Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Thi L

George Takei

@georgetakei.bsky.social

Gutting the CDC right as we’re on the cusp of major outbreaks of transmissible diseases is a very bad idea.

February 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM

Reposted by Thi L

George Takei

@georgetakei.bsky.social

No matter where you fall on the TikTok ban, the President undoing by “executive order” a law passed by Congress and upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court is an unconstitutional abuse of power.

January 19, 2025 at 9:33 PM

Reposted by Thi L

Casey Newton

@caseynewton.bsky.social

NEW: Meta has quietly dismantled the system that prevented misinformation from spreading in the United States. Machine-learning classifiers that once identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach have now been switched off, Platformer has learned www.platformer.news/meta-ends-mi...

Behind the scenes, the company was also quietly dismantling a system to prevent the spread of misinformation. When the company announced on Jan. 7 that it would end its fact-checking partnerships, the company also instructed teams responsible for ranking content in the company’s apps to stop penalizing misinformation, according to sources and an internal document obtained by Platformer.

The result is that the sort of viral hoaxes that ran roughshod over the platform during the 2016 US presidential election — “Pope Francis endorses Trump,” Pizzagate, and all the rest — are now just as eligible for free amplification on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads as true stories.

January 15, 2025 at 12:51 AM

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Elliott White

@eloteblanco.bsky.social

If you need more cuteness in your life, the Richmond Zoo is hosting a livestream of their baby Pygmy Hippo, Poppy. The Poppy Cam will be up every day from 9 AM to 5 PM EST!

metrorichmondzoo.com/animals/popp...

Poppy The Pygmy Hippo - Metro Richmond Zoo

metrorichmondzoo.com

January 13, 2025 at 8:16 PM

Reposted by Thi L

Thi

@teacup-bookreader.bsky.social

Some of my favorite book things:

💕 Romance
💕 Fantasy
💕 Romantasy
💕 Mythology
💕 Dragons
💕 Fae
💕 Witchy themes
💕 Billionaire MC
💕 STEM MC
💕 Enemies to lovers
💕 Fake dating
💕 Ana Huang
💕 Rebecca Yarros
💕 Emily Henry
💕 Evie Marceau
💕 Sue Lynn Tan
💕 Throne of Glass

#promosky #booksky #romancebooks

January 13, 2025 at 3:53 AM

Thi L

@amorateacup.bsky.social

Some things I love:

✨ Books
✨ Food & Cooking
✨ Music
✨ Cocktails
✨ Dogs
✨ Stardew Valley
✨ Baldur’s Gate 3, The Witcher, etc
✨ Board games
✨ K-pop & k-drama
✨ Anime
✨ Science
✨ Nails 💅
✨ Candles
✨ Cozy vibes

#promosky

January 13, 2025 at 4:02 AM

Reposted by Thi L

George Takei

@georgetakei.bsky.social

So true.

January 12, 2025 at 4:25 PM

Thi L

@amorateacup.bsky.social

Am I the weirdo that reads Christmas books AFTER Christmas?☺️

#booksky #romancebooks

January 12, 2025 at 1:47 AM

Reposted by Thi L

navygoblin.bsky.social

@navygoblin.bsky.social

Today's Barnes and Noble run! (Dating and Dragon's is signed) #booksky

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon, The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith, Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce, Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

January 12, 2025 at 1:41 AM

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Chelsea

@chelsea523.bsky.social

Meanwhile Costco just Costco-ing Costco

Doubled Down On DEI As A Business Case: What We Can All Learn www.forbes.com/sites/dougme...

Costco Doubled Down On DEI As A Business Case: What We Can All Learn

Costco is not here for the anti-DEI rhetoric, pushback or bullying. In a recent BOD meeting they double downed on DEI. Let's explore what they said & what we can learn.

www.forbes.com

January 11, 2025 at 9:29 PM

Reposted by Thi L

Libra on Fire 🔥 ⚖️

@libraonfire.bsky.social

🚫 Corporate DEI Graveyard 2025

Companies ditching diversity:
• Meta
• Amazon
• McDonald’s
• Walmart
• Ford
• John Deere
• Starbucks
• Microsoft (partially)
• Salesforce

Inclusion’s last call: going, going, gone! 🎭

#DiversityExit #Dei #capitalismSUCKS

January 11, 2025 at 8:48 PM

Reposted by Thi L

Baltimore Banner

@thebaltimorebanner.com

Maryland finds bird flu on Eastern Shore, marking first case since 2023

The Maryland Department of Agriculture detected bird flu at a commercial broiler in Caroline County.

buff.ly

January 10, 2025 at 7:36 PM

Reposted by Thi L

Costa Samaras

@costasamaras.com

Secretary Buttigieg visited CMU today. I got to thank him for speaking at our White House ARPA-I Summit in 2023, but more importantly for all the work he’s led on climate & equity at DOT. A really phenomenal Secretary of Transportation.

A researcher standing near a car door, Sec. Buttigieg looking at the car, & Proj. Rajkumar standing next to him.

January 11, 2025 at 2:44 AM

Reposted by Thi L

Sam Biddle

@sambiddle.com

NEW: I've obtained internal Meta docs revealing an array of sample posts that are now allowed under new hate speech rules. Examples include calling children "trannies," “Jews are flat out greedier than Christians," and “immigrants are grubby, filthy pieces of shit”

theintercept.com/2025/01/09/f...

Leaked Meta Rules: Users Are Free to Post “Mexican Immigrants Are Trash!” or “Trans People Are Immoral”

Facebook now allows attacks on immigrants and trans people, and posts like “Mexican immigrants are trash!” and “I’m a proud racist.”

theintercept.com

January 10, 2025 at 12:48 AM

Reposted by Thi L

Eric Topol

@erictopol.bsky.social

On Meta @economist.com

January 9, 2025 at 4:14 PM

Thi L

@amorateacup.bsky.social

😤😡😤😡

Time to delete all Meta soon

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · Jan 10

Meta is now definitionally a homophobic corporation.

Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · Jan 10

New: Meta has deleted trans and nonbinary Messenger themes, as well as the blog posts announcing them. Happens the same week that it has changed its rules to allow users to say LGBTQ+ people are "mentally ill"

www.404media.co/meta-deletes...

January 11, 2025 at 8:16 AM

Thi L

@amorateacup.bsky.social

🙃

Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · Jan 11

In case you're curious, this is the internal Meta "fuck DEI" announcement received by Meta employees

January 11, 2025 at 8:14 AM

Reposted by Thi L

QuantumKay ⚘𖤣𖥧

@quantumkay.bsky.social

if you enjoy the following let's be friends! 18+ plz 🏳️‍🌈💟

🖤 aesthetic bookshelves
📚 romantasy
🦇 acotar
🔮 witchy vibes
🌿 zelda
🫐 stardew valley
🍄 animal crossing
🍁 dreamlight valley
🌻 sims
🍂 palia
🌸 fortnite
🪴 tiny glade
🪻 infinity nikki
🌈 pretty pc’s
💗 cozy gaming spaces

January 8, 2025 at 12:57 AM

Reposted by Thi L

The New Yorker

@newyorker.com

A well-known romantasy author is being sued for copyright infringement. But the genre’s reliance on tropes makes proving plot theft tricky. Romantasy novels “express the longing to be unique, but they pour that desire into imitative forms,” Katy Waldman writes.