't heard the name in so long. I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ. A lot of people have asked me for pardons.

Reporter: But she’s convicted of sex trafficking

Trump: I’ll have to take a look at it.

'Partisan bickering' is a media frame that fails the public

Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 1d

‘The mainstream press is largely playing its usual “both-sides at fault” game, but Americans nevertheless do understand the reality.’

Via @sulliview.bsky.social

margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/partisan-b...

The government shutdown is producing an all-too-familiar barrage of performative neutrality

margaretsullivan.substack.com

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 1d

“The rule of law has prevailed — and California’s National Guard will be heading home. This ruling is more than a legal victory, it’s a victory for American democracy itself.”

www.latimes.com/world-nation...

Judge blocks Trump from deploying California National Guard — or any Guard troops — in Oregon

A federal judge barred Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Oregon after the California Guard was sent to the state Sunday.

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Ghislaine Maxwell

Reposted by Lisa Fung

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 1d

It would’ve been surprising if they had agreed to hear the case. It presents no novel issues of fact or law & the conviction is clearly due to be affirmed. Trump can pardon her, but she’s not entitled to any legal relief. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

Paramount acquires The Free Press and names Bari Weiss CBS News’ editor-in-chief

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 1d

Even when you know something is coming, it still can be a shocker

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 1d

Bari Weiss is now officially the top editor of CBS News.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Bari Weiss is now the top editor of CBS News.

www.independent.co.uk

Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 2d

In other words, Trump is lying. Again.

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 2d

‘At this point, the Constitution seems less a constraint than a mere sticking point for Trump as he smashmouths his way past anything that impedes his heart’s desires.’

Via @rabcarian.bsky.social

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Column: Does Donald Trump really think he can run for president again in 2028?

The president has said he's "not joking" about the possibility of a third term. The Constitution begs to differ.

Judge temporarily blocks use of National Guard in Portland

Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 3d

The judge, a Trump appointee, wrote: ‘Because the President is federalizing the Oregon National Guard absent constitutional authority, his actions undermine the sovereign interest of Oregon as protected by the Tenth Amendment’

www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

The ruling is a setback for the Trump administration as it seeks to use military troops in some Democratic-run cities.

www.nbcnews.com

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 4d

Wow

Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 4d

BREAKING: A federal judge finds that there is evidence Kilmar Abrego was VINDICTIVELY PROSECUTED. The judge GRANTS Abrego's motion for discovery and a hearing, and the government must now PROVE it did not vindictively prosecute Mr. Abrego. 1/

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 4d

'If any schools capitulate, the pressure will be enormous on all to fold. The only solution is solidarity and collective action against this effort at federal control over higher education.'

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

Opinion | For many Californians, reducing homelessness comes down to the encampment next door

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 4d

'It’s not fair to demonize poverty, to blame people for their illnesses or addictions, but it’s hard to live near these encampments.'

Via @jnewton100.bsky.social @calmatters.org
calmatters.org/commentary/2...

Statistics do little to convey the seriousness of homelessness in California. What often matters most is how much people encounter it.

calmatters.org

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 4d

Trump wanted a gift for King Charles.

An administration official approached the Eisenhower Presidential Library, which has an Eisenhower sword in its collection.

The library declined to release it.

Now the Eisenhower library director has been forced out of his job.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/a...

After Declining to Give Trump a Sword for King Charles, a Museum Leader Is Out

Commentary: L.A.'s federal public defender says Trump has inundated his office with immigration cases

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 4d

‘In a year when the Trump administration has tried to bend the law at every level and opportunity to its whims, Ortega has emerged as an important bulwark against federal overreach’

@gustavoarellano.bsky.social on federal public defender Cuauhtémoc Ortega
www.latimes.com/california/s...

With the same first name as the last Aztec emperor, it’s not surprising that Cuauhtémoc Ortega chose to be a fighter.

Trump-Epstein statue returns to National Mall

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 4d

The Trump-Epstein ‘Best Friends Forever’ statue is back

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

The Park Service had removed the installation, saying that it was out of compliance with its previous permit.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Lisa Fung

Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 4d

“It was heartbreaking to watch. Even if you’re not a mother, seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.”

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'

The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

chicago.suntimes.com

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 5d

Don't mess with Gov. Gavin Newsom: 'If any California University signs this radical agreement, they’ll lose billions in state funding — including Cal Grants — instantly.'

www.latimes.com/california/s...

Newsom threatens to cut state funding to universities that sign Trump’s political compact

The White House is asking nine major universities, including USC, to commit to President Trump’s political priorities in exchange for more favorable access to federal money.

What Jane Goodall Taught Us About Living a Long Life

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Reposted by Lisa Fung

Kamala Harris @kamalaharris.com · 5d

This was always the plan.

Project 2025 was Donald Trump's blueprint to seize unchecked power within the federal government and restrict Americans' freedoms. And he is implementing it right in front of our eyes.

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Reposted by Lisa Fung

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 5d

a heartwarming story of how being an unethical and talentless hack is no barrier to success when you are willing to endlessly flatter the wretched views of rich dipshits

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 5d

Bari Weiss is set to be named the editor in chief of CBS News, the New York Post reports

Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days — giving the hard-charging journalist unusual clout to revamp the struggling network as it also acquires her scrappy news site the Free Press, The Post has learned.

Weiss — a 41-year-old former New York Times opinion writer who has built the Free Press into a buzzworthy site with a contrarian bent — is expected to be named to the top post in a Monday announcement, although the talks are in flux and the timing could change, a source close to the situation said.

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Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 5d

Having a sense of purpose can lead to a longer life. But developing a sense of purpose is a key element of healthy development in adolescents. I wrote about recent studies on youth and purpose for Blueprint magazine

blueprint.ucla.edu/feature/a-se...

Lisa Fung @lisafung.bsky.social · 5d

'Feeling like you have something to do, some reason for being, is powerful. Jane Goodall certainly had it.'

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/w...