Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Timothy Vollmer

Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 13h

⚡️Drop Site Daily | October 14, 2025

Israel kills five Palestinians in Gaza and announces it will not abide by the terms of facilitating humanitarian aid, despite ceasefire agreement

www.dropsitenews.com/p/drop-site-...

Israel kills five Palestinians in Gaza and announces it will not abide by the terms of facilitating humanitarian aid, despite ceasefire agreement

Drop Site Daily: October 14, 2025

www.dropsitenews.com

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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 6h

The Facebook page ICE Sighting-Chicagoland with over 70,000 members has been taken down by Meta.

Meta spokesperson Francis Brennan, who was director of strategic response for Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, said the page violated its policies on coordinating harm.

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 6h

A Facebook group that shared information on sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Chicago area was taken down by Meta following pressure from the Justice Department, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Facebook removes Chicago-area page dedicated to ICE sightings after Justice Department intervenes

The Facebook page ICE Sighting-Chicagoland amassed over 70,000 members in recent weeks as the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” has ramped up in Chicago and the suburbs.

trib.al

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California Faculty Association @cfaunited.bsky.social · 7h

Rise up, fight back! ✊🏽http://edsource.org/?page_id=742822

UPDATE: Faculty union sues CSU to shield personal information from Trump

The latest education news updates from EdSource.

edsource.org

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Timothy Vollmer @tvol.bsky.social · 7h

On Oct. 10th, staff at the CDC Library and many other agency employees were laid off as part of massive job cuts. While some staff have been rehired, librarians have not been called back to work. Take action now!✊ action.everylibrary.org/emailcdclibr...

SEND AN EMAIL: Protect the Center for Disease Control Library

Ask your representative to call for the reinstatement of CDC librarians to protect public health.

action.everylibrary.org

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Stacy Fahrenthold @sfahrenthold.bsky.social · 1d

The Trump attorneys argue "neither the UC Regents nor the University of California broadly are parties to this suit," and cite that as UC's implied support for a stay.

That's right. Trump lawyers using UC's failure to stand up to them as consent for continued threats to 100k workers and students.

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Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 1d

ICYMI | MIT has rejected the Trump administration’s proposal to sign on to the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” which would mandate sweeping changes across campus in exchange for preferential treatment on federal funding.

https://bit.ly/3KO0g5l

MIT President Sally Kornbluth next to a shot of the campus and text of an open letter to the government on the education compact proposed by President Donald Trump. In black text the kicker Governance, the headline MIT Rejects Proposed Federal Compact, and the sub-headline MIT is the first institution to reject a proposal by the Trump administration that would trade preferential treatment on federal funding for far-reaching changes. Photo illustration by Justin Morrison/Inside Higher Ed | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | Nate Hovee/iStock/Getty Images | MIT

The quote “In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.” — Sally Kornbluth, MIT president, in a letter to the campus community Friday.

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Jaweed Kaleem @jaweedkaleem.bsky.social · 1d

University of California & Cal State campuses have together shared the names of thousands of employees with the Trump admin as it probes antisemitism allegations. Faculty are demanding schools, which say they are legally required to share data, push back:

www.latimes.com/california/s...

UC, CSU released troves of personal employee information to the feds. Now the backlash

Cal State and UC have face campus protest and intense rebuke by faculty, students and staff for sharing employee personal information with the Trump administration as part of investigations into alle...

www.latimes.com

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UC-AFT Local 1474 @ucaft.bsky.social · 2d

Attention UC-AFT teaching faculty: Save the date for our Fall Bargaining Summit on Nov 14 at noon. RSVP for the Zoom and join UC lecturers from across the state to discuss building power in upcoming negotiations.✊ us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Veena Dubal @veenadubal.bsky.social · 3d

Incredible. Exonerated after 43 years of being falsely imprisoned, rather than releasing him to his awaiting family, the police released him to ICE, beginning deportation proceedings.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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Jaweed Kaleem @jaweedkaleem.bsky.social · 4d

MIT says it will reject the Trump university compact. USC, when we asked today, declined to take any further position on the proposal. @danielnmiller.bsky.social and I report:

www.latimes.com/world-nation...

As USC considers Trump’s offer tying funding to conservative policies, MIT firmly rejects it

MIT is among the first to express forceful views either in favor of or against an agreement the White House billed as providing "multiple positive benefits."

www.latimes.com

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Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 4d

Being a billionaire must really fuck with your mind. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

Marc Benioff Says Trump Should Send Guard Troops to San Francisco

www.nytimes.com

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Timothy Vollmer @tvol.bsky.social · 4d

Some recent film photographs, self-developed and scanned at the Berkeley Art Studio. Ilford HP5.

Black and white photograph of a classical building with arched windows framed by modern circular metal sculpture, with a reflecting pool in the foreground.

Black and white photograph of a public park with palm trees, buildings on a hillside, and people gathered on the grass.

Black and white photograph of rocky hillside terrain with large boulders and scrubby vegetation.

Black and white photograph of a Richmond ferry station platform with a modern shelter building.

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Reposted by Timothy Vollmer

California Faculty Association @cfaunited.bsky.social · 4d

CFA today filed a lawsuit against the CSU. We seek an order prohibiting the CSU from disclosing CFA members’ personal info in response to federal subpoenas without providing notice to workers and an opportunity for them to object. Read more in our press release:

www.calfac.org/cfa-sues-csu...

A truncated version of the press release available at the link

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Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 4d

MIT's response to the Trump admin's proposed "compact" is excellent and should be a model for other universities. orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 4d

“Another former OpenAI employee who also was not authorized to speak publicly argued that releasing a deepfake AI social media platform was the right business decision, even if it contributes to the collapse of everyone's shared sense of reality.” 💀

Sora gives deepfakes 'a publicist and a distribution deal.' It could change the internet

OpenAI's new hit app has unleashed a new wave of AI slop across the internet. But what happens when there are no rules over hyper-realistic synthetic videos?

www.npr.org

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Todd Wolfson @proftwolf.bsky.social · 4d

I am proud to say that MIT has rejected Trump's poison compact. MIT President Sally Kornbluth: "Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education."
@aaup.org @aft.org @higheredlabor.bsky.social @uaw.org
links.mit.edu/nl3/N5Jy2cKq...

Regarding the Compact

links.mit.edu

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Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 4d

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Samuel Moore @samuelmoore.org · 4d

“It would be better to have high-quality human attention being paid to submissions, and peer review being fully done by…alert and focused humans" says Wolfgang Kaltenbrunner.

AI in peer review: where to draw the line? - Research Professional News

As publishers seek “shared principles”, others warn AI could become “sticking plaster” for structural problems

www.researchprofessionalnews.com

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d

Nothing remotely resembling an insurrection is happening anywhere in the country. Any violence associated with protest has been isolated, mild, and, in nearly every case, instigated by federal law enforcement. If we let Trump get away with calling dissent an insurrection, our republic is over.

BREAKING: Trump Admin 'Seriously' Considering Using the Insurrection Act, Reports NBC

President Trump is "seriously" considering invoking the Insurrection Act in order to more easily deploy National Guard troops to major cities as part of crime crackdown, NBC reported on Wednesday

www.mediaite.com

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UC Berkeley Labor Center @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social · 6d

The UC Berkeley Labor Center mourns Kent Wong, our longtime colleague and friend. A passionate champion for workers—especially immigrants—and students, Kent dedicated his life to justice. Our hearts are with our colleagues at the UCLA Labor Center.

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Andres Guadamuz @technollama.bsky.social · 12d

Sora 2 and the end of copyright as we know it

Something remarkable is happening online, and I don’t quite know how to explain it, but I’ll try. OpenAI has released Sora 2, the latest version of its video-generating tool, and it has landed with a bang. Before launch, Sam Altman made headlines by…

Sora 2 and the end of copyright as we know it

Something remarkable is happening online, and I don’t quite know how to explain it, but I’ll try. OpenAI has released Sora 2, the latest version of its video-generating tool, and it has landed with a bang. Before launch, Sam Altman made headlines by suggesting that copyright holders would need to opt out of having their works used for outputs, a statement that understandably set off alarm bells in some circles.

www.technollama.co.uk

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Reposted by Timothy Vollmer

Authors Alliance @authorsalliance.bsky.social · 6d

We recently received a question regarding the AI scraping of Institutional Repositories: (1) Do open access Institutional Repositories permit the use of the IR’s materials for AI training? and (2) Are there legal mechanisms that would prevent the use of IR materials in AI training?

Institutional Repositories and AI Scraping

We recently received a question regarding the AI scraping of Institutional Repositories, by which we mean online digital archives that provide access to the intellectual output of scholars, often a…

www.authorsalliance.org

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Timothy Vollmer @tvol.bsky.social · 6d

a close up of a man 's face with a blue eye

ALT: a close up of a man 's face with a blue eye

media.tenor.com

Timothy Vollmer @tvol.bsky.social · 6d

The level of “nothing to see here” rhetoric from the highest levels of UC administration (including a 3-page FAQ!) is truly something to behold. www.dailycal.org/news/uc/uc-p...

UC President denies UC Berkeley ‘capitulated’ to federal government in 160 name release

UC President James B. Milliken released a statement Oct. 3 addressing the university’s cooperation with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which included UC Berkeley’s release of ab...

www.dailycal.org

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 6d

The literal reading of this statement is Pam Bondi is planning extrajudicial executions of random protesters.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 6d

My gosh. After the US bombed multiple boats in the middle of the ocean, murdering people on grounds that they were allegedly "carrying drugs," the US Attorney General says "Just like we did with cartels, we're going to take the same approach, President Trump, with Antifa."

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