Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 9d

The USDA sent an email to grocery stores telling them they are prohibited from offering special discounts to customers affected by the SNAP funding lapse.
I'm aware of at least 2 stores that had offered struggling customers a discount, then withdrew it after receiving this email

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Alexandra (Alex) Duggan @alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 11d

BREAKING: Two Spokane Police officers resigned this year amid an investigation into allegations they were seducing victims of domestic violence, hundreds of documents show.

MORE: www.spokesman.com/stories/2025...

Two Spokane Police officers resign amid investigation for on-duty sexual acts with domestic violence victims

Two Spokane police officers have resigned within the past year amid internal affairs investigations into allegations that they had used their badge to seduce women who were victims of domestic violenc...

www.spokesman.com

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 11d

During a press conference this week in Gary, Indiana, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem brazenly claimed no US citizens have been detained or arrested by ICE, and labeled any reporting to the contrary is “simply not true”. But Noem is ignoring the facts.

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 14d

Few patients appeal a health insurance denial, but a little-known process that requires insurers and plans to seek an independent opinion can force insurers to pay for what can be lifesaving treatment.

Here’s what experts say you need to know.

By @deldeib.bsky.social

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.

When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

www.propublica.org

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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 19d

"Provincial officials allied with the Trump regime have jailed a political dissident for over a month after he made comments on social media critical of the authoritarian leader and a recently slain political ally who founded an influential group to radicalize America's 'White' ethnic majority."

The Absurd Prosecution of a Man Who Posted a Charlie Kirk Meme

Larry Bushart Jr. posted trolling memes on a Facebook thread about a vigil for Kirk. He’s been in a Tennessee jail ever since.

theintercept.com

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 20d

"No planning. No proposals to the National Capital Planning Commission. No opportunity for notice and comment from the public. Just Trump’s whim—and a beloved national symbol tumbles to dust. It’s obscene."

@monacharen.bsky.social on Trump's White House demolition www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-mar-...

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Eric Barker @ericbarker.bsky.social · Oct 10

"What the fuck? How is this real? This is a nightmare"

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · Oct 10

"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7."

@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized

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Craig Welch @craigwelch.bsky.social · Oct 10

Journalism, he said, is how we know what's happening in troubled lands. "These extraordinary eyewitness accounts are the culmination of the daily efforts of countless people who work to ensure that information isn't manipulated for ends contrary to truth and human dignity“
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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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · Oct 6

John Roberts’ Constitution: The federal government protecting people’s right to vote or giving them health care violates the sacred principle of state sovereignty but if the deranged POTUS and his bloodthirsty advisers want to use the military to invade other states for being too liberal that’s fine

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Eric Barker @ericbarker.bsky.social · Oct 6

“The [US] supreme court hasn’t wanted to be Churchill.” Levitsky said. “John Roberts has been Chamberlain. I think that is incredible destructive behavior.”

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Oct 6

Why does the supreme court keep bending the knee to Trump? | Steven Greenhouse

As a new term begins, the justices have continually failed to provide a check on presidential power – with disastrous consequences

www.theguardian.com

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Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · Oct 5

"[A]gents engulfed my car in tear gas, smashed my driver-side window, and pepper-sprayed my face.... I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. No explanation. No charges. No apology. One day, I was just told, 'you’re free to go.'" #KavanaughStop

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · Oct 5

American taxpayers are paying people to post Bible verses on a US government account.

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Kelcie Moseley-Morris @kelciemmorris.bsky.social · Oct 5

Deeply disappointed in my alma mater for this

Alan Dershowitz is the distinguished guest speaker for a University of Idaho College of Law lecture on October 17 in Boise, Idaho

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Amy Tidd @amytidd.bsky.social · Oct 3

Thanks Carl!

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The Oregonian @oregonian.com · Oct 4

Federal officer blasts chemical spray into vocal but nonviolent Portland protester, video shows

The interaction illustrates how federal law enforcement officers do use aggressive tactics against protesters who yell and needle officers but don’t appear to present clear physical threats.

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Elliott Young @elliottyoung.bsky.social · Oct 4

“This is perhaps the most extreme sign that the Supreme Court has abandoned law for politics,” he said in a statement. “There is no way under law to make sense of the vast new power the court has taken for itself.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

Supreme Court Lets Trump Revoke Deportation Protections for Venezuelans

www.nytimes.com

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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · Oct 4

ICE agent sprays a woman criticizing them with mace, nothing more threatening on her part www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMrAF3Mg/

TikTok video by @

www.tiktok.com

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Eric Barker @ericbarker.bsky.social · Oct 1

Some are more measured
Interior: Because of the federal government shutdown, www.doi.gov is not being updated and will not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

Homeland Security: Home land security
Due to a lapse in funding, this website will not be actively managed.

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Eric Barker @ericbarker.bsky.social · Oct 1

Treasury:
The radical left has chosen to shut down the United States government in the name of reckless spending and obstructionism. As a result, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s websites will only be sporadically updated until this shutdown concludes.

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Eric Barker @ericbarker.bsky.social · Oct 1

AG The Radical Left Democrats shutdown the government. This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people

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Eric Barker @ericbarker.bsky.social · Oct 1

Some federal agency and department websites are posting unusually partisan messages on their websites blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.

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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · Sep 30

OpenAI employees are very excited about how well their new AI tool can create fake videos of people doing crimes and have definitely thought through all the implications of this

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Chip Mitchell @chipmitchell1.bsky.social · Oct 1

Gregory Bovino, commander-at-large of the U.S. #BorderPatrol, claims a @wbez.org/@chicago.suntimes.com report about his comments Sunday in downtown #Chicago was "grossly inaccurate" and taken out of context. So we've posted the interview's unedited AUDIO and TRANSCRIPT:
www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Transcript: Gregory Bovino says arrestees in downtown Chicago chosen partly based on ‘how they look’

WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell spoke with U.S. Border Patrol commander about a deportation blitz downtown and in the upscale River North neighborhood. Here is the transcript and unedited audio interview.

www.wbez.org

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Lauren Necochea @laurennecochea.bsky.social · Sep 30

Heartbreaking. Their disregard for human life knows no bounds.

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · Sep 30

Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting.

www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Trump’s USAID pause stranded lifesaving drugs. Children died waiting.

USAID antimalarial and HIV supplies valued at nearly $140 million were delayed in the first half of the year or not delivered at all due to the Trump administration’s foreign aid pause, The Post found...

www.washingtonpost.com

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · Sep 29

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com

“A strategy for remaking the Democratic Party is coming together — a coalition of moderates and progressives leaning into economic populism while leaving room to maneuver in the culture war,” writes Tim Shenk.

Opinion | Democrats Are in Crisis. Eat-the-Rich Populism Is the Only Answer.

A blistering assault on economic elites, a moderate stance on cultural issues and a rejection of politics as usual. That’s how to remake the Democratic Party.

nyti.ms

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