Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Erol Akcay

Andrew D Thaler

@drandrewthaler.bsky.social

In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.

The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.

Why?

It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.

November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM

Reposted by Erol Akcay

Catherine Rampell

@crampell.bsky.social

Astonishing how hard this administration is working to keep people hungry.
It's clear they are trying maximize public suffering, in hopes of getting people to blame Dems for that suffering. But it's transparently the White House working overtime to keep the suffering going!
bsky.app/profile/cram...

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

Yikes. USDA sent threatening letter to states telling them that if they sent out EBT money —which many states did during the window when a lower court said SNAP funds had to be released—they have to take it back (?)
Trying to sort out what this means and if states even can claw back the funds

November 9, 2025 at 4:06 PM

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Angie Rasmussen

@angierasmussen.bsky.social

We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...

COVID’s leadership failures

Two moments that were too big for us, and the unfixable chain of mistakes that was set off after November 2020

open.substack.com

November 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM

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Maciej F Boni

@maciekboni.bsky.social

What were you doing 5 years ago today ? I think a lot of us forgot the news that was delivered and the failures that followed. Important reminder here:

maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...

Please click subscribe. It's free.

November 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM

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JM Rieger

@riegerreport.bsky.social

During an event on Thursday, Donald Trump seemed to repeatedly struggle to keep his eyes open.

A Washington Post analysis of multiple video feeds found that Trump spent roughly 20 minutes battling to keep his eyes open.

New video w/ @ddiamond.bsky.social

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

November 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM

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Don Moynihan

@donmoyn.bsky.social

The elimination of USAID was an unforgivable moral atrocity that should haunt Trump, Elon Musk and Marco Rubio for the rest of their days and beyond

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 4d

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands

The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.

newyorkermag.visitlink.me

November 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM

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Alissa Walker

@awalkerinla.bsky.social

*taps sign*

Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · Jun 26

Two years ago I interviewed a 31-year-old NY state assemblymember about a 7-year-old girl killed by an SUV driver in his district. I hung up the phone, astonished that I'd talked to a legislator who so thoughtfully articulated what actually needs to change on our streets.

He'll make a great mayor

In February, 7-year-old Dolma Naadhun was crossing the intersection of Newtown Road and 45th Street in Astoria with her mother and sister when the driver of a 2021 Ford Explorer blew through a stop sign, striking and killing Dolma. One month later, New York City Department of Transportation commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez visited the crash site with other officials, met with community members demanding a traffic signal be installed, and promised to make changes to the street - including "daylighting"
the intersection using curb extensions and plastic bollards. State assemblymember Zohran Mamdani also visited the scene that day and realized that something else needed to change. "When you take a step back and think about traffic violence in New York City," he said, "you start to understand that this is a systemic issue that is incentivized by the policies that we have in place with regard to the design of our streets and what kind of vehicles we allow to be on our roads." Whether a driver runs a stop sign or a red light, statistically, certain cars - namely, bigger SUVs and trucks - are more likely to kill a 7-year-old. This is why Mamdani is co- introducing legislation for a weight-based vehicle-registration fee
intended to discourage people from purchasing heavier vehicles. "The car industry is pushing the sale of heavier and larger vehicles," he says. "The state has to make it clear that these types of vehicles
come with a certain kind of cost."

soar above adult shoulders. But there may be another way to disincentivize the purchases of such vehicles, says Edwards. "One other potential idea would be for someone, maybe a city's DOT, to start keeping a list of the different makes and models of vehicles that are killing pedestrians and cyclists, or kids specifically, and post that publicly," he says. "That could bring awareness to which cars are more dangerous and also potentially affect insurance rates,
which would possibly convince people not to buy certain cars." There's a bit of accountability in New York's bill, which would
require the State DOT to track all fatal crashes by vehicle weight. But the other encouraging aspect of the proposal is that the collected fees stay local, by county, and, after the annual dedications to highway, bridge, and transit trust funds are met, a full 75 percent of the funds raised will go toward safety
improvements like bike lanes, bollards, road diets, pedestrianization of streets, and raised crosswalks. This means the neighborhoods most impacted by large vehicles are likely to see the biggest changes. And that might be the most important part of the legislation, says Mamdani. "This is an initiative to make our streets safer for our children," he says. "And we are making sure a significant portion of this funding goes toward creating the very
streetscapes that we know will save their lives."

November 5, 2025 at 2:12 AM

Reposted by Erol Akcay

Greg Sargent

@gregsargent.bsky.social

The factional grifters will hate this, but the Mamdani-Spanberger-Sherrill axis actually suggests the outlines of a broad, emerging Dem coalition organized around both anti-Trump *and* affordability politics, not a party bitterly divided against itself.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 6d

These big wins will embolden Dems to take on Trump's lawbreaking and show there's a price for GOP enabling of him. Folks hate to hear this, but normal patterns are asserting themselves: Liberalism isn't dead, Rs are likely to lose in 2026, and Trump is really unpopular, not a magical exception.

November 5, 2025 at 2:48 AM

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jamelle

@jamellebouie.net

i want to repeat this: mamdani and spanberger have run similar campaigns tailored to their respective electorates and it is maddening to watch political journalists attempt to create some broad contrast where none exist

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 6d

the other thing about this is that there is no reason to pit these candidates against each other? each are good fits for their respective electorates and each shows the value of vigorous campaigns focused on the stated material problems of voters.

November 4, 2025 at 1:37 PM

Reposted by Erol Akcay

Alex Fernie

@ferniecommaalex.bsky.social

Several hundred kids just marched past my house because John Marshall High is doing an anti-ICE walk out.

LA's tradition of high schoolers using their voices to push back on racism and inequality is really an inspiring thing.

November 4, 2025 at 6:43 PM

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social

In Chicago, a woman was driving to get coffee when a DHS vehicle fleeing an angry crowd crashed into her car. Armed agents jumped out of the vehicle, yanked her door open, pulled her by the legs out of her car at gunpoint, held her incommunicado for hours, then released her with no charges.

Dayanne Figueroa was on her way to get coffee before heading to work when she encountered a chaotic scene in West Town: heavily armed, masked federal agents making arrests on a residential street.
People yelled as vehicles honked their horn — a sign now used to alert neighbors that immigration federal agents are in the area — and witnesses said federal agents had arrested several landscaper workers presumed to be in the country without authorization.
As Figuero tried to drive through the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street on Friday, Oct. 10, an unmarked vehicle driven by federal agents collided with Figueroa’s as it tried to speed away from a hostile crowd, multiple videos reviewed by the Tribune show.
Seconds after the crash, agents abruptly stopped their vehicle and exited with weapons in hand pointing at Figueroa, a U.S citizen. Agents then forcibly opened her door and pulled her out of the vehicle by her legs without identifying themselves, presenting a warrant or informing her that she was under arrest. As bystanders yelled, “You hit her! We have it on video!” agents ignored the crowd and forced Figueroa into a red minivan and drove away.
Her car was left behind in the middle of the road, her coffee still in the cup holder, and her keys in plain view.

November 3, 2025 at 6:34 PM

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Jake Grumbach

@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social

The welfare state is about dignity, equality, and making people not poor, but as @itsafronomics.bsky.social says/cites here, it’s often also an investment that more than pays for itself

Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.bsky.social · 10d

Why should you 🫵🏿 care about SNAP? SNAP recipients saw:

- Improved life expectancy
- Lower chance of incarceration
- Lowers chance of poverty
- Lived in better neighborhoods
- Higher human capital

SNAP keeps our neighbors fed, communities safer, and kids educated. Also people are HUNGRY. DUH!

November 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM

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Tim Dickinson

@timdickinson.bsky.social

More Insta snaps from the let them eat cake ball at Mar a Lago

November 1, 2025 at 6:57 PM

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Ida Bae Wells

@nhannahjones.bsky.social

Let’s be clear, most EBT users are white. The reason he’s specifically lying about “weaves” and we’ve seen so many AI fakes of Black women ranting about food stamps is they need to make BW the face EBT because they know many Americans don’t care if Black people suffer, and some actually wish for it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d

ROB SCHMITT: People are using SNAP benefits to get their nails done, to get their weaves and their hair. This is a really ugly program.

SEN. RON JOHNSON: That program needs to be dramatically reformed.

November 1, 2025 at 5:22 PM

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Cory Booker

@corybooker.com

Thank you Congressman Neguse for laying it plain.

October 31, 2025 at 4:14 PM

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Aaron Rupar

@atrupar.com

sure, you might not be able to eat or go to the doctor, but check out how nice Trump's new marble shitter is

I renovated the Lincoln Bathroom in the White House. It was renovated in the 1940s in an art deco green tile style, which was totally inappropriate for the Lincoln Era. I did it in black and white polished Statuary marble. This was very appropriate for the time of Abraham Lincoln and, in fact, could be the marble that was originally there!

October 31, 2025 at 5:04 PM

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Senator Chris Van Hollen

@vanhollen.senate.gov

🚨NEWS: Two federal judges just ruled the Trump Admin MUST use emergency funds to continue providing SNAP benefits during the shutdown.

They tried to use hungry kids as political pawns instead of coming to the table to reopen the government. Shameful.

Two federal judges require Trump administration tap into emergency funds to partially cover food stamp benefits | CNN Politics

Two federal judges said Friday that the Trump administration must tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds to at least partially cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in N...

www.cnn.com

October 31, 2025 at 7:11 PM

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò

@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social

don't have a lot left to say about the Nazi tat discourse other than the general observation that when some say they oppose "moralism" they mean they oppose self-indulgent or otherwise unprincipled appeals to faux-morality and when others say they oppose "moralism" they mean they oppose morals

October 29, 2025 at 9:58 PM

Erol Akcay

@akcay.theoretical.bio

A bit belated, but happy to have our preprint, “An Ecological Theory of Democracy,” out.

We consider political party competition in light of classic ecological theory. Led by a talented former undergrad, Riley Fotis, in collaboration with Brendan O’Leary (neither on bluesky).

A 🧵 1/

OSF

osf.io

October 29, 2025 at 6:10 PM

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Sharita Gruberg

@gruberg.bsky.social

In case you were wondering who needed to be told by a judge that trick or treaters aren’t a threat, it’s this guy.

Black and white photo of CBP chief Gregory Bovino

October 28, 2025 at 4:22 PM

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Ryan Enos

@ryanenos.bsky.social

The authoritarian nightmare. A regime with a massive security apparatus used for political purposes, completely unconstrained by the rule of law.

October 28, 2025 at 3:35 PM

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Kevin Collins

@kwcollins.bsky.social

This morning federal agents arrested two hard working immigrants on my street because they didn’t have their papers on them, and tried to arrest my neighbor because his green card was in his house rather than on his person.

We are now a “show me your papers” state, and it is outrageous. Get angry.

October 28, 2025 at 3:41 PM