Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Logan

Micah @rincewind.run · 1h

"we're going to turn your prestigious university into a facsimile of Rufo's disastrous New College and our demands will never, ever stop" somehow not the most compelling sales pitch in the world

more of this, please

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2h

Just received from a colleague: looks like Penn is going to join the universities refusing the extortionary Trump "compact". I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win

screenshot of an email saying:

"To the Penn Community:

For 285 years, Penn has been anchored and guided by continuous self-improvement, using education as a ladder for opportunity, and advancing discoveries that serve our community, our nation, and the world.

Since receiving the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education on October 1, I have sought input from faculty, alumni, trustees, students, staff and others who care deeply about Penn. The goal was to ensure that our response reflected our values and the perspectives of our broad community.

Earlier today, I informed the U.S. Department of Education that Penn respectfully declines to sign the proposed Compact. As requested, we also provided focused feedback highlighting areas of existing alignment as well as substantive concerns.

At Penn, we are committed to merit-based achievement and accountability. The long-standing partnership between American higher education and the federal government has greatly benefited society and our nation. Shared goals and investment in talent and ideas will turn possibility into progress.

I am grateful to the Penn community for your thoughtful input and for what you bring to our University and our missions every day.

Sincerely,

J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
President
University of Pennsylvania"

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Reposted by Logan

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 4h

Where we stand, in long arc of history:

-Story on left, adding race as a factor when that favors white people.

-Story on right, banning race as a factor when that favors non-whites.

I often complain about NYT headlines and story-play. But these are strong. Including "If Court Guts 1965 Law."

Two headlines on front page of NYT.

First is "Trump Weighs Transforming Refugee Policy. White People Would be Given Preference."

Second is "Justices May Ban Race as a Factor in District Maps. Nation's Political Balance Could Shift If Court Guts 1964 Law."

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Logan @loganws.bsky.social · 3h

An open office full of people talking to their computers, is that really the plan?

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 3h

News story two days ago in @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social .

As far as I can tell, zero mention in NYT, WSJ, etc.

Though there was space for a front-page NYT story last week about Harvard students sometimes skipping class. (I am shocked, just shocked.)

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

A Majority of Frozen Federal Funding Has Been Restored, Harvard Says | News | The Harvard Crimson

Harvard has now received payments on the majority of funding that it lost since the Trump administration froze its access to federal grants this spring, the University notified faculty this month.

www.thecrimson.com

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Reposted by Logan

Good Law Project @goodlawproject.bsky.social · 10h

The EHRC removed the "interim guidance" that has been devastating the lives of trans people for months from it's website.

We wonder why...👀

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Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 8h

Inside the web infrastructure revolt over Google’s AI Overviews

Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince is making sweeping changes to force Google’s hand.

arstechnica.com

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Reposted by Logan

WIRED @wired.com · 8h

Your browser sends a lot of information with each website you visit. That can be used to track you across the internet.

Here’s What Your Browser is Telling Everyone About You

Your browser sends a lot of information with each website you visit. That can be used to track you across the internet.

wrd.cm

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Logan @loganws.bsky.social · 1d

at least it's not the duolingo owl

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Logan @loganws.bsky.social · 1d

I have to say, you're much more calm about the chaos now

Logan @loganws.bsky.social · 1d

Excited to see how many employers want to make this tool available to or mandatory for employees when it becomes chiefly used for porn

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A.L. Goldfuss @ghoulpus.bsky.social · 1d

This is a salient point, but my main takeaway is they’re not seeing the returns they want selling it as “productivity software” so they have to go after the porn market.

Alex Degen (Magic Serple 2025) @adactivity.bsky.social · 2d

This is cool after the war on everything called “porn” by platforms and payment processors. A machine that stole all your words can generate and sell “erotica” but you can’t haaa

Matt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 2d

Oh good, ChatGPT is getting "erotica for verified adults" later this year

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 1d

“There are about a dozen companies that specialize in school surveillance…That monitoring reaches into students’ lives beyond school hours, with all but two of those companies monitoring students around the clock.”

What Do We Know About the Edtech Services That Watch Students? - EdSurge News

After talking with teens lobbying against the dark sides of AI, EdSurge asks: “What’s known about the companies that schools use to monitor students?” ...

www.edsurge.com

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Reposted by Logan

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 1d

1. In a major capitulation to Trump, Fenway Health, a center ostensibly dedicated to LGBTQ+ healthcare, has ended its trans care program under 19.

It could have fought for its patients. It chose instead to roll over.

Community members are devastated.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Fenway Health Restricts Treatment for Patients Under 19 In Capitulation To Trump

“This is a fundamental betrayal to the core mission of Fenway and the patients they serve.”

www.erininthemorning.com

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2d

“Customers’ current Walmart or Sam’s Club accounts will get automatically linked to ChatGPT. Goods will also be available from third-party sellers.” 🙃

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2d

Ooof.

Walmart Partners With OpenAI to Offer Shopping on ChatGPT

Walmart Inc. is teaming up with OpenAI to enable shoppers to browse and purchase its products on ChatGPT, the retailer’s latest push to incorporate artificial intelligence.

www.bloomberg.com

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The Verge @theverge.com · 2d

"Every essay, every tweet, every moment of vulnerability I shared in the name of progress. Did I paint a target on my own back?"

Read more from @parkermolloy.com in the first of our special series, The Future of Being Trans on the Internet: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3d

Wow, wow, wow. This has always been legally possible but the law has virtually never been enforced — and now this is the SECOND case I've heard of in the last month (first involving a person with a green card) of a noncitizen being charged for failure to carry their papers.

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 3d

NEWS: ICE gave a Rogers Park man a $130 ticket for not having his papers on him. They rounded him up last week and eventually let him go, but not without a fine that some critics say is un-American. Trump admin enforcing little-used law
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/13/i...

ICE tickets Chicago man with legal residency $130 for not having his papers on him: ‘It’s not fair…I’m a resident’

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fined Rueben Antonio Cruz $130 for not having his papers with him.

www.chicagotribune.com

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Natasha Lennard @natashalennard.bsky.social · 2d

always so grateful for @chrisgeidner.bsky.social's principled clarity... if you don't already read Law Dork, you really must!

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 2d

some words

Barrett turns to Fox News, rather than the docket, to explain her silence in key rulings

Justice Barrett wrote nothing in the racial profiling shadow docket ruling, but had something to say on Fox News Sunday. And, for paid subscribers: Closing my tabs.

www.lawdork.com

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Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 2d

After getting zero firm commitments to this point from the first nine invitees, the Trump administration is extending its proposed compact to all colleges. Expect some red-state publics to say yes.

Trump Offers All Colleges Preferential Funding Plan Rejected by MIT

The Trump administration is inviting all US colleges to participate in a compact — initially rejected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that would grant preferential federal funding in re...

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Logan

Dan Goodin @dangoodin.bsky.social · 3d

The problem solving required for making Signal quantum safe is as daunting as any in engineering. In less adept hands, mucking about with an instrument this complex could have led to unintended consequences. Yet this upgrade is nothing short of a triumph!

arstechnica.com/security/202...

Why Signal’s post-quantum makeover is an amazing engineering achievement

New design sets a high standard for post-quantum readiness.

arstechnica.com

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Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 3d

Guessing that the timing of this @asavage.bsky.social video about how inflatable costumes are made has more to do with Halloween than the protests that are utilizing them, but fascinating either way: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuds...