Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 3h

With roughly 60 percent reporting, Fairbanks' Republican Mayor David Pruhs is trailing his Democratic challenger Mindy O'Neall 54% to 46%.

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 5h

One has!

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 5h

This election is happening today—stay tuned for some early returns (though it’s late, and Alaska counts slowly, so don’t expect a final result!)

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 3d

happening in just 3 days, btw: a Trumpian, conservative mayor who has fought protections for LGBTQ+ residents and whose comments drew condemnation this year from Alaska Natives is running for reelection in Alaska's second largest city — Fairbanks.

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Reposted by Taniel

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 15h

Pennsylvania Republicans are aiming to erase Democrats' majority on the state supreme court in November.

But this sort of push has virtually no precedent or template in this state, making a weird campaign where everyone is trying to find their mark.

A great new read:
boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Reposted by Taniel

Bolts @boltsmag.org · 9h

Don Sosebee had never thought much about prisons, but that changed when Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a new mega prison in his rural community. “They’re not taking care of us.”

The Prison Next Door

How Arkansas’ secretive plan for a new state lockup angered people in a deep red corner of rural America—and changed how some see incarceration.

boltsmag.org

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Reposted by Taniel

Adam Parkhomenko @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social · 16h

If you love following campaigns and elections, Taniel is a must follow. Nobody tracks the details better. Follow @taniel.bsky.social and sign up for @boltsmag.org!

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 16h

"There are few publications doing election previews better than Bolts", say @samyoungman.bsky.social and @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social: www.thealtmedia.com/p/ghislaines...

I agree! :)

Be sure to follow @boltsmag.org & sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay on top of it: boltsmag.org/newsletter

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 9h

Cook Political poll find Prop 50 up 50% to 34% among registered voters in California: www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/hou...

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Alex Burness @burness.bsky.social · 15h

Dispatch from Pennsylvania on a highly unusual state Supreme Court election—one of the few most consequential matters on the ballot anywhere in the country next month. New from me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 11h

SCOTUS signaled at its hearings today it may strike down Colorado's ban on conversion therapy

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/chile...

The Conservative Justices Don't Trust Any Science That Supports LGBTQ Kids

States that want to facilitate discrimination against LGBTQ people have the Court's blessing. States that want to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination do not.

ballsandstrikes.org

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Reposted by Taniel

s. eek smith 👻 @sesmith.lol · 12h

Speaking of housing first, feds cutting supports for unhoused people in CA is a real telling illustration of their priorities.

California braces for ‘devastating’ expected cuts to federal homeless housing funds

Thousands of Californians could return to homelessness as the feds reportedly plan to disinvest from permanent housing.

calmatters.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 12h

Thank you! If anyone wants to support independent media, we're grateful for your consideration—and subscriptions.

Rick Varco @rvarco.bsky.social · 14h

Billionaires force Bari Weiss on us, so I donated to @boltsmag.org It is an essential media resource in times like now boltsmag.org/donate-page/...

Support Bolts

We are a nonprofit publication that covers the nuts and bolts of political change, from the local up, and we need reader support to build our journalism.

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 12h

GOP hopes to flip Pennsylvania's supreme court before the 2028 presidential election.

For that, they need some success this fall: They can erase Dems' majority & force a tie, & then go for the majority in 2027.

Ultimate stakes are as big as New Jersey & Virginia, frankly:

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 13h

The GOP also passed a new law that changes the standards that a state judge now has to use to assess whether the new map complies with the voter-approved anti-gerrymandering protections.

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 13h

Utah GOP passed a congressional map, in response to a court ruling forcing them, that makes 2 of the state's 4 ruby red districts much tighter — though neither of them leans blue as the spirit of the ruling asked for.

One should be quite competitive next year, the other in a (very) blue wave.

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 14h

I did not know this:

Alex Burness @burness.bsky.social · 6d

A little-known part of Jane Goodall’s legacy is that she helped place Roots + Shoots chapters inside jails in the U.S. and Italy. Some of the participants went on post-incarceration to careers in environmental protection. I met her in 2015 at the Boulder jail—still my all-time favorite assignment.

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 14h

Here's a new article about some of these dynamics: boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 14h

You may have read some pieces on these Pennsylvania races — but you'll want to read this dive by @burness.bsky.social: the best article written about them this year!

And if you haven't, well, who controls the highest court in the biggest of swing states is obviously a major matter this fall.

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 15h

Pennsylvania Republicans are aiming to erase Democrats' majority on the state supreme court in November.

But this sort of push has virtually no precedent or template in this state, making a weird campaign where everyone is trying to find their mark.

A great new read:
boltsmag.org/pennsylvania...

Inside the Clunky Elections to Control Pennsylvania's Supreme Court - Bolts

The GOP is making an expensive push to end Democrats’ majority on a court at the center of election lawsuits, sparking a fledging campaign season with little precedent or template.

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 16h

"There are few publications doing election previews better than Bolts", say @samyoungman.bsky.social and @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social: www.thealtmedia.com/p/ghislaines...

I agree! :)

Be sure to follow @boltsmag.org & sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay on top of it: boltsmag.org/newsletter

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Reposted by Taniel

Piper French @psfrench.bsky.social · 17h

Great new investigative piece showing how the new Cook County prosecutor has weakened the conviction integrity unit - even as concerns mount over the pressure tactics of a former Chicago detective, with the reporter finding evidence of 24 cases with coercion allegations:
boltsmag.org/chicago-cook...

Exonerations Grind to a Halt Under Chicago’s New Prosecutor - Bolts

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened her office’s already broken system for freeing the innocent, even as allegations of coercion mount against a former Chicago detective.

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 19h

Beau Bayh is running for secretary of state in Indiana, where his father Evan was governor and senator (and a top contender in the 2008 veepstakes) indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/06/d...

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 1d

Rep. Jared Golden’s new Dem challenger is Maine’s former Secretary of State, Matt Dunlap.

Many years ago, I actually interviewed Dunlap for a Q&A about Maine’s existing rules that allow anyone to vote from prison. He called this “a sliver of light” for when you’re incarcerated.

“A Sliver of Light”: Maine's Top Election Official on Voting From Prison - Bolts

While presidential candidates and some state legislatures debate whether people should vote from prison, that is already a reality in two states. Neither Maine nor Vermont disenfranchise people based ...

boltsmag.org

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 1d

The 5th circuit is poised to affirm a requirement to display the 10 commandments:

Mike Sacks @mikesacks.bsky.social · 1d

CA5’s going en banc likely to uphold Louisiana’s law requiring the 10 Commandments in the state’s public schools in defiance of pre-Roberts precedent

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Before ELROD, Chief Judge, and JONES, SMITH, STEWART, RICHMAN, SOUTHWICK, HAYNES, GRAVES, HIGGINSON, WILLETT, Ho, DUNCAN, ENGELHARDT, OLDHAM, WILSON, DoUGLAS, and RAMIREZ, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
A member of the court having requested a poll on the petition for rehearing en banc, and a majority of the circuit judges in regular active service and not disqualified having voted in favor,
IT IS ORDERED that this cause shall be reheard by the court en banc with oral argument on a date hereafter to be fixed. The Clerk will specify a briefing schedule for the filing of supplemental briefs. Pursuant to 5th Rule 41.3, the panel opinion in this case date June 20, 2025, is
VACATED.

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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 1d

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

“I know that there are some people in this room who don’t believe that my marriage should have been legal … and that’s ok. Because we’re all Americans who want lower taxes.”

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 1d

We’re focusing on the 2025 elections for now, the ones in the next 6 weeks!

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