Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ann Finkbeiner

Mark D. Levine @marklevinenyc.bsky.social · 15h

Murders per 100k residents:
* Houston 19.0
* Dallas 16.6
* San Antonio 15.9
* Ft. Worth 10.8
* NYC 4.6

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 12h

Battle of Heraclius & Chosroes by Piero della Francesca, working in the Cappella Maggiore, Arezzo. Most utterly motionless battle ever painted. Even Uccello moves more than this. Today is Piero's day.

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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 14h

Government is like you aren’t sexy enough to do authoritarianism we need some dang DILFS up in here

Nicholas Slayton @nslayton.bsky.social · 16h

The Texas Military Department confirmed to @taskandpurpose.com it had replaced some of the 200 National Guard troops sent to Chicago for not being "in compliance" with validation standards. This came after photos of heavyset NG members were widely mocked. taskandpurpose.com/news/texas-n...

Some Texas National Guard troops replaced in Illinois after failing to meet standards

An unspecified amount of Texas National Guard troops were replaced in Chicago, shortly after photos of their appearance were mocked.

taskandpurpose.com

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 22h

3/3 The bottom part, so gold and traditional. The top part, space like a miracle. JUST like a miracle, truly. That's Piero, with the polyptych of Saint Anthony in 1469.

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 23h

2/2 This Annunciation is staged before a truly fabulous demonstration of deep perspective. Top segment of Polyptych of Saint Anthony, by Piero della Francesca. It's his day.

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 22h

2/2 While soldiers sleep, the ultimate miracle occurs. And the ultimate painting of it is Piero della Francesca, in 1462. Today is his day.

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 15h

2/2 On the back of Piero della Francesca's Montefeltro portraits, the couple ride in chariots w/ their virtues in front of rather surreal landscape.

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 16h

Federico da Montefeltro (of the famous nose) & his lovely wife Battista Sforza. Frozen in time in their perfect profiles, in 1470, by Piero della Francesca.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 15h

Former Presidents consistently talk about the difficulty of getting good information as President, how everyone has an agenda, is telling them what they want to hear, etc.

Most Presidents make some effort to mitigate that well-known problem, but Trump's like "moar bubble, I want only bubble."

Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 16h

For my piece today at @zeteo.com i wanted to truly underscore how punishingly stupid american fascism is now. Like, my original proposed headline for this was:

Our Democracy Is Imperiled Because One Old Man Won’t Stop ‘Yelling’ At His TV. zeteo.com/p/trump-addi...

Trump’s Addiction to Watching Fox Is Killing American Democracy

Our country is falling apart because one old man, Trump advisers and former administration officials say, won’t stop ‘yelling’ at his TV.

zeteo.com

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AdarAyiraViews @adarayiraviews.bsky.social · 18h

EVERY. WORD.

And shut up about “merit,” too.

#FACTS

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Old White Nepo Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 17h

“I’m a cop. I am not supposed to feel dread. He’s a brown person. HE’S supposed to feel dread!”

Bari nods sympathetically.

Mark Misoshnik 🏴 @misoshnik.bsky.social · 1d

Lmao is this supposed to be a bad thing?

A tweet from Bari Weiss that says “"It's shaken me to my core," a lieutenant said of Mamdani's unexpected victory in June. "The absolute dread I feel is palpable.
"
Today in @TheFP our @Olivia_Reingold talks to the cops who say they will walk if Zohran Mamdani is elected in November:”

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 17h

Videos from Chicago over the past month captured protests, raids, arrests on city streets and residents’ confrontational responses to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The New York Times reviewed more than 100 videos. Together, they show how the crackdown has escalated week by week.

How Trump’s Chicago Immigration Crackdown Escalated, in 10 Videos

Week by week, the federal campaign to ramp up immigration enforcement in the Chicago area has created fear and inflamed tensions.

nyti.ms

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Justin Elliott @justinelliott.bsky.social · 18h

Here is our full story that Vance is dismissing, with primary source documents showing Trump cabinet members with multiple primary-residence mortgages

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 18h

Fair point. When I send invoices for freelance pieces, I'm often asked to include whether I prefer to be paid through direct deposit, a paper check, or cold hard cash in a Cava bag at a pre-arranged drop site.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19h

STEPHANOPOULOS: Did Tom Homan give the $50,000 back?

VANCE: He did not take a bribe. It's a ridiculous smear

STEPHANOPOULOS: You didn't answer the question

VANCE: Did he accept $50,000? I'm sure that in the course of Homan's life, he's been paid more than $50k for services.

(So, no, he didn't)

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19h

Kamala Harris: "I think he has a vengeance campaign, which is really exposing the petty nature of who he is and his deep level of insecurity."

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Colin Purrington @colinpurrington.bsky.social · 16h

From the archives but seasonal: a bonsai mum. Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. November, 2020. #flowers #mums #chrysanthemums

Plant with lilac ray florets and yellow centers pruned to look like an old tree, sitting in a moss-covered pot.

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 3d

These watches appear to be ripoffs of famous designs. Likely from some factory that normally produces "homage" watches and they just swapped out the branding.

Comparison of Trump watches to similar looking models from Patek Philippe

Comparison of Trump watches to similar looking models from Rolex

Comparison of Trump watches to similar looking models from Rolex and Hublot

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 21h

truth is truth
To th’ end of reck’ning.

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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 23h

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 21h

Vought is only 49 years old? Rage really consumes a person.

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 22h

Sunday reading:

I wrote about the aggrieved extremist who is currently firing thousands of federal workers and ravaging state capacity based on conspiratorial nonsense - and about mainstream media’s infuriating tendency to sanitize Russell Vought and the regime he serves.

This week’s piece:

We need to talk about Russell Vought – But Properly

Why certain mainstream outlets insist on sanitizing Vought as a devout “small government” conservative – and what actually animates his war against pluralistic democracy

steady.page

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Dr. Peter Paul Rubens @peterpaulrubens.bsky.social · 23h

Died (alas!) on this day in 1492, in Sansepolcro, the great Piero della Francesca. I could gaze forever at the fearsome geometry of his Annunciation.

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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 23h

How Trump plays you:
He posts a claim undermining the facts about January 6.

YOU ALL DISSEMINATE IT!!!

You don't mock that he's complaining that the FBI responded to a terrorist attack. You instead "fact check" re his claim that Joe Biden was in charge of the FBI--which is abt tribalism, not truth

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Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 1d

But even as cuts at SAMHSA became clear, confusion set in at CDC, where it appears many of the layoffs were suddenly revoked on Saturday evening. It remains how many CDC employees have actually lost their jobs.

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Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Some of the layoffs at CDC are being REVERSED.
Here is my updated story.
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

More than 1,000 CDC staff receive layoff notices during government shutdown

Another round of mass layoffs has struck CDC. The agency had already been cut during a reorganization this year, and more employees are now being shed amid the government shutdown.

www.washingtonpost.com

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STAT @statnews.com · 1d

Inside the Upheaval at NIH
Since January, the NIH has been turned upside down, with changes in focus, leadership, and the way funds are dispersed. What changes are needed, and which ones just force American science into suspended animation?
Tickets: www.statnews.com/stat-summit-...

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