Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Maxine Joselow @maxinejoselow.bsky.social · 7h

Before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, the EPA canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from extreme flooding. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/c...

Before Alaska Flooding, E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant

www.nytimes.com

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alboo @captainacab.airbud.website · 2d

personally i think shouting into the void is probably a frightening experience for the void. maybe that’s why the void won’t answer back and you’re all alone? just a thought

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Maria Town @mariatown.bsky.social · 3h

The government shutdown shows no signs of ending soon. Social Security & Medicaid benefits will keep going out, but, people could be w/o other benefits, like SNAP & WIC very soon. AAPD created a resource that explains what’s at stake if the shutdown doesn’t end soon. www.aapd.com/explainer-wh...

Explainer: What the Government Shutdown Means for SNAP, WIC, and Disability Programs - AAPD

On Wednesday, October 1, at 12:01 AM, part of the federal government shut down because Congress could not agree on a funding plan. As of now, the government has been shut down for two weeks. Congress...

www.aapd.com

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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 4h

To be clear:

LA County has declared a state of emergency BECAUSE OF the federal government.

The Feds, LA County is (correctly) saying, have CAUSED the emergency.

This is a striking political moment of internal collapse. Local govts feeling compelled to protect their ppl from … their own govt.

Los Angeles County declares state of emergency over immigration raids

Los Angeles County officials voted on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency over ongoing federal immigration raids.

abcnews.go.com

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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 3h

Three senior Republican appropriators agree it doesn't make any sense for Democrats to agree to a government funding deal unless Trump actually adheres to the deal.

The Democratic alternative CR has language that would begin to address this, but Trump and Vought are completely opposed.

"If you're a Democrat - even just like a mainstream Democrat - your predisposition might be to help negotiate with Republicans on a funding mechanism," said Rep. Steve Womack, a senior GOP appropriator. "Why would you do that if you know that whatever you negotiate is going to be subject to the knife pulled out by Russ Vought?"

"I don't think the Democrats want to shut down either," Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a senior appropriator, told Bloomberg Government. "Their concern right now, and it's a legitimate concern, is that, how can we agree to any deal when our OMB director will just impound the funds and say we're not going to spend them there?"

Julie Tsirkin @news_jul •1h
MURKOWSKI blames Russ Vought for making it harder to negotiate shutdown end:
"The appropriations process is being run over, and that, to me, is absolutely unacceptable."
She understands why Democrats don't trust them given Vought's rescissions and layoffs.
"Why would you?"

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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 5h

johnson threatened by ostentatious display of no this is too easy I can’t

The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 6h

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson calls Sunday's naked bike ride in protest of the Portland ICE facility and and Trump troop deployment "the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet"

www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

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Jane Coaston @janecoaston.bsky.social · 3h

Teach the children

Michael Caley @michaelcaley.bsky.social · 8h

an incredible book, one of the perfect works of popular history

and I must specifically recommend listening to it as an audiobook on car trips with your child so that they develop an early, bone-deep hatred of George McClellan

Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 8h

Finished Battle Cry of Freedom—incredible book, surely the best single-volume account of the Civil War, it's more than earned canonization. So remarkable to make a 900pg book this detail-rich & yet still obviously a condensation of an even larger knowledge base
www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

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Linda Holmes @lindaholmes.bsky.social · 3h

When the Television Critics Association gave its Lifetime Achievement Award to David Letterman, he did not come to the ceremony, but he sent a video message. It said, in part, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but this is the day I eat glass.”

Just thinking about that.

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 4h

Scoop: Olivia Nuzzi has written a book during her year in exile, in which she is set to in part address her relationship with RFK Jr. Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/olivia-nuz...

Have I Got Nuzzi For You

Olivia Nuzzi is set to address her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a forthcoming book, galleys of which are circulating among a select group of readers, Status has learned.

www.status.news

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 13h

1/Stop everything and read/watch/bookmark this massive investigation between @motherjones.com @lighthousereports.com Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Paper Trail Media a vast global surveillance empire used to target politicians, journalists, tech CEOs, and... Jared Leto.
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you

We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

ow.ly

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Charles Ghoul-ba ✡️ @charlesgaba.com · 4h

Is she talking about the young children missing because her goon squad dragged them naked & crying from their apartment complex or the 15-yr old girl they tackled & threw into an unmarked van the other day?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h

Pam Bondi repeatedly claims that finding one missing child "makes it all worthwhile" when it comes to military occupations of American cities and adds that "Pritzker should be begging Donald Trump to come in."

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Quinta Jurecic @qjurecic.bsky.social · 4h

where we are as a society: former chief prosecutor hints at pressure to bring a meritless prosecution by posting an anchorman meme

Waldo Jaquith, but Spooky @waldo.net · 4h

It turns out that what Todd Gilbert meant by "that escalated quickly" is that he was unwilling to support a grand jury investigation into the origins of the Trump/Russia case. I'm surprised and impressed that Gilbert took this stand. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

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Adam Klasfeld @klasfeldreports.com · 6h

Extraordinary NYT story:

Trump’s DOJ pressured out another US Attorney in WESTERN Virginia for finding that a grand jury probe his bosses demanded was unwarranted.

They wanted a case discrediting the Russia probe — evidence be damned. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

U.S. Attorney Was Forced Out After Clashes Over How to Handle Russia Inquiry

www.nytimes.com

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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 6h

This is disgusting. And I can GUARANTEE you that lots of dumps are going to come out about lots of Republican electeds who are way too close to the people in these texts. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 6h

The one good thing about them taking the horny restraints off ChatGPT is that we will never hear from some people again

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 7h

BREAKING: Marco Rubio's State Department announces publicly that it is exercising unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in revoking people's visas based on comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Department of State v
@StateDept
g..
The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.
The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.:
5:55 PM • Oct 14, 2025 • 34.1K Views

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Carly Putnam 🦖 @cputnam.bsky.social · 6h

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 6h

I’m a subscriber to The Onion print edition and trust me, the ads alone are worth it

Fake Apple ad

Remember when those
Chinese factory workers were all committing suicide?
Neither do we!

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🎃 public HELLth guy 🎃 @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 1d

that last line

Under Dr. Mermin’s leadership, new H.I.V. infections in the nation dropped by 36 percent, and resurgent sexually transmitted infections showed the first signs of a plateau nationwide.

He also directed health departments to spend the bulk of their money on prevention. It was “a very precise and scientific and logical approach” to make the biggest impact for the least money, said Greg Millett, who worked as a deputy for the Office of National AIDS Policy in the Obama White House.

Now, however, Dr. Mermin is spending his days at home with his chickens and his misbehaving cat. The fate of the H.I.V. division hangs in the balance, and he worries that lawmakers may not realize its importance. “What if no one cares?” he said.

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Cameron @cameroncorduroy.bsky.social · 1d

seriously, people do not understand just how much we subsidize the existence of rural America

remember when people criticized USAID for making up huge chunks of poor countries' government budgets?

anyways: wvpolicy.org/federal-fund...

Federal Funds Make Up Half of West Virginia's Budget; Cuts Would Shift Hundreds of Millions in Costs to State - West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy

Federal dollars support a wide array of public services and systems that touch the lives of all West Virginians — from health care and food assistance to child care and public schools. Under both the ...

wvpolicy.org

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Nate Raymond @nateraymond.bsky.social · 19h

The Boston Globe says in Pete Hegseth's 2013 thesis for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, he "described closing racial achievement gaps as a 'laudable goal,' backed 'equality, diversity, and accessibility,' and saw the necessity of working with Democrats." www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/07/m...

Pete Hegseth railed against diversity and equity to generals. As a Harvard student, he had a much different take. - The Boston Globe

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth once described closing minority achievement gaps as a “laudable goal.”

www.bostonglobe.com

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Carly Putnam 🦖 @cputnam.bsky.social · 16h

You know what? Fair enough

Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 19h

your whales must be seen before they can be killed

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Kathleen Romig @kathleenromig.bsky.social · 18h

“If Congress lays down its arms on its most fundamental authority, I don’t know what leg they’re going to have to stand on,” said Brendan Buck, aide to former GOP House speakers Ryan and Boehner.

Agreed. It’s a baffling & frightening threat to the constitutional order.

wapo.st/4n5ksgv

Congress is losing its grip on the power to spend Americans’ money

Congress is supposed to control spending, but increasingly, the White House is dictating how America’s money is used.

wapo.st

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🇬🇾🗽Sydette The Dreaded Gorgon🗽🇬🇾 @blackamazon.bsky.social · 18h

A pandemic, fascism, open racism, food insecurity and book bans will do that

NPR @npr.org · 19h

New 2025 testing data shows third- through eighth-graders scored far below 2019 levels in reading. In math, some grades have made gains, but all are lagging compared to before the pandemic. n.pr/473xAwC

In reading, the nation's students are still stuck in a pandemic slump

New 2025 testing data shows third- through eighth-graders scored far below 2019 levels in reading. In math, some grades have made gains, but all are lagging compared to before the pandemic.

n.pr

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Errant @errantv.bsky.social · 1d

"I once met a former bodyguard of one billionaire with his own bunker, who told me his security team's first priority, if this really did happen, would be to eliminate said boss and get in the bunker themselves.'

The techbros will be the first to be torn to pieces by mobs if society collapses

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 18h

Every time.

MurderBotBot @murderbotbot.bsky.social · 18h

I was having an emotion, and I hate that.

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 19h

"We always think about America’s postwar role in Europe as an act of great generosity, the defense of allies from Soviet aggression. But by putting democracy at the center of our international identity, we also helped strengthen our own political system"
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Beacon of Democracy Goes Dark

For nearly 250 years, America promoted freedom and equality abroad, even when it failed to live up to those ideals itself. Not anymore.

www.theatlantic.com

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