Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted

Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · Aug 15

Found the welfare queen! www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/t...

SpaceX Gets Billions From the Government. It Gives Little to Nothing Back in Taxes.

www.nytimes.com

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Kriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · Aug 11

#BBCNews - Five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
www.bbc.com/news/article...
According to the CPJ, 186 journalists have been confirmed killed in the Gaza war

Five Al Jazeera journalists killed in Israeli strike near Al-Shifa hospital

The broadcaster condemns the "blatant attack on press freedom", while the IDF alleges one of the journalists was part of Hamas.

www.bbc.com

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NPR @npr.org · Jul 20

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

By Joe Hernandez, @danielestrin.bsky.social and Anas Baba

Nearly 100 people killed seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials say

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

n.pr

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Reposted

Matthew Holden 🏳️‍🌈 @matthholden.bsky.social · Jul 4

Please share: PhD scholarship opportunity in mathematical ecology on the value of information for improving ecological management, open to international students, with a great team @hugepossum.bsky.social, Katriona Shea, Kate Helmstedt, & me at UQ, Australia 🌍 🧮, study.uq.edu.au/study-option...

The value of information for ecological management

study.uq.edu.au

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Reposted

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jul 2

Seattle friends: In a few days, Kevin Gross and I will be having talking about how science works and the importance of teaching science as a social process.

The best part: It'll be at Burke Gilman brewing, and we won't be speaking all that long. So you can have beer—and talk back!

sufsseattle.bsky.social @sufsseattle.bsky.social · Jul 1

Smarty Pints! The Science of Science

Join professors Carl Bergstrom (UW Biology) and Kevin Gross (NCSU Statistics) for a conversation on how science works.

Let us know you are coming and get involved in the summer fight for science: www.standupforscience.net/summer-fight... .

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Reposted

Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · Jul 1

It is difficult to describe just how disastrous it would be if just-released NOAA budget proposal (or even large portions) were to be enacted: It would involve a wholesale dismantling (decimation, really) of entities relevant to weather, climate, & ocean research & prediction.

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Reposted

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 1

NOAA proposed budgets would eliminate science and management of marine mammals and sea turtles, firing 311 scientists and cutting the budget by more than $100m. Also a long list of program terminations...

See pages 16-20
www.commerce.gov/sites/defaul...

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Reposted

Amanda Renteria @amandarenteria.bsky.social · Jun 30

Today's the day the Senate will vote on the budget bill that could gut Medicaid access for millions of Americans. Tune in. Call your Senator. We need everyone to weigh in now.

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Reposted

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Jun 27

The Trump administration just established a precedent that they can pick and choose who leads higher Ed institutions. An authoritarian government deepens its reach into higher education.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...

University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · Jun 23

The #SCIMaP team announces a major update: an analysis of the economic impacts of the White House's NIH FY26 budget.

Bottom-line, we estimate $46B in total economic loss, 202K lost jobs, and impacts in communities nationwide.

Interactive map and shareable report:
scienceimpacts.org/fy26

a 🧵

Economic loss due to NIH budget cuts by congressional district, scienceimpacts.org/fy26

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Reposted

Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · Jun 12

The combined 2024 budgets of NSF, NIH, and NASA were around $80 billion, or 100x this package. It makes sense for other countries to try to capitalize on the idiocy that has captured our government, but it's important to remember the sheer scale and irreplaceability of the US research enterprise.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · Jun 12

* JAPAN READIES $700M PACKAGE TO LURE TALENT AMID US BRAIN DRAIN

@reuters.com

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Reposted

Tom Hollenstein @tomhollenstein.bsky.social · Jun 5

My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇

www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...

Queen’s Special U.S. Doctoral Recruitment Initiative | School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral AffairsDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown...

Queen’s University is a globally engaged, research-intensive institution dedicated to attracting and supporting exceptional PhD students who will significantly advance our research mission.

www.queensu.ca

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · May 13

"For me, the answer now lies in refusal, the withdrawal of participation from systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging."

Today I am resigning from the National Science Board and the Library of Congress Scholars Council.

I wrote about my decision in TIME.

time.com/7285045/resi...

Why I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of Congress

I cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging.

time.com

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cstawitz.bsky.social @cstawitz.bsky.social · May 11

Thinking of all of the amazing federal scientist moms who have left recently.

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · May 11

Read my latest:

Being a mom in the federal government wasn’t easy. Trump made it “impossible.”

The Handbasket spoke to several moms about the series of painful choices they've had to make since January.

www.thehandbasket.co

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Reposted

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · May 3

if you teach, you are engaged in an inherently political--but not necessarily partisan--act

the political vs partisan distinction stays kicking people's ass

this old @asociologist.bsky.social is very helpful on this
scatter.wordpress.com/2020/11/10/p...

partisans, not scientists, decide if science is partisan

Last month, Audra Wolfe wrote a fantastic post about how science is and always has been political. In the post, she analyzes statements from Nature and Scientific American, both of which endorsed J…

scatter.wordpress.com

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Reposted

Jenna C. Hill @chillocean.bsky.social · Apr 17

NOAA just announced a long list of datasets that are going away🧪⚒️🌊: www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume...
Download what you need asap and send comments to: [email protected]

Notice of Changes

Notices of changes are formal public announcements of planned services changes to applications and other products.

www.nesdis.noaa.gov

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Madhusudan 🦉 Katti @leafwarbler.bsky.social · Apr 15

This should be the template for every university’s website: let the public know what they gain from research and what they stand to lose.

www.harvard.edu

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Reposted

Nils Reimer @reimtime.bsky.social · Apr 10

I have been an international student, or around international students, for all my adult life. Every single one of these visa revocations is a human tragedy, a dream quashed and a life derailed.

Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · Apr 10

This @insidehighered.com website is tracking visa revocations of students across the US, >600 at >100 colleges as of today, April 10. www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...

Map of the continental USA in orange with black dots at the locations of all universities where visas have been revoked.

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Reposted

Jaweed Kaleem @jaweedkaleem.bsky.social · Apr 8

UPDATED: At least 83 students -- at campuses for University of California, California State University and Stanford -- have had their visas revoked as of Monday evening.

Jaweed Kaleem @jaweedkaleem.bsky.social · Apr 7

LATEST: At least 45 student visas across the state have been revoked by the Trump administration, California universities report, as numbers grow. A lawsuit has been filed in a Los Angeles federal court against DHS and Kristi Noem www.latimes.com/california/s...

Caught off-guard, California colleges scramble to determine scope of student visa cancellations

More universities are discovering that international student visas were cancelled last week, causing growing concern and confusion at UCLA and other California campuses.

www.latimes.com

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Alexa Fredston @afredston.bsky.social · Apr 7

it's a hard and sad time in science / higher ed in the US right now. on the other hand, lots of PhDs are looking for work, so I wanted to share—

I'm hiring a postdoc!

it's a two-year position at UCSC to do (preferably Bayesian) modeling of marine ecosystems: recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF01892

Postdoctoral Scholar in Quantitative Marine Ecology

University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ucsc.edu

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Reposted

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · Apr 5

Spectacular view of 100,000 people attending the #HandsOff march in NYC

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Sharon Shewmake @sharonshewmake.bsky.social · Apr 3

We just learned that Washington State Library’s $3.9M annual award from the Feds has been cancelled.

That’s rural libraries, rural librarians and internet access, databases for research and ebooks through Libby.

DOGE needs to end.

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Reposted

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Apr 2

Collecting my thoughts at the end of one of the worst days of my life...

At NIH, > 1300 people were RIFed. These range all across the board from institute directors to low level administrative staff.

Communication staff and procurement appear to be hardest hit as anticipated from the HHS plan

1/n

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cstawitz.bsky.social @cstawitz.bsky.social · Mar 22

About a hundred protestors outside of the Tesla dealership in Seattle today. The store and surrounding street closed.

A sign outside a closed Tesla dealership that reads "these machines fund fascists"

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Reposted

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · Mar 22

Tonight an unbelievable **34,000 people** gathered for our Denver rally to take on billionaires and win our country back.

This was the largest political gathering in Denver since Obama in 2008.

Also bigger than the 2024 DNC.

And the largest ever rally in Bernie’s career (and obviously, mine too).

AOC and Bernie in front of the rally crowd in Denver

Zoomed out crowd shot of 34,000 people in downtown Denver with Colorado mountains in the background

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