Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 1h

www.mediaite.com/politics/tru...

Remember when Trump said he’d pay for the monstrosity he’s adding to the #WhiteHouse and we all knew that was bogus?

Trump Demands DOJ Pay $230 Million for Investigating Him — And His Cronies Get to Approve Payout: Report

Trump's own appointees and allies are the ones who will have the power to green-light the potential nine-figure payout.

www.mediaite.com

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 3h

wtop.com/local/2025/1...

Hundreds of furloughed federal workers turn out for free groceries in Maryland - WTOP News

The line stretched around the block Tuesday at the Capital Area Food Bank’s first distribution for furloughed federal workers and contractors during the government shutdown.

wtop.com

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 4h

wtop.com/dc/2025/10/d...

Waste of money and Trump doesn’t care about the lives of the guard members

DC pushes back on indefinite deployment of National Guard - WTOP News

D.C. is pushing back against what it argues is an illegal and indefinite deployment of National Guard troops, under federal control, in the nation’s capital.

wtop.com

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Reposted by Mena Burke

Megaweapon @megaweapon5.bsky.social · 5h

“Long Island Italian real estate agent” is almost as Nazi-coded “living in a compound in northern Idaho”

hannah gais @hannahgais.bsky.social · 6h

Man, you know things are bad when your Long Island mom has to come to DC to defend you. www.notus.org/trump-white-...

Embattled Trump Nominee Paul Ingrassia’s Mom Tried to Meet With Lawmakers Who Criticized Her Son

Donna Gallo Ingrassia demanded meetings at the Capitol Hill office of Reps. Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia in late June to defend her son.

www.notus.org

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 5h

Idiot

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 7h

Trump: "Buttigieg spent billions fixing the air traffic control. They used copper wire going into glass wire. Any union electrician here or any non-union electrician would say you can't hook copper into glass. It doesn't work. They spent billions, turned on the system & it was stone cold blank"

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 6h

Trump trying to bankrupt the US. Who is he working for? Not we the people.

#WhiteHouse Destruction

The Resister Linda Cardwell 🦋💙 @cardwell4u.bsky.social · 21h

Look at this.

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 6h

Wag the dog? It’s horrifying but nothing would surprise me.

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 6h

What a small world we live in

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 8h

abcnews.go.com/US/mystery-o...

Object that hit United flight's windshield may have been weather balloon, company says

A United Airlines flight diverted to Salt Lake City after an object struck the plane's windshield at 36,000 feet, causing it to crack and injuring the pilot.

abcnews.go.com

Reposted by Mena Burke

ACLU @aclu.org · 1d

BREAKING: A court ordered the Department of Defense to stop censoring educational materials discussing race and gender in schools on military bases.

Books removed from the schools must be returned to the shelves immediately.

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Reposted by Mena Burke

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 9h

The fact that groups like the ADL are refusing to take "yes" from an answer from Mamdani, while downplaying neo-Nazi ties from political appointees on the right, is just going to mean antisemitism becomes identified as a partisan talking point, and no one will take it seriously ever again.

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 8h

www.mediaite.com/media/news/j...

Disappointment - a colossal disappointment

John Fetterman Urges GOP to Use Nuclear Option to Reopen Government: ‘I Don’t Want to Hear Any Democrat Clutching Their Pearls’

Senator John Fetterman is urging his GOP colleagues to use the so-called "nuclear option" and get rid of the filibuster to reopen the government.

www.mediaite.com

Reposted by Mena Burke

PWHL Seattle @pwhl--seattle.bsky.social · 9h

Introducing the inaugural jerseys of PWHL Seattle

📰 bit.ly/3IT0rvK

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 9h

This is a really attractive jersey. Support women’s sports

Great look @pwhl--seattle.bsky.social

Support @thepwhl.com

PWHL Seattle @pwhl--seattle.bsky.social · 9h

History stitched in deep slate green and river blue 🧵

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 9h

They don’t think they’re ever leaving the White House.

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Reposted by Mena Burke

Dave Lee @davelee.me · 9h

WELL HOW ABOUT THAT

"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts

A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Mena Burke

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 9h

Amid all of yesterday's other excitement, Lindsey the Insurance Lawyer's EDVA also dismissed the indictment against Ekim Alptekin.

Anthony Trenga, who was always pissed abt the way DOJ let Mike Flynn off easy, dismissed w/o asking why.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
v. )
) No. 1:18-CR-457-AJT
KAMIL EKIM ALPTEKIN, )
)
Defendant. )
GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS THE INDICTMENT
The United States respectfully moves pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure
48(a), to dismiss the indictment currently pending against Kamil Ekim Alptekin in this case with
prejudice. The United States believes it is not in the public interest to pursue this case further,
and accordingly, a dismissal is warranted in the interest of justice. The defendant does not
oppose this motion. A proposed order is attached to this motion for the Court’s convenience.

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 9h

If there’s Clark Construction in your town, you can print out photos of what they’re doing to the #WhiteHouse and post them. You can also contact the landowners and respectfully tell them Clark is unacceptable.

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Reposted by Mena Burke

Count Every Hero @counteveryhero.org · 1d

NEW: Today, nine frmr service secretaries + retired four-star admirals & generals filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court warning that deploying National Guard troops in Chicago would add to a dangerous trend of politicizing the military. bit.ly/4hkEZfy

Former Nat. Sec. leaders file brief before SCOTUS on Chicago

The brief was filed after the federal government asked the Court to stay a lower court’s order temporarily prohibiting the deployment of the Guard to Chicago.

bit.ly

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 9h

Really wish shame was still a thing in this country.

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Reposted by Mena Burke

Ohio Capital Journal @ohiocapitaljournal.com · 10h

A federal judge on Friday clarified and broadened a temporary restraining order she issued earlier this week that blocks the Trump administration from laying off federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown.

Federal judge broadens order blocking Trump administration layoffs during shutdown • Ohio Capital Journal

A federal judge on Friday clarified and broadened a temporary restraining order she issued earlier this week that blocks the Trump administration from laying off federal employees during the ongoing…

ohiocapitaljournal.com

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Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 9h

www.rawstory.com/not-a-gut-wr...

Wisconsin Repub senator doesn’t care if millions of Americans are bankrupted by healthcare costs because they can’t afford insurance. Not a big deal for Ron and Dictator wannabe Don because their billionaire funders got their tax breaks.

#RepublicanShutDown

Not a 'gut-wrenching' problem: Ron Johnson shrugs off millions losing health subsidies

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, sought to downplay the impact that losing Affordable Care Act subsidies would have on millions of Americans, calling it not a...

www.rawstory.com

1

Mena Burke @menaburke.bsky.social · 10h

The cruelty is the point. Devastating for young trans people.

Texas Tribune @texastribune.org · 10h

The Tribune spoke to more than a dozen transgender and nonbinary Texas students about how their lives on campuses have changed in recent years.

Many said state and federal policies have emboldened their peers to disregard their gender identities, and administrators to slash campus support services.

Texas trans students fear identity erasure at college

Once considered a safe haven to explore identity, Texas campuses are invalidating and alienating trans people, students say.

www.texastribune.org

Reposted by Mena Burke

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 3d

I’ve been reposting all of the crowd videos of today’s NO KINGS rallies because at some point they’ll try to say it didn’t happen.

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Reposted by Mena Burke

Guy Trivago @convolutedname.bsky.social · 11h

If people affiliated with the campaign have to fall back on stuff like this in October in the year prior to the election, you're toast, pack it in.

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