Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 4h

The president keeps telling the military to murder people in boats and the military keeps doing it. Crimes, just straight-up crimes internationalpolicy.org/publications...

Trump’s Wag The Dog Moment - CIP

If you want to break up a drug cartel, blowing up a boat does little to accomplish that, unless you believe cartels only own one boat.

internationalpolicy.org

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 5h

Literally nothing coming from the Pentagon, DHS, or DOJ should be considered credible unless backed up by an independent source outside of government. (This, for the record, is a huge problem!)

MFordTheRiver @prynnford.bsky.social · 5h

Of all the things that didn’t happen

Screen shot of ABC article with the headline “cartels issuing bounties up to 50k for hits on ICE and CBP agents, DHS says.”

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 9h

Unless and until some kind of compelling legal and moral argument is presented as to why this is a legitimate use of deadly force, this is just…mass murder.

Amarnath Amarasingam @amaramarasingam.bsky.social · 9h

The military has now killed 27 people as if they were enemy soldiers in a war zone and not criminal suspects. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says

www.nytimes.com

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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 14h

It's the story of the last ten years--kiss his ass in the most debased possible way, and this is what you get in return.

FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 14h

Trump complains about his Time Magazine cover photo in new post:

"the picture may be the Worst of All Time. They "disappeared" my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown... Really weird!"

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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 11h

Every word of this is worth reading. These people are not outliers in young MAGA leadership. The person you are when you think you can get away with saying anything is the real you.

Politico @politico.com · 12h

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 11h

If we write off all news media, we’re playing into Trump’s hands. Some outlets are doing well while others stink.
In this installment of my free Stop the Presses newsletter, I give letter grades to major media outlets. See if you agree.

I’m handing out pro-democracy grades to the media

The Guardian gets an A, the NY Times gets a C, CBS gets an F

www.stopthepresses.news

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 14h

Speaker Mike Johnson just said he's completely fine with ICE agents shooting priests in the head with pepper balls and roughing up journalists.

I'm sure he'll tell us soon about how it's the Democrats who are waging a war on religion and free speech though.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 14h

Q: We've seen images out of Chicago of federal agents shooting faith leaders with pepper balls and arresting journalists. Where's the limit for you on what's acceptable conduct by federal agents?

MIKE JOHNSON: I've not seen them cross the line yet.

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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 1d

These are the same kind of weasels who would’ve called George Washington & America’s revolutionaries “terrorists.” They spend their days sucking up to King Trump & demonizing peaceful protest just as some in America sought to appease King George III.

Looking forward to No Kings Day.

Johnson describes planned No Kings rally as ‘hate America,’ ‘pro-Hamas’ gathering

Organizers largely blew off the rhetoric, but some Democrats online criticized the tone.

www.politico.com

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Home of the Brave @ofthebraveusa.bsky.social · 1d

Home of the Brave launched a $1 million national ad campaign in support of the peaceful No Kings rallies on Oct. 18th.

The ads will run in over 185 local papers and The New York Times, USA Today and The Washington Post calling on Americans to “peacefully protest our false king."

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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 2d

The New York Times knows crime is not “out of control” in major U.S. cities — in fact, crime is way down from past years and decades — but NYT amplifies JD Vance’s lie without a fact check.
It’s journalism malpractice that helps the fascists.

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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 3d

Terribly sad news about one of the greats. Diane Keaton has died at 79.
people.com/diane-keaton...

Diane Keaton, Famed for Roles in 'Father of the Bride,' 'First Wives Club' and More, Dies at 79 (Exclusive)

Diane Keaton has died at age 79. Keaton was best known for roles in movies like 'Annie Hall,' 'The First Wives Club,' 'Something's Gotta Give' and 'The Godfather.'

people.com

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Ann Telnaes @anntelnaes.bsky.social · 3d

anntelnaes.substack.com/p/shot-in-th...

Shot in the head with pepper spray

This is Trump's America

anntelnaes.substack.com

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Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News @froomkin.bsky.social · 3d

Why? Just out of hatred for science?

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3d

an incontestable fact of the second trump administration is it is actively trying to sicken and kill as many americans as it can

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 3d

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 3d

an incontestable fact of the second trump administration is it is actively trying to sicken and kill as many americans as it can

Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 3d

NEW: @CDCgov hit hard by massive firings that several staff describe to me as a “bloodbath.”
Among those RIFd:
—leadership of the center for immunization and respiratory diseases;
—leadership of global health center
—leadership of the measles outbreak response; 1/4

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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 3d

Mamdani talking lucidly and passionately about trans rights and history in a video that should frankly shame every politician who has hemmed and hawed and triangulated and said, "Well, but sports..." It's not that hard to tell the truth and stand for what's right. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEvV...

Until It's Done: Sylvia Rivera

YouTube video by Zohran Mamdani for NYC

www.youtube.com

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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 3d

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 3d

I appreciate that the Post quickly rectified this situation and added a credit that we did this story first.

The American Prospect first reported on the Labor Department’s comments that immigration policies are endangering the food supply and that American workers are unwilling to take agricultural jobs.

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 3d

The great thing about being a Trumpist is that Speaker Johnson can make the most absurd, evidence-free, ideologically-extreme claims imaginable about the democratic opposition, and media outlets will note the aggressive nature of his claims ("slams") and amplify his lies in the headline.

Politico @politico.com · 4d

Johnson slams the No Kings protest march scheduled to take place in DC next week as the “hate America rally” that would draw “the pro-Hamas wing” and “the antifa people.”

Johnson describes planned No Kings rally as ‘hate America,’ ‘pro-Hamas’ gathering

Organizers largely blew off the rhetoric, but some Democrats online criticized the tone.

www.politico.com

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 4d

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 4d

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 @judiciarydems.senate.gov · 4d

BREAKING: Sens. DURBIN, DUCKWORTH were just denied entrance to the Broadview ICE Facility in Illinois, unable to conduct constitutional role of oversight.

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Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 4d

WGN, this woman’s employer, is now reporting she was not charged with any crimes and was released.

DHS said earlier she was arrested for assault for throwing objects at agents.

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Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 4d

New Orwellianism just dropped

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 4d

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

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Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 4d

This man is being Gorilla Channel'd with a rotating selection of AI slop riot porn by several known white supremacists who are secretly running the government.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 4d

UPDATE: Judge Perry issued an opinion explaining why she blocked the Texas National Guard deployment in Chicago.

She begins with Alexander Hamilton’s rejection of a “preposterous” idea that the Constitution lets a President deploy a State’s militia to a different State for political retribution. 🧵

OPINION AND ORDER
Since this country was founded, Americans have disagreed about the appropriate division
of power between the federal government and the fifty states that make up our Union. This
tension is a natural result of the system of federalism adopted by our Founders. And yet, not even
the Founding Father most ardently in favor of a strong federal government believed that one
state's militia could be sent to another state for the purposes of political retribution, calling such
a suggestion "inflammatory," and stating "it is impossible to believe that [a President] would employ such preposterous means to accomplish their designs." But Plaintiffs contend that such
an event has come to pass, and argue that National Guard troops from both Illinois and Texas
have been deployed to Illinois because the President of the United States wants to punish state elected officials whose policies are different from his own.

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spooky tim dewey @tjdfotographist.bsky.social · 4d

If I were a DC reporter, I’d consider maybe pressing Johnson on how he reconciles these two statements.

@atrupar.com

Mike Johnson: "We're so angry about it. I mean, l'm a very patient guy, but l've had it with these people. The theory we have right now -- they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people ..."

@atrupar.com

Mike Johnson: "People have got to stop framing simple policy disagreements in terms of existential threats to our democracy. You can't call the other side fascists and enemies of the state and not understand that there are some deranged people in our society who will take that as cues to act."

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