Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 5m

Again I wonder: how do leftists contend with right wing attacks that make claims of so-called liberal hyperbole and hysteria?

Politico @politico.com · 4h

EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

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Reposted by Rachel Pitkin

Ruth Delgado @heylookitsruth.bsky.social · 1d

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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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 22h

😭

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Mark Poloncarz @markpoloncarz.bsky.social · 1d

Erie County is proud to be the home of the the Seneca Nation's Cattaraugus Territory and Tonawanda Seneca Nation. Our region has been enriched by our indigenous friends' culture for centuries. On #IndigenousPeoplesDay, learn more about the Seneca Nation at sni.org

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 1d

The 400 richest Americans are now worth a record $6.6 trillion.

The entire bottom 50% of America is worth just $4.2 trillion.

Read that back.

When 400 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.

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Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 2d

ICE kidnapped a 7th-grader with a pending asylum claim and spirited him out of state without notifying his parents, seemingly with the cooperation of the local police in Everett, MA.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/12/m...

Everett 13-year-old arrested by ICE and sent to Virginia detention facility
By Marcela Rodrigues Globe Staff,Updated October 12, 2025, 44 minutes ago

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A 13-year-old boy was arrested by ICE in Everett and sent to a juvenile detention facility in Virginia.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested by ICE in Everett and sent to a juvenile detention facility in Virginia.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Everett after an interaction with members of the Everett Police Department and sent to a juvenile detention facility in Virginia, according to his mother and immigration lawyer Andrew Lattarulo.

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. After waiting for about an hour and a half, she was told her son was taken by ICE, Berto told the Globe in a phone interview.

“My world collapsed,” Berto said in Portuguese.

From the police department, the boy was taken to ICE’s holding facility in Burlington on Thursday evening, where he spent a night before being transferred by car to the Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Winchester, Va., on Friday morning, his mother said. The juvenile facility is more than 500 miles away from Everett.

The boy is a 7th-grader at Albert N. Parlin School in Everett, his mother said. The teen and his family, who are Brazilian nationals, have a pending asylum case and are authorized to work legally in the United States, Lattarulo said.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 2d

True bravery!

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 2d

Not sure why it has taken until late 2025 to see this, but this is how you do it. Every time. For every one of these guests.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

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

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3d

Religious leaders here are not mincing words. They have repeatedly used the word "evil."

"Detention and deportation are acts that wound the body of Christ, and deny the dignity of God's people."

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3d

A group of hundreds of faith in coalition who started at a Maywood church just arrived at the detention center for a eucharistic procession.

They want to offer communion to detainees inside, but won't be able to get past the barricades and fence on Beach Street.

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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 3d

Love Anderson’s work! I used to have my high school students read portions alongside textbook excerpts to help them consider perspective.

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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 3d

“Perhaps, upon its 250th anniversary, the United States can envision the Declaration as one of interdependence—expansive enough to confront its own contradictions and inclusive enough to honor the sovereignties it sought to erase.”

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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 3d

“Studying the contradictions of the Revolution disrupts the myth of a singular founding moment and reveals a contested process.”

Maggie Blackhawk @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social · 5d

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

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Maggie Blackhawk @maggieblackhawk.bsky.social · 5d

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

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NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 4d

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 3d

For context: hyperallergic.com/502763/marsh...

Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera Are Getting a Permanent Monument in New York City

The world’s first permanent public artwork dedicated to transgender women will go to these pioneers of the gay liberation movement.

hyperallergic.com

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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 3d

As the kids say, “I’m shook.” Now let’s wrestle the neglected Marsha / Sylvia monument from the percent for art process and put them on the “piers” where they belong.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 3d

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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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 5d

Brett Kavanaugh: “The Govt sometimes makes brief investigative stops …”

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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 5d

you'd think a prominent news outlet like the New York Times might mention that "antifa" isn't an actual organization in a long story about antifa, but nope!

and the subhead helps props up a false claim this professor was up to something seedy as something up for debate

NYT headline: "Rutgers Expert on Antifa Tries to Flee to Spain After Death Threats"

subheadline: "Mark Bray was teaching courses on antifascism. Turning Point USA accused him of belonging to antifa, which he denies. His flight to Spain was canceled abruptly on Wednesday night."

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 6d

yo they hired Mamdani video guys. someone's doing some thinking somewhere

Chuck Schumer @schumer.senate.gov · 6d

The government is shut down because Trump and the Republicans are hellbent on taking health care away from you.

And they won’t even come to the table to talk to us about it.

This is not about politics. It's about people.

Let’s break it down:

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Elizabeth Wrigley-Field @wrigleyfield.bsky.social · 6d

I honestly can’t bring myself to read this but I do think it’s very important for people in the US to remember that this is happening right now because of our government.

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 6d

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 6d

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Jessica Washington @jesswash.bsky.social · 7d

Looking to speak with families with young children in Chicago for a story on how the ICE raids are impacting them. Reach out to [email protected], if you're interested.

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Rachel Pitkin @raepitkin.bsky.social · 7d

Perhaps some great potential after they finish the Mohawk Place revamp!

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