Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Ken Burnside

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 7h

Fenway health in Boston has stopped providing gender affirming care to trans youth.

I was previously on the board of this organization and I've never been so disgusted with their leadership cowardly capitulating like this.

Alt text:
Statement from Fenway Health explaining that due to new federal requirements effective October 1, 2025, they can no longer provide medical gender-affirming care such as hormones and puberty blockers to patients under 19, but all other services for patients of all ages will continue unchanged.

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Big Spooky ColBosch @colbosch.bsky.social · 5h

*screaming* You're spending more on AIDS care than you would on PreP! Preventative care always ALWAYS A L W A Y S saves money! And HRT is cheap as shit when bought at the state level! ARGH!

mady castigan✨ 🏳️‍⚧️ @madycast.com · 7h

Newsom vetoes both the PreP access and the HRT stockpile bill because he is worried it would increase healthcare costs...

He claims to support the aims of these bills. But the vetoes deny access to medical care for queer people.

(Context: He vetoed these 2 while signing 8 other queer rights bills)

Trans News Network @transnews.network · 7h

He also signed SB 590, which bolsters paid family leave.

Read his veto messages here:

www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/u...
www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/u...

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Ruth Delgado @heylookitsruth.bsky.social · 10h

A mom in Houston reported her 15-year-old son with autism missing. She spent 6 days terrified, searching for him. The whole time, Houston police knew exactly where he was since they helped ICE place him in a refugee facility.

This is beyond cruel.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...

Missing teen with autism transferred to refugee facility by HPD

He is currently being held at an Office for Refugee Resettlement facility.

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 7h

Breaking: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, the legendary transgender activist and veteran of the Stonewall uprising who dedicated her life to the liberation of trans people, especially Black trans women, has died at 78.

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National Security Counselors 🕵 @nationalsecuritylaw.org · 7h

IIRC they are also giving VIP treatment at ICE recruiting stations to applicants who have done recent prison time for alleged crimes committed between January 5, 2021, and January 7, 2021.

Pentagon orders ‘white glove’ treatment for those returning to military service after Covid-19 vaccine refusal | CNN Politics

The changes follow criticism from some social media influencers about how returning troops have been treated at military intake facilities.

www.cnn.com

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 7h

Rebecca Black's "Friday" is the somberly ironic paean to the golden age known as the Obama Administration, and is the source of repeated doctoral theses written on vellum after the Fascist Collapse and Die Off about the Before Time.

Rebecca Black - Friday

YouTube video by rebecca

www.youtube.com

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Microplastics Spookmelier @leastactionhero.bsky.social · 7h

interesting way to characterize the view “everyone in the world deserves access to healthcare” but go off

Abughazaleh garnered national attention earlier this year for questioning why it's controversial that illegal immigrants should have access to taxpayer-funded healthcare.

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 7h

The measure of a country's greatness is how it supports and cares for its marginalized residents and citizens.

Jesse Mermell @jessemermell.bsky.social · 1d

He is 13. A 7th grader w/ a pending asylum case. Being held more than 500 miles from home & housed w/ adults. He called his mom crying, & reported that he’s sleeping on concrete w/ an aluminum blanket.

How is this anything other than sick & shameful? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/12/m...

Everett 13-year-old arrested by ICE and sent to Virginia detention facility - The Boston Globe

The boy’s mother, Josiele Berto, was called to pick her son up from the Everett Police Department on Thursday, the day he was arrested.

www.bostonglobe.com

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 10h

"And when did you get *tall*? I distinctly remember carrying you on my shoulders last month..."

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 11h

Enjoy every moment of it. :) If you journal or keep a diary, log every instance. You're going to discover that you turned around and six-years-old turned into "packing up to go to college" and you're not sure where the time went, or, for that matter, why your back hurts more...

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 11h

*puts a hug in the basket where it can be used as needed*

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Reposted by Ken Burnside

Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social · 16h

In Portland, an ambulance was summoned to the ICE office to treat an injured protester (not clear how he was injured). But when the patient was loaded inside, ICE officers refused to let the ambulance leave and threatened to shoot the ambulance driver: www.wweek.com/news/2025/10...

Documents Allege a Federal Agent at Portland ICE Threatened to Shoot an Ambulance Driver

Feds delayed medics who had come to pick up an injured protester. Then, according to confidential incident reports, the agents became aggressive.

www.wweek.com

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wesin-🎃a spooky version of 🎃-japan @wesinjapan.bsky.social · 14h

Conservative media people always have the weakest origin stories. I mean, I grew up in the Florida Panhandle. By the time I was 18 I had already heard versions of racism that are so experimental they can't even cross state lines without a permit, and yet I don't get sacks of money thrown at me.

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 14h

Imagine not only sharing this weak anecdote as your origin story -- a colleague didn't like Ben Shapiro, and I had to hear them talk about it! -- but making it your entire identity.

Jesus Christ.

m @keptsimple.bsky.social · 15h

pinned tweet of the shitposter who wrote the story

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Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 14h

Everyone should experience the humbling effect of sending out a small request to an organizing listserve [of people who have self-selected to be on said list] and getting zero responses. It will help you to understand how hard it is to organize anything.

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Queen of Land @queenofland.bsky.social · 13h

And also, on Indigenous People's Day, I am boosting Wings NDN Silver, some of the most beautiful pieces I've seen in a while, and you probably could do with some of this good medicine in your life. Do give them a look!

WingsNDNSilver @wingsndnsilver.bsky.social · 15d

Okay, tonight's inventory selection.

Today's feature is a fabulous vintage-style cuff [shown below] set with a rainbow moonstone cabochon.

We have a pair of earrings in a similarly old design, set with the same gem.

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 13h

Dating is _exhausting_.

Why can't I meet interesting people by sitting quietly, reading a book, and keeping a very sleepy cat contented in my lap?

No, no. I have to go into Extroversion Mode to be noticed. Bleah.

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News Eye @newseye.bsky.social · 15h

NEW: There’s a disaster unfolding in Alaska right now. And no major network is covering it.

The remnants of Typhoon Halong battered western Alaska overnight. Homes, with people in them, have literally been swept into the Bering Strait.

At least 20 are missing. No comment from any federal agency.

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Dr. Adeene Denton @spacewhalerider.com · 14h

Spark Space is an incredible project - please circulate, and give what you can to help them stay open. It's an honor to help these kids with the support they need to take their exams and continue their education!

Dr. Divya 🇵🇸🧿 (offline) @divyampersaud.com · 1d

Psst… from the heart of the devastated north, the revolutionary project Spark Space continues—still hosting dozens of kids for exams 💛

Electricity services are out, so the volunteers rely on the generator you got them in March. Help them buy fuel & continue serving these kids!

🇵🇸 Gaza Needs Your Support: Help Build a Lifeline for Students and Remote Workers!

In Gaza, war has destroyed homes, blocked roads, and left countless people without work. Yet, amidst the rubble, hope remains. Students and remote workers face daily struggles—power outages, broken…

chuffed.org

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Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 13h

Did those business owners pay attention to what Trump fucking promised on the fucking campaign trail? I did.

Did those business owners pay attention to what Harris promised as policy points? I did.

Actions. Consequences. You didn't want this to happen, you should've made sure Trump lost.

Jules Sherred (he/him) @geekyjules.julessherred.com · 14h

Boo hoo. Poor American businesses are being hurt exactly as intended. Instead of crying at Canadians and describing our feelings as "bruised," maybe talk to your politicians who caused this. Boo hoo

www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/b...

CNN headline: Canada's boycott America movement is hurting innocent bystanders

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Coyote & Crow Games @coyoteandcrow.bsky.social · 17h

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! Today we celebrate the heritage, beauty, and perseverance of hundreds of cultures and nations across North America that have thrived and endured here for thousands of years, and will be around for thousands more.
If you want to support this Native: bit.ly/3L67Yrs

A display of Coyote & Crow, the roleplaying game, Wolves, the cooperative board game, Naasii, the Coyote & Crow Dice Game, and a set of custom dice for the RPG. All created by Cherokee Nation citizen, Kenna Alexander.

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 17h

It's time again as a notable Italian-American to note Christopher Columbus was an absolute piece of shit human who didn't land anywhere near this actual country so why the fuck should he stop the mail for the whole day

Anyway, Happy Indigenous People's Day, y'all

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Kameron Hurley @kameronhurley.com · 15h

Poor guy at Dayton airport bagel shop was running it all by himself. He was easily over 60, had a difficult time remembering orders, and his card reader was on the fritz. I keep thinking, "This poor guy is getting paid like $6 an hour with no benefits. It's a fucking wonder he showed up today."

Just a Phone Guy @phoneguy517.bsky.social · 16h

Any time you see the words “labor shortage” you can replace them with the words “unwillingness to pay a decent wage”

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DocLB2 @doclb2.bsky.social · 1d

Issac Hayes, Black Moses, Cadillac in the Stax Museum of African American Music in Memphis

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Johnnie Jae @johnniejae.bsky.social · 1d

Tommy Orange, the Cheyenne and Arapaho author of There There and Wandering Stars, has been named a 2025 MacArthur Fellow, one of the highest honors in the arts.

redpopnews.com/wandering-st...

#macarhurfellowship #MacArthurFoundation #redpopnews #tommyorange

Wandering Stars Align: Tommy Orange Named A 2025 MacArthur Fellow

When the MacArthur Foundation announced its 2025 Fellows, one name carried through Native communities like a spark. Tommy Orange, the Cheyenne and Arapaho author from Oakland, was named one of this ye...

redpopnews.com

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Carol Rosenberg @carolrosenbergnyt.bsky.social · 14h

Declassified: Fragments of a graphic cable about 2002 circa torture in a CIA black site.
Alarmed co-workers reported it, triggering investigations that allowed critics of the program to cast it as out of control, and eventually contributed to its being shut down.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u...

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