Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 3h

"Just this week, a Republican running for New York Attorney General sent a fundraising email calling Mamdani “the kiss of death for Democrats,” and Elise Stefanik...described Mamdani in a press release as 'Kathy Hochul’s Endorsed Jihadist.'"

time.com/7326144/zohr...

GOP Plan to Use Mamdani to Ding All Democrats Hits Hurdles

Some Republicans quietly concede that Mamdani will be tough to cast as the archetype of all Democrats

time.com

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Reposted by Aman Batheja

Annie Waldman @anniewaldman.bsky.social · 4h

Justice Brett Kavanaugh: “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen...they promptly let the individual go."

The reality: Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.

A must read from the very talented @nicolefoy.bsky.social:

More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.

The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...

www.propublica.org

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 4h

A TIME reporter asked a Homeland Security spokesperson about the agency's tweet of the word "remigrate," a word embraced by white nationalists

The spokesperson responded in an email, “Is the English language too difficult for you?” followed by the dictionary definition of the word “remigrate.”

Trump Administration Embraces Word Used By White Nationalists

"Is the English language too difficult for you?” said a Homeland Security official to TIME when asked its use of the word "remigrate"

time.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 6h

Mike Johnson: “I’ll debate Hakeem Jeffries anywhere, anytime — as soon as we get the government open.”

thehill.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 7h

New: Some Republicans are quietly conceding that their plan to use Zohran Mamdani to hurt Democrats in the midterms by branding the whole party as socialist may be tougher than they thought
time.com/7326144/zohr...

GOP Plan to Use Mamdani to Ding All Democrats Hits Hurdles

Some Republicans quietly concede that Mamdani will be tough to cast as the archetype of all Democrats

time.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 11h

Trump says he plans to build a large arch like the the Arc de Triomphe in Paris across from the Lincoln Memorial to
celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence
time.com/7326081/trum...

Trump Shows Off Latest D.C. Construction Project

The 'Independence Arch' has also been dubbed the 'Arc de Trump', which Trump hinted was for himself.

time.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 1d

Axios: "The most expensive political ad campaign of the year is being run by the Department of Homeland Security."

DHS has spent "at least $51 million this year on ads thanking President Trump for securing the border, according to AdImpact."

U.S. government pays for 2025's most expensive political ad campaign

The next closest ad campaign is the $41 million effort to support California's redistricting measure.

www.axios.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 1d

“WIRED contacted the 28 companies shown alongside proposals for construction, security, and private-sector investment in postwar Gaza…Some had absolutely no knowledge they were named in this plan.”

www.wired.com/story/a-plan...

A Plan to Rebuild Gaza Lists Nearly 30 Companies. Many Say They’re Not Involved

A presentation that has been shared with the Trump administration references Tesla, Ikea, TSMC, and more in its plan to rebuild Gaza. Some of these companies say they had no idea they were mentioned.

www.wired.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 1d

Goldman Sachs predicts US consumers will likely shoulder 55% of tariff costs by the end of the year, with American companies taking on 22%

Goldman Sees US Consumers Paying More Than Half of Trump Tariffs

Americans are set to pay more than half of President Donald Trump’s tariff costs as companies raise prices, according to economists of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

www.bloomberg.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 1d

"It’s hard to imagine a musician more reluctantly but universally beloved than D’Angelo.”

www.stereogum.com/2326405/dang...

D’Angelo Dead At 51

The great soul artist D’Angelo, one of the most gifted and mythic musicians of his generation, has died. TMZ reports that he passed away from pancreatic cancer this morning in New York. D’Angelo was 5...

www.stereogum.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 2d

At the ceremony awarding Charlie Kirk a presidential medal of freedom, Trump said the left has “the devil’s ideology. They are failing and they know it. They feel it and they become violent.”
time.com/7325567/char...

Trump Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk

Trump will award Charlie Kirk Presidential Medal of Freedom during White House ceremony honoring his life.

time.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 2d

Always thought D'Angelo’s Voodoo had one of the best four-track runs ever

D’Angelo’s Voodoo tracks 5-8: Send It On, Chicken Grease, One Mo Gin, The Root

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 2d

“The [Gaza] deal depends almost entirely on Trump maintaining pressure on the principals. In turn, this requires him to remain closely engaged, week after week and month after month, with a broad spectrum of actors—not just individual power brokers.”

What Trump Does—and Doesn't—Get Credit for in Gaza

President Donald Trump helped secure a ceasefire in Gaza. Now, he must see this fragile peace through to something more durable.

time.com

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Reposted by Aman Batheja

Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 2d

Secretary Pete Hegseth's press policy will receive just one signatory according to my current tally—from OAN. For context, there are more than 100 journalists who are members of the Pentagon Press Association. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

News outlets broadly reject Pentagon rules before deadline for signing

The Washington Post and other major news outlets have refused to sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new media policy, citing First Amendment concerns.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 2d

“Even the wording on Apple’s own announcement highlights the muddled branding, saying that F1 is available to purchase on Apple TV ‘ahead of its global streaming debut on Apple TV,’ and that ‘Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app’ on devices like… you got it, Apple TV.”

Apple TV Plus is being rebranded to… Apple TV

Apple says it’s given the streaming service a ‘vibrant new identity.’

www.theverge.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 4d

Now this is a lede: “Republicans have tried more than 70 times over the past 15 years to weaken or kill Obamacare. But their campaign keeps backfiring.”

Why Republicans’ attempts to kill Obamacare keep backfiring

The White House and some Republicans are growing nervous that Democrats’ demand to boost Obamacare as part of a government funding bill has salience with voters.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 5d

Yeah the behavior makes sense in the scene, but funny to realize his gripe didn’t fit the situation

Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 5d

One of my favorite pieces of movie trivia/mistakes comes from a Diane Keaton movie—Father of the Bride

In the scene where George is flipping out in the supermarket about hotdog buns, he claims he wants to buy "8 hot dogs and 8 hotdogs buns." He then proceeds to remove 4 buns from three bags of 12. This implies that he wants to buy 24 hotdog buns. If he had only kept the buns in the bags and bought two, he actually would have gotten 24 and saved money at the same time.

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 5d

This is the line to get into the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, which will close in a few hours and not reopen until the shutdown ends

Long line of people waiting to get through security at the museum

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 5d

“When Netanyahu visited the Oval Office, Trump forced him to apologize to Qatar’s prime minister by phone as everyone looked on. Hamas officials later said the spectacle…encouraged them to trust his vows that the peace pact would be enforced.”

time.com/7325169/trum...

Trump’s Earns Praise From the Unlikeliest of Places for Gaza Deal

Hamas credits the floridly pro-Israel U.S. President with coercing Benjamin Netanyahu into accepting a ceasefire deal.

time.com

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Reposted by Aman Batheja

Edward Wong @ewong.bsky.social · 6d

Marco Rubio co-signed a letter in support of the nomination of María Corina Machado for the Nobel Peace Prize. Here’s the letter he and several other GOP lawmakers sent to the Nobel committee last year. Mike Waltz also co-signed the letter. www.rickscott.senate.gov/services/fil...

www.rickscott.senate.gov

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 5d

Trump laid off around 4,200 federal workers on Friday.
At the IRS, at least one employee who was laid off had been working Friday because they had been exempt from shutdown furloughs
www.govexec.com/workforce/20...

Trump’s promised shutdown layoffs lead to at least 4,200 cuts at seven agencies

More RIFs possible as the Trump administration is following through on its threat to leverage the shutdown to implement federal workforce reductions.

www.govexec.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 6d

"Any RIF notices issued in the coming days will likely come with a 60-day notice period before employees are actually terminated. While admin. officials have suggested the layoffs represent a permanent action, OMB has advised agencies they may revise their layoff plans" after the shutdown.

‘Substantial’ layoffs begin at federal agencies, White House says

The Trump administration is following through on its threat to leverage the shutdown to implement federal workforce reductions.

www.govexec.com

Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 6d

“Thousands of U.S.-bound packages shipped by UPS are trapped at hubs across the country, unable to clear the maze of new customs requirements imposed by the Trump administration…the company told NBC News it has begun ‘disposing of’ some shipments.”

UPS is 'disposing of' U.S.-bound packages over customs paperwork problems

Shifting Trump tariffs have created a nightmare for UPS, as thousands of packages from overseas pile up at its hubs while they await customs clearance.

www.nbcnews.com

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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 6d

New: The National Zoo’s Giant Panda Cam will go dark on Sunday. The federal workers who operate it are about to be furloughed.

time.com/7324850/smit...

All Smithsonian Museums to Close Sunday as Shutdown Drags On

The National Zoo's popular Giant Panda Cam will stay turned off until the shutdown is over.

time.com

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