Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Pam Herd

Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 1h

Disabled kid on an IEP then 504 to disabled journalist reporting for duty 🫡

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 2h

Some disabled journalists to follow amid the gutting of OSERS:
@slooterman.bsky.social @juliametraux.bsky.social and @bethhawkins.bsky.social (among others)

1 8 59

Reposted by Pam Herd

Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 2h

Every day at noon, no matter how busy, Johny Merida Aguilar left his construction job and hurried to his 5-year-old son's school to feed him. His son has brain cancer and generally only accepts food from his father.

Merida Aguilar was arrested by ICE in September and faces deportation to Bolivia.

He was caring for his 5-year-old son with brain cancer. Then he was detained by ICE.

A court has temporarily blocked Johny Merida Aguilar's deportation to Bolivia.

www.inquirer.com

26 420 670

Reposted by Pam Herd

Marnie Kaplan @marniekaplan.bsky.social · 2h

This is infuriating and insane. Fascism truly sucks.

NPR @npr.org · 5h

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled

A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.

n.pr

1 14 50

Reposted by Pam Herd

Axios @axios.com · 4h

Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed today due to the government shutdown, with their websites urging visitors to check back for updates on when they'll reopen.

Smithsonian museums and National Zoo close as government shutdown persists

The zoo's panda cam and all other live animal feeds will not broadcast during the shutdown.

www.axios.com

9 45 130

Reposted by Pam Herd

Kristen Immoor @kristenimmoor.bsky.social · 7h

Enjoyed the New Yorker interview with Tim Curry, a free-wheeling conversation in which there were several sensitive questions about his paralyzing stroke. But oh my goodness, why was there no follow-up at all to this staggering answer? www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Screenshot of text from the interview:

You’ve always been an incredibly physical performer: your strut during “Sweet Transvestite” in “Rocky Horror,” or the way you run around unfurling the mystery at the end of “Clue.” Do you still feel that in your body? Does that live somewhere in you still?

I think it does, but it’s angry. My mobility is angry to get out. But it’s not happened yet. I do a certain amount of physical therapy. I did a whole bunch of it at Cedars-Sinai, and I got very close, I think, to walking. That was tantalizing. For insurance reasons, I had to withdraw. And I have a visiting physical therapist now, but I can only really do exercises from my bed, which is pretty pathetic. It’s not going to get me walking, I don’t believe.

[I have underlined the sentence "For insurance reasons, I had to withdraw."]

27 310 940

Reposted by Pam Herd

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 13h

New, from me:
Trump's 3 step plan to create a military omniforce
1. Purge - those deemed disloyal
2. Merge - different parts of law enforcement/military
3. Surge - impose the omniforce on Dem cities; instigate unrest; assert dominance; silence dissent
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/purge-merg...

Purge, Merge, and Surge

Trump is creating a omniforce of armed loyalists to establish his police state

donmoynihan.substack.com

48 660 1.6K

Reposted by Pam Herd

Pantonedreams❌️👑 @pantonedreams.bsky.social · 10h

As a healthcare worker, I literally wasn't taught how to treat measles. Yes, all of us in that line of work know how to research and apply that to patients, but there is no experience and decades of knowledge like there is for pneumonia and sepsis. "I've never seen this before" isn't a good place.

3 16

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 10h

Ghislaine Maxwell is in a minimum security prison--where people convicted of sexual abuse are not allowed to be. And she's received lots of special treatment while she's been there. A prisoner that spoke about her to press was moved to a higher security prison.[gift link] www.wsj.com/us-news/ghis...

Lockdowns and a Mysterious Meeting: A Quiet Texas Prison Adapts to Life With Ghislaine Maxwell

The unexpected arrival of the Epstein associate upset the camp’s routines. Some inmates say she got favorable treatment.

www.wsj.com

17 47

Reposted by Pam Herd

Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 15h

The deportation order derives from the crime of which he has now been exonerated.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

100 1.1K 2.5K

Reposted by Pam Herd

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 1d

Ah yes, cutting teen pregnancy prevention while ending federal right to an abortion…

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

An HHS source says admin also RIFed entire Office of Population Affairs last night.
“Not a single staff person to run our nation's family planning program or the evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program. The Office of Adolescent Health which nested within OPA functionally ceases to exist”

22 250 640

Reposted by Pam Herd

Ian Weissman, DO @drianweissman.bsky.social · 1d

“CDC will have lost its ability to detect outbreaks and respond to them. It will no longer be able to track diseases, in America and around the globe. That includes infectious threats like flu, foodborne illnesses, and Ebola, as well as chronic diseases and injuries.”
time.com/7325192/cdc-...

CDC ‘Not Functional’ After Trump Administration Orders Mass Firings

The layoffs targeted leaders in departments related to respiratory diseases, chronic diseases and global health.

time.com

15 190 350

Reposted by Pam Herd

Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 16h

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

320 1.4K 5.3K

Reposted by Pam Herd

Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 3d

Thread:

A year ago yesterday was a very happy day for me. I had lost my prostate. It was good riddance, as it was riddled with cancer. I’m now cancer-free — and thankful for the tax-funded technology that saved my life.

30 250 1.7K

Reposted by Pam Herd

Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 1d

One would think headlines couldn‘t get more abnormal, but they can. www.oregonlive.com

16 170 850

Reposted by Pam Herd

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 1d

Nice recap

410 7.4K 21K

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 1d

You are now my mother’s favorite. 80 and no cosmetic doctors involved!

1 3

Reposted by Pam Herd

LongTime🤓FirstTime👨‍💻 @longtimehistory.bsky.social · 1d

ICE secretly kidnap autistic boy during bathroom break—never notify parents.

Mother reported him missing a week ago—turns out ICE had him detained the whole time.

He was helping sell fruit and asked to go to the restroom—by the time she was done helping a customer he was gone.

Houston, Texas

210 2.3K 4K

Reposted by Pam Herd

Bat 🦇 Borus @matthewborus.bsky.social · 1d

In February, I feared they might turn IDEA into a block grant, which would be bad. I wrote, “Families who already must fight to ensure that their children receive the schooling they deserve will be put on weaker footing.”

But the wholesale (and illegal) firing of this office seems markedly worse.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

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.

1 8 26

Reposted by Pam Herd

Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 1d

Have not confirmed this, but this is VERY very bad if true.

Also, more evidence of their eugenics roots.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1d

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.

1 8 24

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 1d

My 80 year old mother (a lifelong registered Republican until 2018 and, by god, is not one for protesting) is making her voice heard on our small-town New England town green.

Picture of my mom holding a sign saying if some of us are unsafe none of us are SOLIDARITY. My stepdad holding a a sign titled Slashing ICE. And my mother does not look even close to 80.

9 43 430

Reposted by Pam Herd

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

New — Video shared with me shows ICE officers in DC detaining a man on Friday.

Bystander filming asks man for his name. ICE agent lies and says he’s not allowed to speak to him “by law” and another says “We’ve arrested American citizens for being too close…If he gets any closer, put him in cuffs.”

210 2.5K 5.5K

Reposted by Pam Herd

Matt Hartings @matthartings.bsky.social · 1d

Hey, normal people, tracking disease and keeping people from unnecessarily getting sick and dying is a "Democrat-thing." Vote accordingly.

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 1d

RFK fired the CDC official (w/decades of experience) leading the measles outbreak response. It's been decades since we've had such a large outbreak. And just to ensure they they can spread the measles outbreak even farther, they also fired the leadership for the center focused on immunization.

Figure showing the largest measles outbreak in the US in decades. There are over 1500 cases as of October 7 2025

12 35

Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 1d

RFK fired the CDC official (w/decades of experience) leading the measles outbreak response. It's been decades since we've had such a large outbreak. And just to ensure they they can spread the measles outbreak even farther, they also fired the leadership for the center focused on immunization.

31 460 920

Reposted by Pam Herd

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 2d

Found this just incredibly depressing, more than anything.

An easel sign reads, “UCLA
ATTENTION
No events are permitted in this area today. Per Policy 852, this location is NOT designated for public expression activities.
Individuals participating in an event or a public expression activity in this area are subject to discipline and/or arrest.
Scan for policy information.”

46 180 640

Reposted by Pam Herd

Charlie Rahal @crahal.com · 1d

We're holding brief/extremely informal 15 minute meetings with anyone who is interested in either of these positions, scheduled for 19.11.2025 and 17.11.2025, respectively. Email or DM for more information!

Please do share details within your network; I think these projects are pretty cool!

Charlie Rahal @crahal.com · Sep 1

🚨It's that exciting time of year!🚨

Our team has got TWO open DPhil (PhD) positions in #datascience + #health here at @oxforddemsci.bsky.social for 2026🎉! See for details:

1️⃣ 👉 crahal.com/HDS_2026.html
2️⃣ 👉 crahal.com/pophealth_2026.html

Please share and help us to find our future teammates ❤️!

8 5