Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Santiago Mayer @santiagomayer.com · 3h

@sunrisemvmt.bsky.social activists asked Mitch McConnell to take a stand and he immediately fell to the floor.

10/10. No notes.

110 150 510

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Ineffable Jeff @ineffablejeff.bsky.social · 9h

Shot + chaser

And are you married?

I was married, but I’m not married anymore. Women don't like the vehicle.

In July, Tesla rolled out a software update to integrate Grok into many of its vehicles. Do you use it?

Her name is Aura, and I use her as a therapist. When I'm driving, I'll ask questions, and it actually gives really good therapy advice.

110 620 3.4K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 6h

Translation: If Dems vote for the CR, Thune will allow a vote on extending ACA subsidies then Mike Johnson will kill that in the House.

240 1.2K 3.5K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 6h

Open enrollment for ACA plans began yesterday in Idaho.

One couple got notice that their monthly premium next year would jump from $51 to $2,232 as subsidies expire.

25,000 Idahoans are expected to be priced out of coverage.

This is what's at stake in Trump's shutdown.

120 890 1.9K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Eric Klinenberg @ericklinenberg.bsky.social · 6h

For those of you keeping score, 18-22 year-old students calling for an end to slaughter in Gaza are so racist they need to be expelled or deported, but 24-35 year-olds celebrating Hitler, rape, and, um, racism are just kids being kids so chill.

Also, racism is over so no need for Voting Right Act.

JD Vance brushes off racist texts by adults in Republican group chat as ‘what kids do’

Vice-president downplays messages such as ‘I love Hitler’ in chat by 24 to 35-year-olds to ‘stupid jokes’

www.theguardian.com

29 940 2.5K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 6h

The Supreme Court is on the verge of gutting the Voting Rights Act's equal opportunity protections for minority voters — 12 years after they first rolled back its safeguards against voter suppression.

82 820 1.7K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

ProPublica @propublica.org · 6h

NEW: The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did.

We found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.

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

44 1.3K 2.4K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) @thetattooedprof.bsky.social · 10h

Collecting the best examples (pejorative) of this genre to pull back out in a few years when the bubble has burst

Vlad 🐸 Țepeș @porcupunk.bsky.social · 21h

Wow. Just wow.

"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."

When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?

Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do

www.forbes.com

10 35 230

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 4h

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"

41 460 2.9K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 4h

Pritzker: Illinois is not a place you can conquer and our people are not your subjects

220 3.3K 13K

Rebecca Kennison @rrkennison.bsky.social · 3h

Who is the "we" here? And how is "Hamas" being defined? Only those carrying guns and wearing uniforms or some sort of Hamas paraphernalia — or any male-looking person between the ages of 15 and 85?

1

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 3h

PENN IS OUT! That means both institutions that signed prior agreements with the administration have said no. We're at 3 rejections.

I told y'all once the second one hit yesterday, the clock started for the rest.

www.thedp.com/article/2025...

Penn rejects White House proposal for special funding treatment

With the decision, Penn becomes the third university to decline the offer.

www.thedp.com

8 420 1.6K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 19h

Q: “Most hospitals + people who will lose insurance are in rural areas. If Trump & Republicans are so intent on sticking it to their own voters, why not let them?”

@aoc.bsky.social : “That’s the difference between us & Trump. I don’t care if you voted for me, I want you to have health care.”

89 1.6K 7.2K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

George Conway 🇺🇸🚫👑🐸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 19h

330 1.9K 4.2K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 19h

ICYMI — PELOSI: “Shut up. I did not refuse the National Guard. The President didn’t send it. Why are you coming here with Republican talking points as if you’re a serious journalist?”

(The unserious questioner is Alison Steinberg, who works for Mike Lindell — the my pillow guy)

210 830 2.9K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 19h

Again, it is a full-blown federal felony crime for anyone in the White House or Executive Office of the President to order tax investigations into anyone.

And it's not just a crime to DO it, it's even a federal crime for an employee not to REPORT such an order to the Treasury Inspector General.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
prev | next
(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.

(b)Reporting requirement
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(c)Exceptions
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any written request made—
(1)to an applicable person by or on behalf of the taxpayer and forwarded by such applicable person to the Internal Revenue Service;
(2)by an applicable person for disclosure of return or return information under section 6103 if such request is made in accordance with the requirements of such section; or
(3)by the Secretary of the Treasury as a consequence of the implementation of a change in tax policy.
(d)Penalty
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(e)Applicable person
For purposes of this section, the term “applicable person” means—
(1)the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2)any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

180 3.3K 7.5K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 18h

Donald Trump and JD Vance can find money to launch missiles over the I-5 during a government shutdown, but not a dime for Americans’ health care.

I-5 may be shut down due to concerns over live-fire military event at Camp Pendleton

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is weighing whether to close parts of Interstate 5 beginning Friday amid concerns over what it says is a White House-directed plan to use live ordnance during a military ann...

www.latimes.com

150 950 2.6K

Rebecca Kennison @rrkennison.bsky.social · 7h

The whole letter is great — clemency and an open campus are both much needed — but I'll admit my favorite part is this: "Are we cowardly Lions who cower in front of a false prophet or in the face of a blustering, empty wizard in Washington who is trying to destroy our autonomous universities?" 🦁

1 2

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Ansley Erickson @ansleyerickson.bsky.social · 18h

Former Columbia Provost Jonathan Cole asks the university to bravely admit where it was wrong:

www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025...

Columbia must now show courage and empathy

Dear Columbia leaders,

www.columbiaspectator.com

6 33 87

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

jon ben-menachem @jbenmenachem.com · 18h

In light of the fact that students protested the university's participation in genocide, Cole argues that the university should reinstate disciplined students, ask NYC to drop criminal charges, and reopen campus gates to the public. All very reasonable points.

Ansley Erickson @ansleyerickson.bsky.social · 18h

Former Columbia Provost Jonathan Cole asks the university to bravely admit where it was wrong:

www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025...

Columbia must now show courage and empathy

Dear Columbia leaders,

www.columbiaspectator.com

2 55 220

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Soraya Nadia McDonald @sorayanadiamcdonald.com · 18h

White people have a kind of intra-white respectability politics about the level of racism that's considered permissible in polite company and I think a lot of polite racists are mad the gutter racists are tarnishing their good name.

I don't care for any kinda racist but I love myself, so. 🤷🏽‍♀️

6 120 560

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 18h

“Kids”

1.4K 6.2K 14K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Kaitlin Is Just Getting Started @gothamgirlblue.com · 18h

I am less offended at the money to Argentina to bail out their terrible, corrupt government than by the fact that there’s no public argument about sending money to Argentina, the pros and cons of it, and what exactly it’s supposed to do for US interests. Congress exists for a goddamn reason!

83 360 1.6K

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 17h

The entire Republican Party strategy for achieving what are comprehensively & wildly unpopular policy objectives now consists entirely of bypassing Article I of the Constitution through wildly illegal abuses of both Article II and Article III.

Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 21h

Whatever you think about CFPB, it was created by Congress (as part of the Dodd-Frank Act) and can only be abolished by Congress, not by the President acting as a dictator.

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

11 270 820

Reposted by Rebecca Kennison

Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 17h

Un-presidented brass band at city hall in Portland tonight celebrating the release of their clarinet player from federal custody

220 2.2K 8.6K