Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Valerie Russ

@vruss.bsky.social

1.1K followers 760 following 110 posts

Journalist and writer. Bison. Former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. Broke story on the controversy over Philadelphia's Harriet Tubman statue being commissioned without a public call for artists. The city reversed course; issued the call.

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Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · Jan 23

Reposting this from last year: share.inquirer.com/to9Ydv - 'Those who cannot remember the past . . . '

Julia Chaney-Moss, sister of slain civil rights worker James Chaney, talks ‘the other Philadelphia’

Last month, Julia Chaney-Moss accepted honors on behalf of her brother, James Earl Chaney, one of three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi in 1964. The Inquirer interviewed her about her life.

share.inquirer.com

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Reposted by Valerie Russ

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 9h

Over 1,500 measles cases have been reported in 42 states — a 500% increase from 2024 and the highest count in more than 30 years.
www.newscentermaine.com/article/news...

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U.S. Press Freedom Tracker @pressfreedomtracker.us · 4d

Freelance reporter @leighgiangreco.bsky.social was on assignment for @blockclubchi.bsky.social, covering Sept. 19 protests outside the ICE facility in Broadview, IL, when federal officers shot her with pepper balls.

The newsroom has since filed suit and won a temporary restraining order.

Freelancer struck by projectiles at Illinois anti-deportation protest

Freelance reporter Leigh Giangreco was shot with multiple pepper balls by federal officers while covering protests outside a U.S. Immigration …

pressfreedomtracker.us

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Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 14h

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

Pressed on Tom Homan controversy, JD Vance and Pam Bondi struggle to answer

The attorney general and the vice president confronted straightforward questions about the scandal surrounding the border czar. Both Republicans struggled.

www.msnbc.com

Reposted by Valerie Russ

Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 16h

The ceasefire enacted yesterday was pretty much the same ceasefire that was on the table last Fall. And Netanyahu ignored it then. It wouldn’t be surprising at all that Trump told Netanyahu then not to agree to any ceasefire b4 the 2024 election bcuz it would help elect Harris.

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MaddowBlog @maddowblog.msnbc.com · 15d

"He held several subsequent conversations with the agents about his cash-for-contracts proposal, culminating in a Sept. 20, 2024, meeting in Dallas at which agents recorded Homan accepting $50,000 in cash, according to the document and sources."
www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/e...

How Tom Homan wound up ensnared in an FBI contracts-for-cash sting

A former associate of Trump’s border czar allegedly proposed a $1 million scheme last year that put FBI agents on Homan's trail.

www.msnbc.com

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MaddowBlog @maddowblog.msnbc.com · 15d

NEW!

Watch the trailer for MSNBC Films presents "Andrew Young: The Dirty Work," executive produced by Rachel Maddow, which retraces Andrew Young's story as he carried Dr. King's dream into the world of politics.

Airs Friday, Oct. 17 at 9pmET on MSNBC

After a special Rachel Maddow Show at 8pmET

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 1d

"His family is also affected. His wife is likely to pay about $1,200 or more each month, up from about $500 in 2024, he said.

'I voted for Trump,' Reynolds said. 'I didn’t expect this'...”

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Why Republicans’ attempts to kill Obamacare keep backfiring

The White House and some Republicans are growing nervous that Democrats’ demand to boost Obamacare as part of a government funding bill has salience with voters.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Isabel Santos @isabelsantos.bsky.social · 21h

Pentagon’s policy bars reporters from accessing or soliciting info not authorized by the DoD which is funded by nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars. NYT’s Richard Stevenson said it limits coverage. Noncompliant journalists must surrender credentials by Tuesday.
www.rawstory.com/newsmax-pent...

MAGA TV network refuses to sign Hegseth's dubious new press policy

Pro-MAGA TV network Newsmax joined many other outlets in refusing to sign the Pentagon's new restrictive press policy."Newsmax has no plans to sign the letter," the network said in a statement provide...

www.rawstory.com

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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

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Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 16h

Really good appreciation of #DianeKeaton : Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/s...

Why Diane Keaton’s Death Hits Harder

www.nytimes.com

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 18h

This from the great @sulliview.bsky.social on the media's anemic (or non-) coverage of the massive No Kings movement is such a great point

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 1d

This alleged $10 million bribe www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

Democracy dies if we drop the case of Trump, Egypt, and $10 million in cash | Will Bunch

A credible allegation of a $10 million Trump bribe from Egypt is swept under the rug as bribery is increasingly legal in America.

www.inquirer.com

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.msnbc.com · 2d

“With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing,” he said. “You can be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth...”

apnews.com/article/pope...

Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post-truths

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

apnews.com

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Dr. Mar 💙 @boldnewme.bsky.social · 3d

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the last U.S. military strike in the Caribbean hit a Colombian boat with citizens aboard.

If Petro’s claim is accurate, it’s more than a diplomatic spat, it’s a potential international incident.

Citizens’ lives were at stake, and clarity is overdue. 👇

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 4d

My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.

On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.
"I wasn't planning on letting her stay, but I didn't know what the hell was going on," the man said of his Venezuelan migrant neighbors. But he quickly relented. The little girl was inconsolable and hid under his bed.
"I didn't want them to take her," said the man, who didn't want to be named because he fears he'll be targeted by federal authorities for his actions.
"I gave her my bedroom, and I just told her,
'Just stay there. Don't open, don't, shh, just stay quiet," he recalled telling the mom and daughter as he choked back tears.

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Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 4d

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...

M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment

www.nytimes.com

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Barb McQuade @barbmcquade.bsky.social · 4d

Gift link to this analysis by a former corruption prosecutor regarding Tom Homan’s alleged acceptance of a bag containing $50,000.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | I Investigated Corruption. The Homan Affair Is Full of Red Flags. (Gift Article)

An apparent cash handoff is yet another star in the Trump administration’s constellation of ethics problems.

www.nytimes.com

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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 5d

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

Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post-truths

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

bit.ly

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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 5d

Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer. In his first teaching document Thursday, Leo confirms that he is in perfect lockstep with Pope Francis on matters of social injustice.

Pope Leo blasts economy that marginalizes poor while wealthy live in bubble of luxury

Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer.

bit.ly

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Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 5d

Fantastic profile and discussion of our new book #ScienceUnderSiege by the great @willbunch.bsky.social!

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 5d

Trump's dictatorship is time for making moral choices

I talked to the top climate scientist, Penn's Michael Mann, about his great new book - and why he sacrificed a key university post in order to keep speaking the truth against anti-science lies

My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/scie...

Science is under siege. How Penn’s top climate scientist is fighting back | Will Bunch

Michael E. Mann's new book, and the sacrifice this Penn scientist made to fight the war against climate disinformation.

www.inquirer.com

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Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 5d

wapo.st/4nHerYj

As Pope Leo riles conservatives, some say ‘just focus on the church’

Conservatives who hoped that Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, would be more of a traditionalist instead hear echoes of his predecessor, Francis, in his public statements.

wapo.st

Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 5d

share.inquirer.com/ooM4Yn

Federal funding is not worth Penn’s independence | Editorial

Signing on to the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education offered by the Trump administration would end the school's ability to determine its own future.

share.inquirer.com

Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 5d

share.inquirer.com/vG1oXM

Philadelphia police searching for 23-year-old woman who went missing from her workplace without her car Saturday night

Kada Scott had told family and friends shortly before her disappearance that someone had been harassing her, police said.

share.inquirer.com

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Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 5d

My parents are exactly the same age as the Pope and grew up with immigrant parents/grandparents, attending parish schools in a small city dominated by immigrant communities. They were raised on a blend of post-WWII American optimism and Catholic social justice from the beginning.

Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 5d

"Shut up and sprinkle incense"

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Valerie Russ @vruss.bsky.social · 5d

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Trump Fires Black Officials From an Overwhelmingly White Administration