Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Paul Avey

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 6h

Resign or be fired: Why Todd Gilbert quit as US attorney in Roanoke. Trump's handpicked US Attorney in western Virginia is given point blank orders from Trump to prosecute Trump enemies on fabricated charges and refuses. He is immediately fired.

Resign or be fired: Why Todd Gilbert quit as US attorney in Roanoke

Todd Gilbert spent less than two months as the top prosecutor for the Western District of Virginia.

roanoke.com

35 78

Reposted by Paul Avey

Brian JM Quinn @bjmquinn.bsky.social · 6h

OMG. The Pope goes hard.

Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 13h

Someone in the crowd: “Go Cubs!”

Pope Leo XIV: “Han perdido! They lost!”

1 1 4

Reposted by Paul Avey

Daniel Drezner @dandrezner.bsky.social · 11h

Hey, JD, these aren’t “young boys.” www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Vance downplays group chat messages: ‘Kids do stupid things, especially young boys.’

The vice president called the texts "edgy, offensive jokes."

www.politico.com

12 14 92

Reposted by Paul Avey

Tess Owen @tessowen.bsky.social · 7h

JD Vance says “grow up” if you’re outraged by racist & antisemitic messages by young Republican leaders.

Meanwhile the weakening GOP establishment swiftly condemned the messages.

The difference in responses tells us a lot. Wrote about it for @slate.com

t.co/XbKBzMiXFc

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/10/young-republican-group-chat-jd-vance.html

t.co

9 20 76

Reposted by Paul Avey

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 7h

NEW: Supreme Court likely to further diminish — but not end — Voting Rights Act cases.

A majority of the justices didn't appear willing to hold that all "race-based redistricting" is unconstitutional, as Louisiana wanted. But how they'll get there was unclear.

Tonight, at Law Dork:

Supreme Court likely to further diminish — but not end — Voting Rights Act cases

A majority of the justices didn't appear willing to hold that all "race-based redistricting" is unconstitutional, as Louisiana wanted. But how they'll get there was unclear.

www.lawdork.com

8 75 230

Reposted by Paul Avey

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 8h

You may not subordinate the affirmative power conferred under the Fifteenth Amendment to the Equal Protection Clause. Either you must read the Equal Protection Clause so as not to be inconsistent with the 15A grant of power, or you must treat the 15A as (to whatever necessary degree) amending 14.

1 12 36

Reposted by Paul Avey

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 8h

Here's a basic rule of legal interpretation, as applicable to the US Constitution as to ordinary statutes: later additions have priority over earlier provisions in the event of conflict.

The Fifteenth Amendment, including Section 2, is later in time than the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1.

3 29 75

Reposted by Paul Avey

Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 8h

It’s Wednesday. Trump is lying.
It’s Wednesday. Trump is playing the victim.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 9h

Trump: "I won Georgia three times. But they say twice. I won it big the second time but we had criminals that didn't allow- I hope they're gonna go into that. I hope they go into the votes which are being stored in Fulton County and take a real look at those votes, because I won it the 2nd time too"

20 21 130

Reposted by Paul Avey

Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · 9h

"One party only needs 44% of the national popular vote to maintain control over the legislature" sure is a statement about the state of American democracy

Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 15h

If Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act falls, Democrats might need to win the national popular vote by 5 to 6 points to take control of the House, via Nate Cohn
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

13 220 640

Reposted by Paul Avey

Mark Lemley @marklemley.bsky.social · 10h

Ugh

sherwood.news/tech/reading...

Reading an article online? It’s now a coin flip whether it was authored by a human or AI

Not this one, though....

sherwood.news

2 6 17

Reposted by Paul Avey

Senator Martin Heinrich @heinrich.senate.gov · 11h

The cost of holding down ACA premiums for a year is less than this…

More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 12h

BREAKING: The Trump administration is doubling its Argentina bailout to $40 billion.

20 380 1.1K

Reposted by Paul Avey

Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 10h

Another leap forward for electrification in Illinois.

Innovative Rail Technologies and Motive Power Resources are unveiling the latest in zero-emission, battery-electric locomotive tech.

This is an important part of the future of rail — that future is being built right here.

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) joined Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT) and Motive Power Resources, Inc. (MPR) to celebrate the commissioning of their latest zero-emission, battery electric locomotive.

67 530 3.1K

Reposted by Paul Avey

Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 10h

Hakeem Jeffries posted pictures of two Rep. Members posing with “Young Republicans” who were part of a racist text thread (as reported by Politico).

In response, Mike Davis (well-connected in Trump World & on the Hill) called Jeffries a “house slave” for George Soros - proving Jeffries’ point.

140 1.1K 3.1K

Reposted by Paul Avey

NBC News @nbcnews.com · 10h

Democrats are ramping up pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson to seat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, staging a protest at his office, holding news conferences and threatening a lawsuit to try to get him to swear in the newest Democratic member of Congress.

Democrats ramp up pressure on Speaker Johnson to seat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva

Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, won a special election to the House more than three weeks ago but has not been sworn in yet amid the government shutdown.

nbcnews.to

14 31 110

Reposted by Paul Avey

Abigail Spanberger @abigailspanberger.com · 10h

Winsome Earle-Sears wants to ban abortion in Virginia — with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Women across Virginia deserve to know that their reproductive rights will remain intact — and as Governor, I will always protect reproductive freedom.

4 16 69

Reposted by Paul Avey

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 10h

Trump and Vought are now breaking both sides of spending law. They’re illegally not spending where the law requires them to spend, and they’re illegally spending where they don’t have the money to spend.

What we have is an appropriations king.

Spending “deals” are meaningless under that setup.

35 720 2.3K

Reposted by Paul Avey

Julie Zebrak @juliezebrak.bsky.social · 15h

Putin must be delighted www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2025/...

U.S. falls out of top 10 on list of the world’s most powerful passports

The U.S. is now in the 12th spot — it was first a decade ago. The index ranks how many destinations a passport holder can visit without needing a visa.

www.washingtonpost.com

9 81 210

Reposted by Paul Avey

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 10h

BROWN UNIV.: “.. the compact by its nature and by various provisions would restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance, critically compromising our ability to fulfill our mission.”

@nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

21 150 560

Reposted by Paul Avey

Scott Lemieux @lemieuxlgm.bsky.social · 11h

The $40 billion bailout of Argentina is going to further frustrate reporters who think the governing party shouldn’t be blamed for the shutdown they can stop anytime they want and don’t understand why voters don’t agree

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Jeffries: "It's perplexing to us that Rs refuse to spend a dime to protect the healthcare of the American people, but somehow the Trump admin found $40b to bail out a right-wing wannabe dictator in Argentina in ways that are also going to continue to hurt our soybean farmers in Iowa & the Midwest"

1 8 47

Reposted by Paul Avey

Scott Clement @sfcpoll.bsky.social · 10h

Cancel culture is so hot right now

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 11h

NEW from @pewresearch.org: A majority of Republicans (56%) now say that calling out other people for offensive social media posts represents accountability. In 2022, a majority of Republicans (62%) said it was punishing people who didn't deserve it. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Bar chart showing Americans' changing attitudes about whether the act of calling out others for potentially offensive social media posts is more likely to hold people accountable for their actions or punish people who don't deserve it. The chart shows changing views among Americans overall, as well as among Republicans and Democrats. It is based on Pew Research Center surveys of U.S. adults conducted in 2020, 2022 and 2025.

1

Reposted by Paul Avey

Adam Weinstein @adamweinstein.bsky.social · 10h

No serious democracy would contort itself so painfully for a principle that states "We're not disenfranchising people by race, we're just disenfranchising people who vote wrong"

15 160

Reposted by Paul Avey

Adam Weinstein @adamweinstein.bsky.social · 10h

It's been a fact of my entire working life, but I can't for the life of me understand why open, explicitly partisan gerrymandering is legal in the first place

36 100 630

Reposted by Paul Avey

CNBC @cnbc.com · 10h

CEOs of Wells Fargo and Pfizer caution the U.S. could lose its edge to China without innovation

Speaking at CNBC's Invest in America Forum, the CEOs said the U.S. still leads in many sectors, but inconsistent policy and underinvestment is ceding ground.

cnb.cx

1 7 8

Reposted by Paul Avey

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 11h

One theme of the Trump admin's higher ed demands has been that universities should commit to "viewpoint diversity" as a condition of getting research $$, student loans, etc. I and other critics have argued that such a rule is likely to curtail some viewpoints and chill some faculty employment. /1

1 12 38

Reposted by Paul Avey

Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 11h

Pentagon beat reporters have been handing in their press passes all day long today. It is one of the most striking examples of news media solidarity we've seen this year.

61 380 1.4K