Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 20h

So he’s cool is what you’re saying

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 1d

Chicago journalist Debbie Brockman, who was thrown to the ground & handcuffed by ICE, has been released without charges

DHS said she assaulted an officer, but eye witnesses claim she didn’t

The lack of charges makes it clear that ICE is lying to try and cover up the fact that they attack the press

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Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 1d

theonion.com/ice-raids-my...

MYTH: ICE agents lack proper training.

FACT: Most have been racists their entire lives.

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 1d

This is just so very, very illegal. And Republicans in Congress aren’t the least bit interested in controlling the purse. They’re just employees of trump org at taxpayer expense. This is a dictatorship.

Task & Purpose @taskandpurpose.com · 1d

Pentagon moves $8 billion from research to pay troops trib.al/G0HMywT

Pentagon moves $8 billion from research to pay troops

Left over R&D funds will be used to pay military members on Oct. 15, the Department of Defense said, following orders from President Trump.

trib.al

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

vought's view is that the president is an elected dictator and lo and behold he is seizing outright the power of the purse

Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 1d

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.

A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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Mike Fragassi @refrag.bsky.social · 1d

Short thread about how DHS, ICE, and cops in general just freely lie.

First, the lie:

CJ Ciaramella @cjciaramella.bsky.social · 2d

UPDATE: In emailed statement to me / @reason.com, DHS alleges that WGN-TV producer Debbie Brockman "threw objects at Border Patrol’s car and she was placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer."

Screencap of email from DHS public affairs: Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin:

“U.S. Border Patrol was conducting immigration enforcement operations and when several violent agitators used their vehicles to block in agents in an effort to impede and assault federal officers. In fear of public safety and of law enforcement, officers used their service vehicle to strike a suspect’s vehicle and create an opening. As agents were driving, Deborah Brockman, a U.S. citizen, threw objects at Border Patrol’s car and she was placed under arrest for assault on a federal law enforcement officer.

“This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of illegal aliens violently resisting arrest and agitators and criminals ramming cars into our law enforcement officers. These attacks highlight the dangers our law enforcement officers face daily—all while receiving no pay thanks to the Democrats’ government shutdown.”

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Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 1d

UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.

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Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 2d

Three key points:
1) The admin has been planning mass firings to begin in October since February
2) The work necessary to carry out mass firings is illegal during a shutdown, violating the Antideficiency Act, which carries a criminal penalty
3) This harms America, ridding us of talent and expertise

Russ Vought v @russvought
The RIFs have begun.
12:27 PM • 10/10/25 • 15K Views

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d

RIFs can’t be done without agency leadership so this is RFK Jr extending his purge of CDC scientists to help Vought’s shutdown agenda. Genuine public health risks created by aggrieved men.

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:

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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 2d

I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.

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Maryn McKenna @marynmck.bsky.social · 2d

Extremely bad news if true (and unlikely this reporter would run with it if not). The MMWR has been the earliest warning bell for outbreaks since it announced the first US cases, in 1981, of what was later identified as AIDS.

This will be a grievous shock to what remains of US public health.

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:

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Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS @dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 2d

The people getting laid off are some of the highest-trained and most specialized people in healthcare. They don’t just get replaced by hiring some new people when a sane administration takes over. This is a huge loss for America.

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:

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 2d

To be fair to her, there aren’t very many billionaires in the country

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

Update: Bari Weiss’s first pitch at CBS — a roundtable with Antony Blinken, Mike Pompeo, and Hillary Clinton that ended up being a virtual interview with Clinton & Condoleezza Rice — has about 150 viewers on YouTube.

Added with the 24/7 CBS stream, it’s just over 1200 viewers.

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 2d

He says the Antichrist is international financial institutions making it hard for billionaires to hide their money. Deeply unserious villainy.

Blake Montgomery @montgomery.bsky.social · 2d

We obtained leaked recordings of Peter Thiel's off-the-record lectures about the antichrist. Here's what one of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley and US politics is saying about the end of the world behind closed doors.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist

The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’

www.theguardian.com

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 2d

This shit is going to blow up in their faces so badly. These are the most normy people in this country. Calling them Hamas antifa super soldiers will destroy whatever credibility Johnson has left with the non-MAGA cultists in this country.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Mike Johnson: "We're so angry about it. I mean, I'm a very patient guy, but I've had it with these people. The theory we have right now -- they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people ... "

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 2d

so crazy that the vicious pack of wild dogs going town to town to steal livestock and terrorize villagers wasn't awarded the nobel peace prize

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Susan McPherson @susanmcp.bsky.social · 3d

“This is exactly the moment for people to stand up. And do I see enough people doing it? No, I don’t. It shouldn’t be that there are Democrats that are afraid, because you know what? We’re the targets. We need to be strong, we need to fight back.”

Thank you, @govpritzker.illinois.gov!

JB Pritzker Has Had It With Democrats Who Won’t Stand Up to Trump

www.nytimes.com

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Old White Nepo Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 3d

I’ve never seen anything remotely this petty charged as bank fraud.

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 3d

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

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David Brody @dbrody.bsky.social · 3d

Comey and James will get their charges dismissed, but others may not be so lucky.

These charges are about intimidating the *next* state AG or FBI official who thinks about investigating Trump. Not everyone will have a squeaky clean past. Anyone with a blemish could be scared of enforcing the law.

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 3d

Indicting political opponents & critics because they are political opponents & critics is terrifying.

It's completely inconsistent with the rule of law & democracy.

It should scare everyone - and (hopefully) will get people to realize that we all need to stand against this.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 3d

NEW: A federal judge hands win to clergy (and others) who say ICE agents violated their religious freedom by, among other things, shooting them with pepper balls.

Also: a pastor tells me senior Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino personally shoved him last week. religionnews.com/2025/10/09/f...

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 3d

❤️

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 3d

"I am a proud woman of faith, and I know that faith and fear cannot share the same space. And so today I am not fearful, I am fearless, and as my faith teaches me, no weapon formed against me shall prosper." - @newyorkstateag.bsky.social

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 3d

INBOX — New York AG Tish James' statement on Trump's retaliatory indictment of her:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2025

Attorney General’s Press Office/212-416-8060 nyag.pressoffice@ag.ny.gov

Attorney General Letitia James Issues Statement on Donald Trump’s Weaponization of the Department of Justice

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued the following statement after she was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Eastern District of Virginia.

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State Attorney General.

“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.

“His decision to fire a United States Attorney who refused to bring charges against me – and replace them with someone who is blindly loyal not to the law, but to the president – is antithetical to the bedrock principles of our country. This is the time for leaders on both sides of the aisle to speak out against this blatant perversion of our system of justice.

“I stand strongly behind my office’s litigation against the Trump Organization. We conducted a two-year investigation based on the facts and evidence – not politics. Judges have upheld the trial court’s finding that Donald Trump, his company, and his two sons are liable for fraud.

“I am a proud woman of faith, and I know that faith and fear cannot share the same space. And so today I am not fearful, I am fearless, and as my faith teaches me, no weapon formed against me shall prosper. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights. And I will continue to do my job.”

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 3d

Reporters gotta follow up on this and ask which agencies and programs he’s going to kill. I would bet good money they’re popular with voters. This man hates the people of the United States.

Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 3d

politicized doesn't begin to describe... www.cnbc.com/2025/10/09/t...
"President Donald Trump said his administration plans to use the government shutdown to permanently cut government programs popular with Democrats."

Trump threatens to use government shutdown to cut 'popular Democrat programs'

President Donald Trump said his administration plans to use the government shutdown to permanently cut government programs popular with Democrats.

www.cnbc.com

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onekade @onekade.bsky.social · 3d

Full interview is worth reading too www.npr.org/2023/05/19/1...

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