Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Asha Rangappa

Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 3h

No institutional design can overcome a lawbreaking president, a Congress defending lawbreaking and forfeiting its own power, a Supreme Court that pretends legal text doesn’t count to facilitate lawbreaking, and a citizenry that votes for all that.
Need at least one that wants rule of law. Maybe two.

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 2h

Pope Leo quotes Hannah Arendt:

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."

www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.

www.cbsnews.com

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 12h

Do you have the link to the full article?

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 15h

I’m not sure. I think this is prohibited by the Justice Manual

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 16h

Thread 🧵

Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 17h

The thing about the Roberts Court is they're not evil geniuses, because they're not geniuses.

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 23h

“More than three dozen federal judges have told The New York Times that the Supreme Court’s flurry of brief, opaque emergency orders in cases related to the Trump administration have left them confused about how to proceed in those matters and are hurting the judiciary’s image with the public.”

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 16h

If James visits the home regularly then it is available to her for personal use, which means it is not a “rental investment property” as defined by the mortgage rider…and therefore negates the central claim of the indictment

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 22h

NYT reports that Letitia James’s great niece lives in the home that is the subject of the indictment.

The niece reportedly testified before a *different* grand jury, telling them that she had lived there for many years without paying rent. James visits regularly.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Letitia James
Indictment
Read the Indictment
Timeline of Conflict
Indic
But in June, IMs. Thompson testified to a grand
jury in Norfolk that she had lived in the house for years and that she did not pay rent, a person familiar with her testimony said. She was not asked to testify again, and the grand jury that voted to indict Ms. James was not seated in Norfolk, but in Alexandria.
The specter of Mr. Trump's revenge campaign has so far overshadowed the facts of the case, given how he has pushed for Ms. James's punishment. For years, he has railed against her on social media, calling her a "crook" and
"corrunt" Last month. he also appointed Ms.

for a peaceful life after years of turbulence in several cities.
The family, Nakia Thompson and her children, have lived at the address ever since, according to two people familiar with the home, and until this week, the plan for a more lacid existence had largely gone as expected. Several times a year, the people said, a great-aunt who had purchased the house in 2020 with Ms.
Thompson in mind would come for an extended stay.
This week, with the filing of court papers some 200 miles north, the plan came to an abrupt end.
The great-aunt - Letitia James, the New York attorney general - was indicted by President Trump's Justice Department. The yellow house,

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Rich Raho @richraho.bsky.social · 17h

Chicago priest Fr. Larry Dowling describes procession to ICE facility: “No one had the courage to speak directly to us. No one from Homeland Security could stand in the presence of the Monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament. No wonder. Evil is repelled, recoils in the presence of Christ.”

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 17h

Robert De Niro: “Now we have a would-be king — King Donald the First. Fuck that. I’m Robert De Niro and I’m asking you to stand up and be counted in the nationwide No Kings protest on October 18th”

👉👉 nokings.org

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 17h

Clearly someone who grew up here, she has no accent; really want to know what was going on here. Looks like they were following her already at the start of the video. Why?

Laguna Beach Democratic Club @lagunabeachdems.bsky.social · 19h

Northwest Chicago Suburb: ICE Agents Rip 15-Year-Old Girl from Car, Slam Her to Ground She Screams “I’m 15!” as Man Kneels on Her Neck

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Emily Galvin-Almanza @galvinalmanza.bsky.social · 21h

Seriously, Judges *do no do things like this*

They don't give their opinion to the media

They don't criticize how SCOTUS works

This is them breaking the emergency glass, folks
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Dahlia Lithwick @dahlialithwick.bsky.social · 1d

With Yale Law School military justice expert Eugene Fidell and former JAG Maj. General Steven J. Lepper on the biggest civil/military crisis since the Civil War.

Trump Wants to Use American Cities as a “Training Ground.” It’s Becoming Clear Why.

MAGA cries “Insurrection!”, setting up a dangerous standoff between the American people and the military.

slate.com

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Mark C. Walton @chileboy.bsky.social · 21h

In which the always informative and accessible @asharangappa.bsky.social exposes the baselessness of the charges against NY AG Letitia James.

And, if you haven't already subscribed to her Freedom Academy newsletter, you should do so here: open.substack.com/pub/asharang...

Friday Round Up! 10/10/25

Making sense of a(nother) flimsy indictment.

open.substack.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 1d

Collect a claim from one side, collect a claim from the other, present them both to the reader with an awkward shrug and a "who can say?"

And the photo choice -- Noem's looking down ... on what? The reverse angle showed a small crowd and a quiet street. But can't show that, it's biased to one side!

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.

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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 1d

Make your plans for #NoKings. October 18th. Free speech is action. Please join in. You'll see me at one of the events.
www.nokings.org

No Kings

As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...

www.nokings.org

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David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 1d

I am old enough to remember when Trump said he would lower grocery prices on Day One.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

A rare admission from the administration that policy choices have knock-off effects.

In this case: immigration crackdowns raise your grocery bill.

@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

“.. Inside the White House, top advisers joke that they are ruling Congress with an “iron fist,” according to people who have heard the comments. Steve Bannon, the influential Trump ally, likened Congress to the Duma, the Russian assembly that is largely ceremonial.”

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

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Darin Self @darinself.com · 1d

Im starting to think we should adopt the German way of yelling NEIN! at behavior that is not socially acceptable

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Golda Velez @goldavelez.org · 1d

Hamilton had so much faith in Americans come on guys don't let him down

"whither would the militia, irritated by being called up on to undertake a distance and hopeless expedition...direct their course but to the seat of the tyrants"

Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 1d

"If we were even to suppose the national rulers actuated by the most ungovernable ambition, it is impossible to believe that they would employ such preposterous means to accomplish their designs."

Oh Alexander, honey.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

Quoted by Judge Perry today in her opinion in Illinois v Trump

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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 1d

You’ll never guess who is in charge of the Homeland Security Council….

(Miller. It’s Stephen Miller.)

Jordan Fischer @jordanonrecord.bsky.social · 1d

NEW: A senior ICE official testified today the WH Homeland Security Council — and not the State Department — informed him Uganda was the deportation target for Abrego Garcia.

DOJ then asserted presidential privilege over any other details about the call. www.wusa9.com/article/news...

DOJ asserts presidential privilege over details about how Uganda was selected in Abrego Garcia deportation case

A senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official said third-country designations are typically made by the State Department.

www.wusa9.com

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Nikkolas Smith @4nikkolas.bsky.social · 1d

after millions of views and shares of my Portland Frog art. (thank you all🙏🏾) I got requests to highlight priests, and chickens, and Chicagoans, and T-Rexes, and more… all of us who refuse to bend the knee. so this is for US.
𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚕.
𝚆𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚗.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 3d

Maybe it's because I'm a parent, but avoidable harm to kids really gets to me. My kids can be difficult when they don't get an afternoon snack at the usual time. I'm sure various parents and teachers can say the same. Watching a kid starve to death? And the US govt did it on purpose?
Unconscionable.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 4d

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."

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Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 1d

Judge Sara Ellis' opinion in IL v. Trump is an absolute banger:

www.courtlistener.com/docket/71559...

The Court therefore must make a credibility assessment as to which version of the facts
should be believed. While the Court does not doubt that there have been acts of vandalism, civil
disobedience, and even assaults on federal agents, the Court cannot conclude that Defendants’
declarations are reliable. Two of Defendants’ declarations refer to arrests made on September 27,
2025 of individuals who were carrying weapons and assaulting federal agents. See Doc. 62-2 at
19; Doc. 62-4 at 5. But neither declaration discloses that federal grand juries have refused to
return an indictment against at least three of those individuals, which equates to a finding of a
lack of probable cause that any crime occurred. See United States v. Ray Collins and Jocelyne
Robledo, 25-cr-608, Doc. 26 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 7, 2025); United States v. Paul Ivery, 25-cr-609
(N.D. Ill.). In addition to demonstrating a potential lack of candor by these affiants, it also calls
into question their ability to accurately assess the facts. Similar declarations were provided by
these same individuals in Chicago Headline Club et. al. v. Noem, 25-cv-12173, Doc. 35-1, Doc.
35-9 (N.D. Ill.), a case which challenged the Constitutionality of ICE’s response to protestors at
the Broadview ICE Processing Center. In issuing its TRO against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem,
the court in that case found that the plaintiffs would likely be able to show that ICE’s actions
have violated protestors’ First Amendment right to be free from retaliation while engaged in
newsgathering, religious exercise, and protest, and Fourth Amendment rights to be free from
excessive force. Id. at Doc. 43. Although this Court was not asked to make any such finding, it
does note a troubling trend of Defendants’ declarants equating protests with riots and a lack of
appreciation for the wide spectrum that exists between citizens who are observing, questioning,

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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 1d

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 1d

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 1d

"If we were even to suppose the national rulers actuated by the most ungovernable ambition, it is impossible to believe that they would employ such preposterous means to accomplish their designs."

Oh Alexander, honey.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 1d

Quoted by Judge Perry today in her opinion in Illinois v Trump

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Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 1d

pixelated boat
@pixelatedboat
Wow, this extract from Wolff's book is a shocking insight into Trump's mind:

On his first night in the White House, President Trump complained that the TV in his bedroom was broken, because it didn't have "the gorilla channel.” Trump seemed to be under the
impression that a TV channel existed that screened nothing but
gorilla-based content, 24 hours a day.
To appease Trump, White House staff compiled a number of gorilla documentaries into a makeshift gorilla channel, broadcast into Trump's bedroom from a hastily-constructed transmission tower on the South Lawn. However, Trump was unhappy with the channel they had created, moaning that it was "boring"
because "the gorillas aren't fighting".
Staff edited out all the parts of the documentaries where gorillas weren't hitting each other, and at last the president was satisfied. "On some days he'll watch the gorilla channel for 17 hours straight," an insider told me. "He kneels in front of the TV, with his face about four inches from the screen, and says encouraging things to the gorillas, like 'the way you hit that other gorilla was good'. I think he thinks the gorillas can hear him."
1/4/18, 9:07 PM

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