Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 17m

Next question: Did any media outlets use that bogus footage of "Chicago violence," believing it was accurate? Or not caring...?

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 22m

A study of White House footage shows the vast majority of clips are from places other than Chicago — and that the video includes clips from Biden-era ICE HSI operations from 2024 and CBP drug busts from San Diego and Nogales from 2023.

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 34m

You cannot compromise with this. You can either submit to it or defeat it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2h

Leavitt: "The Democrat Party's main constituency is made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals."

31 97 220

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 37m

Chris Murphy: "This is a country that's falling apart because Trump is in the middle of an authoritarian takeover. We're not on the verge of an authoritarian takeover. We're in the middle of it ... I have no moral obligation to vote for a budget that literally funds the destruction of our democracy"

87 1K 3.8K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 41m

Sydney Reid acquitted.

This was a case where someone filming was assaulted, and then arrested and charged with felony assault.

The grand jury no billed that, so they took her to trial on a misdemeanor charge. There were a bunch of discovery problems.

And now this.

Kudos to the FPDS!

A verdict form for Sydney Lori Reid. She was found Not Guilty.

24 300 1K

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 43m

All it takes: "You're claiming one of the two largest political parties in the country is made up primarily of terrorists and criminals - do you have any proof of that? If not, why are you saying it? If so, why hasn't DOJ acted on it?"

Find Dignity @finddignity.bsky.social · 59m

What’s batshit crazy is not one legitimate news organization will ask her about this. Her position is indefensible.

6 18

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Find Dignity @finddignity.bsky.social · 59m

What’s batshit crazy is not one legitimate news organization will ask her about this. Her position is indefensible.

3 27

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 7h

Mike Johnson has now had the House adjourned for 73 out of the last 85 days.

Epstein Shutdown.

510 4.7K 13K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 6h

It's not a presidency – it's an organized crime takeover of your government.

The Daily Beast @thedailybeast.bsky.social · 6h

President Donald Trump and his family have reaped more than $1 billion in crypto cash over the past year, thanks to an industry boom fueled by the administration’s own crypto-friendly policies.

Trump’s Empire Rakes in Over $1B in Colossal Crypto Cash Grab

The president’s son said the true total is “probably more.”

trib.al

48 390 1K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 7h

Remember the first few months of this year, when all we talked about was DOGE and spending cuts and waste, and this administration gutted USAID?

And now they’re giving $40 billion (!) to Argentina.

Insane the amount of amnesia in this country and in our politics and media.

140 1K 3.8K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7h

New in PN: Scenes from Portland's imaginary insurrection

"I’ve been taking images that are nowhere near this one conflict driveway — ones of puppies & kids playing, & families having picnics — b/c the idea that Portland is burned down & a war zone is just preposterous" — @timdickinson.bsky.social

Scenes from Portland's imaginary insurrection

"It would be funny if it wasn’t so f**king serious," Tim Dickinson says.

www.publicnotice.co

69 940 3.1K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 7h

By openly announcing his focus on the "enemy within," namely his political opposition, Trump and Hegseth are sending a clear signal to China and Russia, among other nations, that the time for them to realize their territorial ambitions is right now. www.ft.com/content/fafe...

Trump’s war on the enemy within may reward the enemy without

By focusing on internal threats, the US is giving soldiers all the best weapons and none of the training they need

www.ft.com

12 18

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 17h

I don't think this is how our democracy was designed to work. Else why did the Founders do all that hard work in Philadelphia back in 1787? George Washington could have just written a memo laying out his powers and presto! A presidency!

1 5

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 22h

Saying the quiet part out loud. Given all we know, it should not be so shocking to see it written out. But it is...
What an ugly place we have become.

Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 22h

Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Trump Considers Overhaul of Refugee System That Would Favor White People

www.nytimes.com

1 3

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 1d

Trump's mechanism to pay the troops during the shutdown is by far the most illegal budgetary action he's taken as POTUS, potentially setting the stage to break everything.

It's also needless because Congress would easily pass a troop pay bill if Johnson were willing to gavel in.

Long thread.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-8/

85 1.9K 4.5K

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 1d

Such excellent common sense here! Worth a read!
www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Don’t Blame the Democrats for Trump’s Revenge Tour

Defending Trump’s lawfare as just deserts misremembers what actually happened.

www.theatlantic.com

2 1 3

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 1d

One tiny thing this administration is doing to support the media: using tax dollars to buy ads praising the president.
Thank God for small blessings?

Axios @axios.com · 1d

The most expensive political ad campaign of the year is being run by the Department of Homeland Security, spending at least $51 million on ads thanking President Trump for securing the border.

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

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

En Buen Ora - "Hell Çid" 😈 @enbuenora.bsky.social · 1d

can the Supreme Court decide that the Civil War was decided incorrectly, because I feel like they might want to

2 25 240

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 1d

600 3.8K 7.7K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 2d

The Oct. 18th "No Kings Day of Peaceful Action" has now surpassed 2,500 community events across all 50 states, per No Kings organizers.

All of these events were "organized by average Americans across personal, political, and geographic demographics."

37 340 1.2K

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 2d

This isn't new, by the way. Trump and his minions wanted an "antifa" Black Bloc to show up and fight with cops on Jan. 6, 2021. If that had happened, he would have then called out the National Guard to a) arrest leftists and b) shut down the Capitol and prevent the election from being certified

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 2d

one of the reasons they're so mad at "no kings" is that they thought they were going to get a different kind of protest. they *want* the black bloc to be out there fighting with the cops. those are the images they've been trying to generate from "go." instead--

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

MAGA Rage at “No Kings” Boils Over—and It Quickly Backfires on Trump

As Trump allies smear the coming protests, a good writer on MAGA skewers the absurdity of these attacks on large swaths of Americans—and explains why our best recourse will be to turn out in force.

newrepublic.com

14 200 700

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 2d

bsky.app/profile/clar...

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 12d

People ask me all the time what they can do and broadly:

1) Organize and join protests
2) Support media that isn't backing down
3) Give to ACLU and others taking on the illegal actions in court
4) Give to food banks :(

7 42

Reposted by Diana B. Henriques

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 2d

#ICYMI: Yesterday’s “One First” summarized just how weak the defenses of the Supreme Court’s behavior on Trump-related emergency applications have been—and explained what someone would have to do to *actually* defend all that the Court’s majority has been doing:

www.stevevladeck.com/p/183-the-mi...

After all, maybe one can defend the Court granting emergency relief more often than ever before and in cases with far greater real-world (and structural) impacts. And maybe one can defend the Court altering (if not completely scrapping) the traditional balance of the equities in these cases. But does that defense extend to the Court doing so especially in cases in which President Trump is a party-and no others? And does it extend to the Court doing all of this without usually providing written explanations of what it is doing-or why? And even if the answer is somehow "yes," does it also extend to the Court doing all of this, not usually explaining what it's doing or why, and nevertheless accusing lower courts who fail to read the justices' minds of "defying" the Court?

I have a very hard time believing that anyone can genuinely make it through even three of those sentences with a coherent defense of what the Supreme Court has done over the past seven months-let alone all five of them. I'd love to see such an argument, if it exists, but I haven't been-and won't be-holding my breath.

11 120 400

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, no.
By the time we hear about one or two idiotic borrowing binges in the unregulated, opaque private loan market, the horse most likely is far from the barn.
And the credit clampdown we'll see as a backlash to First Brands will produce its own casualties.

CNBC @cnbc.com · 2d

Jamie Dimon says auto company bankruptcies reveal 'early signs' of excess in corporate lending

The bankruptcies have sparked concern about the risks involved when banks like JPMorgan, Jefferies and Fifth Third provide financing for private companies.

cnb.cx

8

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 2d

It is hard to fathom what was in the minds of the ICE agents who, literally, stood in front of an ambulance trying to get an injured person to the hospital. Was there no supervisor with better sense? What possible excuse could you give?

memeorandum @memeorandum.com · 3d

Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver (Andrew Schwartz/Willamette Week)

Main Link | memeorandum Permalink

3

Diana B. Henriques @dianabhenriques.bsky.social · 2d

Andrew Ross Sorkin and I agree: "The pattern is familiar, stretching back to 1929: Whenever access expands faster than safeguards, charlatans rush in and ordinary investors are often left holding the bag."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/m...

The Rules of Investing Are Being Loosened. Could It Lead to the Next 1929?

www.nytimes.com

7 25 83