Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 1d

What happens when a massive war machine aimed at the public falls into the hands of a president like Donald Trump? “Trump has been clear about his intent to turn the National Guard into a national police force with the President as its chief,” @nickturse tells me. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · 10/10/2025 · 42m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 1d

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

@akelalacy.bsky.social, @radleybalko.bsky.social and yours truly discuss the Trump administration’s rhetoric and rationale to justify extrajudicial killings abroad — and possibly at home.

theintercept.com/2025/10/10/b...

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

Akela Lacy, Radley Balko, and Nick Turse on the administration’s rhetoric and rationale to justify extrajudicial killings abroad — and possibly at home.

theintercept.com

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 3d

“There are a lot of parallels between what Trump is doing with immigration now and what we saw during the 1980s with the drug war. There was an effort to bring the military in.”

Listen on
Apple: interc.pt/4o61Gq3
Spotify: interc.pt/3KKL6xB
Everywhere else: interc.pt/4h414ix

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

YouTube video by The Intercept

youtube.com

2 16 36

Reposted by Akela Lacy

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 3d

Great to speak with @akelalacy.bsky.social and
@radleybalko.bsky.social on Trump's efforts to bring the War on Terror to the Caribbean -- and maybe the United States

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 3d

“There are a lot of parallels between what Trump is doing with immigration now and what we saw during the 1980s with the drug war. There was an effort to bring the military in.”

Listen on
Apple: interc.pt/4o61Gq3
Spotify: interc.pt/3KKL6xB
Everywhere else: interc.pt/4h414ix

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

YouTube video by The Intercept

youtube.com

12 31

Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 4d

NEW POD 🎧: The Trump admin has executed 21 people it claims were “narcoterrorists.” It's a dark turn in U.S. drug war policy. It’s also in line with the U.S. legacy of killing innocent people chalking it up to “collateral damage,” says @radleybalko.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

License to Kill: Trump’s Extrajudicial Executions

Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · 10/10/2025 · 42m

podcasts.apple.com

3 21 77

Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 10d

Amid the Republican-Democrat shutdown blame game, a federal judge’s extraordinary ruling is taking on Trump’s unlawful detentions of pro-Palestine protesters.

Listen on
Apple: interc.pt/4o6oPZG
Spotify: interc.pt/3ITmDFI
Everywhere else: interc.pt/3VNv3l8

Inside the Government Shutdown and Free Speech Showdown

YouTube video by The Intercept

youtube.com

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 10d

thank you!

1

Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 11d

NEW 🎧 POD: the government shutdown memory hole PLUS a scathing federal ruling from a Reagan appointee blasting Trump for his attacks on pro-Palestine students and making up his own definition of antisemitism as a cudgel. All on the latest Intercept Briefing podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Government Shutdown and Free Speech Showdown

Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · 10/02/2025 · 35m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 13d

The Intercept is launching a new podcast series reported and hosted by @radleybalko.bsky.social, a trailblazing investigative journalist who has been covering the drug war and the criminal justice system for more than 20 years.

theintercept.com/2025/10/01/c...

Introducing Collateral Damage

The Intercept is launching a new podcast series about the consequences of the war on drugs, reported and hosted by investigative journalist Radley Balko.

theintercept.com

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

Harms Committed @harmscommitted.com · 13d

"Trump administration will argue before a panel of three conservative [..] judges Tuesday to put [..] Mahdawi back behind bars."

"They're arguing that I should be put in prison just for speaking up against the genocide of my people."
#NewYork #USA #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #Incarceration #Genocide

Mohsen Mahdawi Faces Conservative Judges as Trump Administration Tries to Lock Him Back Up

The Republican appointees will rule on whether the Trump administration can put the Columbia student and Palestinian activist back in jail.

theintercept.com

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 14d

Read more of @akelalacy.bsky.social's interview with Mohsen Mahdawi, along with a preview of what could happen in court, here:

Mohsen Mahdawi Faces Conservative Judges as Trump Administration Tries to Lock Him Back Up

The Republican appointees will rule on whether the Trump administration can put the Columbia student and Palestinian activist back in jail.

interc.pt

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 14d

“They’re arguing that I should be put in prison just for speaking up against the genocide of my people,” Mahdawi told The Intercept in an exclusive interview.

Mohsen Mahdawi Faces Conservative Judges as Trump Administration Tries to Lock Him Back Up

The Republican appointees will rule on whether the Trump administration can put the Columbia student and Palestinian activist back in jail.

interc.pt

4 13 29

Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 14d

One judge has already expressed support for the government’s right to imprison Mahdawi, a Palestinian student protest leader.

Mohsen Mahdawi Faces Conservative Judges as Trump Administration Tries to Lock Him Back Up

The Republican appointees will rule on whether the Trump administration can put the Columbia student and Palestinian activist back in jail.

interc.pt

2 27 58

Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 14d

NEW: In an exclusive interview ahead of today’s hearing in Trump’s fight to reimprison him, Mohsen Mahdawi told me his case is part of Trump’s plan to crush critics at home & abroad by deploying National Guard and backing the genocide & takeover of Gaza theintercept.com/2025/09/30/m...

Mohsen Mahdawi Faces Conservative Judges as Trump Administration Tries to Lock Him Back Up

The Republican appointees will rule on whether the Trump administration can put the Columbia student and Palestinian activist back in jail.

theintercept.com

11 16

Reposted by Akela Lacy

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 14d

Meanwhile over at TruthSocial....

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Bitchuation Room Podcast @bitchuationroom.bsky.social · 19d

What do we think...did Kamala soft-endorse Zohran?

We asked @akelalacy.bsky.social

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

The Bitchuation Room Podcast @bitchuationroom.bsky.social · 20d

Live TODAY with @akelalacy.bsky.social and @mohanadelshieky.bsky.social at 1/4pm ET! 🤠

Talking Trump's TikTok takeover, the pyrotechnic funeral, and the latest with Ilhan Omar.

Streaming at 1/4pm ET: youtube.com/live/C-Gg-6n...

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 22d

But the pressure worked. A professor canceled an Israeli military funded grant after student pressure. “This concession shows that student campaigns do have an influence,” one student said. "These ties cannot survive transparency." theintercept.com/2025/09/22/m...

MIT Professor Cancels Israeli Military Grant After Student Pressure

As students push for MIT to drop projects tied to the Israeli military, the school has obscured information about the funding.

theintercept.com

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 22d

Earlier this year, MIT restricted access to an internal search tool after students used it to publicized the school’s ties to the Israeli military. Students found a loophole and identified other Israeli grants - then the school put up more restrictions & a disciplinary warning

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 22d

SCOOP: An MIT professor canceled an Israeli military funded research grant after pressure from students. “This concession shows that student campaigns do have an influence,” one student said. "These ties cannot survive transparency." theintercept.com/2025/09/22/m...

MIT Professor Cancels Israeli Military Grant After Student Pressure

As students push for MIT to drop projects tied to the Israeli military, the school has obscured information about the funding.

theintercept.com

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 26d

EXCLUSIVE: Trump Troop Deployment in U.S. Climbs to 35,000 Boots on the Ground

A federal judge found the deployment to LA violated bedrock constitutional law, but Trump’s domestic military campaign continues.

theintercept.com/2025/09/17/t...

Trump Troop Deployment in U.S. Climbs to 35,000 Boots on the Ground

A federal judge found the deployment to LA violated bedrock constitutional law, but Trump’s domestic military campaign continues.

theintercept.com

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 25d

that there’s a difference between the two and you have two parties that have made that their policy - and now liberals and Democratic leaders in particular are trapped in the worst excesses of their own creation

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 25d

Not just in rhetoric, but in policy. A bipartisan project that many warned would lay the groundwork to do away with 1A rights for the greater public and what we’re seeing it now. the problem isn’t who’s paying attention, it’s that people have convinced themselves & the mainstream

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Akela Lacy @akelalacy.bsky.social · 25d

I know everyone’s like “if you think this is the worst assault on free speech you haven’t been paying attention for 2 years” but the thing is — the entire crackdown on antigenocide protests was premised on the separation of “free speech” from criticism of Israel

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Reposted by Akela Lacy

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 26d

Meanwhile on X.com...

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