Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Paula Schaap @redsonja.bsky.social · 3h

Fascinating stuff.

Mindy Weisberger @laminda.bsky.social · 23h

Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton called his ship one of the strongest to ever visit Antarctica; he blamed its sinking on rudder damage from pack ice. In my latest for @cnn.com, new analysis of records and journals suggests that a structural flaw may have doomed the Endurance from the start 🧪

Ernest Shackleton’s doomed Endurance wasn’t built to handle polar ice — and he knew it, new analysis finds | CNN

When explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, got trapped in pack ice, a broken rudder was blamed. New analysis suggests structural weakness caused the sinking.

www.cnn.com

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Mindy Weisberger @laminda.bsky.social · 4d

Come feed your 🧠 some zombie science & discover the nightmarish world of zombie-makers & their mind-controlled victims! I'll be talking about Rise of the Zombie Bugs at two events:

10/24: Word Bookstore, Jersey City
11/5: Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, NYC

Info: mindyweisberger.com/events/ 🧪

A spooky cemetery background with a book in the center: "Rise of the Zombie Bugs," by Mindy Weisberger. The top third of the graphic shows two small headshots: a white woman on the left and a white man on the right. Text between the photos reads "Friday, October 24 at 7:00PM, Mindy Weisberger in conversation with Nick Ciavatta." Text over the lower third of the graphic reads: "WORD Bookstore, 29 McWilliams Pl, Jersey City, NJ, mindyweisberger.com/events"

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 3h

It's clear by now that the Democrats won't press this case as aggressively as it needs to be pressed, and the media won't do that unless they have Democrats' quotes to use as a springboard either.

They won't do this work, so it's even more important that we circulate these stories ourselves.

David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 3h

I really believe that huge majorities of Americans don’t want masked soldiers shooting priests in the street. They don’t want naked children ripped out out of their apartments in the middle of the night and handcuffed. We win by making sure these stories get told.

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 3h

The same people who insisted devout Catholic Joe Biden was leading a “war on Christianity” are now cheering Trump on as his armed goons assault clergymen.

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Paula Schaap @redsonja.bsky.social · 3h

Let's see whether the message gets through to Cardinal Dolan.

Joshua McElwee @joshmcelwee.org · 6h

Pope Leo told U.S. bishops visiting him at the Vatican on Wednesday that they should firmly address how immigrants are being treated by President Donald Trump's hardline policies, attendees said, in the latest push by the pontiff on the issue. For @reuters.com:

www.reuters.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 17h

"Look, the President clearly has some kind of dementia" should be how Democrats begin every single comment to reporters these days.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 22h

Ruben Gallego on whether Trump is talking to Democrats:

“Look, the President clearly has some kind of dementia, so I think there's a he's probably talking to himself, or think he's talking to a Democrat, but I sincerely doubt that that's actually he's actually physically talking to a Democrat.“

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Michael McDonald @electproject.bsky.social · 17h

Folks...you elected Republicans to break government and they broke it

Senator Tim Kaine @kaine.senate.gov · 17h

It’s day seven of the government shutdown. For an entire week now, Republicans have refused to reach a bipartisan agreement to fund our government and protect health care for American citizens. They’re failing their own constituents.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 3d

Jesus. You think it can’t get any worse, then you read these stories. US citizens and legal residents illegally arrested and held for days. **Native Americans** getting detained and held for days because ICE agents are too stupid/racist to know about tribal IDs.

Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 3d

Brett Kavanaugh and his clerks need to read this --->

www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/...

From the AskReddit community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the AskReddit community

www.reddit.com

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 19h

“No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”

George Pearkes @peark.es · 20h

Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT

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Wesley Morgan @wesleymorgan.bsky.social · 18h

Don’t think these Texas National Guard guys are going to be chasing any immigrants around Chicago on foot

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🦋 M.S. MotorcycleMama 🏍️༄₊°.࿔ ༘. ⃛ @ms-motorcyclemama.bsky.social · Feb 25

As more & more people wake up, because they (or someone they love) are directly impacted by what’s happening in the USA, there are two phrases I am finding helpful:

“You don’t have to admit you were wrong.
Just admit that you were lied to.”

“Welcome to the resistance”

#UnitedWeAreStrong 🤝🇺🇸✊

United we STAND
Divided we FALL

with Stand written in the American flag
and
with Fall written in the American flag but the letters breaking at the bottom

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Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 1d

Never ONCE. Not a single worthwhile story ever.

Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 1d

its funny how not a single actual journalist has been like, “actually she’s good at journalism”

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Rob @robosullivan.bsky.social · 2d

Seeing Irish people simp for Humphreys because she'll keep her head down reminds me of that MLK quote "...the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice" #spéirgorm

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Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis @jeffjarvis.bsky.social · 1d

I begged @spiegel.de to translate Jörg Schindler's excellent reporting on America's fall into theocracy and they did. As I keep saying, German journalists are doing a better job covering America's fall than American journalists. 1/
www.spiegel.de/internationa...

Trump's Crusaders: Christian Nationalists Are Gaining a Solid Foothold in Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump has opened the doors of power to far-right Christian nationalists. Their goal: an American theocracy. The separation of church and state in America is at risk.

www.spiegel.de

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Lizzie O'Leary @lizzieohreally.bsky.social · 1d

This picture is from 1992 in LA and using it in this post and story shows terrible news judgment.

CNN @cnn.com · 1d

"President Donald Trump and his top aides are using the word 'insurrection' more frequently to describe anti-ICE protests in places like Portland," writes Zachary B. Wolf. https://cnn.it/4pWYmzr

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Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 1d

A federal judge ruled that senior DOJ officials' comments created a "realistic likelihood" of vindictiveness in its criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abregio Garcia is now entitled to a hearing to argue for tossing his case on these grounds. https://bit.ly/48jnA4D

Judge Says DOJ May Be Vindictively Punishing Abrego Garcia for Challenging Removal to El Salvador

Read more here.

bit.ly

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Will Li @williamlidc.bsky.social · 1d

This is a remarkable letter from 282 former DOJ employees, for its clarity and forceful, the information mentioned (75% of Civil Rights Division is out), and the fact that these brave professionals put their name to this letter.

This is worth our time and support.

Justice Connection @justiceconnection.bsky.social · 1d

Ahead of AG Bondi's Senate testimony, hundreds of recent DOJ alumni joined our open letter, urging Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities far more vigorously.

Members must provide a meaningful check on abuses we're witnessing: www.thejusticeconnection.org/urgent-messa...

Urgent Message from Recent DOJ Alumni - Justice Connection

www.thejusticeconnection.org

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NPR @npr.org · 1d

Two groups are calling for new leadership at HHS after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions on substance abuse treatment and mental health medications, among other issues.

Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary

Two groups are calling for new leadership at HHS after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions on substance abuse treatment and mental health medications, among other issues.

n.pr

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Paula Schaap @redsonja.bsky.social · 1d

open.substack.com/pub/mweisser...

When Will Trump Lose His War?

The usual story is that we lost the Viet Nam War when our last troops pulled out of Saigon on March 29, 1973.

open.substack.com

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America

A federal judge had blocked Trump’s request to deploy California national guard to Portland

www.theguardian.com

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

RSM: “.. Uncertainty over economic policy has returned to levels reached during the 2020 pandemic ..

“.. weighing heavily on small and medium sized firms that are now reducing their headcounts while large firms have slowed their hiring to a crawl.”

@joebrusuelas.bsky.social

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Alexa Ray Corriea @alexaray.bsky.social · 1d

It’s boiling in October because you’re using ChatGPT to write your emails, Janice.

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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 1d

at this point you have to acknowledge that there is no way that these guys don't try to mess with the 2026 midterms. there is absolutely no respect for the legitimacy of the opposition

Blue Georgia @bluegeorgia.bsky.social · 1d

Stephen Miller: "Eventually elections don’t carry the day because violence beats votes… When we see a muscular response from the federal government, it’s because we’re not going to let violence beat votes."

Is he implying federal intervention determines political legitimacy, not ballots or courts?

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

NEW — The remaining American members of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla being held in Israeli prison have been freed, a family member of one confirmed to me. They were driven to the Jordanian border and will be staying the night in Jordan before flying home.

Video of them today saying “Free Palestine”:

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Glenn Fleishman @glennf.com · 1d

Man who made up obvious false story hired by obvious false journalist. Benny Jonson is going to get hired next, right?

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

Less than a year into the Trump admin and the National Governors Association, founded over 115 years ago, is on the brink of collapse.

Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 1d

Pritzker is also furious: “Should National Governors Association leadership choose to remain silent, Illinois will have no choice but to withdraw from the organization.”

Gov. JB Pritzker’s letter to the National Governors Association

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