Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Robert Swartwood @robertswartwood.bsky.social · 3h

Guys, after two dozen text messages today Janet Mills is now knocking at my front door, I’m scared

Reposted by Robert Swartwood

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 3h

This is real. Chicago today.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 3h

Yeah, that is a tear gas canister being fired toward the retreating couple holding the baby

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 14h

"a test"? you mean...a violation?

AP: Israel plans to halve aid into Gaza over slow return of dead hostages, a test for the Gaza ceasefire

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Robert Swartwood @robertswartwood.bsky.social · 6h

Gee, who could have seen this coming?

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 6h

Months before catastrophic floods swept through an Alaska Native village on Sunday, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant meant to protect the community from extreme flooding. At the time, the EPA administrator said he was eliminating "wasteful DEI and Environmental Justice grants."

E.P.A. Canceled $20 Million Flood Protection Grant to Alaska, Parts of Which Just Flooded

The remote village of Kipnuk planned to use the money to protect against flooding. On Sunday, it was inundated.

nyti.ms

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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 10h

Unless and until some kind of compelling legal and moral argument is presented as to why this is a legitimate use of deadly force, this is just…mass murder.

Amarnath Amarasingam @amaramarasingam.bsky.social · 11h

The military has now killed 27 people as if they were enemy soldiers in a war zone and not criminal suspects. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/u...

U.S. Military Kills Another 6 People in 5th Caribbean Strike, Trump Says

www.nytimes.com

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8h

Q: Politico reported on a group chat of young Republicans. Does this just reflect some bad apples?

HOCHUL: Some bad apples? These are the future of the GOP. This is so vile it's hard to find the words to put into context ... there's gotta be consequences ... this bullshit has to stop.

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Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 14h

I seem to recall that it was the biggest 1st Amendment attack in American history when the Biden admin alerted social media companies to some content and said "hey does this violate your policies?" Will Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and (lol) CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss call this out?

Tweet from Pam Bondi:

Today following outreach from
@thejusticedept
, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target
@ICEgov
agents in Chicago.

The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk just for doing their jobs. The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.

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the hype @thehyyyype.bsky.social · 8h

The freedom of speech lovers are at it again

WSJ headline that reads "breaking news: The U.S. has revoked the visas of at least six people for their comments on the death of Charlie Kirk, the State Department said"

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 8h

President Donald Trump acknowledged a $20 billion bailout for Argentina would not primarily serve American interests, testing the patience of domestic farmers who have yet to receive their own relief from Trump’s trade war.

Trump says U.S. won’t benefit from $20 billion bailout for Argentina

By his own account, Trump is offering $20 billion to Argentina to help its politically aligned president, Javier Milei, who faces a possible financial crisis and a legislative election on Oct. 26.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Robert Swartwood @robertswartwood.bsky.social · 10h

So far today I've gotten THREE fundraising texts for this individual, who lives five states away from me, and the day isn't even over yet.

Reuters @reuters.com · 11h

Maine Governor Janet Mills launched a Senate campaign, joining a crowded field of Democrats hoping to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins with a campaign that intends to portray the incumbent as an out-of-step defender of President Donald Trump reut.rs/4heDvDN

Democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills takes on US Senator Susan Collins

Maine Governor Janet Mills launched a U.S. Senate campaign on Tuesday, joining a crowded field of Democrats hoping to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins with a campaign that intends to portray the incumbent as an out-of-step defender of President Donald Trump.

reut.rs

Robert Swartwood @robertswartwood.bsky.social · 13h

Jeez, so much economic anxiety!

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13h

POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Irenic Bro @irenicbro.bsky.social · 14h

"We're saving God from Colin Kaepernik" is a pretty good distillation of Republican thought

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 15h

Eric Trump: "We're saving Christianity. We've saving God. We've saving the family unit. We're saving this nation. I mean, DEI is out of the window, Benny. You no longer have Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem. You no longer have Budweiser going woke as hell. All of this is dead."

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James Kelleher @jameskelleher.pilcrow.ie · 17h

Next time somebody asks me what Bluesky is like, I'll send them this

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Kieron Gillen @kierongillen.bsky.social · 23h

Novels are just comics consisting of one picture and an overwritten caption.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 16h

This isn't new, by the way. Trump and his minions wanted an "antifa" Black Bloc to show up and fight with cops on Jan. 6, 2021. If that had happened, he would have then called out the National Guard to a) arrest leftists and b) shut down the Capitol and prevent the election from being certified

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 19h

one of the reasons they're so mad at "no kings" is that they thought they were going to get a different kind of protest. they *want* the black bloc to be out there fighting with the cops. those are the images they've been trying to generate from "go." instead--

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

MAGA Rage at “No Kings” Boils Over—and It Quickly Backfires on Trump

As Trump allies smear the coming protests, a good writer on MAGA skewers the absurdity of these attacks on large swaths of Americans—and explains why our best recourse will be to turn out in force.

newrepublic.com

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Robert Swartwood @robertswartwood.bsky.social · 16h

That’s a shame

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 16h

BREAKING: The Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones' appeal of $1.4 billion judgment for calling Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax.

Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones' appeal of $1.4 billion defamation judgment in Sandy Hook shooting

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and left in place the $1.4 billion judgment against him over his description of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax staged by crisis actors.

bit.ly

Reposted by Robert Swartwood

Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 19h

Janet Mills is 77 and Democrats need to knock it off with the gerontocracy.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 19h

Breaking News: Janet Mills, the Democratic governor of Maine, is running for Senate, aiming to unseat Senator Susan Collins, a Republican.

Gov. Janet Mills of Maine to Run for Senate, Aiming at Senator Susan Collins

A two-term Democratic governor, Ms. Mills called herself “battle tested” in an interview. But she faces a Democratic primary before she can challenge the Republican incumbent.

nyti.ms

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 18h

I’m sure House Republicans will be as energized by this as they were about conversations Joe Biden had after he’d left the Obama administration.

World Leader Caught Asking Trump for a Family Favor on Hot Mic

The godfather of MAGA shared a not-so-discreet moment with his Indonesian counterpart at the Gaza summit in Egypt.

www.thedailybeast.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

"Show them you're not afraid. Do it for the country. For the Constitution. For your family. For yourself. Do it for your freedom. While you still can."

This is excellent. Every Dem strategist who thinks there's risk in engaging these debates should watch it for guidance.

Home of the Brave @ofthebraveusa.bsky.social · 1d

On October 18th, millions of brave Americans will stand up and peacefully protest against the authoritarian disease metastasizing under Donald Trump.

No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings. @gtconway.bsky.social

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Robert Swartwood @robertswartwood.bsky.social · 1d

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Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 1d

Honestly very impressed by Newsmax, the Washington Times, and the Washington Examiner.

They deserve credit precisely because they’re standing up for journalistic principle notwithstanding their ideological inclination.