Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 9m

"the imperial presidency"

Brennan Center @brennancenter.org · 30m

The Supreme Court has been reluctant to constrain the imperial presidency, but if it fails to act now, it could put American democracy itself at great risk. bit.ly/3IWUMED

There Is No Insurrection

Troops are for national defense, not displays of presidential power.

www.brennancenter.org

4

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 1h

NEW: I took a long look at the Proud Boys and found some of their most extreme chapters are sharing ICE recruiting materials on encrypted apps and even suggesting members have joined up. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/in-the-...

The first
Antifa
Counter Terrorism
Task Force
Trump already gave so many of us jobs with ICE. We may have to start recruiting soon to fill all these spots.

28 220 360

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 1h

Brands sell experiential phenomena linked to higher prices, and trust-busting activities reduce customer enjoyment. In this essay, I will

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

EU fines Gucci, Chloe and Loewe for fixing resale prices

Gucci, Chloe and Loewe have been fined a total of 157 million euros ($182 million) by the European Union's antitrust watchdog for fixing the resale prices of their retail partners.

www.reuters.com

1 1

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 1h

Macron blames the left, bc he's forced into concessions, but it's the existential threat of the rise of the far right that's actually put him in check, forcing the gov to placate the public and prevent the implosion of wtv centrist coalition remains.

www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/...

French PM backs suspension of reform raising retirement age until 2027 election

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, whose fate is in he hands of the Socialists, agreed to one of their key demands in a policy speech to Parliament.

www.lemonde.fr

4 6

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 2h

I mean this is a fr fr trade war

www.ft.com/content/f825...

China slaps sanctions on Korean shipbuilder accused of helping US

Measures extend trade war between Washington and Beijing to third countries

www.ft.com

1 9

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 2h

hey look, a broken system that's been broken for over a decade, never been fixed at all, and only made more abysmal...

www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...

Raw chicken dinner, no soap: ICE detainees recount rough conditions in Tacoma facility

The population of the detention facility is surging, exacerbating long-standing complaints about conditions. But its oversight is shrinking.

www.oregonlive.com

4 3

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 2h

"This was no longer a safe scene, and in that moment, I realized that the scene had not actually been safe the entire time that they were blocking us from exiting, and that we were essentially trapped.”

www.wweek.com/news/2025/10...

Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver

Feds delayed medics who had come to pick up an injured protester. Then, according to confidential incident reports, the agents became aggressive.

www.wweek.com

5

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Hopkins Press @hopkinspress.bsky.social · 3h

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW
American Journal of Mathematics
Volume 147, Number 5, October 2025

tinyurl.com/4678fe64

Contributors:
Adrian Diaconu, Vicenţiu Paşol, Alexandru A. Popa,
Jianhui Li, Tongou Yang, Kyudong Choi, In-Jee Jeong,
T. J. Christiansen, A. Uribe, Charles Fefferman, and more!

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW
American Journal of Mathematics
Volume 147, Number 5, October 2025

Contributors:
Adrian Diaconu, Vicenţiu Paşol, Alexandru A. Popa,
Jianhui Li, Tongou Yang, Kyudong Choi, In-Jee Jeong,
T. J. Christiansen, A. Uribe, Charles Fefferman, Sergei
Ivanov, Matti Lassas, Jinpeng Lu, Hariharan Narayanan,
Stanislav Atanasov, Michael Harris, Piotr Achinger,
Marcin Lara, and Alex Youcis

1 1

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

NPR @npr.org · 6h

Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scenes and not accepting wholesale what any government or administration says. n.pr/4q87Jwb

Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass

Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scenes and not accepting wholesale what any government or administration says.

n.pr

100 1.2K 2.9K

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Anton Shekhovtsov @shekhovtsov.substack.com · 3h

For an account of how Russia’s private firms transformed political technology into instruments of state-led political warfare, see my paper “The Kremlin’s New Contractors: Inside Russia’s Market for Political Warfare”, on which this thread is based: shekhovtsov.substack.com/p/the-kremli... 11/11

The Kremlin’s New Contractors

Inside Russia’s Market for Political Warfare

shekhovtsov.substack.com

5 13

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 12h

I will not be taking questions

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 13h

my hottest geography take is that there's no such thing as the "Midwest"... everything east of the western border of Illinois and north of DC is the Northeast, and everything west of Illinois and east of Montana is, like, "the prairie states" or "the heartland" or some shit whatever

2 4

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Sickos Committee @sickoscommittee.org · 15h

"what the fuck just happened"

10 220 940

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 15h

lol "what the fuck just happened"

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 22h

In the case of Mr. Cruz, we have a very literal "show me your papers" arrest.

He was chilling with a friend when ICE officers demanded to see his papers. He didn't have them on him, so they detained him and interrogated him. He was eventually released — but with the ticket.

Rueben Antonio Cruz was sitting with a friend in Rogers Park when ICE agents pulled up onto the street.
The immigration officers stopped their truck and went straight after them on Oct. 9, Cruz told the Tribune.
“They asked us if we have papers. I said I do but I don’t have them on me,” Cruz, a 60-year old man with heart problems originally from El Salvador, recalled in Spanish.
The agents stood Cruz up, put him in their truck, drove around in circles, and asked questions, he said.
Where was he born? What is his name? Who is his mother? Who is his father?
“I told them, they are dead,” Cruz said. The agents said they needed the information anyway so they could look him up in their databases. Eventually, the agents verified that he is, in fact, legally in the country. And they let him go.
But not before writing him a $130 ticket for not having his papers. Cruz’s friend, who is homeless, did not have legal status and was taken away by the feds.

12 97 450

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 22h

Since the Alien Registration Act of 1940, every noncitizen has been required to carry their documents with them at ALL times. That applies to every green card holder, every tourist, every foreign student, etc...

No admin in the modern era has EVER tried to enforce this law.

(e)Personal possession of registration or receipt card; penalties
Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d). Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.

15 190 710

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 22h

Wow, wow, wow. This has always been legally possible but the law has virtually never been enforced — and now this is the SECOND case I've heard of in the last month (first involving a person with a green card) of a noncitizen being charged for failure to carry their papers.

Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 23h

NEWS: ICE gave a Rogers Park man a $130 ticket for not having his papers on him. They rounded him up last week and eventually let him go, but not without a fine that some critics say is un-American. Trump admin enforcing little-used law
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/13/i...

ICE tickets Chicago man with legal residency $130 for not having his papers on him: ‘It’s not fair…I’m a resident’

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fined Rueben Antonio Cruz $130 for not having his papers with him.

www.chicagotribune.com

89 1.3K 2.9K

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 22h

"She wants to grab him," Ricky Patel said before he had had any exchange w/Ras Baraka. Even after Baraka left the facility, Patel said, "I’m going to place the Mayor in handcuffs. We are arresting the Mayor, per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States."

www.emptywheel.net/2025/09/29/s...

"She Wants to Grab Him:" The Premeditated Detention of Ras Baraka - emptywheel

Even before anyone had spoken with Ras Baraka on May 9 at Delaney Hall, someone had decided "she" wanted to "grab" Newark's Mayor.

www.emptywheel.net

7 220 620

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Robin (she/he-ella/él) @merryrobin.bsky.social · 20h

Today, a thread to honor and celebrate #IndigenousPeoplesDay.
The world is so big, so there will be a second and maybe a third part.
We will begin with Zuni weaver We’wha (1849-1896).

🧵 1/20

Robin (she/he-ella/él) @merryrobin.bsky.social · Aug 27

We’wha (1849-1896), a notable weaver and potter Lhamana (Zuni Two Spirit), took on both masculine and feminine tasks as a Zuni cultural ambassador and pottery and textile artist.
Also a spiritual leader, We’wha endeavored to preserve the history, traditions, and knowledge of the Zuni people.

A black and white, full body portrait of We'wha, a highly respected cultural figure in Zuni culture, known as a "lhamana" (two spirits). We'wha is standing, looking at the camera, wearing traditional Zuni attire, with patterned clothing, woven belts, a long beaded necklace, and earrings. The hair is styled with side buns adorned with ribbons.

2 98 180

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

rhaco_dactylus, phd @rhacodactylus.bsky.social · 20h

i come back to this video more than i care to admit because it hasn't failed yet to put a smile on my face

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxrC...

four dramatic reinterpretations of that 90s sears air conditioner commercial

YouTube video by ProZD

www.youtube.com

3 1 9

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 20h

y'all I remember being suspicious of this new thing called "speed dial" for what it would do to ppl's memories in the long term

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 22h

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?

1 1 12

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 22h

the answer is no; satire and humor has never, by itself, produced the downfall of a regime. what it does is express independence of mind and spirit, upending hierarchies, and supporting confidence in the community. there is a razor thin line that ppl should beware of, however; things can go v bad.

Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 1d

"Even the more staid institutions in the Democratic party are beginning to revamp their approach. The DNC in recent months has cut down on its bureaucratic social media approval process and embraced a more trollish style...."

Can Democrats Mock Trump Into Defeat?

As the president embraces strongman politics, Democrats are increasingly trying to make him seem little.

www.thebulwark.com

6 15

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Il Pomodoro @dabenner.bsky.social · 1d

This seems like confirmation

Then Mr. Trump won the presidency back, and the Biden administration was determined to get a cease-fire in place by January, before it left office. It drafted a peace plan, much of which was quite similar to the “20 point plan” Mr. Trump recently issued. There was slow progress: More than 130 hostages had been released by the time the January cease-fire took place.

“We handed over a cease-fire that silenced the guns, had hostages coming out and aid going in, along with a day-after plan to make it permanent,” Mr. Blinken said. But when the new administration took over, “the moment was squandered,” he added. “Israel and Hamas went back to war for eight months.”

Israeli officials tell a different story. Mr. Biden was a lame duck, they noted, and disengaged. Mr. Trump was a known entity, less likely to lecture Mr. Netanyahu in private or public. They put their money on a new president, and a new negotiating team

6 180 880

Reposted by Alexander Reid Ross

Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 23h

The Atlantic is the latest news organization that refuses to sign the Pentagon's new press pass policy.

Editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg says the new restrictions violate the First Amendment and the rights of Americans to know how the taxpayer-funded military is being deployed.

19 220 730

Alexander Reid Ross @areidross.bsky.social · 23h

Woot

Italy’s Opposition Set to Win Tuscany Election, Exit Poll Shows - Bloomberg share.google/gD9XMrPfgeK2...

Italy’s Opposition Set to Win Tuscany Election, Exit Poll Shows

The incumbent governor of Tuscany is set to win a second mandate to run the Italian region, a win for the leader of the national opposition Democratic Party Elly Schlein.

share.google

3