Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 2d

So Universidad Iberoamericana has a beautiful campus in CDMX!

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 8d

Excited to be speaking at GAIL Summit 2025–Mexico City next week! I’ll be joining an outstanding group of international lawyers to discuss the latest in social enterprise / impact investment law. Looking forward to seeing some of you!

gailnet.org/events/gail-...

Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL)

The Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL) is a community of legal leaders who are using the practice of law to have a positive impact on people and the planet, and to accelerate the just transition...

gailnet.org

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 2d

Rather than let it slide, my boss turned to him and said loudly so all the other 20 men could hear:

“The only reason you’re asking me that, and no one else at this table, is because I’m a woman.” She kept going but the rest was a blur. Anyway, that guy didn’t talk much after that, and we prevailed.

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 2d

I was once in a high-stakes live M&A negotiation in a skyscraper conference room full of men and only one woman (my boss). Hundreds of billions of dollars were on the line. During a brief break, one IB guy asked my boss how she does this type of hard work with a family at home.

*record scratch! …

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump ignores a question from a woman reporter but says, "I just like to watch her talk. Good job. Thank you darling."

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 4d

I hope John Roberts reads this one

www.harvardmagazine.com/legal/suprem...

What Trump Means for John Roberts's Legacy | Harvard Magazine

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

www.harvardmagazine.com

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 8d

Enjoying this one after listening to Jamelle’s defense of name calling :)

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d

really can’t say enough about how mike johnson is a sniveling little coward of a man. a bayou-bred pushover with a dignity deficit that would embarrass renfield

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Q: Do you agree that the mayor of Chicago and governor of Illinois should be in prison?

MIKE JOHNSON: Should they be in prison? I'm not the attorney general. I'm not following the day to day on that

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 8d

Planning to share a bit about my experience working with the independent board of Ben & Jerry’s, the revolutionary work of Kiva Capital’s refugee funds, and new social enterprise strategies for local media. :)

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 8d

Excited to be speaking at GAIL Summit 2025–Mexico City next week! I’ll be joining an outstanding group of international lawyers to discuss the latest in social enterprise / impact investment law. Looking forward to seeing some of you!

gailnet.org/events/gail-...

Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL)

The Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL) is a community of legal leaders who are using the practice of law to have a positive impact on people and the planet, and to accelerate the just transition...

gailnet.org

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 9d

“through October” 😥

Lookout Santa Cruz @lookoutsantacruz.bsky.social · 9d

A free child care program serving low-income families in Santa Cruz County will remain open through October after securing $362,000 in emergency funding from local agencies, following a sudden loss of federal support.

Free child care program Head Start secures enough funding to remain open through end of October

A free child care program serving low-income families in Santa Cruz County will remain open through October after securing $362,000 in emergency funding from local agencies, following a sudden loss of federal support.

buff.ly

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 13d

I enjoyed that museum

Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 13d

"Everyone is 12 now" theory holding strong www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

Director of Eisenhower Library in Kansas ousted after refusing to give Trump administration a sword

The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s ...

www.kcur.org

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 14d

Another big one from @justinelliott.bsky.social

ProPublica @propublica.org · 14d

NEW: In newly unsealed testimony, a SpaceX insider revealed that Elon Musk’s company had directly received money from Chinese investors, raising questions about foreign ownership interests in one of the United States’ most important military contractors.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Took Money Directly From Chinese Investors, Company Insider Testifies

The newly unsealed testimony marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the company has been disclosed, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of America’s most importan...

www.propublica.org

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 15d

Democrats reinforcing a scarcity mentality among the American public just undermines the better argument that we are a strong, wealthy nation that can afford to treat sick people simply because it’s the right thing to do

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 15d

They’re here, they have limited opportunity and live in great peril because of federal policy, they’re suffering so much they’ve risked exposure to seek treatment,… and so obviously their emergency room visit should either become a huge burden to them or a charge against the state’s general fund.

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 15d

Only know Lund through reputation and her writings, which I enjoy

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 15d

Having worked and written with Talley, I can safely say he doesn’t pull punches :)

Chance the Lawyer @chancethelawyer.bsky.social · 15d

This is a hella cold open. 😂

Should Corporate Law Go Private?
Dorothy Lund & Eric Talley
Introduction
Over Valentine's weekend of 2025, a fierce Nor'easter buffeted the Mid-Atlantic coast, driving all but the hardiest weekend warriors indoors. Within the Delaware offices of Richards, Layton & Finger LLC, however, the clouds were all silver lining to a cadre of attorneys and scriveners furiously at work. Their objective? To craft an unprecedented realignment of Delaware's General Corporate Law ("DGCL"). Richards Layton-which was contemporaneously representing Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg in high-stakes fiduciary litigation just blocks away'—had corralled the team to produce what would later be declared "the most significant single-year revision of Delaware's corporate code since at least 1967?"? And they aimed to finish the job over the weekend?

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 15d

Or a cup-de-sac of tragedy

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 15d

Sad times. Looks like a friend who took his life used ChatGPT to learn how to hang himself. He first asked directly and was rebuffed by OpenAI’s new(?) safety policies. But he easily subverted them simply by telling ChatGPT he was just doing research for a story in which a character kills himself.❤️

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 15d

Sad times. Looks like a friend who took his life used ChatGPT to learn how to hang himself. He first asked directly and was rebuffed by OpenAI’s new(?) safety policies. But he easily subverted them simply by telling ChatGPT he was just doing research for a story in which a character kills himself.❤️

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 17d

Fake is out. Real things are seen as quality - even luxury - because they require effort and talent and time.

We were on this track pre-pandemic, but I think the AI rise has fully returned us to it.

(Hearing myself 15 years ago saying this is why lab grown diamonds will never quite catch on.)

Ann Monster Lipton @annmlipton.bsky.social · 17d

again i say, the fashion now is for (what appears to be) reality. tiktok videos go viral often because they appear to be so unpolished and raw.

so my bet (for no stakes because i am risk averse) is that there is no appetite for this

Zoë Schiffer @zoeschiffer.bsky.social · 17d

Scoop with @lmatsakis.bsky.social: OpenAI is about to launch a TikTok-style social app for AI generated videos. We got the deets (and the docs): www.wired.com/story/openai...

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 17d

But Klein’s uncertainty contrasts so starkly against Coates’s plain confidence. Again and again, Coates stresses his role in a cross-generational tradition and culture of fighting for freedom. What comes through is that Coates draws strength and purpose from deep roots, and Klein seems a bit lost.

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 17d

Fascinating conversation. Near the end Klein makes a revealing comment.

When asked by Coates to define how he sees his role, Klein responds, “I don’t know what my role is anymore. I’ll be honest with you, man.”

He ultimately lands on political persuasion, sort of begrudgingly. Ok, that’s fair…

Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 18d

I wanted to share some thoughts on this Ezra Klein discussion with Ta-Nehisi Coates.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...

Opinion | Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines

www.nytimes.com

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 19d

OK but just looks like a Scrub Jay

Kameron Hurley @kameronhurley.com · 19d

Gettin' wild

www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...

Strange Bird Spotted in a Texas Backyard Is the First Known Hybrid Between a Blue Jay and a Green Jay

The ranges of the two parent bird species have expanded due to climate change and now overlap around San Antonio, researchers say

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 19d

The T is lovely but I like the F best

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 19d

I’ve had these conversations too. I think the people in my classes self-select though… they really want to be there and learn the stuff

New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 19d

Speaking to my students, they don't on the whole _want_ to use LLMs, even if they can get away with it.

What tips the behaviour is when they get the impression that everybody else is doing it already. That's what the ads are for.

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 19d

idle thought: i wonder if the rush of ads for AI that promises to write student essays (euch) is at least partly the result of exam culture? if you make the target "get an A" instead of "discover interesting ideas" then you can't entirely blame people for wanting to take the easy route

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 21d

Among many other impacts, one that I worry may be longer lasting is the suppression effect on philanthropic work more generally. But nonprofits are filled with courageous people with deep moral conviction, so they all may just double down!

David Kaye @davidakaye.bsky.social · 21d

so many levels to condemn this out-of-control abuse of power:

- the antisemitism of the anti-Soros agenda

- its roots in authoritarian repression of democracy support, esp by Putin and Orban

- trump's targeting of perceived political enemies by a weaponized DoJ.

and that's just a start.

Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation

www.nytimes.com

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 22d

WH says they’ve seen clients multiply

Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 22d

Yes. At the time, the EO directed at PW was the harshest. Firms targeted later like Wilmer Hale had the benefit of seeing what happened with PW.

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Jesse @jessemerle.bsky.social · 22d

And this is why Paul Weiss should never have settled. The firm is a distressed target for everyone now.

In fairness, Trump’s foul EO may simply have made the end of PW an inevitability, just a matter of time. But at least they would’ve gone down riding on principles and with reputations intact.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 22d

Breaking News: Top House and Senate Democrats are investigating whether law firms that cut deals with President Trump are breaking the law by doing free legal work for his administration.

Democrats Investigating Law Firms Over Work for Trump’s Commerce Dept.

In letters to the firms, the lawmakers suggested “that the administration’s coercion of your law firm may be ongoing and escalating.”

nyti.ms

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