Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 12d

Better go see coral reefs soon. Take photos for your children Oceans are failing. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

www.theguardian.com

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 12d

Please Pope Leo: speak to this foolish meanness. Sometimes it's embarrassing (and maddening) to be even a "fallen-away" Catholic: www.cgdev.org/blog/catholi...

Catholic Schools in the Congo Ban Pregnant Girls

Almost everywhere, girls who get pregnant in school are allowed to finish their education. Only five countries still have explicit bans or restrictions: Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kuwait, a...

Global Headwinds to Kuznets’ Low-Inequality Transformation: Plutocrats, Populism, and More

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Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 14d

Bill McKibben on Trump at the UN manages to be funny, sort of:https://billmckibben.substack.com/p/the-stupidest-speech-in-un-history?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=438146&post_id=174385635&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=jub32&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 14d

I like this representation of headwinds!

Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · Aug 27

The Kuznets Curve assumed falling inequality once structural transformation has peaked. But today, unforeseen headwinds—populism, climate damage, and more—complicate that path, especially for developing economies.

More from <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:epahg7qaiww4hby5eu3pmm2p" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@nbirdsall.bsky.social:
https://bit.ly/45DsCr4

Kuznets’s prediction that inequality would fall after structural transformation faces major obstacles in today’s globalized economy, including tax evasion by elites, restrictions on labor migration, a...

Reposted by Nancy Birdsall

Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · 20d

Can developing countries expect inequality to fall post-structural transformation, as predicted by the Kuznets Curve?

@nbirdsall.bsky.social highlights unforeseen headwinds—populism, climate damage, and more—that pose new challenges ⬇️
https://bit.ly/45DsCr4

https://bit.ly/45DsCr4

t.co

A Letter to America’s Discarded Public Servants

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 17d

This Admin fears experts. I have think of colleagues/friends, now US citizens with US-born children, who are here thanks to those H1B visas.

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 18d

The White House has chosen a truly extremist step that will kneecap American research and innovation.

It is an additional bomb dropped on the US higher education system, illegally and recklessly, that will end up harming every Conservative and Liberal American.

Nicholas Weaver @ncweaver.skerry-tech.com · 18d

Why is this horrible for Universities?

Just about everyone who isn't a citizen or green card holder already who's hired for a tenure track faculty position is hired through an H1B and then, after 3-5 years, applies for a green card.

This is literally "No more foreign professors can be hired"

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Reposted by Nancy Birdsall

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 18d

WGA WRITERS protest abc & disney : “Writers against fascism — this isn’t just about Kimmel, it’s about our ability to say what we want and not be punished by the state… a chilling effect… you don’t capitulate to bullies…”

(from @moreperfectunion.bsky.social )

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Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 17d

Thank you to Bill Burns for his letter to US public servants in The Atlantic. Compelling on US best interests and full of the understanding and empathy the victims of Trump Admin/DOGE deserve. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

You all deserved better.

www.theatlantic.com

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Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 23d

below, so well said: the government's "pitiful response to its own mistakes, which vary from simple ineptitude to willful noncompliance". Thank you to the "handful of federal judges"

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 24d

Awful as things are under Trump 2.0, they’d be far worse still without the courage of a handful of federal judges willing to rule against him.

Paula Xinis of Maryland has been a key leader in defending the law from the administration's abuses. trib.al/OAhL2CT

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 23d

Yes you wouldn't know Kirk's extremist views. . . .

Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 23d

Too many journalists seem to find it impossible to acknowledge that Kirks’s extremist views, conspiratorial rhetoric, overt racism, and election denial undermined democracy and that his assassination is abhorrent.
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

We Cannot Excuse Political Violence

And we must not whitewash abhorrent views

Trump Is Shutting Down the War On Cancer

Reposted by Nancy Birdsall

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 24d

America’s competitiveness and innovation capacity is being systematically eviscerated by the US Administration.

This will harm Conservative and Liberal Americans equally.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 24d

“It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives and is in one of its most productive moments, is under threat by the Trump administration.

America’s cancer research system, which has helped save millions of lives, is under threat in one of its most productive moments.

nyti.ms

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Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 23d

Good photo too @mclem.org

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · 23d

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Jun 10

What does mass deportation mean for the US economy when the native workforce is in sharp demographic decline?

I spoke at the Invest in America Summit by @thehill.com

Video at 2:04:03 & thereafter—>
www.youtube.com/live/h3Opi4w... cc @piie.com

Trump destroys our source of information about jobs. This is beyond irresponsible.

Reposted by Nancy Birdsall

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Aug 2

Statement from the American Economics Association.

Signed by

AEA President & former USDOL Chief Economist @lkatz42.bsky.social

Former BLS Commissioner Abraham

Former Treasury DAS & Chief Economist Dynan, &

Chair of AEA Govt Relations Committee Ken Troske
bsky.app/profile/mart...

The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity. Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions.

We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation’s statistical infrastructure.

Lawrence Katz
President, American Economic Association

Katharine Abraham
President-Elect, American Economic Association

Karen Dynan
Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics

Kenneth Troske
Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

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Reposted by Nancy Birdsall

Justin Sandefur @justsand.bsky.social · Aug 1

Lesotho was one of the biggest successes of AGOA -- which meant 'liberation day' hit particularly hard.

Little early to see this in the trade data, but doesn't look great.

NYT reporting factories shuttered. People going from $7/day factory jobs to $1/day hawking on the street.

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Reposted by Nancy Birdsall

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Aug 1

"...escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence & integrity of the federal statistical system.

"The president seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news.

"...firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit & undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics..."

President Trump called into question the integrity of the Employment Situation report that the BLS released this morning. He accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of deliberately reporting false numbers to reflect poorly on this administration. This baseless, damaging claim undermines the valuable work and dedication of BLS staff who produce the reports each month. This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system.
The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news. The Commissioner does not determine what the numbers are but simply reports on what the data show. The process of obtaining the numbers is decentralized by design to avoid opportunities for interference. The BLS uses the same proven, transparent, reliable process to produce estimates every month. Every month, BLS revises the prior two months’ employment estimates to reflect slower-arriving, more-accurate information.
This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers. U.S. official statistics are the gold standard globally. When leaders of other nations have politicized economic data, it has destroyed public trust in all official statistics and in government science.

We call on Congress to respond immediately, to investigate the factors that led to Commissioner McEntarfer’s removal, to strongly urge the Commissioner’s continued service, and ensure that the nonpartisan integrity of the position is retained. The statement from the President undermines these tenets and politicizes data which cannot and should not be used for political points.

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Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Aug 1

And now the Bur Labor Stats down the Trump data drain:
open.substack.com/pub/robertre... @robertreich.substack.com.web.brid.gy

He hates facts. He rejects truth. He doesn't want the public to know what's really happening.

The Hellscapes of Their Minds

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Jul 24

Paul Krugman on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, NY: a quandary for ICE (!) open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

ICE says it’s going to “flood” New York. Good luck with that

Has Brazil Invented the Future of Money?

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Jul 23

Yes! Brazil has invented the future of money....read about Pix: open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

And will it ever come to America?

U.S. Quietly Drafts Plan to End Program That Saved Millions From AIDS

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Jul 23

Why isn't George W. Bush issuing a statement regretting what his Republican colleague Trump is doing to Pepfar? What has he got to lose? www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/h...

www.nytimes.com

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Jul 23

Impressive reporting from Pro Publica. I'm glad @mclem.org is paying attention to the cruelty not just the economic stupidity of the deportations.

Michael Clemens @mclem.org · Jul 23

Of the 230 Venezuelan people seized in the United States under an irrelevant wartime law from the 18th century…

…197 had *zero criminal convictions* in the US.

Number of *violent* criminals: six.

Database built by @propublica.org —>

The Men Trump Deported to a Salvadoran Prison

On March 15, President Donald Trump’s administration sent more than 230 Venezuelan immigrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Last week, the men were released as suddenly as they’d been t...

projects.propublica.org

US Tariff Tracker: Measuring “Effective Tariffs Rates” Around the World

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Jul 21

This is so good (effective tariff rates of US). In some ways seems random -- makes one wonder if anyone in the White House has a clue about what they are doing to friends vs foes. www.cgdev.org/media/us-tar...

Exemptions and sector-specific import taxes mean different countries face very different real-world tariff rates.

US Tariff Tracker: Measuring “Effective Tariffs Rates” Around the World

Nancy Birdsall @nbirdsall.bsky.social · Jul 21

real effective tariffs country by country. (Why is Trump torturing poor Cambodia?!? ) www.cgdev.org/media/us-tar...

Exemptions and sector-specific import taxes mean different countries face very different real-world tariff rates.