Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Naomi Smith @pimlicat.bsky.social · Aug 21

One THOUSAND authoritarian acts reached open.substack.com/pub/christin...

Grand Designs: the loss of American freedom

Exactly seven months into Trump's second term, we have reached 1000 authoritarian actions. Here I lay out the enormity of what has happened.

open.substack.com

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Aug 13

“You can have truth, but it's got to be Donald Trump's version of the truth”

Trump has deployed the National Guard, fired the head of the BLS, made Harvard pay up – and that’s just this week.

@maitlis.bsky.social
@jonsopel1.bsky.social

www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/who-...

Who needs facts when you’re Donald Trump? | The News Agents

Trump is firing statistics chiefs, rewriting museum displays and forcing Harvard to pay up – and that’s just this week. He's building his own version of reality - one where inconvenient truths simply…

www.thenewsagents.co.uk

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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · Aug 21

It is very nearly the tenth anniversary of that brief moment when, for 2 or 3 days, British newspapers remembered refugees are desperate human beings who need our help, rather than scum that it's okay to threaten with violence.

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Aug 4

We've been busy... 👀

Introducing the new 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘈𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 website!

Everything we do, all in one place:
🎙️ Every podcast episode
📖 In-depth political analysis
🎥 Exclusive video content

Visit: www.thenewsagents.co.uk

@maitlis.bsky.social
@jonsopel1.bsky.social
@lewisgoodall.com

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Aug 1

"No one knows why."

A recent YouGov poll says the number of young people who actively have faith has doubled in the last six years... it's called the “Quiet Revival“.

What’s going on with young people and God?
@maitlis.bsky.social investigates.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=izH1...

What's going on with young people and God?

YouTube video by The News Agents

www.youtube.com

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Hark Audio @harkaudio.com · Jul 25

HARK DAILY - Today's best podcast moments in one playlist, featuring:
- When @mehdirhasan.bsky.social confronted self-described fascists @maitlis.bsky.social
- The Coldplay meme shows why late night TV is dying @lucasshaw.bsky.social
- Why @neildegrassetyson.com isn't worried about AGI

Listen to July 25, 2025 on Hark

A playlist of podcast moments

share.harkaudio.com

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 22

“Media organisations around the world haven’t united to tell Israel: you can’t just shut down Gaza and block us from reporting.”

Ayala Panievsky calls out the global media's failure to collaborate in pressuring Israel to allow press freedom in Gaza.

@maitlis.bsky.social | @jonsopel1.bsky.social

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 17

"Everyone is troubled by the lack of answers around Epstein - just one person is 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 to disagree: Trump."

Epstein questions aren't going away - and the president should know by now: You can't kill a conspiracy theory, you can only shrink it.

@maitlis.bsky.social | @jonsopel1.bsky.social

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 15

Can justice, conducted in secret, ever truly be justice?

For nearly two years the government has taken The News Agents to a secret court to prevent us reporting a story of huge public interest.

✍️ Now, @lewisgoodall.com tells that story.

articles.globalplayer.com/2GXq4aFegbT6...

⁠Why the government took me to a secret court to hide their own catastrophic mistake - by Lewis Goodall

Can justice, conducted in secret, ever truly be justice? This is a question with which I have much cause to wrestle, for some 23 months.

articles.globalplayer.com

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Maitlis @maitlis.bsky.social · Jul 15

The secret court that silenced @thenewsagents - BREAKING

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Maitlis @maitlis.bsky.social · Jul 11

Best piece of music.

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laurentfranckx.bsky.social @laurentfranckx.bsky.social · Jul 11

Morning commute

open.spotify.com/track/6Psah8...

Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47: I. Allegro moderato

Jean Sibelius, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Staatskapelle Dresden, André Previn · Sibelius: Violin Concerto Op. 47; Serenades; Humoresque · Song · 1995

open.spotify.com

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Matthew Hay Brown @matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · Jul 10

Trump’s attacks on Canada and Australia got their liberal leaders reelected. His 50% tariff threat against Brazil over its “witch hunt” against ally Jair Bolsonaro will have limited economic impact — but it's great news for Lula

@terrencemccoy.bsky.social and Marina Dias report

wapo.st/44Hnh06

In Brazil, Trump faces a country — and a leader — ready for a fight

Brazil believes it can withstand Trump’s 50 percent tariff, and aides to Lula say he is unlikely to shrink from a confrontation with the White House.

wapo.st

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 10

"How do you get away with dropping your trousers, talking about your cock, then blaming neurodiversity? It’s sickening."

@maitlis.bsky.social and @jonsopel1.bsky.social react to the Gregg Wallace backlash after he blamed his autism for the 50+ allegations of inappropriate workplace behaviour.

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 7

"Not a single police officer lost even a day’s pay over the killing of an innocent man."

Twenty years after 7/7, writer and human rights campaigner Yasmin Khan reflects on the police killing of Jean Charles de Menezes and an ongoing “culture of impunity.”

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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · Jul 6

The people who lost children and other loved ones in the Texas floods are owed honest answers from officials. They should be told why flash flood warnings issued hours earlier were not conveyed to people in the path of the water. They don’t need more prayers from politicians. They need answers.

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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · Jul 7

Here is the full text of the DOJ/FBI memo on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

One thing to note, the memo says that Epstein harmed “over one thousand victims.”

I have spoken to many of the major figures involved in this over the years and no one has ever mentioned this many potential victims.

$DOJ/FBI Memo on Epstein Case "As part of our commitment to transparency, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein. To ensure that the review was thorough, the FBI conducted digital searches of its databases, hard drives, and network drives as well as physical searches of squad areas, locked cabinets, desks, closets, and other areas where responsive material may have been stored. These searches uncovered a significant amount of material, including more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence. The files relating to Epstein include a large volume of images of Epstein, images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors, and over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography. Teams of agents, analysts, attorneys, and privacy and civil liberties experts combed through the digital and documentary evidence with the aim of providing as much information as possible to the public while simultaneously protecting victims. Much of the material is subject to court-ordered sealing. Only a fraction of this material would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial, as the seal served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third-parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing. Through this review, we found no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography.$

This systematic review revealed no incriminating "client list." There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.
Consistent with prior disclosures, this review confirmed that Epstein harmed over one thousand victims. Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history.
One of our highest priorities is combatting child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.
To that end, while we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government's possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.
After a thorough investigation, FBI investigators concluded that Jefirey Epstein committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019.
This conclusion is consistent with previous findings, including the August 19, 2019 autopsy findings of the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the November 2019 position of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York in connection with the investigation of federal correctional officers responsible for guarding Epstein, and the June 2023 conclusions of DOJ's Office of the Inspector General.

The conclusion that Epstein died by suicide is further supported by video footage from the common area of the Special Housing Unit (SHU) where
Epstein was housed at the time of his death.
As DOJ's Inspector General explained in 2023, anyone entering or attempting to enter the tier where Epstein's cell was located from the SHU common area would have been captured by this footage. The FBl's independent review of this footage confirmed that from the time Epstein was locked in his cell at around 10:40 pm on August 9, 2019, until around 6:30 am the next morning, nobody entered any of the tiers in the SHU."

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · Jul 5

Identity is a complicated thing. Who you are is a co-created, co-currated experience. Indian-Ugandans are Africans, & the only person who didn't think so was Uganda's former brutal dictator Idi Amin. www.bbc.com/news/newsbea...

Uganda: The story your parents never told you

Young people ask their parents what happened 50 years ago when Asians were expelled from Uganda.

www.bbc.com

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · Jul 5

40% of Reform's 2024 intake have now lost the whip....

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · Jul 5

🚨 Reform UK back down to four MPs

Lee Anderson: “I have today received a call from James McMurdock who has advised me, as Chief Whip, that he has removed the party whip from himself…”

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MSNBC @msnbc.com · Jul 3

OPINION by @susanrinkunas.com:

“Murkowski herself could have forced changes to the bill by refusing to vote for it.”

READ MORE:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Opinion | Lisa Murkowski’s megabill vote was everything people hate about politicians

What the senator claimed was a difficult decision was just a case of backroom deals and abandoned principles.

www.msnbc.com

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Maitlis @maitlis.bsky.social · Jul 4

www.youtube.com/live/tZbfxXV...

Live Q&A with Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall | The News Agents

YouTube video by The News Agents

www.youtube.com

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 2

"There are two levels at play: the NHS, the trains - and a darker story about 'Englishness.'”

Has “declinism” become a right-wing rallying cry to “rescue Britain” - and a tool for xenophobes?

@maitlis.bsky.social | @jonsopel1.bsky.social

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The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · Jul 1

🔺 BREAKING: The jury at the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs has reached a verdict on four of the five counts against the music mogul but are struggling to reach a unanimous conclusion on a count of racketeering, according to a note passed to the judge ⬇️

Jury reaches partial verdict in P Diddy trial

www.thetimes.com

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The News Agents @newsagents.bsky.social · Jul 1

“That's a 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 when you've got as much money as Elon Musk has got.”

Musk vowed to primary any Congress member who votes for Trump's spending bill: 'if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.'

articles.globalplayer.com/2GXqBWU59626...

Is Elon Musk about to launch a new political party?

Things are heating up between Elon Musk and Donald Trump again, with Musk threatening to launch a new political party and primary Republican lawmakers over their support for Trump's big beautiful bill...

articles.globalplayer.com

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Ben Goggin @bengoggin.bsky.social · Jul 1

ICEblock, which allows users to alert others to the geographical location of ICE officers, is the top social networking app in the App Store right now after Karoline Leavitt condemned it from the podium yesterday.

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