Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield @agdanrayfield.bsky.social · 6h

BREAKING NEWS: We just won a court order blocking the Trump administration's illegal demands for personal data of SNAP recipients.

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Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 2h

Oriana Korol—arrested by ICE for playing GHOSTBUSTERS on a clarinet—is incredible, and the kind of ally we need in massive numbers if we’re going to halt this crushing authoritarianism:

“This has just increased my commitment to social justice and to fight back against mistreatment of minorities.”

A Dandelion @onedandelion.bsky.social · 3h

10/15/25 She's back home✨
🎥 @oregonian
youtube.com/shorts/GV0KX...

Band’s clarinet player speaks out after her federal arrest

YouTube video by The Oregonian

youtube.com

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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 1h

Un-presidented brass band at city hall in Portland tonight celebrating the release of their clarinet player from federal custody

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3h

Again, it is a full-blown federal felony crime for anyone in the White House or Executive Office of the President to order tax investigations into anyone.

And it's not just a crime to DO it, it's even a federal crime for an employee not to REPORT such an order to the Treasury Inspector General.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
prev | next
(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.

(b)Reporting requirement
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(c)Exceptions
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any written request made—
(1)to an applicable person by or on behalf of the taxpayer and forwarded by such applicable person to the Internal Revenue Service;
(2)by an applicable person for disclosure of return or return information under section 6103 if such request is made in accordance with the requirements of such section; or
(3)by the Secretary of the Treasury as a consequence of the implementation of a change in tax policy.
(d)Penalty
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(e)Applicable person
For purposes of this section, the term “applicable person” means—
(1)the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2)any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

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kimberly grace @grace8ming.bsky.social · 5h

thread

Alissa Azar @alissaazar.bsky.social · 8h

Students are now across the street chanting “free Palestine” and repeatedly calling the grown ass adults here protesting children “pedophiles”

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Alissa Azar @alissaazar.bsky.social · 8h

A group of far right assholes have showed up to protest at David Douglas high school after students allegedly pushed back at a formation of a turning point chapter. School is out & they are outnumbered by predominantly Black & Brown students roasting the fuck out of them.

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 8h

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

Oct. 15, 2025
PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION
STATEMENT
Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution.
The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all.
PPA

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Marcus Hutchins @malwaretech.com · 9h

Fentanyl is fully synthetic and made in a lab. The precursor chemicals use to make it aren't controlled, so they aren't hard to obtain. Which refutes the idea of "fentanyl boats", because why would they mail the chemicals to Venezuela, just to have to ship the final (illegal) product 3000 miles. 3/5

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 9h

NBC News has reportedly eliminated its NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino and NBC OUT teams

NBC News’ 150 Layoffs Gut Black, Latino, Asian American and LGBTQ+ Diversity Teams

The cuts affected teams across the NBC News operation and came as the network no longer needed to support two different news operations. MSNBC has begun growing its own newsroom, hiring swaths of tale...

www.thewrap.com

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Inside Climate News @insideclimatenews.org · 9h

In a rally outside the U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday, coal miners and their advocates stressed the need to limit silica exposure and protect workers from irreversible health impacts.

Coal Miners and Advocates Plead With Trump to Enforce Black Lung Rule - Inside Climate News

In a rally outside the U.S. Department of Labor, miners and their advocates stressed the need to limit silica exposure and protect workers from irreversible health impacts.

insideclimatenews.org

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Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 9h

He Tweeted Charlie Kirk “Won’t Be Remembered as a Hero.” The State Dept. Revoked His Visa by @shawnmusgrave.bsky.social
theintercept.com/2025/10/15/s...

He Tweeted Charlie Kirk “Won’t Be Remembered as a Hero.” The State Dept. Revoked His Visa

Nota Baloyi is one of several people who lost a visa to visit the U.S. because he spoke ill of Charlie Kirk on social media.

theintercept.com

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Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 9h

Stephen Miller, the Young-Republican-in-Chief

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 10h

Trump: I want to thank Stephen Miller I would love to have him come up and explain his true feelings. Maybe not his truest feelings. That might be going a little too far

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 10h

white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans

www.nytimes.com

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kimberly grace @grace8ming.bsky.social · 9h

like, I know he just makes up shit all the time, but things that he repeats like this often have a weird seed in what we are still calling "reality"...

kimberly grace @grace8ming.bsky.social · 9h

does anyone know where he got that "beautiful black woman in a maga hat in chicago begging for the national guard" thing that he keeps repeating?

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kimberly grace @grace8ming.bsky.social · 9h

does anyone know where he got that "beautiful black woman in a maga hat in chicago begging for the national guard" thing that he keeps repeating?

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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 10h

Judge Immergut extended the restraining order on troops deployment for another two weeks.

Oregon judge extends temporary block on National Guard deployment to Portland

The order comes as city, state and federal official wait for a ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

www.opb.org

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 13h

SCIENCE POLICY NEWS:

During Yom Kippur, all the members of the High Energy Physics Advisory Committee (HEPAP), myself included, received a letter thanking us for our service and telling us essentially that the almost 40 yo standing federal advisory committee was no more. ⚛️🧪🔭

Why that matters 🧵

DOE Consolidates Office of Science Advisory Committees

Six long-standing committees advising the Department of Energy’s Office of Science have been rolled into one.

www.aip.org

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Truthout @truthout.org · 12h

A new firm will geofence the actual boundaries of every major church and Christian college in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Coloardo and then “track attendees and continue to target [them] with ads” on behalf of Israel. The $3.2 million contract also includes paying pastors to produce content.

New Campaign Aims to Flood Churches and Christian Colleges With Pro-Israel Ads

The campaign is part of a larger $3.2 million contract that also includes paying pastors to produce content.

truthout.org

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Jeff Yang @originalsp.in · 13h

ICE arrested comedian Robby Roadsteamer for singing a parody of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” in a Jeffrey Epstein the Giraffe costume outside their facility.

He sings “If you hate brown people / and you are a Nazi” and ICE thugs grab him and drag him into detention. No violence—just speech.

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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 12h

The aircraft carrying US Secretary of Defense/war/whatevs Pete Hegseth from Brussels declared an emergency before turning around over the Atlantic and heading back toward the UK.

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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 12h

Apparently $20B of our taxpayer money wasn't enough to bail out Argentina.

Now Trump wants U.S. banks to divert ANOTHER $20B away from lending to American businesses, farmers, and families to prop up Milei's corrupt presidency and failing economy.

So much for America First.

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Block Club Chicago @blockclubchi.bsky.social · 15h

A 15-year-old U.S. citizen was taken by the feds for 5 hours after an East Side protest, his attorney said. blockclubchi.co/42FrSzH

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 13h

Wisconsin Rep. Snodgrass (D) slams Republicans for cutting an amendment to release Epstein Files, shortly after they voted to increase sex trafficking penalties.

"Either you're with children and women who have been victims of trafficking and sexual assault, or you are against them."

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ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 15h

Remember, according to the Republican Justices, it's okay to gerrymander for party advantage, not racial advantage. It's an unknowable distinction, but one that allows the Republicans to okay racist gerrymandering under the guise of political gerrymandering.

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Robby Roadsteamer @roadsteamer.bsky.social · 14h

🚨 *Breaking News* Robby Roadsteamer has been detained by ICE Portland after singing Rod Stewart with the Portland Frog! We need your help!

Please support Robby's campaign and lawyer fees at robbyroadsteamer.com link on bio 💙🦒🦒🦒

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