Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 20d

Texas A&M president resigns amid uproar over professor’s gender identity lesson www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

Texas A&M president resigns following controversy over professor’s lesson

Mark A. Welsh III resigned as president of Texas A&M University in a stunning fallout after a viral “whistleblower” video that raised questions about a professor’s teaching on gender...

www.houstonchronicle.com

2 21 37

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 20d

These are precedented times and the precedent is a loud ass warning

www.nytimes.com/1939/02/04/a...

Goebbels Ends Careers of Five 'Aryan' Actors Who Made Witticisms About the Nazi Regime (Published 1939)

www.nytimes.com

34 1.2K 2.9K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Tyler Kingkade @tktk.bsky.social · 20d

NEW: I tracked three dozen teachers, professors and other school staff who've been forced from their job or stepped away due to their comments on Charlie Kirk and his killing

Republican lawmakers are increasingly getting involved, pushing for firings

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Teachers' punishment for social media posts on Charlie Kirk's death prompts free speech debate

More than three dozen professors, teachers and school staffers have left or been removed over allegations they made disparaging or mocking comments about Charlie Kirk.

www.nbcnews.com

77 560 1.4K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 20d

it's officially broken

Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 20d

Senate went nuclear and it barely made the news: apnews.com/article/sena...

Senate confirms 48 of Trump's nominees at once after changing the chamber's rules

The Senate has confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees. Republicans acted for the first time under new rules to clear a backlog of executive branch positions that had been delayed by Democra...

apnews.com

5 54 150

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 20d

the hand is way too big, but otherwise? brilliant.

Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 20d

New week's cover of The New Yorker, "Remote Control," by Barry Blitt.

25 140 970

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Lilly Wachowski @lillywachowski.bsky.social · 20d

This is staggering.
Dismantling the right wing propaganda machine is imo one of the biggest and most vital obstacles to the future of this country.

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 20d

Trump’s allies now control X, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, & TikTok.

They own Fox News, CBS, WaPo, WSJ & NY Post.

They own Sinclair Broadcasting which has 200 tv stations and local news in 100 markets.

“Freedom of speech” is now what Trump and his billionaire pals say it is.

46 450 1.4K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Tom & Lorenzo @tomandlorenzo.bsky.social · 20d

Support independent media, now more than ever. Not just news and politics, but film, TV, fashion and other cultural criticism and commentary, from podcasts to apps to good old-fashioned web sites. Pay for it. Turn your adblocker off so they can keep the lights on. Share it.

8 230 700

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Sarah McLaughlin @sarahemclaugh.bsky.social · 20d

Government officials do not get to decide that your rights have become inconvenient or problematic. They are your rights. They are not privileges provided by the government and revocable at will.

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

26 350 1.1K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Guy Grossman @guygrossman.bsky.social · 20d

The story is not what Kimmel said but what others won’t say now for fear of state retribution. Authoritarian countries thrive on self censorship.

24 360 1.9K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Sep 5

🚨NEW: Reversing *generations* of practice, the Board of Immigration Appeals gives ICE exactly what it demanded, ruling that any undocumented immigrant who entered illegally is categorically ineligible for release from detention on bond — expanding mandatory detention by millions of people.

Matter of Jonathan Javier YAJURE HURTADO, Respondent
Decided September 5, 2025
U.S. Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Board of Immigration Appeals
Based on the plain language of section 235(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) (2018), Immigration Judges lack authority to hear bond
requests or to grant bond to aliens who are present in the United States without admission.

180 1.7K 3K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Dante Atkins @danteatkins.bsky.social · Sep 5

THE ICE AGENTS ARE WEARING FUCKING NAZI STAHLHELMS

WHAT THE FUCK

COME ON, YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP

Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · Sep 5

DHS unveils a Trumpian ICE recruitment poster.

70 900 2.6K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Common Dreams @commondreams.org · Aug 22

80% of workers said they view corporate CEOs as overpaid, and nearly 70% said they do not believe their own company’s CEO could do the job they do for even one week, writes @sarahanderson.bsky.social: www.commondreams.org/opinion/low-...

Meet 100 CEOs Getting Filthy Rich at Their Workers’ Expense | Common Dreams

CEOs of the 100 S&P 500 firms with the lowest median wages, a group we’ve dubbed the “Low-Wage 100,” have enjoyed skyrocketing pay over the past six years.

www.commondreams.org

5 22 69

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · Aug 22

The "president" is out of his mind.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Aug 22

REPORTER: Have you spoke to Vladimir Putin about the fact that a big US factory was hit in an airstrike in Ukraine?

TRUMP: I'm not happy about anything having to do with that war. I settled 7 wars, and actually if you think about pre-wars, add 3 more so it would be 10.

200 360 1.6K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · Aug 20

If the AI bubble really is bursting, please take this lesson from it:

Nothing marketed to you this relentlessly is ever worth it. If it was, they wouldn’t need to beg you.

100 5.3K 14K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · Aug 22

Confederate statues are “history” but a rainbow crosswalk dedicated to victims of a mass shooting is “political.”

Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · Aug 21

Workers under cover of night removed a rainbow crosswalk outside of the former Pulse nightclub, apparently as part of state and federal transportation officials’ aim to wipe “political banners” from public roadways. www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/21/r...

Rainbow crosswalk outside Pulse nightclub removed overnight

“We did everything according to state law, everything was compliant,” said Patty Sheehan, the city’s first openly gay elected official. “FDOT never moves that quickly with anything.&#82…

www.orlandosentinel.com

59 1.3K 4.3K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Resister @chrissmithmuso.bsky.social · Aug 22

Transl, Rule of Law:

Fuck you, Donnie. You're not a king.

Miami Herald @miamiherald.com · Aug 22

A federal judge in Miami blocked

Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz shut down in 60 days, says no more new detainees

A federal judge in Miami blocked

bit.ly

1 3 8

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · Aug 22

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred the Trump admin and FL from bringing new detainees into “Alligator Alcatraz” and to dismantle some aspects of the facility as current detainees are moved out. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

39 560 1.9K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · Aug 10

Given the overt attempts to erase certain histories from public spaces...well, I hope people are taking steps to preserve their local knowledge.

You can write books that are not for public consumption, that chronicle your specific family or village history.

You can keep your own archives.

7 110 310

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · Aug 10

Trump has declared war on free minds and free education in order to erase more than a half-century of scholarship and replace it with official triumphal narratives rooted in a brand of pickled patriotism designed to force the past to serve the present.

trib.al/6bfjkJM

What if History Died by Sanctioned Ignorance?

We must mobilize now to defend our profession, not only with research and teaching but in the realm of politics and public persuasion.

trib.al

7 87 190

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Dr Ellie Murray, ScD @epiellie.bsky.social · Jul 31

People thought I was overreacting when I said Trump’s list of “banned” words meant epidemiology was itself defacto being banned.

But this week U Michigan announced they aren’t even accepting applications for the 2026 epi PhD admissions cycle.

www.michigandaily.com/news/news-br...

UMich cancels doctoral epidemiology program admissions for 2026

The University of Michigan School of Public Health will not admit a 2025-2026 admissions cycle cohort to its PhD in Epidemiologic Sciences program.

www.michigandaily.com

23 340 630

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Claudia Stellar, PhD @claudiastellar.bsky.social · Aug 6

ICE agents chased a family into their home, tried to kick the door in, and forced them to barricade inside. Then, one agent dangled their house keys in front of their Ring camera.

Incredibly disturbing to watch these agents’ unhinged behavior and the psychological terror they’re inflicting.

14 240 440

Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez @nrdz.bsky.social · Aug 9

Are you a public school teacher? Would you like one of these planners? I'll give them away to the first two teachers who message me!

Rethinking Schools @rethinkingschools.bsky.social · Aug 4

Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Educators is BACK!

Pre-order your copy today: rethinkingschools.org/books/planni...

Planning to Change the World 2021-2022

This is a plan book for school-based, home-based, and community-based educators who believe that young people can, will, and already do change the world.

rethinkingschools.org

1 3

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Dan Saltzstein @dansaltzstein.bsky.social · Aug 9

Also that gay men with AIDS “should be tatooed … on the buttocks, to prevent the victimization of other homosexuals.”

Daniel Malmer @malmer.com · Aug 9

No idea how long this was in the works, but the USPS is issuing stamps featuring a guy who wrote an opinion piece defending Jim Crow because “the White community is so entitled because for the time being, it is the advanced race.”

William F. Buckley Jr. Stamps | USPS.com

Honor one of the most influential public intellectuals in modern U.S. history with the William F. Buckley, Jr. Forever® stamp.

store.usps.com

21 110 330

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Cristian Farias @cristianfarias.com · Aug 9

Karen Henderson is the longest-serving Republican appointee on the D.C. Circuit. She’s deeply conservative but not Trumpy.

In ordering the Trump administration to restore a congressionally mandated database of federal spending, she strongly suggests the president is engaging in king-like behavior.

Screenshot of opinion by Judge Karen Henderson:

KAREN LECRAFT HENDERSON, Circuit Judge, statement respecting the denial of a stay pending appeal:

“Throughout the 1600s, the Stuart monarchs engaged in a titanic struggle with Parliament regarding who would reign supreme over the public purse. That struggle was marked by civil war, regicide and a new wellspring of liberty in the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
By the end of the upheaval, Parliament emerged supreme in matters of taxation and spending. Our Constitution followed suit, granting the Congress plenary control over the public fisc.

Recently, the Executive has once again locked horns in a struggle for control over the purse strings. Across a slew of cases, recipients of congressional funding have challenged the President's ability to unilaterally freeze or "impound" spending.' Today's case is but the latest chapter in the ongoing saga.”

43 540 1.7K

Reposted by Dr. Noreen Naseem Rodríguez

Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · Aug 8

There’s an anti-data pattern from the Trump administration. No other president has been so destructive. This will make it hard for future ones to reconstruct and build expert teams and equipment, in this case a very expensive satellite and instruments.

Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · Aug 8

Head of NASA Sean Duffy intends to destroy a satellite that collects key data on carbon dioxide and plant health, by causing it to burn up in the atmosphere. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture and private agriculture firms use the data to forecast crop yield, drought conditions and more.

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose

The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

www.npr.org

2 34 60