Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sarah Pinsker

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 1h

Four cemetery workers, all U.S. citizens, arrested during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation that crossed over onto the private Concordia Cemetery in the west suburban village of Forest Park.

Forest Park cemetery workers recount traumatic clash with ICE; mayor calls for crackdown to end

‘If this is happening to me, a U.S. citizen, what are they doing to the other individuals?’

trib.al

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John Sundman @jsundman.bsky.social · 2h

Golly. Imagine that.

WIRED @wired.com · 2h

With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypted. www.wired.com/story/satell...

Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data

With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypted.

www.wired.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2h

LMAO Newsmax beating Fox in the competition to be a real news org

Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 4h

Reps for CNN, Reuters, The AP, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and NPR all say that journalists from their newsrooms are not signing the new paperwork about Pentagon access. Newsmax says it doesn't intend to sign, either — a potentially significant sign of MAGA dissension.

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Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · 3h

I usually get my best ideas for fixing stories while I'm walking the dogs, but tonight's epiphany came when I gave up on writing and decided to make dinner. Dinner was decent--an attempt to not let well the gorgeous carrot and turnip greens go to waste --but now I'm excited to get back to story

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 4h

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, an activist who took part in Stonewall and remained an advocate for the decades that followed, including caring for AIDS patients & pioneering needle exchange & defending the rights of incarcerated trans people on both coasts, passed away. www.advocate.com/news/miss-ma...

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, activist since Stonewall, has died

The LGBTQ+ community — and particularly the transgender community — has lost an iconic activist.

www.advocate.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 8h

This press release from a North Carolina GOP figure portrays the current redistricting wars as something *Democrats* started in Calif., ignoring the fact that this all began with the Trump White House and first unfolded in red Texas.

According to them, Republicans are once again The Real Victims™

House Redistricting Chairmen Brenden Jones (R-Columbus) and Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke) said, “We’re stepping into this redistricting battle because California and the radical left are attempting to rig the system to handpick who runs Congress. This ploy is nothing new, and North Carolina will not stand by while they attempt to stack the deck. President Trump has called on us to fight back, and North Carolina stands ready to level the playing field.”

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Apex Magazine (is funding for 2026!) 🎉 @apexmag.bsky.social · 8h

NEW KICKSTARTER TIER UNLOCKED! At 110%, each backer will receive a NEW BRAIN 🧠 with zero microplastics*🚮, a normal amount of dopamine**😃✨, and the ability to see shrimp colors***🦐🌈!

* okay maybe a few microplastics
**what is “normal” anyway?
*** 9 out of 10 shrimps recommend!

Apex Magazine 2026

An award-winning digital literary magazine of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror.

www.kickstarter.com

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 6h

FYI: If you know of intersections of religion and pushback to ICE/DHS in general, but especially Chicago, feel free to drop me a line.

You can reach me via Signal at: jackmjenkins.60

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 6h

They also cancelled government data collection about hunger to minimize evidence about their policies

José Sepúlveda @josesepulveda.bsky.social · 13h

ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the 94 million pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the #Trump administration’s cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

My latest video for @propublica.org.

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Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · 6h

The cover that she and her husband (Nathan Larson from Shudder to Think) did of "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" is terrific too. youtu.be/41xicGTEWzg?...

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Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · 9h

A lot of mealy-mouthed lies here. Republicans wanted to repeal the ACA with no replacement—they failed. This summer, they cut $1 trillion from health care, gutting Medicaid & sabotaging the ACA.

They have no health care plan and they want to let your premiums more than double.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13h

REPORTER: Do you support repealing Obamacare and what's your healthcare plan?

MIKE JOHNSON: We worked on repealing and replacing Obamacare back in 2017. I still have PTSD from the experience. We know that American healthcare needs dramatic reform. We have lots of ideas.

(So, no plan)

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 9h

“I was afraid to go over there,” he said. “I got braver the more people came out. I know my neighbors have my back, and I have their back. ... These are Americans who know what freedom is — we’re being invaded by strangers.”

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Feds deploy tear gas in another Chicago neighborhood: 'We chased federal agents out of Albany Park today'

A federal judge’s temporary restraining order requires federal agents to issue two warnings before using riot control weapons such as tear gas. Witnesses say they didn't get any warning Sunday afterno...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Deborah McDowell @dem8z.bsky.social · 11h

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

The University of Texas-Austin is beginning a process to eliminate the Black Studies, Latino Studies, and Gender Studies departments in the College of Liberal Arts. This is a grave threat to the educational liberty of students, faculty, staff, and the people of Texas. 1/

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bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 10h

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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stacy-marie ishmael @smi.bsky.social · 12h

NPR/Alaska Public Media: alaskapublic.org/news/public-...

AP: apnews.com/article/alas...

CNN: www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/w...

Fox Weather: www.foxweather.com/weather-news...

ABC: abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory...

CBS: www.cbsnews.com/news/alaska-...

The Weather Channel: weather.com/news/weather...

News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 12h

NEW: There’s a disaster unfolding in Alaska right now. And no major network is covering it.

The remnants of Typhoon Halong battered western Alaska overnight. Homes, with people in them, have literally been swept into the Bering Strait.

At least 20 are missing. No comment from any federal agency.

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Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · 12h

Congrats!

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Stars and Sabers @starsandsabers.bsky.social · 13h

Be our Valentine! Not long until the cover reveal for Nebula finalist @cornellwriter.bsky.social’s SHOESHINE BOY & CIGARETTE GIRL, out just in time for Valentine’s Day 2026! This retrofuturistic, sci-fi romance novelette will charm you to the moon and back.
#scifi #books #scifiromance #2026books

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 13h

The agency plays a critical role in supporting students with disabilities, guiding families, funding key programs, and ensuring that states meet their obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education

Multiple sources tell NPR that, as part of the Trump administration's latest reduction-in-force, the U.S. Department of Education has gutted the office that handles special education.

www.npr.org

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Matthew Kressel @matthewkressel.net · 14h

TONIGHT! I'll be joining @micaiahjohnson.bsky.social , @veronicarothbooks.com, @juliavee.bsky.social and host @yumewrites.bsky.social at PT Knitwear in NYC for a panel on History and Speculation in SFF. Hope you can join us!

Full text of the Traveling SFF festival, with participants, dates, and details, can be found here: https://www.yumekitasei.com/travelingsffbookfestival?

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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 1d

Excellent work @vimiller.bsky.social of @chicago.suntimes.com getting photographic proof of the use of tear gas in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago. Potentially significant in regard to federal restraining order now in place.

close-up canister on a residential sidewalk

stenciled lettering on its side: "TO BE USED BY TRAINED LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRECTIONAL OR MILITARY PERSONNEL"

Part of a tear gas canister deployed by federal agents in the 3200 block of Wilson Avenue Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.Violet Miller/Sun-Times

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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 1d

Every day at noon, no matter how busy, Johny Merida Aguilar left his construction job and hurried to his 5-year-old son's school to feed him. His son has brain cancer and generally only accepts food from his father.

Merida Aguilar was arrested by ICE in September and faces deportation to Bolivia.

He was caring for his 5-year-old son with brain cancer. Then he was detained by ICE.

A court has temporarily blocked Johny Merida Aguilar's deportation to Bolivia.

www.inquirer.com

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Cat Rambo @catrambo.bsky.social · 3d

I just backed OTHERSIDE 2026: A New Magazine of Queer SFF! on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/hyb...

OTHERSIDE 2026: A New Magazine of Queer SFF!

A new queer-led literary magazine devoted to speculative fiction, poetry, and art by 2SLGBTQIA+ authors and artists.

www.kickstarter.com

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CajunBlueAZ ⚜️🇺🇸 🇺🇦 @cajunblue.bsky.social · 1d

🚨🚨🚨WA Governor Bob Ferguson responds to a letter he received from AG Pam Bondi in which she threatened to place him in jail. 🧯He is on fire! 1/2

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Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · 1d

Congratulations @carolinemyoachim.bsky.social !

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Sarah Pinsker @sarahpinsker.bsky.social · 1d

Congrats to all the winners and finalists!

The Ignyte Awards @theignyteawards.bsky.social · 1d

That's it! Congratulations winners and thank you for your contributions to such a beautiful SFFH landscape and community.
#2025IgnyteAwards
ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2025-results/

2025 Results - The Ignyte Awards

OUTSTANDING NOVEL: ADULT for novel-length work (40k words) Works intended for an adult audience BLACKHEART MAN – Nalo Hopkinson (S&S/Saga Press) METAL FROM HEAVEN – August Clarke (Erewhon Books) THE E...

ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com

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