Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Caitlin Gilbert @caitlingilbert.bsky.social · 1d

🤳EXCLUSIVE: We analyzed real data from over 800 U.S. TikTok users to reveal how the app transforms casual users into power users.

Extremely proud of this one, over a year in the making w/ @richardsima.bsky.social Leslie Shapiro @asteckelberg.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social

wapo.st/4obueib

Here’s how TikTok ‘power users’ end up scrolling 4 hours a day or more

Washington Post reporters analyzed data from over 800 TikTok users to learn how the app turns people into power users, some of whom spend hours per day scrolling.

wapo.st

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Daniel Wolfe @sadbumblebee.buzz · 1d

That chart 📊

A bar chart comparing the US oil and gas exports against China's green tech exports in 2024 and 2025. In 2024, China's exports were $180B to the US $150B. In 2025, it was $120 to $80B, China and US. The chart says: China earns more from exporting solar panels, batteries, electric cars and other clean energy tech than the US does through fossil fuel exports.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 2d

Exclusive: The Trump administration is preparing a plan that will make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security disability payments, part of an overhaul that could result in hundreds of thousands of people losing benefits.

Trump plan would limit disability benefits for older Americans

Trump administration officials are considering eliminating age as a factor in deciding whether someone is capable of working.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Kevin Uhrmacher @kevinuhrm.bsky.social · 4d

Food banks had scheduled 94mil(!) pounds of food deliveries through a government program that buys meat, dairy, eggs and produce from American farmers and sends them to help people in need.

Trump’s USDA abruptly canceled those deliveries.
projects.propublica.org/trump-food-c...

Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...

projects.propublica.org

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Cyrus Farivar @cfarivar.bsky.social · 6d

Senators demand reinstatement of a critical wildfire preparedness program knpr.org/2025-09-30/s...

Senators demand reinstatement of a critical wildfire preparedness program

The Women in Wildfire (WIWF) Bootcamps program has been eliminated, and Democratic Senators want an explanation

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

PIK_climate @pik-potsdam.bsky.social · 7d

🆕 Four key parts of the Earth’s climate system are destabilising. Researchers analysed the interconnections of #Greenland ice sheet, #AMOC, #Amazon rainforest and the South American monsoon system. All four show signs of diminished resilience: www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/late... @climtip.bsky.social

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 11d

*The AI boom = one of the costliest building sprees in world history

* Past 3 years' commitments are greater than the cost of building the U.S. interstate highway system

* Consumers must spend $800 billion on AI within a few years, to justify investment from 2023-24

www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-b...

This week, consultants at Bain & Co. estimated the wave of AI infrastructure spending will require $2 trillion in annual AI revenue by 2030. By comparison, that is more than the combined 2024 revenue of Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia, and more than five times the size of the entire global subscription software market.

Morgan Stanley estimates that last year there was around $45 billion of revenue for AI products. The sector makes money from a combination of subscription fees for chatbots such as ChatGPT and money paid to use these companies’ data centers.

How the tech sector will cover the gap is “the trillion dollar question,” said Mark Moerdler, an analyst at Bernstein.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter.org · 12d

Indonesia’s carbon trading is raising several environmental concerns, such as land-grabbing, deforestation, and inadequate protection for Indigenous land rights.

Join a panel of experts to discuss the lack of transparency in forestry licensing. #COP30

👉 bit.ly/4mvGQPC

Pulitzer Center - On the Road to COP30 - Interconnected - Exposing the Realities of Carbon Markets - Behind the permits: Forest concessions and carbon markets in Indonesia - Friday, September 26, 2025

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter.org · 13d

Scientist Nicholas Spada spent months analyzing the deadly nanoparticles in the smoke from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires.

“There is no known safe level of exposure to these types of ultrafine particles.”

Grantee @ninardietz.bsky.social reports for @insideclimatenews.org. bit.ly/48ykNod

'Clean Air Is an Expectation, Not a Luxury,' Says Scientist Measuring LA Fires’ Toll on Air, Health

One of the only scientists in the world using a nuclear X-ray process to study deadly nanoparticles in wildfire smoke, Nicholas Spada spent months analyzing smoke from the Eaton and Palisades fires...

pulitzercenter.org

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 13d

Hurricane season is about to turn much busier in the Atlantic with two potential hurricanes expected to form in the coming days that could threaten the East Coast.

See where landfall could happen:

Hurricane season to get busier with two storms that may threaten East Coast

Two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic could become hurricanes by next week and threaten the East Coast. As of Wednesday, the forming storms were well east of the United States near the northern Ca...

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 14d

The NYT’s digital investigations are invaluable and unparalleled by any other news org. This one proves ICE murdered a man, and lied about what led up to that murder. (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

How an Attempted ICE Arrest Near Chicago Turned Deadly (Gift Article)

The New York Times analyzed surveillance, police body-camera footage and bystander videos to understand what happened when an immigration agent shot and killed a motorist in a Chicago suburb.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Kevin Schaul @kevinschaul.bsky.social · 18d

New by me: OpenAI won’t say whose content trained its video tool. We found some clues.

Gift link: wapo.st/3KeqLR0

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Shannon Osaka @shannonosaka.bsky.social · 19d

It's not your imagination: Wildfire smoke in the U.S. has dramatically worsened since 2019. According to a new study, it's already killing 41,000 people a year - and it's poised to get much worse.

new from me @johnmuyskens.bsky.social and @sadbumblebee.buzz

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Record wildfire smoke kills more people each year than car crashes. It’s about to get worse.

The past six summers have been the smokiest on record. New research shows that smoke could become the costliest consequence of climate change for Americans.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Washington Post Guild @postguild.bsky.social · 22d

Statement from Post Guild Leadership: The Washington Post Guild condemns the unjust firing of columnist Karen Attiah

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NPR @npr.org · 26d

JUST IN: Inflation accelerated in August as Americans paid more for gasoline and groceries. Over the last 12 months, consumer prices have risen 2.9%.

Inflation climbs in August as grocery and gas prices jump

Inflation accelerated in August as Americans paid more for gasoline and groceries. Over the last 12 months, consumer prices have risen 2.9%.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Shannon Osaka @shannonosaka.bsky.social · Sep 4

For the last several months, I've been digging through endless scientific literature on what happens when pregnant mothers are exposed to plastic chemicals in their food, water, and everyday household products.

The result is this story.

I hope you'll take the time to read.
wapo.st/4g3ZoFc

The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about

Researchers have linked phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, to premature birth, infertility and ADHD.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle.com · Aug 30

Members of San Francisco’s cold water swimming community memorialized Nikolas Tomasevic with an aquatic Hawaiian tradition honoring lost loved ones.

Read more → www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

📸: Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Caitlin Gilbert @caitlingilbert.bsky.social · Aug 28

Three senior leaders who resigned in protest told The Post they were asked to participate in an unscientific vaccine recommendation process that they believe could harm the health of Americans.

More from @lenasun.bsky.social @laurenweberhp.bsky.social @davidovalle.bsky.social

🎁: wapo.st/46aNJB0

CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives

As the CDC reels from departures, White House appoints Jim O’Neill as acting director.

wapo.st

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Aug 25

Air pollution from oil and gas kills over 90,000 people in the US every year and makes hundreds of thousands more sick, disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities. But Republicans want to drill baby drill and kill more people because they're racist af.

Air pollution from oil and gas causes 90,000 premature US deaths each year, says new study

Study analyzed health impacts of fossil fuels from exploration to end use, and found communities of color bear brunt of harm

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 24

An analysis of U.S. weather data shared with The Post shows which places are experiencing notably longer summer seasons than they were three decades ago.

Check here to see how much longer summer is in your town:

Is summer getting longer where you live? See how temperatures changed.

The hottest stretch of the year is expanding beyond any calendar definition of summer. See what regions are experiencing the biggest change.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Michael Wara @michaelwara.bsky.social · Aug 12

We were talking about how the oil industry in California will never be its former self today. How production is just not coming back no matter what the regulatory climate. And I found this image from the OC register from back in 2014.

Says it all.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Jonathan Baran @jonathanbaran.bsky.social · Aug 22

Reporters at @washingtonpost.com want your videos of law enforcement interactions in D.C. after President Trump ordered federal agents to patrol the city. Upload footage you filmed by scanning the QR code.

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

Zoë Schlanger @zoeschlanger.bsky.social · Aug 18

long, important piece by @hannahdreier.bsky.social. many paragraphs made me pause

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Reposted by Daniel Wolfe

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 17

Exclusive: An internal planning road map obtained by The Post shows the strategy behind ICE’s breakneck expansion, a chaotic effort that has already triggered lawsuits and accusations of cruelty. wapo.st/41FWkck

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Washington Post Opinions @postopinions.bsky.social · Aug 14

"An analysis of birth rates nationally showed two forces are pushing Americans away from having children," @zhoyoyo.bsky.social writes. wapo.st/4728boR

Opinion | Here’s what it takes to encourage Americans to have more babies

How costly is it to have babies in your area? Check yourself.

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