Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Monica Potts

@monicapotts.bsky.social

2.4K followers 650 following 590 posts

Class Politics reporter at The New Republic. Tips on Signal at monicabpotts.57. Past: 538, The American Prospect. BUY: The Forgotten Girls monicapotts.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · Aug 21

Hello new followers! I'm the Class Politics reporter @newrepublic.com and the author of The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America. I have 5 dogs and 4 cats. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

The Forgotten Girls: A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America

A Memoir of Friendship and Lost Promise in Rural America

bookshop.org

1 11

Reposted by Monica Potts

Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 1h

welcome to the new era of CBS News, where brave truth-telling takes precedence over spelling Zohran Mamdani’s name correctly

33 150 770

Reposted by Monica Potts

Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 17h

Two preventable causes of death that we have chosen to do nothing about. Two preventable causes of death with evidence-based solutions that we have chosen to ignore.

OPB @opb.org · 17h

Researchers discovered that since 2017, firearms have surpassed motor vehicle collisions as the leading cause of mortality for youth ages 11-18, spiking from 1,945 deaths in 2001 to 3,224 in 2022.

Gun deaths among high schoolers on the rise, WSU study finds

The researchers found that, nationwide, high schoolers ages 14 to 18 are at an exceptionally elevated risk for gun-inflicted injury and death compared to children in other age groups in both rural and urban settings.

www.opb.org

2 73 280

Reposted by Monica Potts

Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 20h

So Kilmer Abrego-Garcia will not challenge a deportation to Costa Rica, who has agreed to for him residency, but DHS won’t agree to send him there because it’s not cruel enough.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

For weeks, Mr. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who is married to a U.S. citizen, has made clear that he would not challenge his deportation if he were sent to Costa Rica, which has promised him legal residency and guaranteed that he would not be sent back to El Salvador.

But the Trump administration has refused to deport him to Costa Rica, and in an earlier hearing this week, Judge Xinis pressed the administration to consider the option or clarify why it was unacceptable.

65 1.4K 3.8K

Reposted by Monica Potts

Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 23h

Since when Supreme Court justices go on Fox?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Amy Coney Barrett defends heavy use of the shadow docket: "If we wrote a long opinion, it might give the impression that we have finally resolved the issue, and in none of these cases have we finally resolved the issue."

19 43 250

Reposted by Monica Potts

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 23h

At the end of the day liberals always seem very eager to collapse POLITICAL behavior - which is about social interactions, information, and belief - into POLICY explanations. Because then you can win at politics by being good at policy, which we believe we are. It doesn’t work like that, sadly.

2 11 100

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 23h

I largely agree with this. I think if you went to college and live in a certain kind of environment you are used to reason and to justifying your arguments and beliefs with evidence. Most people don't go that deep! They just think things and that's it!

Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 1d

When people claim to be voting based on some problem that doesn’t exist, be it food price inflation, crime increases, or immigrant caravans, “they’re lying and/or misinformed” IS the most parsimonious explanation.

“They’re expressing sublimated anger over something else” is much more convoluted.

1 3

Reposted by Monica Potts

Farb @efarb.bsky.social · 1d

Sorry, but everyone in this article deserves to be single for life. If you can’t have a conversation with someone, then maybe the problem is you and not dating apps

C. Buckthorn @cbuckthorn.bsky.social · 1d

This is amazing. I laughed out loud www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

As 32-year-old Rich points out, though, "it's not like using ChatGPT guarantees success".
When he met someone in a bar one Friday night and swapped social media handles, he asked AI what his next move should be.
ChatGPT discerned that sending an initial message on Monday midmorning would set the right pace. "Then it gave me some options for what the message could be," says Rich.
"Keep it light, warm, and low-stakes so it reads as genuine interest without urgency," the bot advised. "Something like: Hey Sarah, still laughing about [tiny shared moment/reference if you've got one] - good to meet you!" Rich went back and forth with ChatGPT until he felt they'd hit upon exactly the right message ("Hey Sarah, it was lovely to meet you") but sadly she never replied, he says. "It's been two weeks now."

3 22 91

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 23h

The thing about being over 40 is that you can eat cheese, but it will cost you.

1 6

Reposted by Monica Potts

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1d

The wrong was assuming that the Constitution and the law matters, which the Roberts Court is rapidly illustrating is false, at least while the court remains under Republican control.

3 32 260

Reposted by Monica Potts

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1d

also "retribution" implies he was wronged in some way by the people he's persecuting, subtly justifying what he's doing. bsky.app/profile/reun...

Kevin Reuning @reuning.bsky.social · 1d

Trump straight up murdering people in the Caribbean and the NYT writes this

The Trump Split Screen: A Peacemaker Abroad, a Retribution Campaign at Home

15 200 1.1K

Reposted by Monica Potts

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

STEPHANOPOULOS: I didn't insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50k as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. You did not answer the question. Thank you for your time.

VANCE: No, George, I sai--

STEPHANOPOULOS: We'll be right back

1.5K 3.7K 18K

Reposted by Monica Potts

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 1d

That’s a nice trick, since Biden wasn’t the president on Jan 6.

320 1.4K 5.5K

Reposted by Monica Potts

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 1d

Attacks on the federal workforce are also attacks on Black workers, who are overrepresented in the public sector.

Black unemployment is 7.5%. I'm reminded of Coates' observation that Black Americans regularly experience conditions that would be considered a crisis if whites faced them.

Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different.

www.nytimes.com

17 520 1.4K

Reposted by Monica Potts

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 1d

The new pope is quoting Hannah Arendt. www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.

www.cbsnews.com

46 620 2.3K

Reposted by Monica Potts

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 2d

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

270 2.6K 5.4K

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 2d

It's actually useful that he keeps providing evidence of his wrongdoing.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Q: How many layoffs have you authorized?

TRUMP: It'll be a lot. And it'll be Democrat-oriented.

8 99 750

Reposted by Monica Potts

Sheryl Gay Stolberg @sherylnyt.bsky.social · 2d

BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:

860 8.5K 15K

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 2d

I do think bureaucracy should be run by experts I just don't think that's the political answer to anything, and also think advocates should play an important role in our politics.

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 2d

To be very clear: "technocrat" does not mean "people who work in tech."

2 3

Reposted by Monica Potts

Maggie Blackhawk @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social · 4d

New essay in the Atlantic today: How Native Nations Shaped the Revolution by Ned Blackhawk (with many lessons on how we ended up where we are as a nation, and a gift link) www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

How Native Nations Shaped the Revolution

The Founders were inspired—and threatened—by the independence and self-governance of nations like the Iroquois Confederacy.

www.theatlantic.com

8 140 350

Reposted by Monica Potts

Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 2d

The obvious response: “doing the fucking news”

Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 3d

News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."

One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."

5 9 160

Reposted by Monica Potts

Gwen Snyder is undead @gwensnyder.bsky.social · 2d

New Orwellianism just dropped

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 2d

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

47 520 1.4K

Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 2d

Buying books is so good.

Joseph Rezek @rezekjoe.bsky.social · 2d

I fucking love buying books.

1 2

Reposted by Monica Potts

Miles Grant @milesgrant.bsky.social · 2d

How many years has Portland been burning down now (entirely in Republicans’ bizarro revenge fantasies)?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."

1 2 19

Reposted by Monica Potts

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 2d

Huh: TikTok took down my 8-second video featuring this image of Debbie Brockman — the news producer just detained by Trump’s CBP agents — saying it violates the “joy of TikTok”

320 2.7K 7.2K