Kavitha Rajagopalan
LightNews LightNews
banner
kxraja.bsky.social
Kavitha Rajagopalan
@kxraja.bsky.social
1.4K followers 940 following 1.4K posts
Founding director, Asian Media Initiative @ccmnewmarkj.bsky.social. Writer. Previously Sr Fellow Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affrs. Global migration + Asia-Pacific. Pediatric transplant mom.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
kxraja.bsky.social
Kavitha Rajagopalan @kxraja.bsky.social · Dec 18
Honored to have been invited to share my thoughts for @niemanlab.org’s 2026 predictions. The safety and survival of immigrant journos working in in-language and community news is essential to protecting multiracial democracy at this moment. Please read and share:

www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/prot...
Protecting immigrant journalists has to be an industry-wide priority
"Immigrant journalists face the double threat of trying to stay safe while running headlong into unsafe situations in order to do their jobs."
www.niemanlab.org
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
flavorflav.bsky.social
Yes,,, your boy has taken a ride in the 4 man bobsled,,, but im an adrenaline junkie and needed to try skeleton. And now I’ve officially joined the team and am gonna try to start competing.

66 years old going 66 mph.
February 16, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
BlueAnon (the putatively liberal version of QAnon) is 100% a thing and it’s important for us to acknowledge that and try to root it out.
Finding no large-scale enforcement action by ICE agents on the street, TikTok creators, who presented themselves as pro-immigrant and anti-deportation, cited reports from "actual Springfield locals" that the groups helping Haitians were refusing them aid. They sent people to a church who demanded to see evidence of the help they were giving. One creator misrepresented news coverage, including by The 19th, to construct the lie that churches and other groups were "trying to take these kids from Haitians and allowing them to be deported without helping them."
February 16, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
article-14.com
Using satellite imagery, GIS mapping & RTI replies, Makepeace Sitlhou & Greeshma Kuthar investigation finds:

•forest loss in Manipur’s hills predates poppy farms

• State records reveal contradictions
article-14.com/post/manipur...
Manipur’s Vanishing Forests: Satellite Data, RTIs Undercut BJP’s Poppy Narrative As Spark For Conflict, Ethnic Cleansing
Using satellite imagery and right-to-information records, our investigation contradicts ruling party claims that poppy cultivation drove deforestation and Manipur’s ethnic conflict, resulting in 300 d...
article-14.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:15 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
ancientaliens.bsky.social
The Moon-Eyed People are described by Native Americans as pale beings with large blue eyes.
alienigenasdopassado.com.br/en/the-myste...
#aliens #ancientaliens #ancientastronauts #ancienthistory #UFOs #ufosightings #UAPs #Ufology #ufolovers #extraterrestrials #mysteries
The mysterious Moon-Eyed People - Ancient Aliens
The Moon-Eyed People are described by Native Americans as pale beings with large blue eyes.
alienigenasdopassado.com.br
February 16, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
restofworld.org
How cheap Chinese phones propelled Kenya into the global digital economy
https://restofworld.org/2026/china-kenya-silicon-elsewhere-book/
February 16, 2026 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
amandacarpenter.bsky.social
PBS News Hour: U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents describe how they were treated.

Watch the segment here www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMgC...

I'm clipping transcripts of the citizens speaking in this thread 1/3
GEORGE RETES: “My name is George Retes. I was born and raised here in Ventura, California. I’m 26 years old and I am an Iraq combat veteran. I was going to work like normal. I show up. ICE is there. There’s kind of like a roadblock. I get out. I identify myself — that I’m a U.S. citizen, that I’m just trying to get to work. I’m trying to leave. I’m getting ready to leave and they surround my car, start banging on it, start shouting these contradictory orders. Even though I was giving them no reason, they still felt the need to — one agent knelt on my back and another agent knelt on my neck. And during that time, I’m just pleading with them that I couldn’t breathe. I was in isolation. I was in basically this concrete cell. I was stripped naked in like a hospital gown. And they leave the lights on 24/7. They just came out and they said that I was violent and that I assaulted agents. Why lie when it’s on video of everything that happened? Why lie?”
February 15, 2026 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
audiosand.bsky.social
This is the cancer my son was diagnosed with at first, when we thought he would die. The outcome for alveolar is bad and I won't go into details, because we were unspeakably lucky, but I am so sad and angry and I'm so sorry Ofelia.

On every level.

www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
Ofelia Torres, teen who fought to have her father released from ICE custody, dies from rare cancer
Ofelia Torres, 16, died on Friday from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, her father's lawyer confirmed.
www.cbsnews.com
February 15, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
newlinesmag.bsky.social
The use of unlawful imprisonment during the “war on terror” set the stage for the U.S. government’s detentions and deportations today, argues Jana K. Lipman.
From Guantanamo to Minneapolis
The use of unlawful imprisonment during the ‘war on terror’ set the stage for the US government’s detentions and deportations today
newlinesmag.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
josephpolitano.bsky.social
mostly I am tired of people with 3 passports and 6 multinational conglomerates lecturing me on the virtues of ethnic nationalism
February 15, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
hanaatameez.bsky.social
The @washingtonpost.com layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, per data from the @postguild.bsky.social.

50% of Hispanic/Latino guild members,​ 45% of Black members, and​ 43% of Asian members were laid off, compared to 37% of white members.

www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/wash...
Washington Post layoffs disproportionately affected union members of color, preliminary Guild data shows
"We cannot ignore what this means for equity, representation, and the future of this organization."
www.niemanlab.org
February 13, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
mskellymhayes.bsky.social
A beautiful and deeply important piece. Please read.
The Love We See in Minneapolis Isn’t Exceptional — It’s How We Survive Together
A beautiful web is being woven in Minnesota: not with new materials but with wisdom that was already here.
truthout.org
February 15, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
hellgatenyc.com
In last week's First 100 Days newsletter, our weekly deep dive into what's actually going on in the Mamdani administration, we crunched some budget numbers as the rubber meets the road in the Mamdani administration.
Mamdani's Budget Blame Game Backfires
Numbers crunched. Tisch in control. And CityFHEPS stalled out. The rubber is meeting the road in the Mamdani administration.
hellgatenyc.com
February 15, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
thetnholler.bsky.social
“I’ve never protested before - but I just watched 4th & 5th grade kids run away from our own government.” 😕🇺🇸💔

(From @crindivisible.bsky.social )
February 15, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
adamserwer.bsky.social
"The first person to be executed for treason in the US was not a spy or someone who sold secrets to a foreign government. It was not a Confederate general who took up arms against his government. It was an abolitionist named John Brown." from @nhannahjones.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...
The Transformative Power of the White ‘Race Traitor’
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
sciam.bsky.social
Three species of Red Sea fish appear to rely on special “hybrid” retina cells to see in dim environments
How do deep-sea fish see in dark water? This new study could hold the clue
Three species of Red Sea fish appear to rely on special “hybrid” retina cells to see in dim environments
www.scientificamerican.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
“.. using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought ..”

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...
February 13, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
globalabortionnews.bsky.social
Pregnant immigrants in Minnesota have been postponing their abortions, skipping aftercare, and delaying birth control visits and urgent cancer screening follow-ups to avoid coming in contact with federal immigration agents.
Pregnant patients in Minnesota have postponed abortion appointments to avoid ICE
Planned Parenthood’s no-show rate has gone up almost 10 percent since the federal government’s Minnesota operation began.
19thnews.org
February 13, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
redderbeanpaste.bsky.social
today on my blog, I wrote an op-ed about the history of lynching, and why its extrajudicial nature is so aptly documented by Black journalists like Georgia Fort and Black activists like Nekima Levy-Armstrong the-haters-guide-to-international-politics.ghost.io/on-lynchings...
On Lynchings in America
Support my blog with a Tip Typically when we think about lynching, we rightfully connect the killings to the tremendous numbers of Black men, women and children killed during the Jim Crow Era. They w...
the-haters-guide-to-international-politics.ghost.io
February 12, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
chrischirp.bsky.social
Delighted to see the TrumpActionTracker feature in this @timeshighered.bsky.social profile by @patrickjack.bsky.social today :-)

was great to chat to him about it!

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/mathema...
The mathematician lifting the lid on Trump’s ‘attacks’
Scientist behind Trump Action Tracker uses skills in data collection to look for patterns in president’s seemingly scattergun approach
www.timeshighereducation.com
February 13, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
chadstanton.blacksky.app
“Scholarly attention has rightly focused on the forced reproduction of enslaved Black women, but that focus need not come at the expense of understanding the position of enslaved Black men, who were also denied sexual autonomy, including the ability to choose with whom they would have children.”
Black Men Endured Sexual Exploitation Under Slavery. Their Story Is Rarely Told.
Historian Thomas A. Foster discusses his new book Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men.
truthout.org
February 12, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
joro.bsky.social
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
birdsinmuseums.com
Crooked Beak (1994)
Beau Dick
Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Crooked Beak (1994) Beau Dick Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
February 11, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
adamisacson.com
The El Paso-Las Cruces combined statistical area has 1.1 million people, the 56th largest in the US, and no nearby cities.

Shutting its airspace for 10 days without explanation is unacceptable. Asking questions and demanding answers is our civic duty in a democracy.
February 11, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
whstancil.bsky.social
Look at what they’re doing to schools. Attendance cut in half or more in many. Armed, masked agents lurking in the parking lots at dropoff time, forcing families to physically protect children with their bodies. The other day ICE drew weapons outside an elementary school, forcing it into lockdown.
February 11, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Kavitha Rajagopalan
phillewis.bsky.social
A dresser inside a museum in New York City has been discovered as a secret stop on the Underground Railroad — the first of its kind discovered in Manhattan in over 100 years
February 11, 2026 at 3:43 AM