Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Micah Berman

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 19d

“What we’re seeing is what happens when individuals who have don’t have a basic understanding about how vaccines are delivered are making these crucial policy decisions for the American public. They don’t know what they’re doing” -Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases

CDC committee votes on COVID-19 shots amid widespread criticism

After a contentious discussion that at times referenced discredited theories, low-quality data and desperate pleas from physicians and patients to rely upon sound science, a key committee of the U.S.

www.latimes.com

1 34 99

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · 19d

Very well said -- with lessons for other fields as well.

Lila Corwin Berman @lilacb.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Fueling Jewish studies on the fumes of the Trump administration’s attack on higher education is not a win. It’s a trap, and one we fear will bring ill consequences to our field, our universities, and American Jews." Me, @ronitstahl.bsky.social, and Kate Rosenblatt. www.chronicle.com/article/jewi...

Jewish-Studies Scholars, Beware: Trump’s Deal Will Corrupt You

We must all resist being turned into court Jews.

www.chronicle.com

1

Reposted by Micah Berman

Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 20d

If you believe free speech rights aren't important when the government is moving towards authoritarianism, you never actually believed free speech rights were important.

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 20d

GOP Senator Cynthia Lummis: "Under normal times, in normal circumstances, I tend to think that the First Amendment should always be sort of the ultimate right... I don't feel that way anymore." www.semafor.com/article/09/1...

Kimmel’s suspension prompts free-speech Republicans to reconsider their boundaries

One Republican said she no longer considers the First Amendment to “be sort of the ultimate right,” as she would “in normal circumstances.”

www.semafor.com

8 21 120

Reposted by Micah Berman

Citizen Cohn / Jonathan Cohn @citizencohn.bsky.social · 20d

Hepatitis B can lead to cirrhosis, cancer, death

We have reduced its incidence among children by 99% — a huge achievement

Today RFK Jr’s hand-picked vaccine committee could unravel it www.thebulwark.com/p/rfk-jr-ken...

RFK Jr.’s Crusade Against Vaccines Hits Its Action Phase

His anti-vax–stacked advisory committee is expected to revise rules for life-saving hepatitis B vax.

www.thebulwark.com

4 23 46

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · 22d

One of the newly-announced ACIP members...

ohiocapitaljournal.com/2021/02/22/s...

She’s a public health professor by day; a COVID-19 truther by night • Ohio Capital Journal

“You can debate methods of dealing with the issue at hand, but to deny there is an issue at hand is just negligence to me."

ohiocapitaljournal.com

1 2 7

Reposted by Micah Berman

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 28d

The professor has been fired and senior administrators removed from their post. No mention of this in the New York Times, The Free Press, The Atlantic or other outlets who drove the campus speech moral panic.

Houston Chronicle @houstonchronicle.com · 29d

Texas A&M University System orders audit of all courses after gender identity lesson goes viral

Details: bit.ly/42jauQZ

110 2.2K 5.8K

Reposted by Micah Berman

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Sep 9

It should not be up to John Oliver to be publicly making the argument that university presidents should be making loudly & collectively on the news & in front of the US Capitol every day.

🎃🪦 BLOODSUGARSETHMASKET 🪦🎃 @smotus.bsky.social · Sep 9

John Oliver: "While get the appeal of thinking just one more concession, one more payoff might safeguard your independence or let you live to fight another day, it's worth asking at what point have you compromised so much that
the thing you're supposed to be defending is gone."

Trump vs. Higher Education: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

www.youtube.com

5 85 330

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · Sep 5

OMG

1 3

Reposted by Micah Berman

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · Sep 3

As a lawyer, I'll tell you that there's nobody who knows this law better than Ryan and Brian. Sure looks like murder or war crime to me. But as a human, I'll tell you that the Rubio statement -- we could have stopped the boat but we blew it up to send a message -- is sickening and depraved.

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · Sep 3

1/ I worked at DoD. I literally cannot imagine lawyers coming up with a legal basis for lethal strike of suspected Venezuelan drug boat.

Hard to see how this would not be "murder" or war crime under international law that DoD considers applicable.

Read expert analysis by @bcfinucane.bsky.social⤵️

Legal Issues Raised by a Lethal U.S. Military Attack in the Caribbean

The Trump administration’s extraordinary lethal attack on this purported smuggling vessel raises significant potential legal issues.

www.justsecurity.org

61 840 2.4K

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · Sep 3

Truly no words to describe how stunningly irresponsible and dangerous this is.

The Independent @the-independent.com · Sep 3

BREAKING | DeSantis to make Florida first state to end all vaccine mandates for schools

DeSantis to make Florida first state to end all vaccine mandates for schools

www.independent.co.uk

1 3

Reposted by Micah Berman

Megan Henry @megankhenry.bsky.social · Aug 29

The Ohio Capital Journal talked to two parents who send their children to private school — one who uses school vouchers and the other who refuses to use vouchers.

@ohiocapitaljournal.com bit.ly/3JVzlE1

To use or not use private school vouchers — how two Ohio families made that decision • Ohio Capital Journal

The Ohio Capital Journal talked to two parents who send their children to private school, one who uses private school vouchers and the other who refuses to use vouchers.

bit.ly

1 2 1

Reposted by Micah Berman

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Aug 27

Resignations of CDC staff directly related to misinformation, weaponizing of public health, which is coming from RFK Jr. Untenable situation for them to serve under these conditions.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

In his resignation letter, Daskalakis wrote, “I am not able to serve in this role any longer because of the ongoing weaponizing of public health.”

Houry’s resignation letter spoke about the continued spread of misinformation around vaccines.

“Recently, the overstating of risks [of vaccines] and the rise of misinformation have cost lives, as demonstrated by the highest number of US measles cases in 30 years and the violent attack on our agency,” Houry wrote.

9 230 980

Reposted by Micah Berman

Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · Aug 13

At @defendpublichealth.bsky.social, in anticipation of the next MAHA report, we wrote on what it would actually take to maker Americans healthy. It demands that we examine the root causes of illness, malnutrition, etc. & invest in health-promoting programs. www.defendpublichealth.org/resource/imp...

Improving the Health of Americans Together: An evidence-based framework for addressing the root causes of illness in the U.S | Defend Public Health

As an alternative to HHS Sec. Kennedy's flawed and dishonest "MAHA Report," Defend Public Health offers some key policies that would truly improve Americans’ health. This report is certainly not exhau...

www.defendpublichealth.org

10 34

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · Aug 13

Perhaps there is more context, but numerous outlets reporting that CDC Director Monarez told CDC staff that "misinformation can be dangerous" without clarifying WHAT misinformation and WHO is spreading it.

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

CDC director tells staff 'misinformation can be dangerous' in agency meeting

“We need to rebuild the trust together,” Susan Monarez said Tuesday, just days after a shooter fired close to 200 rounds that struck six buildings and killed an officer at the agency's campus.

www.nbcnews.com

1

Reposted by Micah Berman

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · Aug 12

The data package HHS offered to defend Kennedy’s decision is not the work of U.S. government scientists… “The compilation originated as material for a book titled “TOXIC SHOT: Facing the Dangers of the COVID ‘Vaccines’,” an anthology of essays by prominent anti-vaxxers.” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Commentary: RFK Jr.'s cancellation of mRNA vaccine research is even worse than it first seemed

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used discredited and misrepresented studies to justify canceling research into life-giving vaccines.

www.latimes.com

5 120 200

Reposted by Micah Berman

Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · Aug 12

Disgraceful.

Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · Aug 11

NEW: On Friday, a gunman shot up the CDC campus in Atlanta. He reportedly believed himself injured by the COVID-19 vaccine.

The following day, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room and called to end the mRNA platform while promoting misinformation about the shots.

NIH Director Spreads Vaccine Misinformation One Day After CDC Shooting

Jay Bhattacharya called to end the mRNA platform on Steve Bannon’s War Room.

www.importantcontext.news

14 41

Reposted by Micah Berman

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · Aug 9

Feel like this needs a spotlight: employees were told that the shooting at CDC, which left an officer dead and buildings riddled with bullets, was targeted at agency, @lenasun.bsky.social, @laurenweberhp.bsky.social and @tobiaraji.bsky.social report

Years of anti-CDC rhetoric has consequences

Monarez did not provide any additional information about the suspect's motives during the call. However, a briefing some CDC employees received Saturday from senior agency leaders said the gunman left a note, according to one employee who attended.
"We were told very clearly that this was targeted, directed at CDC," the employee said. "But we were also told that this was an isolated event."
There has been speculation among CDC employees that officials may have known about possible threats. When Monarez was at the CDC this week - her first week on the job - she was accompanied at all times by armed security guards, the employee said.

During Monarez's call with staff Saturday, another CDC senior leader, Daniel Jernigan, who heads the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, or NCEZID, estimated there were about 40 bullet holes in CDC buildings on campus.
He did not mean it as a complete account, but rather an indication that "it will take a bit before the buildings are 'fixed' again," said an employee who listened to the call and, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive information.
The shooting was "way worse than what was initially reported," the employee said, adding that gunfire continued for about 15 minutes and that "it's a miracle more people weren't hit."

18 420 1.3K

Reposted by Micah Berman

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Aug 6

Textbook democratic erosion. No one fears challenging the government in a functioning liberal democracy.

1 49 110

Reposted by Micah Berman

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Aug 5

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · Aug 5

Release from HHS: HHS will wind down its development of the mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA

WASHINGTON, DC—AUGUST 5, 2025—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

550 6.8K 18K

Reposted by Micah Berman

Benjamin McKean @blmckean.bsky.social · Aug 6

Again, they’re not just canceling this funding going forward but revoking already-awarded grants for things like vaccines against H5N1 bird flu

Big “enlightenment reverts to mythology” hours

Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · Aug 5

"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities...."

cc: Sen. Bill Cassidy

16 37

Reposted by Micah Berman

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · Aug 2

Good piece by @emilyctamkin.bsky.social on the incoherence of the Trump administration's strategy of effectively requiring DEI for Jews and banning it for other minority groups. www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Opinion | How Trump's ‘antisemitism’ deal with Brown University actually endangers Jewish students

The agreement, the latest between the Trump White House and major universities, raises pertinent issues about who is protected and who is not.

www.msnbc.com

3 41 100

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · Jul 31

#Ohio -- where the legislature has tried preempt ALL local tobacco regulation -- is unsurprisingly one of the states with the highest number of tobacco lobbyists.

Thanks to @ash.org for their important work compiling this data.

ash.org/tobacco-money/

1 5

Reposted by Micah Berman

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · Jul 25

The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services is a direct threat to public health.

"Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to remove all the members of an advisory panel that determines what cancer screenings and other preventive health measures insurers must cover."

Exclusive | RFK Jr. to Oust Advisory Panel on Cancer Screenings, HIV Prevention Drugs

The task force determines which preventive services insurers must cover at no cost to patients.

www.wsj.com

320 1.9K 4.3K

Reposted by Micah Berman

Noah Rosenblum @narosenblum.bsky.social · Jul 24

Fantastic and timely intervention by the indispensable Dave Pozen on the true meaning of the Columbia shakedown for higher ed: replacing the rule of law with regulation by deal, which ultimately undermines both regulation and education.

balkin.blogspot.com/2025/07/regu...

In short, the agreement gives legal form to an extortion scheme _the first of its kind!-that defies the relevant statutes as well as the constitutional separation of powers and the First
Amendment.

6 150 480

Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · Jul 22

"In some cases, [panel members] claimed that antidepressants don’t work at all and that depression goes away on its own."

More promotion of dangerous, stigmatizing misinformation.

www.nbcnews.com/health/menta...

FDA panel promotes misinformation about antidepressants during pregnancy, psychiatrists say

Nearly all of the 10 panelists emphasized what they said were risks of the drugs. Some claimed, without evidence, that antidepressants don't work at all.

www.nbcnews.com

1