Andrew Novak | Lightnews

Light up
your news

About Privacy Terms Help

Andrew Novak

Andrew Novak

@indyj02.bsky.social

1K followers 760 following 250 posts

Instructional Associate Professor of Criminology Law & Society, George Mason University 🐨 clemency/pardons, tribal law, comparative law, punishment, sport history ⚽️🏳️‍🌈

Political science 53%

Sociology 23%

more

Posts Replies Media Videos

Pinned

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · Feb 4

My article about the Queen’s 1968 death penalty commutations in Rhodesia - which were ignored by the Smith regime as it carried out its first post-UDI executions, is now live. 😁 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Contesting the Royal Prerogative of Mercy: The Queen’s Pardons and the 1968 Constitutional Crisis over the Death Penalty in Rhodesia

In 1968, the Queen attempted to use her royal prerogative of mercy to prevent the executions of three condemned men in Rhodesia who were convicted of political murders. Though she was still the Rho...

www.tandfonline.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Adil Haque @adhaque.bsky.social · 8h

"A Palestinian woman, who lost dozens of family members in the Gaza war, has been hospitalized following a seizure in U.S. immigration detention"

"The DHS also says she was arrested by local authorities in 2024 during pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University"

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Palestinian woman hospitalized after seizure in US ICE detention

A Palestinian woman, who lost dozens of family members in Gaza, was hospitalized on Friday following a seizure in a U.S. immigration detention, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 13h

It's the department’s largest contract to purchase weapons from an Israeli company in available records.

Pentagon Makes Largest Known Arms Purchase From Israel — For Banned Cluster Weapons

The contract for the controversial weapons known for high civilian death tolls is the largest of its kind in available government records.

theintercept.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Prism @prismreports.org · 15h

Anti-transgender legislation accelerates in early 2026, @alexmar.bsky.social reports. The scope & coordination of the proposals in state legislatures across the U.S. mark a new phase in a campaign that has been building for a decade, policy researchers say.

Anti-transgender legislation accelerates in early 2026

The scope and coordination of the state bills mark a new phase in a campaign that has been building for a decade, policy researchers say

prismreports.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Progressive Mass @progressivemass.bsky.social · 15h

"In fact, Massachusetts is the only state that voted against Donald Trump in 2024 where a state agency is contracting with the 287(g) program." #mapoli

boltsmag.org/massachusett...

Inside ICE’s Only Contract with a Blue State - Bolts

As part of a 287(g) contract between state officials and ICE, Massachusetts continues to release prisoners into deportation—even as state lawmakers look to ban other forms of ICE collaboration.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 15h

"Putting sanctions on judges and prosecutors who are just doing their job is disgraceful."

This Canadian #ICC judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America : apple.news/AX3mvYqrtQ26... #cdnpoli

This Canadian judge knows firsthand the impact of being targeted by Trump's America — Toronto Star

Kimberly Prost is one of several judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court being sanctioned by the Trump administration. It's upended her daily life — but won't intimidate her.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Anna Kaminski @anna-writes.bsky.social · 17h

Access to justice is a larger issue, said Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall, because even if attorney numbers improve in rural Kansas, not everyone can afford them. #ksleg
kansasreflector.com/2026/02/09/k...

Kansas Supreme Court justice champions solutions to rural attorney shortage • Kansas Reflector

Kansas Supreme Court justices heard from judges around the state who were having difficulty appointing attorneys to criminal cases, where representation is a Constitutional guarantee.

kansasreflector.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 17h

ICE "brutally" detained a minister in Vermont. The Trump administration wants to send him back to Uganda—where he was tortured.

"I’m so scared, I cannot go back," Pastor Steven Tendo told @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social.

He fled torture in Uganda. ICE is trying to send him back.

"People like Pastor [Steven] Tendo are exactly who our asylum system is meant to protect."

www.motherjones.com

Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 1d

Give us some context. Was this deserved or undeserved? 👀

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Alexis Madrigal @alexis-madrigal.bsky.social · 1d

If you want to learn more about Bad Bunny’s music and activism, have to recommend this new book P FKN R. It’s awesome. I learned so much:

www.kqed.org/forum/201010...

How Bad Bunny Fuses Activism and Global Superstardom | KQED

Scholars Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau, also creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus,” join us to break down Bad Bunny’s music and activism.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Opinio Juris @opiniojuris.bsky.social · 1d

The Abduction of a President: Shock, Illegality, and the Implications for Human Rights Law

opiniojuris.org/2026/02/02/t...

The Abduction of a President: Shock, Illegality, and the Implications for Human Rights Law

[Diana Kearney is a former Visiting Instructor of Clinical Law at Cardozo Law School Human Rights & Atrocity Prevention Clinic] The Trump administration’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nico…

opiniojuris.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 1d

North’s role could have even more heft than usual given how many attorneys have left the agency and the office of the general counsel under the second Trump administration.

EEOC Quietly Hired Lawyer Who Crusaded for Cases of Discrimination Against Men — Including His Own

The EEOC quietly hired Benjamin North, a lawyer who crusaded against what he said was discrimination against men in sexual assault cases.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

The Institute of Museum and Library Services’ grant application process has taken a political turn under Trump.

“It’s clear the administration wants a whitewashed story,” said a Republican who led the agency from 2019 to 2024. “And that’s wrong.”

Grant Guidelines for Libraries and Museums Take “Chilling” Political Turn Under Trump

Former Institute of Museum and Library Services leaders from both political parties expressed concern that the new funding guidelines could encourage a more constrained or distorted view of American h...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 1d

The world is poised to overshoot the goal of limiting average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as for the first time, a three-year period, ending in 2025, has breached the threshold.

Climate scientists are predicting devastating consequences.

There may be no turning back this climate crisis

As warming breaches a critical threshold, scientists fear cascading consequences.

www.motherjones.com

Reposted by Alison Phipps, Andrew Novak

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 1d

Ethiopia demands Eritrea ‘immediately withdraw’ troops from its territory https://aje.news/jkuvzl

Ethiopia demands Eritrea ‘immediately withdraw’ troops from its territory

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 3d

Summer internships with @justsecurity.org, spread the word. www.justsecurity.org/just-securit...

Join Just Security for a Summer 2026 Internship!

Just Security invites applications from students for summer internships on issues incuding law, policy, rights, democracy, and security.

www.justsecurity.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 4d

Save 30% on #NewBook "The Absent Stone" by Sandra Rozental, which tells the story of the Piedra de los Tecomates, the largest stone monument in the Americas and the issues of cultural patrimony surrounding it. buff.ly/BNjptWC

Cover of The Absent Stone: Mexican Patrimony and the Aftershocks of State Theft by Sandra Rozental. The cover features a close up photograph of part of the Piedra de los Tecomates, a large stone monument. The photo shows three holes in the stone in a horizontal line as well as the letters 'EM' and 'D' carved into the stone. The title appears in a translucent bold sans serif font aligned left in the center of the cover. The author’s name appears above in yellow. The subtitle is below the 3 holes and the title in the same yellow font.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 4d

ICE’s Private Prison Contractors Spent Millions Lobbying to Force Banks to Give Them Loans
theintercept.com/2026/02/05/p...

ICE’s Private Prison Contractors Spent Millions Lobbying to Force Banks to Give Them Loans

Major banks have denied financing to ICE prison contractors GEO Group and CoreCivic — but a bill pushed by companies could force their hand.

theintercept.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Zeteo @zeteo.com · 5d

"UN experts say the bill, which would impose a mandatory death penalty for Palestinians convicted of certain crimes, would be a clear violation of international law."

Read the latest from @minnahfarshad.bsky.social on Israel's death penalty bill: zeteo.com/p/entrenchin...

‘Entrenching Apartheid’: Amnesty, UN Experts Urge Israel to Withdraw Death Penalty Bill Targeting Palestinians

UN experts say the bill, which would impose a mandatory death penalty for Palestinians convicted of certain crimes, would be a clear violation of international law.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma , and 11 more Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Steve Peers, John McLaren, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Dana R. Fisher, Susan Strasser, Andrew Novak, Simon Lester, Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, David Darmofal

Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 5d

NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.

This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.

Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.

Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts

Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Just Security @justsecurity.org · 6d

Last December, the ICC published a policy on cyber-enabled crimes under the Rome Statute.

A new Chatham House paper recommends how States and the ICC can further strengthen accountability in this area, writes Harriet Moynihan:
www.justsecurity.org/129752/justi...

#ICC #Cyber #InternationalCrimes

Securing Justice for Cyber-Enabled International Crimes

A new ICC policy provides a valuable framework for the investigation of cyber-enabled international crimes.

www.justsecurity.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Citizen.Coping @propcazhpm.bsky.social · 7d

Professor Jorell Meléndez-Badillo of the University of Wisconsin-Madison put pen to paper — literally — writing fragments of the island’s history dating back from 1508 to present day.

“I had no computer [while traveling] in Europe,” said Meléndez-Badillo. "I basically produced 74 pages." #History

Reposted by Andrew Novak

WarTranslated (Dmitri) @wartranslated.bsky.social · 10d

About $250M in US energy aid for Ukraine is stuck in bureaucratic limbo after USAID was shut down, Reuters reports. All major power plants are "damaged or ruined." With temps dropping to minus 24°C, officials fear residents will freeze in their homes.

www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Alabama Political Reporter @alreporter.com · 10d

Alabama’s Reentry Task Force reported progress expanding treatment, housing, improved data coordination and employment initiatives aimed at reducing recidivism statewide.

Alabama Reentry Task Force highlights progress on housing, treatment and jobs

Alabama’s Reentry Task Force reported progress expanding treatment, housing, improved data coordination and employment initiatives aimed at reducing recidivism statewide.

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Alabama Political Reporter @alreporter.com · 10d

Rep. Patrick Sellers’ House Bill 72 faced sharp criticism from fellow Democratic lawmakers.

House passes bill to further criminalize marijuana use despite pushback

Rep. Patrick Sellers' House Bill 72 faced sharp criticism from fellow Democratic lawmakers.

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Andrew Novak

The New Arab @thenewarab.bsky.social · 10d

The funding gap represents more than an administrative shortage; it reflects international attention drifting away from Sudan's crisis:

WFP warns Sudan faces total food collapse by April

The funding gap represents more than an administrative shortage; it reflects international attention drifting away from Sudan’s crisis.

www.newarab.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · 11d

The civil rights law that has allowed lawsuits against local and state police doesn’t apply to federal agents.

Why It’s Hard for Civilians to Sue ICE for Its Actions in Minnesota

The civil rights law that has allowed lawsuits against local and state police doesn’t apply to federal agents.

www.themarshallproject.org

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 11d

Livestreams of Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Mubasher blocked in Israel.

Al Jazeera denounces YouTube's compliance with Israel's ban on network

Livestreams of Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Mubasher blocked in Israel.

www.aljazeera.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 12d

EXCLUSIVE: These Patches Are Clues to Identifying Immigration Agents

We built a guide to patches worn by ICE and CBP to help the public determine which federal agents are in their communities

theintercept.com/2026/01/28/i...

These Patches Are Clues to Identifying Immigration Agents

We built a guide to patches worn by ICE and CBP to help the public determine which federal agents are in their communities.

theintercept.com

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Cristy Clark @cristyclark.bsky.social · 12d

Excellent new judgment from the Hague District Court in case brought by Greenpeace finding the Dutch State is not taking sufficient measures to protect the inhabitants of Bonaire against climate change and its consequences. Media release below:

www.rechtspraak.nl/organisatie-...

www.rechtspraak.nl

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 12d

How international organizations can combat populist opposition—and the implications for institutional resilience, legitimacy, and accountability.

Global Governance Under Fire by Allison Carnegie and Richard Clark is now available.

Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

#PoliticalScience

Global Governance Under Fire: How International Organizations Resist the Populist Wave by Allison Carnegie and Richard Clark