Resistance To Trump Agenda
Resistance To Trump Agenda
Embedded Files
Next Meeting: 11/10/25, 7 PM, Ozark-Dale Library
This is a subpage dealing with initial resistance to the Trump & MAGA agenda. Previously, our news articles focused on the actions, statements, & plans of the Trump Administration without talking about the pushback from reasonable citizens, leaders, and organizations. This was an error on our part. In our discussion, "the resistance" does not refer to any particular party, organization, or militant ideology. Judges defending our laws and Constitution against actions by the Trump Administration can be considered "the resistance." Anti-Trump Republicans, like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, can belong to our definition of "the resistance," and even foreign US allies can be considered resisting if they oppose some of Trump's insane foreign policy pronouncements and claims. Due to Trump's "shock and awe" campaign, the resistance so far has mostly been limited to political statements, lawsuits, editorials, citizen protests, and a few boycotts. However, the resistance is starting to get organized, and we'll try to do a better job of keeping you informed. This list is clearly not indicative of all resistance efforts. For context, you may also wish to view the other subpages to better understand why the resistance is occurring.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s White House ballroom plan: Poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5577578-trump-ballroom-plan-disapproval-poll/
Judge extends order barring the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown
https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-layoffs-judge-trump-fdcb16f91c94d7bf73977e8968210b0e
Comment; 'A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, saying that labor unions were likely to prevail on their claims that the cuts were arbitrary and politically motivated."
"U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out. She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday."
"Federal agencies are enjoined from issuing layoff notices or acting on notices issued since the government shut down Oct. 1. Illston said that her order does not apply to notices sent before the shutdown."
Comment: "The American Federation of Government Employees and other labor unions have sued to stop the 'reductions in force' layoffs, saying the firings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress."
" 'President Trump is using the government shutdown as a pretense to illegally fire thousands of federal workers – specifically those employees carrying out programs and policies that the administration finds objectionable,' said AFGE National President Everett Kelley, in a statement thanking the court."
Border Patrol chief leading Trump immigration crackdown in Chicago ordered to report daily to federal judge
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/28/bovino-federal-judge-chicago-immigration-00625519
Comment: "In a tense hearing, Gregory Bovino faced scrutiny for alleged violations of court orders limiting use of force."
Video: 'It Is Intentional': Rob Bonta Unveils Lawsuit Against Trump Admin Over SNAP Benefit Suspension - October 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl1qsnk1RMg
States sue Agriculture Department over looming suspension of SNAP food assistance
Comment: "Democratic leaders from 25 states are suing the Agriculture Department over the looming suspension of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. Benefits are expected to run dry across the country this weekend because of the ongoing government shutdown."
"The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Massachusetts district court, argues that the USDA is legally required to continue providing SNAP benefits during the shutdown as long as it has funding. It calls on the court to compel the USDA to use contingency funds appropriated by Congress to keep the program running."
Comment: Not Alabama.
Democrats plan to sue over food aid as GOP splits on legislative patch
Comment: "Dozens of Democratic attorneys general and governors are planning to sue President Donald Trump’s administration Tuesday over its decision to not tap emergency funds amid the government shutdown to keep food aid flowing to 42 million Americans next month, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement."
"Trump officials concluded in a Friday memo that they cannot legally tap a $5 billion contingency fund for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program amid the shutdown to pay benefits in November. Some in the administration believe, with $9 billion needed to fund SNAP payments for the month, there is no time to distribute smaller payments to individual states."
"Administration officials anticipated their legal determination would be challenged in court, POLITICO reported last week, and there are no serious efforts underway at USDA to find other sources of funding, according to two other people granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. But some GOP lawmakers whose constituents would be clobbered by a first-ever lapse of federal food benefits, are pushing for some kind of patch to prevent that from happening."
"Senate Republicans are divided over whether to vote on a standalone bill to keep SNAP beneficiaries — many of whom live in rural and Hispanic-majority Republican districts — from losing assistance. Many argue Democrats will be at fault if the Friday deadline barrels past with no fix as they continue to push Democratic senators to vote for the stopgap spending bill the House passed last month."
Comment: "But a growing number of Senate Republicans — including some within Thune’s own leadership circle — are publicly saying Congress needs to fund SNAP whether or not Democrats relent on overall government funding, lest millions without food aid before Thanksgiving."
Trump wants to cancel more funding during the shutdown. Courts have hampered his earlier efforts
Comment: "Congress has the constitutional power of the purse, but President Donald Trump’s robust assertion of executive authority is testing even that basic tenet of U.S. democracy."
"His administration has already canceled or threatened to cancel billions of dollars of previously approved federal spending and now wants to go after even more funding during the government shutdown."
"States, cities, nonprofits and other groups have responded with more than 150 lawsuits accusing the Republican administration of an unlawful power grab."
"An Associated Press analysis shows that so far, those suits are mostly succeeding in blocking the Republican president’s spending moves, at least temporarily. But most of the legal battles are far from over, and the Supreme Court, where Trump so far has been more successful, could have the final word on at least some of them."
California says it will monitor the Justice Department's election watchers next week
Comment: "California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday that the state will dispatch its own observers to monitor federal election watchers deployed by the Trump administration ahead of an election that will decide whether to move forward with redistricting plans."
"Bonta's announcement came in response to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's saying Friday that the Justice Department would monitor polls in six jurisdictions leading up to the Nov. 4 election, including five in California, following a request from the California Republican Party."
" 'The feigned worry by the Republican Party I don’t think is a good source of true raising of concerns and servicing of concerns about the elections,' Bonta, a Democrat, said during a virtual news conference."
Comment: " 'There will be observers of the election monitors, so-called election monitors, that the DOJ is sending,' Bonta told reporters, adding that the federal watchers 'will not be allowed to do things that they’re not allowed to do. They’re not going to be allowed to interfere in ways that the law prohibits.' "
"He called the federal government's monitoring plans 'unnecessary but welcome'."
The ‘No Kings’ protests are working. Keep it up.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5571613-trump-no-kings-movement-impact/
Centrist WelcomePAC charts path for Dems, with help from Axelrod, Plouffe and others
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/27/welcomepac-democrats-report-2025-00623597
Comment: "Centrist Democrats have a plan for their party to win again: Talk more about the economy and less about democracy. Reject corporate interests and ideological purity tests. Keep the progressive policies that are popular — like expanding health care and raising the minimum wage — and moderate on issues like immigration and crime."
"Those are among the takeaways laid out in an expansive report Monday from WelcomePAC, which supports center-left candidates, on how Democrats can rebound from last year’s electoral wipeout in 2026 and 2028."
"The 58-page prescription comes as Democrats continue to war over the direction of their party nearly a year after their national shellacking. And it drops a week before a slate of gubernatorial and mayoral contests that will serve as the first major temperature check of the electorate since 2024 and President Donald Trump retaking the Oval Office."
Video: Newsom to consider PRESIDENTIAL run - October 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1O_ERDVzys
Gov. Gavin Newsom will consider presidential run after 2026 midterm elections | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/26/politics/newsom-consider-presidential-run
From Texas to Tennessee, Even Trump Country Is Marching Against Trump
Comment: "The recent protests appear to be expanding to parts of the country that had voted for Trump. Between April and August of this year, the researchers noted, 'the median protest county in the US sent more votes to Trump in 2024 than [Kamala] Harris.' As an example, the research cites the 2,000 people who joined the June round of 'No Kings' protests in Kingsport, a city with a population of about 55,000 in Tennessee’s Sullivan County, where Trump won almost 77 percent of the vote. Last Saturday, Kingsport held a protest once again. 'America was founded because we didn’t want a king,' Kristina Runciman, an organizer with East Tennessee Voices, told a local station, 'and we don’t want a king now.' "
"During the second Trump administration, researchers have found, the 'share of counties hosting at least one anti-Trump protest has risen markedly…surpassing the historic spikes observed during his first term. And the current protest movement has already reached deeper into Trump country than at almost any point during the first Trump administration.' "
Trump’s popularity slips among Hispanic adults - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/25/trumps-popularity-hispanic-adults-00622998
Comment: "A new poll finds the president’s favorability among the demographic has fallen nearly 20 points since taking office."
Video: South Korean protesters voice anger ahead of Trump visit | REUTERS - October 25 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iC4C1MRys0
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino ordered to face federal judge in Chicago, after being accused of violating court order
Comment: "A federal judge in Chicago has ordered U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino to attend a hearing in her courtroom next week, after he was accused of violating a temporary restraining order limiting federal agents' use of certain tactics to suppress protests or prevent media coverage of immigration enforcement operations in Illinois."
Video: Longtime Pentagon correspondent balks at Hegseth’s new press corps - October 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ldMLGVMKPA
House Democrats launch probe into Trump’s potential $230M payment from his own Justice Department | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/house-democrats-probe-trump-230-million-doj-payment
Democratic senator’s anti-Trump floor speech ends after nearly 23 hours
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/22/senator-jeff-merkley-floor-speech-trump
Comment: "Jeff Merkley of Oregon gives address to make case that president is ‘violating the law’ through authoritarianism"
Republicans are ridiculing ‘No Kings.’ A striking new poll shows Americans aren’t laughing | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/22/politics/no-kings-rallies-trump-analysis
Video: Trump's White House demolition for ballroom sparks backlash - October 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Rt-lipDcE
Trump approval on economy hits new low: Quinnipiac poll
https://thehill.com/business/5567863-trump-economy-disapproval-poll/
Most Americans say U.S. on wrong track on economy, immigration and more: poll
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/22/poll-us-wrong-track-economy-immigration
Ousted Justice Dept. attorneys who prosecuted Trump open new law firm targeting corruption
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ousted-doj-attorneys-who-prosecuted-trump-new-law-firm/
Comment: "She was a member of special counsel Jack Smith's team, which investigated a pair of criminal cases involving Mr. Trump, including one for election subversion. Gaston and fellow prosecutor J.P. Cooney were part of a prosecutorial unit that submitted hundreds of pages of court filings. Throughout 2023 and 2024, they stood before judges and courtrooms packed with news media for historic proceedings that were immediately recognized as landmark legal moments."
Comment: "Gaston and Cooney, among the most accomplished corruption prosecutors in the Justice Department, would lose their jobs once Mr. Trump took office in January."
"They were fired in a Trump administration purge of prosecutors associated with Smith and staff from the Justice Department's Public Integrity section, which has specialized in corruption cases in the 50 years since Watergate."
"The pair of former prosecutors have now embarked on a new chapter, opening a new private law firm, which they hope will fill a void left by the purge."
"Their eponymous firm, Gaston and Cooney, will leverage and promote their experience working on Smith's special counsel cases and offer to help local and state governments investigate public corruption. Gaston and Cooney said the ouster of veteran prosecutors from the Justice Department's Public Integrity section shifts the burden to local investigators to unearth and uproot public corruption."
Comment: "Justice Connection, an organization representing former agency employees, told CBS News it estimates the Justice Department's Public Integrity section has shrunk to just two full time attorneys, down from dozens in recent years."
"Gaston and Cooney told CBS News they will also offer private legal services to clients who are the subject of investigations, including in congressional probes. Their work with Smith will be listed in a press release Wednesday announcing the launch of their new firm."
Ethics Watchdog Group Seeks Investigation Into Border Czar and Contracts Following ProPublica Report
Comment: "The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has called on the Homeland Security inspector general to investigate potential conflicts of interest and ethics violations by border czar Tom Homan and his senior adviser Mark Hall."
Video: 'No Kings Alliance' launches in wake of massive nationwide protests as movement's next step - October 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej36RYtPX1c
Millions turn out for ‘love America’ rallies
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5564219-johnson-warns-no-kings-rally/
Comment: "Never did I imagine uttering these words, but I begin this column with thanks to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for warning us about last Saturday’s 'No Kings' protests. 'They call it the ‘No Kings’ rally,' he told Real America's Voice. 'We call it the ‘Hate America’ rally. It will have all the Marxists collected, all the Antifa people, the Black Lives Matter remnants, the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat Party, and they’re going to be out here screaming and wailing.' "
Comment: "If Johnson had shown up, he would have discovered what I did — not a 'hate America' rally, but just the opposite: a 'love America' fest. In fact, if there was one word I heard more than any other from speakers at the rally, it was 'love.' We love the Constitution. We love the rule of law. We love democracy. We love America."
"There were Americans of all ages, colors and stripes. I talked to a lot of them. There were young couples pushing baby strollers. There were aging boomers. There were college students and parents with young kids. There were business professionals, lawyers, doctors and teachers. Many protestors were in colorful animal costumes: chickens, dinosaurs, giraffes and frogs."
"They were all having a good time. The entire atmosphere was festive and positive. Bands played, people danced and sang protest songs. There were American flags everywhere, some of them upside down, as a sign of distress. And there were waves of creative, and funny signs. Three of my favorites were: 'The only orange monarch we want is a butterfly;' 'If Kamala was President, we would all be at brunch;' and 'No faux-king way!' "
"Dozens of signs simply said: 'I love America.' "
Comment: "Of course, the huge turnout and the peaceful nature of the protests did not faze Speaker Johnson. The next morning, on ABC’s 'This Week,' he told host Jonathan Karl the rallies were nothing but a political 'stunt' organized by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and condemned their 'hateful messages'."
Prosecutors not ruling out state charges for commuted ex-Rep. George Santos - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/state-charges-commuted-rep-george-santos/story?id=126721722
Santos’s release from prison felt like Trump ‘stuck me in the gut with a knife’, alleged fraud victim says
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/21/santos-release-prison-richard-osthoff
Comment: "A retired member of the US navy who alleges he lost thousands of dollars meant for his dying dog when the Donald Trump-freed George Santos defrauded him says he now views the president as a 'walking middle finger'.
"Richard Osthoff’s emotional comments on Monday on MSNBC’s Chris Jansing Reports came three days after Trump commuted Santos's seven-year, three-month prison sentence, which was given to the former New York representative in connection with federal fraud charges."
"Osthoff has previously accused Santos of raising $3,000 on the GoFundMe platform in 2016 to benefit the military veteran’s dying service dog, Sapphire. But Osthoff said Sapphire ended up dying after Santos kept the money for himself – accusations that never led to criminal charges."
Comment: "Santos’s release provoked criticism from both ends of the US political spectrum. And on Monday, Osthoff joined that chorus, saying he was repulsed by the clemency Trump afforded Santos."
" 'I was really just sick to my stomach for the president of the United States to stick me in the gut with a knife,' Osthoff remarked on Jansing’s show. Santos 'should have done at least half of his seven years', he said. 'This is disgusting.' "
"Osthoff also maintained Santos’s commutation was not the first time Trump had done something disrespectful to a military veteran. He alluded to a 2020 report that asserted Trump had insulted dead US troops as 'suckers and losers' – which the president has denied."
" 'It’s shameful and a disgrace – and I’m almost ashamed that I served my country now. This is not the country I raised my hand [to serve],' Osthoff said. 'That man disrespects the military and veterans and just about everybody that doesn’t wear a red hat,' synonymous with his Make America great again slogan 'every single day'."
" 'He’s a walking middle finger,' Osthoff also said of Trump – who has issued several other pardons and commutations since returning to the Oval Office in January, including to about 1,500 people who attacked the US Capitol in his name in early 2021."
Fox News Host Admits Mom Was at ‘No Kings’ Rally
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-host-jesse-watters-admits-mom-was-at-no-kings-rally/
Major U.S. cities see no arrests at "No Kings" protests
3 takeaways from Saturday's No Kings nationwide protests
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/19/nx-s1-5579042/no-kings-protests-takeaways
A robust crowd gathered in Dothan for a No Kings rally, waving American flags and applauding passing drivers who showed support with their horns.
https://www.wtvy.com/2025/10/18/no-kings-rally-draws-crowd-dothan/
Comment: "A robust crowd gathered in Dothan for a No Kings rally, waving American flags and applauding passing drivers who showed support with their horns."
" 'I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,' said Darlene, who didn’t provide her last name as she walked toward the Houston County Courthouse to join over 100 others who had shown up by mid morning."
Comment: "Republicans termed the protests 'Hate America' rallies, with hundreds across the nation."
"The rally in Dothan was peaceful, as police monitored from a distance."
Comment: Despite the ridiculous characterization by Republican "leaders," No Kings participants represented a broad spectrum of patriotic citizens of all ages, races, and creeds. Rather than hating America, the participants showed they love America, it's Constitution, and democracy They were protesting authoritative threats recently posed by the Trump administration.
Comment: The peaceful rally lasted four hours and not all participants were at the courthouse the whole time. However, over 200 citizens participated in the course of the 4 hour duration.
AL.com: Mobile ‘No Kings’ protest: Large crowd rallies in Halloween costumes against Trump
‘No Kings’ protests against Trump bring a street party vibe to cities nationwide
https://apnews.com/article/no-kings-rallies-demonstrations-trump-4baa5de2fab057a0e6ab726f5d7747fd
Comment: "Large crowds of protesters marched and rallied in cities across the U.S. Saturday for “No Kings” demonstrations decrying what participants see as the government’s swift drift into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump."
"People carrying signs with slogans such as 'Nothing is more patriotic than protesting' or 'Resist Fascism' packed into New York City’s Times Square and rallied by the thousands in parks in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces."
"Trump’s Republican Party disparaged the demonstrations as 'Hate America' rallies, but in many places the events looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, huge banners with the U.S. Constitution’s 'We The People' preamble that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon."
"It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism."
"Trump, meanwhile, was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida."
" 'They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,' the president said in a Fox News interview that aired early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club."
Comment: No, Donald, you are not a king, and we aim to keep you from becoming one, despite your efforts!
Live updates: ‘No Kings’ protesters rally against Trump administration across country | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/no-kings-protests-trump-news-10-18-25
Biggest US labor unions fuel No Kings protests against Trump: ‘You need a voice to have freedom’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/18/no-kings-protests-labor-unions
The White House has faced a flurry of rejections after inviting 9 universities to be the first signatories of its higher-ed compact | Fortune
Video: Top universities reject Trump’s 'compact' over academic freedom - October 17, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqxkf7kouMg
Military Veterans to Join Millions Nationwide for Saturday's Anti-Trump 'No Kings' Protests
NPR: 'No Kings' organizers project a massive turnout for this weekend's protests
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/17/nx-s1-5576461/no-kings-protests-trump
Court extends restraining order to shield more feds from shutdown RIFs
Comment: "A federal judge on Friday moved to protect more federal employees from being fired during the ongoing government shutdown amid a dispute between unions and the government about which members of the workforce were covered by a temporary restraining order the court issued earlier this week."
"At an emergency hearing in San Francisco, Judge Susan Illston expanded the temporary restraining order barring reductions in force (RIFs) to also cover employees represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, the Service Employees International Union, and the National Association of Government Employees. Previously, only members of the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County And Municipal Employees, the initial plaintiffs in the lawsuit, were explicitly shielded from reductions in force during the shutdown."
Politico: What Trump Is Really Up to in Chicago, According to JB Pritzker
Second ‘No Kings’ protest planned in Dothan
https://www.wdhn.com/news/second-no-kings-protest-planned-in-dothan/
Comment: See you at the Dothan Courthouse, Saturday 10 AM - 2 PM.
Appeals court declines to lift order blocking Trump from deploying National Guard in Illinois, finding scant evidence of 'rebellion'
Comment: " 'Political opposition is not rebellion,' the judges wrote in their decision."
Donald Trump Is Probably Really, Really Not Going To Like DC's Newest 3,000-Pound Ice Sculpture That's Going Viral
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dcs-newest-democracy-ice-sculpture-164532323.html
Comment: "It's a 3,000-poud ice sculpture that's been placed on the National Mall."
Comment: "The finished product is nine letters that spell out 'Democracy'."
Comment: "The sculpture — created by artists LigoranoReese — is titled 'Last Call -- Democracy ICED.' "
Comment: "As you can see, the letters are slowly melting away..."
Comment: "Some people took the sculpture as a metaphor for democracy disappearing under the Trump administration."
CNN: Joe Rogan is unpleasantly surprised by Trump’s actions. He’s hardly alone
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/joe-rogan-trump-surprise-analysis
Comment: Are the social media influencers starting to wake up and see what is happening?
The Guardian: Pete Hegseth’s attempt to gag journalism is a resounding failure | Margaret Sullivan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/15/pete-hegseth-attempt-gag-journalism
Comment: "He’s in good company. News organizations including the Guardian, the Associated Press, the New York Times, Reuters, Politico, the Washington Post, the Atlantic and many others – even right-leaning Newsmax and the Washington Times – are rejecting the demand."
"Unsurprisingly, One America News – essentially a propaganda outfit – has agreed to sign."
"The major TV networks, even including the Trump-friendly Fox News – Hegseth’s former employer – joined the movement in a joint statement on Tuesday afternoon."
AP News: Journalists turn in access badges, exit Pentagon rather than agree to new reporting rules
'The cavalry is coming': Indivisible predicts massive 'No Kings' turnout
Maryland Matters: Attorney general limits what Maryland police can do when working with federal authorities
Comment: "Memo says local officers ‘may not enforce civil immigration laws or assist federal agents in enforcing such laws’ "
Comment: " 'Maryland’s law enforcement officers are governed by Maryland law and the communities they serve, regardless of shifting federal priorities,' Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) said in a statement. 'We are providing this guidance to help our officers ensure they are complying with applicable State standards for use of force, civil rights protections, and police accountability when they are working with federal agents who may not be bound to the same requirements.' "
Axios: What to know about Oct. 18 "No Kings" protests
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/15/no-kings-rally-protest-october-18-trump
Comment: See you at the Dothan Courthouse, Saturday 10 AM - 2 PM.
‘No Kings’ Has Republicans in Disarray
Comment: "Why GOP lawmakers are spreading fear about the upcoming rally."
Comment: "The upcoming anti-authoritarian 'No Kings'1 rally, which is scheduled to take place across the country on Saturday, including on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, has set off klaxons for Republican lawmakers, who are scrambling to mount a preemptive defense. While many GOP lawmakers are describing No Kings as an astroturfed political operation meant to benefit Democrats in the continuing government funding fight, some in party leadership are going further by branding it a pro-terrorism demonstration—an unambiguously false allegation meant, clearly, to get ahead of a potentially massive protest against the president."
Comment: "But the most egregiously dishonest and inflammatory comments came from the top Republican in the House. 'It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the Antifa people,' House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News in an interview. 'They’re all coming out. Some of the House Democrats are selling t-shirts for the event, and it’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t face their rabid base. I mean this is serious business hurting real people. . . . I’m beyond words.' "
"I spoke with Ezra Levin, the co-executive director of Indivisible, who said, 'Go to a No Kings rally. What do you see? You see moms and grandmas and kids and dogs and funny signs and dancing and happy displays of opposition to the regime that are foundationally nonviolent. And on the other end, you’ve got a regime that’s led by a guy who cheered the January 6th insurrection.' "
" 'The real question is like, why? Why is this coming out now? Like, why are they saying it? And I think it’s quite clear: This is an authoritarian regime that is very scared of mass organizing, peaceful protest, and that’s true of any authoritarian regime,' Levin added. 'It is the number-one thing they’re concerned about. Because authoritarian regimes are not popular. What Trump is doing is not popular, and he projects strength and is lashing out. And his hope is that people feel alone.' "
"Regarding past rallies Indivisible has organized, such as the 'Hands Off' rallies that took place in all fifty states in April, Levin said: 'It was far larger than January 6th, and there was no violence. None.' "
Comment: Every Dothan AL protest I have attended has been peaceful and non-confrontational. No violence or threats of violence. Lots of elderly protesters, along with younger ones.
Comment: Dothan No Kings. Oct. 18th, 10 AM - 2 PM, Houston Co. Courthouse - downtown Dothan. Bring your signs.
Comment: Time to let Stephen Miller know that many in Dothan and the Wiregrass don't support Trump administration policies and tactics.
Federal News Network: Former federal employees join Democrats to rally against coming RIFs
Newsweek: Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Ties for Record Low in Poll
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-approval-rating-ties-for-record-low-in-poll-10875252
The New York Times: ICE Is Cracking Down on Chicago. Some Chicagoans Are Fighting Back.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/us/chicago-ice-trump.html
CBS News: Watchdog group seeks probe of Comey, Letitia James cases
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/watchdog-group-seeks-probe-of-comey-letitia-james-cases/
Comment: "Former federal ethics officials who served in Republican and Democratic administrations are asking the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James."
"In a letter obtained by CBS News, ethics officials who worked in the Obama and George W. Bush administrations urged a formal review of interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan's decision to prosecute Comey and James."
"They sent their request Tuesday to Acting Justice Department Inspector General William Blier, writing, 'Ms. Halligan pursued these indictments to fulfill President Donald J. Trump's longstanding personal vendetta against Mr. Comey and Ms. James, we are facing a turning point in our democracy and some of the most egregious examples of vindictive and meritless prosecution that our nation has ever seen.' "
CNN: Media outlets, including MAGA channel Newsmax, refuse to sign Pentagon’s press access rules
https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/13/media/pentagon-hegseth-press-restrictions-newsmax-atlantic
The Guardian: US news outlets refuse to sign new Pentagon rules to report only official information
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/13/defense-department-media-news-rules
Comment: "Several leading news organizations with access to Pentagon briefings have formally said they will not agree to a new defense department policy that requires them to pledge they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official."
"The policy, presented last month by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been widely criticized by media organizations asked to sign the pledge by Tuesday at 5pm or have 24 hours to turn in their press credentials."
"The move follows a shake-up in February in which long-credentialed media outlets were required to vacate assigned workspaces which was cast as an 'annual media rotation program'. A similar plan was presented at the White House where some briefing room spots were given to podcasters and other representatives of non-traditional media.
"On Monday, the Washington Post joined the New York Times, CNN, the Atlantic, the Guardian, Reuters, the Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost and trade publication Breaking Defense in saying it would not sign on to the agreement."
"Matt Murray, the Post’s executive editor, said the policy runs counter to constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press."
" 'The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information,' Murray wrote in a statement published on X. 'We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of the Pentagon and officials across the government.' "
Politico: Portland leader says Trump’s portrayal of city is ‘completely disconnected from the truth’
Comment: "This isn’t the Portland of 2020. The city has tried to turn the page after the murder of George Floyd sparked 170 days of protests and 13 nights of riots five years ago."
"In the aftermath, voters threw out their old government structure and last year elected a slate of new leaders who pledged to create more accountability. The police bureau has more oversight — and a new chief — and Portlanders feel like they have more direct representation by people who live around them and think like them."
"Now those leaders, with very little elected experience, are taking on President Donald Trump as he insists the city is so out of control with violence he must send National Guard troops in. A federal appeals panel of judges Thursday appeared swayed by his administration's argument and may allow the troop deployment."
"But the City Council’s first president, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, contends it’s the White House presenting a false narrative of Portland and residents should not feed into it."
" 'We are looking at a federal administration that is trying to incite the reality that they are trying to describe,' she said — noting that federal officers have been more aggressive outside the ICE office of late. Protesters are reporting more aggressive action by ICE officers, such as arresting three protesters during a peaceful daytime protest for trespassing and allegedly pushing an elderly couple to the ground Oct.4. ICE did not provide a response to Pirtle-Guiney’s accusations by publishing time."
Video: Appeals court upholds ruling blocking Trump admin. from deploying National Guard in Illinois - October 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YT7fs8RgDA
NBC News: Costumed protesters in Portland defy description of the city as a 'war zone'
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dancing-frogs-unicorns-protest-portland-war-zone-rcna236887
Comment: "Dancing frogs, peacocks and unicorns outside the federal immigration building present a joyful contrast to the Trump administration's portrait of the Oregon city, they say."
Comment: "The absurdity of adults dancing in inflatable costumes during anti-ICE demonstrations is meant to display community joy, protesters say, and helps to dispel the Trump administration’s narrative that Portland is a crime-ridden 'war zone,' a characterization local and state leaders say is false."
"Plus, the costumes provide protection from gas and other toxins deployed by federal agents, protesters say."
" 'If you’re going to make it silly and say that we’re evil, we’re going to make it silly by showing how evil you are,' said Brooks Brown, of Vancouver, Washington, who passed out 30 inflatable costumes Thursday night to anyone who wanted to get it on 'Operation Inflation'."
WUSA9: Thousands expected in DC area for ‘No Kings’ rallies
Comment: Dothan will host 'No Kings' protests outside the Houston Co. courthouse on Oct. 18th. See you there!
Reuters: MIT refuses to accept White House terms for funding, other schools still mulling
MIT president says she 'cannot support' proposal to adopt Trump priorities for funding benefits
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mit-white-house-trump-washington-linda-mcmahon-b2843359.html
Comment: "MIT's president said she 'cannot support' a White House proposal that asks MIT and eight other universities to adopt President Donald Trump’s political agenda in exchange for favorable access to federal funding"
Politico: Democratic attorneys general race to counter Trump’s latest escalation on troop deployments
Comment: "The party’s top prosecutors have been developing strategies to counter Trump’s National Guard push for months, five attorneys general said."
Judge temporarily blocks National Guard deployment in Illinois amid Chicago, Portland hearings
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-national-guard-faces-critical-legal-tests/story?id=126354650
Comment: "In the decision, Perry determined that there is 'no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in Illinois" and no evidence that the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the U.S.' "
"She said that the deployment of the national guard to Illinois 'is likely to lead to civil unrest' requiring a response from local and state law enforcement."
"Referencing what she called the 'provocative nature of ICE enforcement activity' in Illinois, she said, 'I find allowing the national guard to deploy will only add fuel to the fire that they started.' "
Axios: Judge rules against Trump's federalization of National Guard in Chicago
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/09/trump-chicago-national-guard-troops-judge-ruling
Pod man out: Trump's support with influential podcasters is waning
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-support-influential-podcasters-waning-rcna233437
Comment: "Some of the internet’s most popular voices with young men — almost all of whom either hosted President Donald Trump or spoke highly of him last November — have some thoughts on what he’s doing wrong."
"An all-star lineup of podcasters and YouTube impresarios has taken Trump to task in recent months on everything from immigration and Israel to free speech and Jeffrey Epstein. The list includes Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Andrew Schulz and Shawn Ryan, a cast that Trump courted heavily to win access to their audiences during last year’s campaign."
"Rogan and Von have been particularly critical of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda, with Rogan calling some deportations 'f-----g crazy' and Von questioning why the Department of Homeland Security has posted videos of immigration arrests online."
Bill Nye leads charge to save NASA science from deep Trump cuts
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/05/bill-nye-nasa-science-trump-cuts
Pritzker says Trump officials ‘want to create the war zone’
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5539424-chicago-warzone-pritzker-trump/
Comment: "Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) said Trump administration officials 'want to create the war zone' in Chicago to send in more National Guard troops."
"In an interview on CNN’s 'State of the Union,' Pritzker condemned the nighttime raid in Chicago, saying it’s 'emblematic' of what the Trump administration is trying to do."
" 'This raid at this building is emblematic of what ICE and CBP and the president the United States, [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem and [Border Patrol Commander-at-Large] Greg Bovino, are trying to do,' he said."
" 'They want mayhem on the ground. They want to create the war zone so that they can send in even more troops,' he continued."
"Pritzker said the National Guard troops weren’t necessary until federal troops first arrived in Chicago."
"'Now they’re claiming they need 300 of the Illinois National Guard. Well, we didn’t need them before they showed up, and what they ought to do is allow us to work with FBI, ATF, DEA, who are civilian law enforcement and understand how to target and take out the bad guys,' he continued."
Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from deploying troops in Portland, Oregon
Federal judge halts Trump administration’s call-up of National Guard in Portland
Comment: "A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s call-up of 200 National Guard troops in Oregon, ruling on Saturday that Trump’s claims of daily unrest in Portland were 'untethered to facts' and risked plunging the nation into an unconstitutional form of military rule."
" 'This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,' wrote U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee."
""Immergut said Trump’s decision to enlist members of Oregon’s National Guard was based on false claims about nightly unrest targeting federal immigration authorities and buildings in Portland. Though Trump described the city as 'war-ravaged' and wracked with violence, police said immigration-related protests had been small, manageable and largely peaceful in the days leading up to Trump’s pronouncement."
" 'These incidents are inexcusable, but they are nowhere near the type of incidents that cannot be handled by regular law enforcement forces,' Immergut wrote."
Comment: "Though federal law prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement, the president has the authority to deploy troops to protect federal property and personnel if he determines that civil unrest verges on rebellion against the United States government — or if it is impeding the ability of federal authorities to execute the law."
Federal appeals court upholds decision that Trump's view on birthright citizenship is likely unconstitutional - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/federal-appeals-court-decision-birthright-citizenship/
‘Beshear: Trump treating federal workers, families like ‘prop’ in shutdown
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5534690-beshear-trump-shutdown-layoffs/
In Trump country, a Democrat critiques Trump — and talks of succeeding him
https://www.npr.org/2025/10/02/nx-s1-5556912/kentucky-democrat-andy-beshear
Comment: "Democrat Andy Beshear has twice won election as governor of Kentucky — thriving in a state that has voted for Donald Trump three times."
"Now Beshear is considering a run for president. He discussed what he believes Democrats need to change in an NPR all-platform interview, which included a video and special podcast episode, as well as reports on the Up First podcast and Morning Edition."
"He has a lower national profile than another contender, California's Gavin Newsom. He's also less well known than some previous guests in the NPR interview series — JB Pritzer, Pete Buttigieg and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But he has a credential others lack: winning statewide in a very red state. (A red commonwealth, to be exact; it's the Commonwealth of Kentucky.) In a party eager for new leadership, he is 47."
Lawsuit targets White House's use of public resources to push shutdown propaganda
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/shows/maddow/blog/rcna235140
Comment: "Shortly before the latest government shutdown began, the abuses were common. Federal agencies’ websites started pushing partisan political messages, blaming Democrats for the looming breakdown, and federal workers in multiple departments started receiving related political emails from their superiors."
"After the deadline came and went, more federal agencies followed suit, pushing partisan propaganda intended to advance the White House’s political messaging. Soon, out-of-office emails became political instruments, too."
Donald Trump hits lowest approval rating so far in Marquette Law School poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5533847-trump-approval-rating-lowest/
NPR: Pope Leo XIV says 'inhuman treatment of immigrants' in the U.S. isn't 'pro-life'
ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos: Pope intervenes in US abortion debate by raising what it really means to be pro-life
Comment: "Leo, a Chicago native, was asked late Tuesday about plans by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich to give a lifetime achievement award to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin for his work helping immigrants. The plans drew objection from some conservative U.S. bishops given the powerful Democratic senator’s support for abortion rights."
"Leo called first of all for respect for both sides, but he also pointed out the seeming contradiction in such debates."
" 'Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life,' Leo said. 'Someone who says that ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.' ”
"Leo spoke hours before Cupich announced that Durbin had declined the award."
"Church teaching forbids abortion but it also opposes capital punishment. Pope Francis officially changed church teaching in 2018 to decree that the death penalty is 'inadmissible' under all circumstances. U.S. bishops and the Vatican have strongly called for humane treatment of migrants, citing the Biblical command to 'welcome the stranger'.”
"Leo said he wasn’t familiar with the details of the dispute over the Durbin award, but said it was nevertheless important to look at the senator’s overall record and noted Durbin’s four-decade tenure. Responding to a question in English from the U.S. broadcaster EWTN News, he said there were many ethical issues that constitute the teaching of the Catholic Church."
Hegseth's Quantico comments spark backlash from female veterans
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/01/hegseth-women-combat-roles-quantico-speech
Unions sue over Trump's 'illegal' plan to fire many federal workers in a shutdown
Comment: "Two unions have sued the Trump administration over its plans to fire federal workers during the impending government shutdown, alleging that the 'unlawful threats' were contrary to the law and should be declared unlawful by a federal court in San Francisco."
" 'These actions are contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious, and the cynical use of federal employees as a pawn in Congressional deliberations should be declared unlawful and enjoined by this Court,' alleges the lawsuit, filed hours ahead of the shutdown."
"The suit, which was filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, involves the groups Democracy Forward and the State Democracy Defenders Fund. The court docket did not immediately reflect which judge would handle the case, which names Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought as a defendant."
"AFGE National President Everett Kelley said that announcing plans to 'fire potentially tens of thousands of federal employees simply because Congress and the administration are at odds on funding the government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal — it’s immoral and unconscionable,' adding that more than one-third of federal employees are military veterans."
A lawsuit tries to block the Trump administration's efforts to merge personal data
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5558312/privacy-personal-data-trump-lawsuit-doge
Comment: "The Trump administration's unprecedented efforts to aggregate the personal data of Americans are facing a new legal challenge."
"A class action federal lawsuit filed Tuesday argues the Trump administration's actions that aggregated personal data on hundreds of millions of Americans from various federal agencies violated federal privacy laws and the U.S. Constitution, put sensitive data at risk of security breaches, and could lead to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters."
"The suit argues that the Department of Homeland Security, along with the Department of Government Efficiency team, is 'working rapidly to create precisely the type of 'national data banks' the American people and Congress have consistently resisted, and the Privacy Act was designed to prevent.' "
Pritzker compares Trump to Putin, calls for invoking 25th Amendment for suggesting military use Chicago as "training grounds"
Comment: "After President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested cities like Chicago should be used as 'training grounds for our military,' Gov. JB Pritzker said the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove the president from office, saying 'there is something genuinely wrong with this man.' "
" 'It appears that Donald Trump not only has dementia set in, but he's copying tactics of Vladimir Putin. Sending troops into cities, thinking that that's some sort of proving ground for war, or that indeed there's some sort of internal war going on in the United States is just, frankly, inane and I'm concerned for his health,' Pritzker said Tuesday afternoon. 'There is something genuinely wrong with this man, and the 25th Amendment ought to be invoked.' "
Judge orders Trump administration to preserve $233M in FEMA grants it attempted to pull from blue states
Comment: "A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Tuesday from permanently steering $233 million in FEMA disaster relief funds away from 12 blue states, issuing a restraining order just hours before a deadline that would have seen the funds lost for good."
"U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, a Trump appointee to a Rhode Island-based court, said the administration’s abrupt decision to repurpose the funds from those states — just days before the Sept. 30 end of the current fiscal year — seemed to be plainly illegal. Her ruling ensures that the funds remain available while the states continue to litigate to reclaim them."
"It’s 'yet another case where the administration is saying … I’m going to do what I want to do and not what the law says and make the court make me,' McElroy said at a hastily convened court hearing Tuesday."
Judge rebukes Kari Lake in court filing alleging blatant contempt in push to cut 500-plus VOA jobs
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/shows/top-stories/blog/rcna234807
James Comey case jeopardizes Americans' free speech rights, retired judges warn
Comment: "The Trump administration's case against former FBI Director James Comey should be a warning sign to Americans, 42 retired judges wrote in an open letter first obtained by NBC News."
"In their letter, the former federal and state judges warned that the 'rights and liberties of every American are in grave danger today, as President Donald Trump continues to corruptly abuse the power of his office by directing the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to target his critics and his perceived political enemies for investigation and criminal prosecution.' "
Sen. Chris Murphy sends funds to anti-Trump organizing groups, the latest in a million-dollar effort
Comment: "Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is donating $100,000 from his political fund to the progressive organizing group Indivisible — the latest in a series of donations he says total nearly $1 million to grassroots groups across the country taking on the Trump administration."
"Murphy, of Connecticut, declared in an interview that the usual way politicians raise money — stockpiling assets in the years before they’re on the ballot again — doesn’t meet the moment for the Democratic Party, which is trying to mobilize against President Donald Trump and Republicans. And he claimed that the stakes of this political moment are about democracy itself."
“ 'We may not have another election, at least a free and fair election, if we don’t stop this slide away from free speech and democracy quickly. And what we know from history is that the only way to stop a, you know, would-be tyrant from cratering, from destroying a democracy is mass mobilization,' Murphy said."
“ 'There’s something magic that happens when millions of people are mobilized all around the country,' he continued. 'It just throws sand in the gears of an effort to try to convert a democracy to something very different.' ”
Comment: When an incumbent Senator donates $1 million to a cause, out of his campaign war chest, you know he's serious about the importance of the cause.
Comment: Please note that the national organizing group Indivisible helps arrange peaceful protests at the Houston Co. courthouse in Dothan and other locations around the State of Alabama.
Judge suspends Trump administration’s plan to eliminate hundreds of Voice of America jobs
https://apnews.com/article/voice-of-america-trump-kari-lake-253c1c08e767ab4a2340b58e896f88a8
Video: Former Republican turned Democratic gubernatorial candidate Geoff Duncan talks run for governor - September 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3t_snbVudg
Comment: Duncan has been critical of Donald Trump and MAGA, especially after Trump's attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. He is an example of how MAGA has run traditional Republicans out of their party.
Oregon sues Trump in bid to stop National Guard deployment to Portland
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/29/oregon-portland-sue-trump-national-guard-troop-deployment
Portland, Oregon, is affirming its sanctuary city identity as Trump pledges to send in troops | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/28/us/portland-ice-antifa-trump-wwk
How consumer pushback beat Trump’s pressure campaign on Kimmel | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/27/media/kimmel-abc-nexstar-sinclair-carr-trump-disney-local-market
Latinos sour on Trump over tariffs, economy, immigration raids
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/26/latinos-trump-discontent-economy-immigration
Comment: "President Trump made historic gains for the GOP among Latino voters last year, but polls and other indicators suggest their support for him is falling amid growing anger over his handling of the economy and immigration."
Comment: "Latinos' rising discontent could mean trouble for the GOP heading into the 2026 midterms, and undermine Republican redistricting efforts — namely in Texas — partly aimed at exploiting the party's recent gains among such voters."
Comment: "Trump's support is falling among Latinos across gender and age categories, with his favorability 20 points underwater, per a new poll by left-leaning Latino voter group Somos Votantes that was first reported by Politico.
Comment: "Last November, Trump won 48% of Latino voters — a group that had soundly rejected him in 2020 and 2016 — and it was a key factor in his victory over Democrat Kamala Harris, a Pew Research Center analysis found."
Comment: "Latino support for Trump began to fall immediately after he announced his tariffs on 'Liberation Day' in April, California-based GOP consultant and podcaster Mike Madrid tells Axios."
NBC News: Sisters of Charity nuns criticize Cardinal Dolan's comments likening Charlie Kirk to a saint
Comment: "A nationally known congregation of New York City nuns has publicly criticized their boss, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, for likening assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk to St. Paul the Apostle, a key figure in the early days of Christianity."
"In a statement posted on the congregation’s website, the Sisters of Charity of New York condemned Kirk’s recent killing but also insisted he was no 'modern-day St. Paul' as Dolan, head of the Archdiocese of New York, said during a Sept. 19 appearance on 'Fox & Friends'.”
" 'What Cardinal Dolan may not have known is that many of Mr. Kirk’s words were marked by racist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-immigrant rhetoric, by violent pro-gun advocacy, and by the promotion of Christian nationalism,' the sisters wrote in their statement. 'These prejudicial words do not reflect the qualities of a saint. To compare Mr. Kirk to St. Paul risks confusing the true witness of the Gospel and giving undue sanction to words and actions that hurt the very people Jesus calls us to love.' ”
'Let's have a trial': Comey proclaims innocence as Trump revels in grand jury indictment he demanded
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/25/james-comey-charges-indictment-00581501
Comment: "Federal prosecutors in Virginia have charged former FBI Director James Comey with obstruction and making a false statement to Congress, just days after President Donald Trump publicly implored his Justice Department to quickly seek indictments of his perceived foes and ousted a U.S. attorney who resisted."
Comment: "In a video posted online Thursday night, the former FBI chief and onetime deputy attorney general proclaimed his innocence — and hinted at a strategy for challenging the case against him as an act of political vengeance by Trump himself."
" 'My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,' Comey said. 'My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so, let’s have a trial.' ”
"Comey appeared to allude to the July firing of his daughter, Maurene Comey, who had been a federal prosecutor in Manhattan for nearly a decade. The indictment also prompted the resignation Thursday of Troy Edwards, a senior federal prosecutor in Alexandria who is married to another of James Comey’s daughters, three people familiar with the development said."
"Edwards, deputy chief of the office’s national security section, said in a one-line resignation letter that he was quitting 'to uphold my oath to the Constitution and country'.”
Some groups that advertise with Nexstar and Sinclair are pausing their ads
Comment: "While 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' has returned to ABC a week after Disney pulled it from the air, some broadcasters still refuse to air the late-night show."
"Nexstar and Sinclair, which own more than 70 ABC affiliates throughout the U.S., began preempting the show after Kimmel made remarks about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk."
"Nexstar’s decision comes amid plans to acquire rival broadcaster Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal that would require approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Brendan Carr, the head of the FCC, has criticized Kimmel and suggested the agency could revoke the licenses of local stations who broadcast the show."
Comment: "They’re also boycotting Nexstar and Sinclair by hitting them where it hurts: their ad dollars. On Reddit, consumers are keeping track of the companies that are advertising with their affiliates, and telling them that they will no longer do business there."
Comment: The Dothan Alabama ABC affiliate WDHN is owned by Nexstar and is still not airing 'Jimmy Kimmel Live,' as of 9/25/25.
Video Update: Trump threatens to sue ABC over Kimmel's return - September 27, 2025
Comment: "Sinclair and Nexstar, the two major station groups that preempted 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' earlier this month, have backed down, ending their boycott and allowing the show to return to their ABC-affiliated stations. The reversal is a victory for Kimmel and ABC and a reflection of the power that national networks have over local affiliates."
Judge rules feds can’t require states to cooperate on immigration to get disaster money
Comment: "A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled on Wednesday that it’s unconstitutional to require states to cooperate on immigration enforcement actions to get funding for disasters, which is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency."
"A coalition of 20 state Democratic attorneys general in May filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the Trump administration is threatening to withhold billions of dollars of disaster-relief funds unless states agree to certain immigration enforcement actions."
"In a ruling granting a summary judgment to the plaintiffs and denying one for the federal government, U.S. District Judge William Smith found that the 'contested conditions are arbitrary and capricious' and that the actions are unconstitutional because they are 'coercive, ambiguous, unrelated to the purpose of the federal grants'.”
Comment: Judge rules against Trump administration extortion attempts?
Educators fired for posting about Charlie Kirk's death sue to get their jobs back
What is Trump's approval rating? Gallup poll finds Republicans souring on state of US
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/24/trump-approval-rating/86306451007/
RFK Jr. greeted by protesters during visit to Martha's Vineyard | WBUR News
https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/09/24/rfk-protest-marthas-vineyard
Axios: Statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands appears on the National Mall
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/23/trump-epstein-statue-dc-national-mall
Update: Trump and Epstein statue removed from National Mall
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/24/trump-epstein-statue-dc-national-mall-removed
Comment: "A statue of President Trump holding Jeffrey Epstein's hand was removed from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., early Wednesday — one day after it was erected."
Comment: "The statue, titled 'Best Friends Forever.' had a permit to remain in place until 8pm ET on Sunday, but Department of the Interior spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said it was removed 'because it was not compliant with the permit issued.' She did not elaborate on why it was not in compliance."
Comment: "The Secret Handshake Project, the anonymous group behind the bronze spray-painted 12-foot statue told Axios that officials were supposed to give 24 hours' written notice if it's revoked by the National Park Service."
" 'We found out at the end of the day yesterday that some people within the parks department were trying to find ways to say we were not in compliance,' the[y] said in an email that shared images and video of the statue's removal."
The Guardian: New statue on National Mall celebrates ‘long-lasting bond’ between Trump and Epstein
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/23/national-mall-trump-epstein-statue
Comment: "There’s a new statue on the east end of the National Mall for Washington DC residents and tourists to enjoy, showing two men frolicking, grinning wide and holding hands, each with a foot joyously kicked back."
" 'We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his ‘closest friend,’ Jeffrey Epstein,' a plaque at the bottom of the bronze-sprayed installation reads. A permit from the National Park Service will allow the statue to stay on the National Mall grounds through 8pm on Sunday."
"The fabricator of the statue remains unknown, but it has artistic and thematic similarities to recent art pieces critical of the president."
"Past sculptures on the National Mall that paid side-eyed tribute to Trump include a bronze pile of poop perched on a congressional desk to 'honor' January 6th protestors, and a statue titled 'Dictator Approved,' featuring a golden thumbs up crushing the Statue of Liberty’s crown and the base featuring approving quotes of Trump from Vladimir Putin, Jair Bolsonaro, Kim Jong-un and Viktor Orbán."
Comment: The sculptor is a pretty good artist and a pretty good satirist.
Video: Gov. Pritzker: Trump’s push for troops in cities is “about controlling elections” - September 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K9cgAbZx8I
Judge orders Trump administration to restore more than $500 million in research funds to UCLA
News outlets prepare fight against Pentagon’s demand for press to sign ‘pledge’ restricting reporting | CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/media/pentagon-parnell-hegseth-media-access-pledge
Video: Jimmy Kimmel to return Tuesday after suspension - September 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMmXC7HXnEM
Comment: "Angry viewers customers threatening to cancel their streaming services."
Video: Judge approves restart of Revolution Wind project off Rhode Island - September 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCUJI4c_MkQ
NBC News: Marchers gather in worldwide protest of financial institutions 'profiting off the climate crisis'
Comment: "Thousands of activists marched down Park Avenue and turned down Billionaires Row toward Trump Tower in New York Saturday to 'Make Billionaires Pay,' calling for climate justice, democracy, free speech, gender equality, a stop to the Trump’s immigration crackdown and a ceasefire in Gaza."
"Their signs and reasons for taking to the streets were diverse, but many said the march highlighted a common theme behind the issues they stood for: that a small, elite class of the wealthy and powerful consistently prioritized profits over people’s lives."
Politico: Judge tells Meta not to share Instagram users’ information with Trump admin
Comment: "A U.S. district court judge ordered Meta on Friday not to provide the Department of Homeland Security with the personal information of Instagram users accused of releasing personal details about a border patrol agent."
"DHS sent subpoenas to Meta earlier this month, seeking the names, email addresses and phone numbers associated with Instagram accounts that posted the name of the agent, saying the requests were related to 'Officer Safety / Doxing'.”
"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has warned that the agency would take action against 'those who dox ICE agents to the fullest extent of the law,' citing cases where people have posted officers’ names online."
Comment: "The subpoenas sent on Sept. 3 to Meta are the first known instance of DHS attempting to uncover the identities of people posting immigration enforcement officers’ information on Instagram."
Comment: "U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson for the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California issued an order on Friday directing Meta 'not to produce the requested information without further order of the Court' until the court decides on the subpoena’s legality."
The Guardian: Federal agents use teargas and pepper balls to break up Chicago Ice protest
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/19/ice-protest-chicago-police
What a new poll shows about where Americans think the country is heading
Comment: "Republicans’ outlook on the direction of the country has soured dramatically, according to a new AP-NORC poll that was conducted shortly after last week’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk."
"The share of Republicans who see the country headed in the right direction has fallen sharply in recent months, according to the September survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Today, only about half in the GOP see the nation on the right course, down from 70% in June. The shift is even more glaring among Republican women and the party’s under-45 crowd."
"Overall, about one-quarter of Americans say things in the country are headed in the right direction, down from about 4 in 10 in June. Democrats and independents didn’t shift meaningfully."
Lawsuit aims to force Trump administration to stop delaying student loan forgiveness
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545727/student-loan-forgiveness-education-department
ABC News: Department of Education watchdog to probe DOGE access to sensitive data
Comment: "The Department of Education's Office watchdog is launching an investigation into the agency's sensitive data systems, according to a letter first obtained by ABC News."
"The news comes after Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a group of her Democratic colleagues sent a letter requesting a probe of the Department of Government Efficiency's alleged 'infiltration' of the Education Department's Federal Student Aid office, which handles the nation's $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio."
"This week, the Education Department's acting Office of Inspector General confirmed it would work to review that data. The OIG office is the statutory, independent entity within the department responsible for identifying fraud, waste, abuse and criminal activity involving department funds, programs, and operations, according to its website."
Gov. Josh Shapiro says Trump's threats to revoke TV networks' licenses are an attempt to 'stifle dissent'
Axios: Ex-Disney CEO tears into leaders not "standing up against bullies" for Kimmel
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/19/disney-michael-eisner-jimmy-kimmel-suspension
NBC News: Comedy hosts including Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert criticize Kimmel's suspension
Protecting Free Speech in the Face of Government Retaliation
https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/protecting-free-speech-in-the-face-of-government-retaliation
Comment: "The Trump administration is enthusiastically abusing its power to intimidate anyone who criticizes its policies, and to silence those who won't fall in line. Now, using a long-standing government tactic, the administration is leveraging a tragedy to justify its censorship campaign."
"The government is villainizing and threatening to punish anyone who dares to express anything but unequivocal support for its political views. In the last week, lawmakers have bullied schools into taking disciplinary action against teachers who have criticized Charlie Kirk’s political views. Police officers are being put on leave for similar reasons. Federal agencies are disciplining public servants for expressing views contrary to those supported by the administration. Journalists and the media companies they work for have also felt a McCarthy-like pressure from the government, with popular late-night hosts losing their jobs after engaging with the ideas of a free speech provocateur whose tagline was 'Prove me wrong'.”
"This forceful crackdown is part of a troubling pattern we've seen emerge during the Trump administration. In the last week, alone, administration officials — including Vice President JD Vance, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Attorney General Pam Bondi — have encouraged the public to call the employers of anyone expressing views disfavored by the government; vowed to use every resource the Department of Justice and Homeland Security have to identify, disrupt, and destroy groups the administration perceives to be an enemy; and claimed that 'there's free speech and then there's hate speech' while threatening to 'absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.' ”
Appeals court won’t let Trump administration resume HHS overhaul, firings
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5509828-appeals-court-blocks-health-layoffs/amp/
Comment: "An appeals court Wednesday refused the Trump administration’s request to resume mass layoffs at federal health agencies as part of a restructuring effort."
"The unanimous three-judge panel on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift a lower order blocking the restructuring as Democratic-led states press ahead with their lawsuit."
"The 19 states, joined by the District of Columbia, sued as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership moved to terminate 10,000 employees and dismantle several of its subagencies."
Comment: "It halts mass layoffs at four offices under HHS: the Center for Tobacco Products, the Office of Head Start, components of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation."
3 members of federal control board in Puerto Rico sue Trump and others for illegal firings
Donald Trump approval drops to record low of second term: Poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5509022-lowest-approval-trump-second-term/
BBC: Thousands protest against Trump's second UK state visit
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9zve281k3o
Comment: "Thousands of people have gathered in Parliament Square for a rally against US President Donald Trump's second state visit."
"Organisers Stop Trump Coalition - a group of more than 50 unions and charities - marched from central London's Portland Place towards Whitehall at around 15:00 BST."
"Some protesters carried signs with slogans written across them including 'no to racism', 'no to Trump' and 'stop arming Israel'."
Comment: "The Metropolitan Police estimated that up to 5,000 people were in attendance."
Comment: "In the midst of the crowds - which started gathering near BBC Broadcasting House - people told the BBC why they were there, racking up a long list of grievances against the US president. They said they found him 'despicable' and wanted to send a message that he was not welcome."
Comment: "Four men were arrested after images of Trump and Epstein were projected on to Windsor Castle on Tuesday as the president arrived in the UK."
Video: Petition, lawsuits fight against new Missouri congressional map - September 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyRUaGoiIDo
Video: Epstein scandal haunts Trump's UK visit as 4 arrested for projecting images onto Windsor Castle - September 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e37pY7TskGY
New poll reveals warning signs for Trump with Latino voters - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/15/somos-poll-00563264
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s approval is plummeting with Latino voters, a voting bloc Republicans are betting on as they fight to maintain their tenuous hold on the House next year, according to a new poll."
"Trump’s favorability is underwater by 20 points with the demographic, according to a poll obtained y POLITICO and commissioned by the liberal-leaning Latino voter group Somos Votantes."
"The shifts among subgroups paint an even starker picture for the GOP: Among men, Trump’s favorability fell from 52 percent in May to 47 percent in September. And with young voters — another segment of Trump’s 2024 base — the president’s approval dropped to 33 percent in September, from 43 percent in May."
" 'What began earlier this year with independents and women has really intensified and spread to basically every demographic subset of the Latino electorate, including groups that once leaned toward him like Latino men' said Melissa Morales, the group’s president, pointing to last quarter's polling."
Judge rules Trump administration illegally fired thousands of probationary workers | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-firings-probationary-workers-6a4039dd674ab985ac46012f4deb7d22
Comment: " 'Judge Alsup’s decision makes clear that thousands of probationary workers were wrongfully fired, exposes the sham record the government relied upon, and requires the government to tell the wrongly terminated employees that OPM’s reasoning for firing them was false,' said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, in a statement."
"More than 25,000 probationary workers were terminated soon after Trump took office in January, according to legal declarations from departments gathered as part of the lawsuit."
"Alsup in March ordered the reinstatement of probationary workers, saying OPM had likely acted unlawfully in ordering the terminations of workers at other agencies. But the U.S. Supreme Court set that decision aside in April on a technical basis without ruling on the underlying case."
"Alsup, a nominee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, was particularly troubled that workers were fired for poor performance, which the administration defines as not being mission critical at a time of cutbacks. Probationary workers are generally younger employees who are just starting their careers, but they can also include older employees who have moved into new positions."
"In his Friday ruling, Alsup said too much time had passed to reinstate fired workers, but he is ordering most of the agencies named as defendants to update personnel files and send individual letters to workers stating they were not terminated for performance."
Comment: At least the illegally fired workers got a letter. Trump and the Supreme Court took their jobs.
ABC News: The National Center for Civil and Human Rights expands at a critical moment in US history
Comment: "A popular museum in Atlanta is expanding at a critical moment in the United States — and unlike the Smithsonian Institution, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights is privately funded, putting it beyond the immediate reach of Trump administration efforts to control what Americans learn about their history."
"The monthslong renovation, which cost nearly $60 million, adds six new galleries as well as classrooms and interactive experiences, changing a relatively static museum into a dynamic place where people are encouraged to take action supporting civil and human rights, racial justice and the future of democracy, said Jill Savitt, the center's president and CEO."
"The center has stayed active ahead of its Nov. 8 reopening through K-12 education programs that include more than 300 online lesson plans; a LGBTQ+ Institute; training in diversity, equity and inclusion; human rights training for law enforcement; and its Truth & Transformation Initiative to spread awareness about forced labor, racial terror and other historic injustices."
"These are the same aspects of American history, culture and society that the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle."
AL.com: Huntsville residents protest ICE detentions, call for city to respect immigrant rights
Comment: "A group of Huntsville residents are calling for the city government to respect immigrant rights and not participate in U.S. Immigration and Enforcement detention activities."
"The group staged a protest on the steps of City Hall on Thursday afternoon, with many of the participants later addressing the Huntsville City Council. They asked council members to pass a resolution barring the city from any agreement that would grant federal civil immigration enforcement authority to police officers or detain or facilitate the detention of immigrants for federal immigration enforcement purposes."
" 'I’m a retired teacher, and I’ve taught many children from different countries,' retired teacher Donna Payne said during the protest. 'It just really upsets me to see people picked up by ICE. They’re not getting due process. Some of them that have been picked up do have their papers, but they’re not given a chance to show that.' ”
Comment: Are foreign looking scientists, engineers, and technicians working in Huntsville high-tech industries in danger of being targeted, if they don't carry proof of their citizenship or legal authority to be in the country?
US Catholic bishops decry Trump's immigration raids upending church life
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-catholic-bishops-decry-trumps-170043758.html
Video: Protesters confront Ice agents outside immigration facility near Chicago - September 12, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jjGRetU8A0
Judge issues nationwide block on Trump policy that cuts off Head Start for people in US illegally
https://apnews.com/article/trump-head-start-cc9b2cc96f67a8ddb6e15ae29de968d8
Comment: "A federal judge has issued a nationwide block on a Trump administration directive that prevented children in the U.S. illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program."
"Head Start associations in several states filed suit against the policy change by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The ruling by a federal judge in Washington state on Thursday comes after a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general succeeded in temporary halting the policy's implementation within their own states."
"With the new ruling, the policy is now on hold across the country."
"Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesman, said the agency disagrees with the court’s decisions and is evaluating next steps."
"In July, HHS proposed a rule reinterpretation to disallow immigrants in the country illegally from receiving certain social services, including Head Start and other community health programs. Those programs were previously made accessible by a federal law in President Bill Clinton’s administration."
Comment: "In issuing the preliminary injunction Thursday, Judge Ricardo Martinez said he saw no reason for a change to the interpretation of eligibility that has been in place for decades. He said it threatened access to services that families rely upon."
Appeals court rules Trump doesn’t have the authority to fire Copyright Office director
https://apnews.com/article/trump-perlmutter-copyright-office-90d231a7c019859e5152b0b47191d092
Democrats are doing better than ever in Trump-era special elections | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/politics/democrats-special-elections-trump
Former top FBI officials sue, say Kash Patel fired them to stay in Trump's good graces
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna230369
Comment: "Three former top FBI officials sued FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday, saying their firings were mandated by the White House and Department of Justice and that Patel followed their orders to keep his job."
"Patel, the suit claimed, 'explained he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the President. Patel explained that there was nothing he or Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because 'the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.' ' "
"Patel also stated that the firings were retaliatory, according to the lawsuit, which alleges that he told Driscoll that 'all FBI employees who they identified who had worked on the cases against President Trump would be removed from their jobs, regardless of their retirement eligibility status.' ”
Comment: "The lawsuit was filed by Driscoll; Steven Jensen, former assistant director in charge of the Washington field office; and Spencer Evans, former special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office. News of the lawsuit was first reported by NPR and MSNBC."
Retired generals warn of dire consequences of Trump politicizing military
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/09/retired-generals-trump-national-guard-los-angeles
Comment: "Eleven retired senior military officers warned in a Tuesday court filing about the downsides of the Trump administration's deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this year."
Comment: "The generals warned about President Trump's politicization of the National Guard as law enforcement and its harm to the 'cohesiveness and reputation' of the military."
" 'Deployment of the military within our country's borders to be used against its population is not only contrary to core American values, but can also be harmful to the reputation, integrity, and morale of the military itself,' they wrote in the amicus briefing in the case between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)."
"The military must remain a nonpartisan institution for recruitment and retention, they emphasized."
CNBC: Judge blocks Trump from firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook while her lawsuit plays out
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/09/fed-lisa-cook-trump-powell-judge-jia-cobb-pulte.html
'We will not let our history be erased:' Civil Rights vets share lessons with educators
Comment: "Despite efforts to restrict the teaching of Black history, civil rights veterans are crafting college courses for educators to share."
Comment: "She was one of nearly two dozen educators and veterans of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) who met in Washington, DC, this summer to talk about ways to teach college students and others about the Civil Rights Movement. The three-day summit hosted by the SNCC Legacy Project aimed to equip educators with tools to teach about the pivotal movement that changed the country."
"Organizers said the effort comes at a critical time, as the Trump administration and others push back against the teaching of Black history and adopt restrictions about what can be taught in classrooms and institutions, including museums."
" 'It’s a way for us to rescue the history and keep it from being erased,' said Geri Augusto, a SNCC Legacy Project board member and a professor at Brown University. 'We are determined for that not to happen, so this is one of the ways that we see as part of the legacy of SNCC. We will not let our history be erased or not be taught.' "
NBC News: Poll: Most Americans oppose political parties drawing election lines
Video: 'No Trump, No Troops': Protestors fill downtown Chicago streets to oppose Trump administration's immigration crackdown - September 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_LhPhFBl-U
Video: ‘He’s trying to intimidate the public at large’: Fmr. Dem Rep. reacts to Trump’s threats to Chicago - September 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKyOlZUZE3c
Comment: Video discussion also covers related topics.
Thousands protest for a 'Free DC' on fourth week of federal control in Washington | AP News
Politico: ‘This is not a joke’: Chicago leaders slam Trump after president declares ‘Chipocalypse Now’
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/06/trump-chicago-ice-war-00548817
Comment: "Illinois Democrats sharply criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday, who suggested in a Truth Social post earlier in the morning that his administration will go to “WAR” with the city of Chicago."
"Trump on Saturday posted a likely AI-generated meme on his social media platform, depicting himself as an officer in the 1979 war movie 'Apocalypse Now,' with the caption 'Chipocalypse Now'.”
" '“Spoken like a true tyrant,' Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), who represents the Southside of Chicago, told POLITICO at the city’s Mexican Independence Day parade Saturday in response to the post."
"Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has become one of the leading Democratic critics of the president in Trump’s second term, wrote on X that Trump 'is threatening to go to war with an American city,' adding that 'Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.' ”
Comment: " 'The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,' Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote on X."
Comment: "Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), also at Saturday’s parade in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, told POLITICO that Trump 'is so irresponsible to what he says and so reckless [that] you never know, he’ll change the story in the next 30 minutes'.”
"When asked if the post was a declaration of war against the city, Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.), told POLITICO that 'We’ve seen it as a declaration of war against the Mexican community, against the immigrant community.' ”
Comment: "City and state politicians have decried Trump’s threats toward Illinois. They argue that Trump is not actually concerned with violent crime in cities — pointing to statistics that show Chicago and other major cities are seeing a decline in crime — and instead say the president wants to score political points."
" 'I take it very seriously that he is instilling fear in the hearts of a lot of people,' Durbin, who is retiring at the end of his term next year, added. 'That is his intention, and it’s working.' ”
Axios: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family calls for his resignation
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/05/robert-f-kennedys-nephew-calls-resign
Comment: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sister and nephew called on the secretary to resign Friday after he questioned the safety of vaccination while testifying before a congressional committee."
Comment: "The resignation calls came hours before President Trump broke with Kennedy by encouraging the public to take vaccines, and a day after several Republican members of the committee questioned the secretary's fitness following the upheaval at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Comment: " 'Medical decisions belong in the hands of trained and licensed professionals, not incompetent and misguided leadership,' Kerry Kennedy, Kennedy's sister, posted on X on Friday."
" 'The decimation of critical institutions like the NIH and the CDC will lead to the loss of innocent lives. ...Enough is enough. Secretary Kennedy must resign,' she wrote."
"Joe Kennedy III, a former U.S. congressman from Massachusetts and Kennedy's nephew, wrote on Friday that his uncle is 'a threat to the health and well-being of every American.' "
" 'The challenges before us — from disease outbreaks to mental health crises — demand moral clarity, scientific expertise, and leadership rooted in fact. Those values are not present in the Secretary's office. He must resign.'"
Video: Judge blocks Trump from ending TPS for Venezuelans and Haitians - September 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-TjXGXSO0
Judge blocks Trump admin's ending of legal protections for 1.1 million Venezuelans and Haitians
Comment: "A federal judge on Friday ruled against the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections that have granted more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela the right to live and work in the United States."
"The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco for the plaintiffs means 600,000 Venezuelans whose temporary protections expired in April or whose protections were about to expire Sept. 10 have status to stay and work in the United States."
"Chen said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's actions in terminating and vacating three extensions granted by the previous administration exceeded her statutory authority and were arbitrary and capricious."
Judge rules White House 'pocket rescission' gambit is illegal - Live Updates - POLITICO
Comment: "A federal judge has declared President Donald Trump’s move to cancel billions of dollars in foreign aid without approval from Congress to be illegal."
Comment: "The ruling comes just days after White House budget chief Russ Vought announced a plan to withhold about $5 billion in aid despite an Oct. 1 deadline to spend the congressionally appropriate funds. It’s a maneuver he has labeled a “pocket rescission” — an attempt to circumvent Congress’ power of the purse by declaring his intent to cut spending with limited time for lawmakers to respond."
"Ali, a Joe Biden appointee, ruled that the tactic is illegal — that until Congress acts, the Trump administration is required to spend congressionally approved funding."
"On Thursday, the Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is also likely to respond quickly, teeing up a potential Supreme Court petition in a matter of days."
ABC News: More than 1,000 current, former HHS employees sign letter calling on RFK Jr. to resign
CNN: HHS employees demand RFK Jr. resign for ‘compromising the health of this nation’
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/03/health/hhs-employees-letter-rfk-jr
Video: Federal judge rules Harvard grant freeze was illegal - September 3, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTU9dcKY-1o
Video: What is the Posse Comitatus Act? - September 3, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdpnqIulcF0
CBS News: D.C. grand jurors reject latest wave of Justice Dept. indictment requests
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/d-c-grand-jury-reject-justice-dept-indictment-requests/
Comment: "What was happening in the criminal case of Nathalie Rose Jones, who was facing charges in Washington, D.C., federal court this summer, wasn't typical."
"A grand jury of D.C. citizens on Tuesday had denied the Justice Department's request to indict Jones, who was accused of a federal crime for allegedly posting an Instagram threat against President Trump."
Comment: "This grand jury's rejection of the Justice Department's request for an indictment was one of at least four such instances in the past week in which a grand jury denied an indictment in the District of Columbia."
" 'Not only have I never heard of this happening, I've never heard of a prosecutor who's heard of this happening,' said former federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou, who served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for in D.C. until January 2025."
" 'This is not the fault of career prosecutors, but rather the office's failure—again and again—to secure indictments suggests that the administration has absolutely destroyed its credibility with jurors,' Ballou told CBS News."
Comment: "Jones is accused of posting on Instagram in early August, 'I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present.' "
Comment: Given the nature of Jones' statement (see above) and the grand jury's failure to indict, do you think the administration may be having a bit more of a problem with D.C. residents than just credibility? [sarcasm added]
Politico: Pushback to Trump’s foreign aid cuts is coming from a surprising corner
Comment: "Evangelical Christians who made an alliance with President Donald Trump to end abortion rights are now seeing how much it’s cost one of their other priorities: caring for the poor."
"Four in five evangelicals voted for Trump in November. But Trump’s decision to pull back hundreds of millions in foreign aid and shutter the agency that dispensed it have proven costly to evangelicals who run some of the many nonprofits that have long partnered with the U.S. government to provide help to countries that don’t have enough food."
"Eager to see assistance flowing again, the National Association of Evangelicals will take its concerns to Capitol Hill after lawmakers return this week from their summer break. The lobbying campaign by the association’s 40 Christian denominations marks a rare policy split with Trump. Its success or failure will show whether evangelicals have enough clout to convince GOP lawmakers loyal to Trump to cross him."
Comment: Hallelujah! Christians, as opposed to Christian Nationalists, see the light.
AFGE | Public Opposition Growing in Response to Trump’s Attacks on our Public Institutions, Labor Rights, and Personal Freedoms
Federal News Network: Commerce Dept unions sue over rollback of collective bargaining rights
Comment: "Unions representing thousands of Commerce Department employees are suing the Trump administration over its latest rollback of collective bargaining rights across the federal workforce."
"In an executive order last week, President Donald Trump expanded his list of agencies directed to cancel most of their union contracts."
"Employees at the Patent and Trademark Office and the National Weather Service are among those prohibited from collective bargaining in the latest executive order."
"The Federal Service Labor Management Relations Statute allows the president to bar federal employees from collectively bargaining if they primarily work in national security."
"But in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO) and the Patent Office Professional Association (POPA) say Trump 'clearly exceeded the authority granted to him by Congress' under the law, and that few, if any, of their members primarily work in national security'."
Comment: "The Trump administration claims employees at the Patent and Trademark Office shouldn’t be able to collectively bargain because they review applications for inventions that could potentially harm national security."
"The lawsuit, however, claims that the Defense Department largely carries out this work under the Invention Security Act, and that only 26 USPTO employees — out of a workforce of 9,000 employees — refer these cases to DoD as part of their 'ancillary' duties."
"POPA estimates that only about 50 of the 60,000 patent applications that USPTO receives each year are flagged for DoD to review."
"The White House said it exempted the National Weather Service from collective bargaining, because it provides weather and climate data 'that inform the weather forecasting used to plan U.S. military deployments'.”
"The union, however, says military branches have their own weather forecasting units that carry out this work."
"The lawsuit claims the Trump administration is selectively rolling back bargaining agreements for unions that have challenged its policies, but is not targeting unions that have only supported Trump. Those include the National Border Council and the National Fraternal Order of Police."
Judge says Trump administration’s use of US military in Los Angeles violated federal law | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/politics/national-guard-california-trump-posse-comitatus-act-breyer
AP News: Trump’s use of National Guard during Los Angeles immigration protests is illegal, a judge rules
https://apnews.com/article/trump-newsom-los-angeles-national-guard-d6c8450a3ac2de34e669ef0836d22cbc
Comment: "A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s administration 'willfully' broke federal law by sending National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area in early June after days of protests over immigration raids."
"In the 52-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco noted Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have stated their intention to deploy National Guard troops to other cities across the country, including Oakland and San Francisco, and that raises concerns they are 'creating a national police force with the President as its chief.' ”
"Breyer did not require the 300 remaining soldiers to leave but pointed out they received improper training and ordered the administration to stop using them 'to execute the laws.' The order that applies only to California will take effect Sept. 12."
Comment: "It was unclear if the order could set a precedent that could impact plans by Trump, who has discussed National Guard deployments in Democratic-led cities like Chicago, Baltimore and New York. Trump has already deployed the guard as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover targeting crime, immigration and homelessness in Washington, where he has direct legal control over the District of Columbia National Guard."
Axios: Appeals court blocks Trump from firing FTC commissioner
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/02/fired-ftc-commissioner-reinstated-appeals-court-trump
Comment: "A federal appeals court reinstated Rebecca Slaughter, the Biden-appointed Federal Trade Commission commissioner whom President Trump fired, in a 2-1 decision on Tuesday."
Comment: "The White House has indicated it will appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court."
Comment: " 'The government is not likely to succeed on appeal because any ruling in its favor from this court would have to defy binding, on-point, and repeatedly preserved Supreme Court precedent,' the D.C.-based appeals court's majority order said."
Video: Protests across the US target Trump's policies - September 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiqxzgFmVs4
CBS News: Protesters at Maryland airport call for state to cut ties with Avelo Airlines over deportations
Mother Jones: Republicans Keep Getting Booed at Their Own Town Halls
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/08/republicans-keep-getting-booed-at-their-own-town-halls/
Comment: "It hasn’t been a great last week of the August recess for Republican members of Congress. At town hall events across the country, attendees booed, laughed, jeered, and demanded answers as their GOP representatives tried to defend President Donald Trump’s agenda."
"The list of issues angering their constituents is long—everything from the Trump-backed cuts to Medicaid and other impacts of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, to the deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-run cities, to the lack of transparency over the Epstein files."
Comment: "The day before, Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) fled his town hall through a back door, video obtained by NBC News shows, after constituents shouted 'shame' and questioned him about the lack of due process afforded to immigrants and others whom the Trump administration has detained. (“Due process for a citizen and a noncitizen are different,” Moore claimed.)"
"A 40-minute livestream of the event posted to Facebook by a local chapter of the advocacy group Indivisible shows attendees booing, chanting their questions, and laughing at Moore as he tried to defend the Trump administration. Appearing on a conservative radio show on Thursday, Moore, who is also running for Senate, claimed the event was 'hijacked' and disputed the notion that he had snuck out."
Axios: Judge halts deportation of hundreds of Guatemalan children
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/31/judge-blocks-guatemalan-children-deportation-trump-ice
Video: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's message for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem - August 31, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TV8teZEFOQ
AL.com: How the 6th Amendment can protect us from tyrants when others fail
Comment: "Something curious is happening in America lately. A resistance movement seems to be forming. Not in the streets, but in the courthouses."
Comment: "No, the last line of defense against authoritarianism might be the 6th Amendment — the one that entrusts American citizens to have final say."
"It’s OK if you had to look it up. I had to make sure I had the right one, too."
"Jury trials. It’s that one. The right to a trial by jury."
Video: 'Do not come to Chicago': Activists, politicians send clear message to Trump military takeover - August 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OulpVQtWsC0
CNN: Chicago mayor signs order aimed at resisting Trump’s planned immigration crackdown
Video: Watch "Federal judge curtails Trump administration's expansion of expedited removals" on YouTube - August 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoKR8_wgjts
Comment: Different case from that below dealing with Venezuelans.
Video: Appeals court blocks Trump administration's plan to end protections for 600,000 Venezuelans - August 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZCuizhUm5c
AP News: Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for 600,000 Venezuelans
Comment: "A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the Republican administration’s actions were unlawful."
"A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while TPS holders challenge actions by Trump’s administration in court."
"The 9th Circuit judges found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had no authority to vacate or set aside a prior extension of temporary protected status because the governing statute written by Congress does not permit it."
AP News: Fed governor Cook seeks court order blocking her firing by Trump
https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-cook-trump-e9933d518af5155250bebbdc29fd3f2b
Comment: "A lawyer for Lisa Cook on Friday urged a U.S. judge to let the Federal Reserve governor keep her job while she fights President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her in a stunning assault on the central bank’s independence."
AL.com: Republican Alabama congressman running for Senate booed at town hall, leaves out the back
Comment: Barry Moore meets "the resistance" in Daphne Alabama!
Comment: "U.S. Rep. Barry Moore faced a hostile crowd Wednesday night at Daphne City Hall, drawing boos and cries of 'shame!' as he defended President Donald Trump’s agenda and his own record."
"Moore, of Enterprise and a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was shouted down throughout a 45-minute raucous town hall meeting that was neither advertised to the public nor to the media."
Comment: "Moore’s answered questions from audience members, a majority of whom were clearly opposed to the Trump administration."
Comment: "Those included: immigration, Medicaid work requirements, election security, tariffs, the benefits of deploying the Alabama National Guard to assist in patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., and the impact of the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill' on Alabama."
Comment: "Moore, after the town hall, left out the back of City Hall."
Comment: "The rowdiness mirrored town hall events hosted by Republicans in Congress throughout the country."
National Nurses United: Nation’s largest RN union: Time for HHS Secretary RFK Jr. to go
Comment: "In the wake of the latest scandal he has perpetuated, National Nurses United, the nation’s largest nurses union and professional organization, today called for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to be fired by President Donald Trump or to resign."
NPR: Federal judge says Kari Lake can't fire Voice of America director
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/28/nx-s1-5521328/judge-kari-lake-voice-of-america-firing-judge-ruling
Comment: "A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Trump administration official Kari Lake can't unilaterally fire the director of Voice of America, saying she's breaking the law in trying to do so."
"Instead, by law, Lake must have the explicit backing of an advisory panel set up by Congress to help insulate the international broadcaster and its sister networks from political pressure. As President Trump dismissed six of the seven members of the panel shortly after taking office and has not named their replacements to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Lake cannot take such an action."
"Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz had initially been offered a reassignment to oversee a handful of employees at a shortwave radio transmission facility in Greenville, N.C. But the reassignment would have been illegal, too, U.S Senior District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote."
" 'The defendants do not even feign that their efforts to remove Abramowitz comply with that statutory requirement,' Lamberth wrote in his decision. 'There is no longer a question of whether the termination was lawful.' "
PBS: Guard not needed in Chicago, Pritzker tells AP during tour of city to counter Trump’s crime claims
Video: WATCH: There’s ‘no emergency in Chicago,’ Pritzker says of Trump’s threat to send forces to the city - August 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIJyprtOY4Y
Video: Democrats celebrate special election victory in Iowa State Senate, ending GOP supermajority - August 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssZP8sT7c1I
Comment: Indications of things to come in 2026 and beyond?
Video: Nicolle: 'John Bolton's refusal to back down is notable' - August 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOGFDhPjBOk
NBC 5 Chicago: Pritzker sends warning to Trump on National Guard threat: ‘Do not come to Chicago'
Comment: "Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered a strongly worded message and warning to President Donald Trump Monday, following the president's threat of sending the National Guard to combat crime."
" 'I hate to barge in on a city and then be treated horribly by corrupt politicians," Trump said. "The bad politicians, like a guy like Pritzker. He ought to spend more time in the gym actually, the guy is a disaster.' ”
"Pritzker, flanked by prominent lawmakers and leaders including Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Father Michael Pfleger, among others, responded to Trump's request in his remarks."
" 'Earlier today in the Oval Office, Donald Trump looked at the assembled cameras and asked for me personally to say, 'Mr. President, can you do us the honor of protecting our city?' Instead I say, 'Mr. President, do not come to Chicago,' ' Pritzker said in a press conference alongside Chicago and state leaders. 'You are neither wanted here nor needed here.' "
"In his message, Pritzker called Trump's plans to send in the National Guard 'unprecedented,' 'unwarranted,' 'illegal,' 'unconstitutional' and 'un-American.' "
" 'If it sounds to you like I am alarmist, that is because I am ringing an alarm. One that I hope every person listening will heed, both here in Illinois and across the country,' Pritzker said. 'Over the weekend, we learned from the media that Donald Trump has been planning for quite a while now to deploy armed military personnel to the streets of Chicago. This is exactly the type of overreach that our country's founders warned against.' "
Comment: "Duckworth called the circumstances 'deeply unfortunate and obviously unnecessary.'"
" 'Donald Trump never had the courage himself to raise his right hand and serve his country in uniform, but let me just say from personal experience - and that consists of 23 years in the military, 17 of which, proudly as a member of the Illinois National Guard - that the men and women who are brave enough to wear this country's flag on their shoulder are doing so to defend our nation's rights and freedoms, not to protect a tin-pot dictator's thin skin or to police their own neighbors, she said. 'It's not what they signed up for, and it's certainly not what their training is focused on.' "
Video: ‘Do not come’: Dem governors slam Trump plan to deploy National Guard - August 25, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRJfpjouevE
AP News: Democrats demand Trump resume a major offshore wind project near Rhode Island
Comment: "A nearly complete wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut faces an uncertain future after the Trump administration abruptly halted construction, and the states’ Democratic governors, lawmakers and union workers called Monday for the president to reverse course."
Comment: "Revolution Wind’s developer, Danish energy company Orsted, is evaluating the financial impact of stopping construction and considering legal proceedings. In addition to hampering the state’s climate goals, losing out on all that renewable power could drive up electricity prices throughout the region, Democratic officials say."
" 'It’s an attack on our jobs,' Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said. 'It’s an attack on our energy. It’s an attack on our families and their ability to pay the bills.' ”
"McKee and the state’s entire congressional delegation gathered at a beach area in North Kingstown, near the project’s logistics and operations hub."
Comment: "The project is 80% complete, with all the underwater foundations and 45 out of 65 turbines already installed."
"North America’s Building Trades Unions said Trump 'just fired 1,000 of our members' who were working on the project."
Trump tells Fed’s Lisa Cook she’s fired; she says ‘he has no authority to do so’
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/25/trump-fires-lisa-cook-fed-powell.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Monday said he had fired Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, an unprecedented and dramatic escalation of his attacks on the U.S. central bank’s independence over its refusal to cut interest rates."
"Trump, in a termination letter to Cook posted on Truth Social, cited allegations by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte that she had made false statements on applications for home mortgages."
Comment: "Cook, in a statement Monday, said, 'President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so.' "
" 'I will not resign,' said Cook, who is the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor. 'I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.' ”
"Cook, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, has hired the high-profile attorney Abbe Lowell to represent her. She has not been charged with any crime."
Axios: "No authority": Dems flame Trump's proposed Chicago crackdown
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/24/trump-chicago-military-jeffries-democrats
Trump sees growing disapproval rating among Americans, survey shows
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5467568-trump-approval-rating-decline/
Video: Democrats plan to challenge legality of Texas redistricting plan - August 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8q7RNmtnjE
The Guardian: Judge blocks White House from defunding 34 municipalities over ‘sanctuary’ policies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/23/sanctuary-cities-trump-administration-funding
Comment: "A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from cutting off federal funding to 34 'sanctuary cities' and counties that limit cooperation with federal immigration law enforcement, significantly expanding a previous order."
"The order, issued on Friday by the San Francisco-based US district judge William Orrick, adds Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as Boston, Baltimore, Denver and Albuquerque, to cities that the administration is barred from denying funding."
Comment: "Cities and counties suing the administration contend that the executive orders amount to an abuse of power that violate the constitution. The administration argues that the federal government should not be forced to subsidize policies that thwart its control of immigration."
Video: Judge blocks Trump from cutting funding from Chicago and other cities over 'sanctuary' policies - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NhGKvxUqvs
Lawsuit filed to block West Virginia National Guard deployment to Washington
Comment: "The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia has filed a lawsuit in Kanawha County Circuit Court seeking to block the deployment of West Virginia National Guard troops to Washington, D.C."
"The legal action follows Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s announcement over the weekend that between 300 and 400 Guard members would be sent to the nation’s capital in coordination with the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has argued that crime in the city is out of control, though data shows crime rates are at their lowest in three decades. Morrisey is among six Republican governors who agreed to send Guard units."
"Attorneys representing the West Virginia Citizen Action Group (WV CAG), the plaintiff in the case, argue the governor has exceeded his constitutional and statutory authority. ACLU-WV Legal Director Aubrey Sparks said the state’s restrictions on Guard deployment were shaped by disputes following the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, when troops were ordered to act against striking coal miners."
" 'The Guard’s services are indispensable to West Virginia, and sending these vital resources out of state to participate in a political stunt is unprecedented, unconscionable and unlawful,' Sparks said in a statement. 'Neither state law nor our Constitution permits this deployment.' ”
Video: Leaders and residents took to the streets to protest the latest federal surge - August 22, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBoRZdIARCQ
Comment: Local D.C. perspective.
Axios: D.C.'s resistance goes viral — one sandwich at a time
https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/08/22/sandwich-guy-merch-dc-etsy
Comment: "Signs of pushback to President Trump's D.C. takeover are showing up citywide — from 'Free DC' whistles at MLK Library to Banksky-style murals in Adams Morgan."
"The latest craze: Sub-versive sandwich merch from Etsy printmaker Lorraine Hu."
"The design nods to the D.C. flag and 'sandwich guy' — the now-ex DOJ staffer who launched a Subway hoagie at a federal officer and became a hero of the resistance."
Comment: Who says you can't fight to save democracy and make a buck at the same time, especially when the proceeds are donated? It's the American way!
Miami Herald: Judge orders Alligator Alcatraz shut down in 60 days, says no more new detainees
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article311770767.html
Comment: "A federal judge has ordered the closure of the Trump Administration’s “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention center within 60 days. Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that no more immigrant detainees should be sent to the center, located in the Florida Everglades, stating that much of the facility should be dismantled. The ruling stated that the facility was causing severe environmental damage to the Everglades, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site."
The Guardian: Federal judge orders Florida to shut ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in 60 days – as it happened
FBI association accuses Director Kash Patel of violating due process in high-profile firings | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/21/politics/fbi-association-warning-patel-firings
ABC News: Protesters heckle Vance, Hegseth, Miller as they get photo op with DC National Guard
Comment: "As President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Washington continued Wednesday, protesters booed Vice President JD Vance during a photo op with the guardsmen stationed in the city."
"The protesters jeered Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller as they visited Union Station, blocks from the U.S. Capitol, to thank the troops at a Shake Shack where they bought lunch for the guard members."
" 'Free D.C.,' the protesters shouted as the three officials arrived and then later inside the Shake Shack. The chants drowned out much of what Vance, Hegseth and Miller said as they tried to speak to reporters."
"Vance and Miller dismissed the jeers, calling the protesters 'crazy' and 'communists.' "
Comment: Communists? Really? I thought it was the communists who were known for calling out troops in attempts to intimidate its citizens. Our troops deserve better than the mission they are assigned to perform.
CNN: Trump is pressuring yet another top Fed official to resign, but she says she won't be 'bullied'
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/20/economy/trump-pushes-for-fed-governor-lisa-cook-resignation
Video: Smithsonian visitors react to Trump's criticism that museums are too "WOKE" - August 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM-Y6ood7RE
Video: CNN's Abby Phillip responds to Trump's attempts to downplay slavery - August 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmbwB4hhJoY
Alabama joins nationwide Labor Day push with protests across the state. Here's when, where
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/alabama-joins-nationwide-labor-day-180952066.html
Video: Texas Dem spends night on House floor after refusing 'permission slip' - August 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsVfZlG-a0
BBC: The US military vets helping Afghans fight deportation
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq68zq24vg5o
Opinion: Military leaders must resist Trump’s politically motivated invasion of cities
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/opinion-military-leaders-must-resist-120000542.html
Democratic-aligned nonprofit, civil rights groups ready to sue over Texas congressional map
Comment: " 'Despite bipartisan opposition among Texans, the Texas Legislature is pushing forward a congressional map that includes even fewer minority opportunity districts than the current discriminatory map, which is already being challenged in court for violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,' Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, said in a statement."
ABC News: Opening of new migrant detention center in Texas met with protests
https://abcnews.go.com/US/opening-new-migrant-detention-center-texas-met-protests/story?id=124760368
Comment: "Camp East Montana, the latest and largest of the new migrant detention centers opening across the country, has been met with criticism from immigration advocates after officially opening Sunday."
"Protesters greeted the opening of the facility over the weekend."
"The detention center, on the grounds of Texas' Fort Bliss, can currently house 1,000 migrants, with officials saying it can eventually expand to hold 5,000."
Comment: "Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who toured the new Texas detention center Monday, said of the facility's price tag, 'I want you to think about how much good that money could do in El Paso if it were spent on the community, if it were spent on access to child care for El Paso kids, if it were spent on universal pre-K for El Paso kids, if it were spent on health care for El Pasoans.' "
" 'There is a tremendous amount of good that that money could do for El Pasoans, but it is instead being used to fund mass deportation by the Trump administration,' she said."
Trump administration restores public spending data after legal fight
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-administration-restores-public-spending-231815294.html
Comment: "The Trump administration restored a public database that showed how funding is apportioned to federal agencies following a recent order by a federal appeals court."
"Public access to the data was restored over the weekend, not long after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the website be restored in a unanimous ruling."
ABC News: After Bondi touts weekend arrests in DC, mayor pushes back
Comment: "Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser questioned claims Monday that the influx of federal officers has made the city safer, after the attorney general touted arrest numbers from over the weekend."
" '[D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department] takes guns off the street every day and every week, and any time you have a surge of officers, I would expect that you have some results,' Bowser said. 'I say repeatedly, we need 500 more officers. In D.C. with 500 more officers, get 500 more officers worth of results. What is not necessary, however, is this kind of commandeering or the attempted commandeering of the force itself, and the expanded, I think, work that is not related to violence.' ”
"When asked, Bowser emphasized that National Guard troops 'can't do law enforcement, as far as I know,' adding, 'Unless their orders have somehow changed, I don't know that they can engage in arrest.' ”
Comment: "D.C.’s budget faced a $1 billion shortfall when, in an effort to avert a government shutdown earlier this year, lawmakers pushed through language in a massive government funding package that would hold the District to 2024 spending levels."
"Shortly after the bill passed, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would lead the House in passing standalone legislation to fix the D.C. budget. The Senate unanimously passed legislation to fix the glitch in mid-March, but the House never took up the Senate bill and has so far not taken floor action on the matter."
Comment: "Advocates, including the ACLU of D.C., decried the presence of the National Guard and federal agents in the city."
" 'The deployment of out-of-state National Guard troops and more federal agents onto D.C. streets is a brazen abuse of power meant to intimidate and create fear in the nation’s capital. This is an unnecessary overstep to micromanage D.C. under a phony emergency, causing real harm to residents and visitors -- all to advance the Trump administration’s political agenda,' said Monica Hopkins, executive director of ACLU of D.C."
Comment: So, is the Mayor's position that, if the U.S. Congress had adequately funded D.C., then she could have hired extra police and achieved the same, or better, results as that provided by all the extra federal agents and national guard troops?
Axios: D.C. fights back against Trump's takeover — in court and on the streets
https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2025/08/17/trump-dc-takeover-protests-lawsuits
Democrats introduce measure to terminate Trump's D.C. takeover
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/15/trump-dc-crime-national-guard-democrats-congress
Comment: "A group of House and Senate Democrats on Friday introduced a joint resolution that would put an end to President Trump's control of the city's police force"
"Why it matters: The measure is an extreme long-shot, but it is a show of strong Democratic opposition to a move that many in the party say amounts to a chilling and unprecedented power-grab."
Comment: "Driving the news: Raskin is introducing the resolution along with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)."
Comment: "What they're saying: 'Trump has made clear that his efforts in D.C. ... are part of a broader plan to militarize and federalize the streets of cities around America whose citizens voted against him,' Raskin said in a statement."
Comment: "Reality check: The lawmakers have no way to force the joint resolution to a vote in the House or Senate, and the Republicans who control both chambers are highly unlikely to put it to a vote."
Comment: "Yes, but: The Senate's 60-vote threshold will soon be an obstacle to Trump if he seeks to maintain his control of the D.C. police after a month, as he will need Democratic support for a joint resolution to extend the emergency."
Video: Obama sends message to Texas Democrats amid redistricting fight - August 15, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55mW1UDmoew
Pew Research Center: Trump's Tariffs and 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Face More Opposition Than Support as His Job Rating Slips
Comment: "Six months into his second term, public evaluations of President Donald Trump’s job performance have grown more negative. His job approval stands at 38% (60% disapprove), and fewer Americans now attribute several positive personal characteristics to him than did so during the campaign."
"Two of the new administration’s signature accomplishments – the rollout of its tariff policies and the tax and spending law known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' – garner considerably more disapproval than approval:
61% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s tariff policies, while 38% approve.
46% disapprove of the tax and spending law, while 32% approve (23% say they are unsure)."
"While there are wide partisan divides over both initiatives – with Republicans largely supportive and Democrats largely in opposition – Democratic disapproval substantially outpaces Republican approval."
Comment: This article contains detailed polling information on many other issues associated with the Trump administration.
PBS: Judge strikes down Education Department guidance against school diversity programs
Comment: "A federal judge on Thursday struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the nation’s schools and universities."
"In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland found that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives."
AP News: Judge orders RFK Jr.'s health department to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials
Video: Breaking down Newsom's fiery criticism of Texas GOP redistricting efforts - August 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAdXXXq55cs
ABC News: California will move forward with redistricting vote to counter Texas, Newsom says
Comment: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he is moving forward with putting proposed new congressional maps for the state on the ballot in a Nov. 4 special election in an attempt to counter mid-decade redistricting being pushed by Republicans in Texas."
Comment: " 'We're doing this in reaction to a president of the United States that called a sitting governor of the state of Texas and said, 'Find me five seats,' ' he added later."
The Daily Beast: Staff Mutiny Forces Pub to Turn Away JD Vance
https://www.thedailybeast.com/staff-mutiny-forces-pub-to-turn-away-jd-vance/
Comment: Do you think this is an indication of how popular the Trump administration is in Britain?
WABE: Current, former CDC staff in Atlanta angered by shooting response, call on RFK Jr. resignation
Video: DC residents react to Trump taking control of the city's police | NBC4 Washington - August 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5p9TAnT5Mo
Axios: Trump's shadow sparks new and unique climate moves
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/11/trump-epa-national-academy-sciences
Comment: "Climate initiatives outside of government are springing up in response to Trump 2.0 officials pulling back science and data programs."
"Why it matters: The federal government historically does research and produces climate data that's widely used by academics, local governments, companies and others. But outside groups are stepping forward: 1. The National Academy of Sciences just launched a 'fast-track' review of the latest evidence on how greenhouse gases threaten human health and welfare."
Comment: "2. The new Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative, co-led by a former EPA researcher, is an open-source hub for info corporations use to tally supply chain emissions."
Comment: "3. This fall, the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society will issue a formal call for manuscripts on climate change in the U.S."
Comment: "4. Many veteran climate scientists are 'launching a coordinated response' to DOE's new report that challenges mainstream academic views on climate impacts, CNN reported."
The Hill: Jeffries hammers Trump for seizing control of DC police: ‘No basis’
https://thehill.com/homenews/5446596-trump-jeffries-dc-crime/
Comment: "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday hammered President Trump’s move to take control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C., saying the president has no justification for taking such a drastic step given falling crime rates in the nation’s capital."
" 'Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a thirty-year low,” Jeffries posted on social platform X. 'Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order.' "
" 'Get lost.' ”
"Jeffries, a frequent critic of the president, was alluding to Trump’s own legal track record, which includes two impeachments, his conviction last year on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments to a porn star, and his decision to pardon more than 1,500 people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed effort to overturn the 2020 election."
Axios: "Shocking stuff, even for Trump": D.C.-area Democrats rage at White House policing move
https://www.axios.com/2025/08/11/trump-dc-police-national-guard-democrats-reaction
Comment: "Democratic lawmakers from the Washington, D.C. area are blasting President Trump for deploying the National Guard to the city and seizing control of its police force in an effort to crack down on crime."
"Why it matters: 'Shocking stuff, even for Trump,' Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) told Axios, adding, 'Suspicious minds might wonder if this is just kind of a first step towards a move on other parts of the government in D.C.' "
Commercial fishing in a vast Pacific nature area is halted after a judge blocks a Trump order
Comment: "Commercial fishing that recently resumed in a vast protected area of the Pacific Ocean must halt once again after a judge in Hawaii sided with environmentalists challenging a Trump administration rollback of federal ocean protections"
NPR: D.C. mayor defends capital's crime rates after Trump threatens to take over police
Comment: "Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. broke her silence Sunday in response to President Trump's threats to take federal control of the nation's capital. Bowser defended the District's control of its police department, expressed concern over the deployment of the D.C. National Guard, and celebrated a two-year drop in violent crime countering White House claims of out-of-control violence."
Comment: "On Sunday, the president promised in a social media post to 'make our Capital safer' by removing the homeless and jailing criminals, with a plan to be announced at 10 a.m. on Monday."
" 'I suspect that his announcement is that he is surging federal law enforcement, which he's talked about,' Bowser said Sunday during an interview on MSNBC — her first since Trump's federal take over threats. 'He may talk about even larger numbers or longer periods of time.' "
"Bowser said she will continue to work with the president on their 'shared priorities' of making D.C. a beautiful and safe city. But the mayor said what the city really needs is more federal prosecutors, judges, and repairs to parks and buildings."
"She also took issue with recent statements from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who called the nation's capital 'more violent than Baghdad.' "
" 'Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false,' Bowser said."
Appeals court rules Trump clamp-down on spending data defies Congress’ authority - POLITICO
Comment: "A federal appeals court panel shot down a Trump administration bid to make secret a public database of federal spending that researchers say is crucial to ensure the administration is not flouting Congress’ power of the purse."
"In an order issued Saturday evening, the three-judge D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted unanimously to give the administration until Friday to put the data back online."
Politico: Democrats make a Trump-inspired U-turn on redistricting
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/redistricting-house-democrats-california-texas-00498773
Comment: "The last time House Democrats held the majority, they made a sweeping package of good-government reforms — including an attempt to end partisan gerrymandering — a centerpiece of their legislative agenda."
" 'The people should choose their politicians,' then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2021, moments before the House passed the bill that would later die in the Senate. 'Politicians should not be choosing their voters.' ”
"Now, as President Donald Trump pushes Republicans in red states to redraw congressional district lines to their benefit, some Democrats are abandoning their past push for reforms. Instead, they’re cheering on leaders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom who say their party must fight fire with fire."
NPR: Federal judge rules cuts to humanities grants were 'unlawful'
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/07/nx-s1-5495365/neh-national-endowment-for-the-humanities-lawsuit
Comment: "A federal judge has ruled that the government's abrupt elimination of humanities grants previously approved by Congress was 'unlawful' and that a lawsuit brought by humanities groups can move forward."
"In April, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), terminated grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities to thousands of groups across the country including humanities councils, museums, historic sites, archives, libraries, educators and media outlets."
"In May, Oregon Humanities and the Federation of State Humanities Councils sued the endowment and DOGE, alleging the sudden grant cuts were an 'attempted destruction, spearheaded by DOGE, of the congressionally established federal-state partnership.' "
Former Georgia lieutenant governor joins Democratic Party
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5439065-geoff-duncan-georgia-democratic-party/
Comment: "Duncan outlined various policy issues that contributed to his decision to make the switch, attacking Republicans for their handling of health care, Medicaid, support for poor people, gun control and immigration."
"He said Trump’s tax and spending bill will leave Medicaid funding 'in shambles' with hundreds of billions of dollars slashed from the program. He also criticized the legislation’s cuts to funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps. and the effect it will have on preventing children from being hungry at school."
"Duncan cited polls showing widespread support for gun control measures like universal background checks and red flag laws and slammed the Trump administration’s immigration policies that he said 'have turned into a lesson on how not to love your neighbor.' ”
Judge blocks Trump admin. from reallocating billions in FEMA disaster relief funds - CBS News
Comment: "A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to reallocate more than $4 billion in federal funding geared toward natural disaster mitigation projects, arguing the transfer could lead to 'irreparable harm' to flood-prone areas."
"The injunction by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston followed a July lawsuit brought by 20 states. They argued that FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program had been unlawfully terminated in April 2025 under the Trump administration, with more than $4 billion in unspent funding that had been allocated by Congress redirected without its authority. Stearns wrote that the court was 'not convinced' that Congress had intended for the money to be reallocated."
American Cancer Society speaks out on threats to Alabama research grants
Comment: "The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is taking aim at proposed budget cuts to cancer research funding, unveiling a new advertising campaign—featuring two prominent billboards in Alabama, that speak out against potential funding cuts to health organizations."
"In May, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget proposed a $27.9 billion budget for the National Institutes of Health, which would be an $18 billion cut to the organization’s funding. The Trump administration has also recommended cutting NIH’s National Cancer Institute’s funding down to $4.5 billion, a decrease of 37 percent when compared to 2025."
"In response to proposed cuts, and ahead of the U.S. Senate’s vote on NIH’s budget for 2026, ACS CAN placed two billboards off Interstate 65 in the Birmingham and Montgomery areas seeking to raise awareness of threats to cancer research funding."
CBS News: Attorney General Kwame Raoul warns Texas politicians that police can't just come to Illinois to arrest Democrats
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/kwame-raoul-warns-texas-democrats-illinois-arrest/
Comment: "Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a stern warning to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas Republicans who said they will send law enforcement to arrest Democrats who left the state over the GOP redistricting plan."
"More than 50 Texas state house Democrats have left the state to deny the Republican-controlled legislature a quorum for a special sessions in which they will redraw congressional districts in order to deliver five more Republican representatives to President Trump. The special session, which did not happen as scheduled Monday because of the Democrats' absences, was supposed to provide disaster relief for the hundreds of victims of deadly Texas floods earlier this year."
"A significant number of those Democrats have come to Illinois, where their efforts have been supported by Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, along with other lawmakers."
The Guardian: First-of-a-kind US class action lawsuit would force EPA to reinstate $3bn climate program
Comment: "The Trump administration’s decision to abruptly terminate a $3bn program helping hundreds of communities prepare for climate disasters and environmental hazards is unconstitutional and should be overturned, a court will hear on Tuesday."
"A coalition of non-profits, tribes and local governments is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the agency’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, for terminating the entire Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) block grant program – despite a legally binding mandate from Congress to fund the Biden-era initiative."
Border Patrol told to stop deporting migrants under Trump asylum ban
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWXe5bNAKSw
Comment: Watch all of this video, and then decide if you are you as confused about details of this ruling as some are?
New non-profit law firm in DC aims to challenge Trump’s executive power
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/04/politics/washington-litigation-group-trump-executive-power
USA Today: Chris Christie likens Trump to 'petulant child' over labor statistics chief's firing
Comment: "The Trump ally turned critic said in an appearance on ABC News the firing was classic Trump."
" 'When he gets news he doesn't like, he needs someone to blame because he won't take the responsibility himself, and this is the action of a petulant child. Like, 'You give me bad news, I fire the messenger,' ' Christie told 'This Week' host George Stephanopoulos."
The Hill: DNC chair says Democrats ‘absolutely’ ready to fight back against GOP redistricting
CNN: Texas Democrats leave the state to prevent quorum needed to vote on redistricting measure
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/03/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting
Cory Booker’s message to the Democratic Party: Don’t bend the knee to Trump
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/02/politics/cory-booker-democratic-party-trump-redistricting
Video: Judge blocks Trump administration from closing sites that help at-risk kids - August 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO4HJoIPYIQ
The Guardian: The inside story of the Murdoch editor taking on Donald Trump
Comment: Not sure whether the Murdoch owned Wall Street Journal can be counted as "the resistance," but it does gives us hope that journalistic integrity can prevail in some cases.
USA Today: See national day of action protests across U.S.
Video: Trump critics rally at 'Rage Against the Regime' protests nationwide - August 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3PV_98i8ZE
Court limits Trump's asylum crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/court-limits-trump-asylum-crackdown-us-mexico-border/
Comment: "A panel of federal judges on Friday limited President Trump's effort to close the U.S. asylum system at the southern border, saying his administration can't unilaterally suspend laws that bar the U.S. from deporting migrants to places where they would face persecution or torture."
"The ruling centers on a proclamation issued by Mr. Trump just hours after he returned to the White House in January, ordering the closure of the asylum system. U.S. border officials have relied on the order to summarily expel those entering the country illegally, without allowing them to request asylum. Mr. Trump justified the sweeping measure on the grounds that the country is facing an 'invasion' of migrants."
Politico: Democratic governors advise strong counteroffensive on redistricting
Comment: "A group of Democratic governors is urging its colleagues to get tough in countering Republican-backed efforts to gerrymander Texas’ congressional districts."
" 'It’s incumbent upon Democrat governors, if they have the opportunity, to respond in kind,' outgoing Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly told reporters at a Democratic Governors Association meeting Friday. 'I’m not a big believer in unilateral disarmament.' ”
"Various mid-decade redistricting efforts could launch a partisan arms race, as the parties look to redraw competing congressional maps to their own advantages. Democrats face a tougher path, as several blue states are bound by independent redistricting commissions and state constitutions, which would prevent them from quickly remaking maps. By contrast, discussions are already underway in several other Republican-controlled states that could follow Texas’ lead, including Missouri, Indiana and Florida."
Judge blocks expedited deportations of those who entered the U.S. legally, possibly curtailing ICE courthouse arrests - CBS News
Comment: "U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of Washington, D.C., barred federal immigration officials from using two Trump administration directives to apply a fast-track deportation process known as expedited removal on migrants who were granted immigration parole to enter the U.S. at an official port of entry. Parole is an immigration authority that allows federal officials to admit foreigners on humanitarian grounds, and lets them live and work in the U.S. legally on a temporary basis."
"If left in place, Cobb's ruling could significantly hinder the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to ramp up its mass deportation campaign by targeting migrants allowed into the U.S. under the Biden administration through the parole authority. The Justice Department is expected to appeal her order."
"One operation in particular that could be curtailed by Cobb's ruling is a Trump administration effort to convince immigration judges to dismiss the court cases of certain migrants, so that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can arrest them after their hearings and place them in expedited removal."
GOP lawmaker faces raucous crowd in Wisconsin, critical questions over tariffs and immigration policy
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/31/politics/bryan-steil-wisconsin-event
Trump’s tariffs get frosty reception at federal appeals court - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/31/trump-tariff-arguments-appeals-court-00486972
Comment: "Federal appeals court judges on Thursday sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners under an unprecedented use of emergency powers."
"Several judges of the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Circuit Court of Appeals repeatedly wondered how Trump could justify the broad tariffs using a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, that presidents have used to set economic sanctions and other penalties on foreign countries — but never previously tariffs."
Comment: "Other judges seemed to agree that Trump had used a statute intended to give presidents emergency powers to deal with an international crisis to, instead, usurp a key congressional responsibility."
Comment: "The lawsuit is expected to end up at the Supreme Court."
Comment: What happens to Trump's trade policy if his tariff authority is declared unconstitutional?
Judge rips Noem’s latest termination of immigrant protections: ‘Color is neither a poison nor a crime’ - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/31/temporary-protected-status-kristi-noem-ruling-00488161
Comment: "A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s bid to cancel deportation protections and work permits for more than 63,000 Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants, saying the decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared rooted in racism."
" 'Color is neither a poison nor a crime,' U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson said in a 37-page ruling Thursday, which postponed a Sept. 8 deadline Noem had imposed for those 63,000 immigrants to leave the country or lose Temporary Protected Status, better known as TPS."
Judge orders Trump administration to explain why order to restore Voice of America wasn't followed
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-orders-trump-administration-explain-222742043.html
Comment: "A federal judge on Wednesday essentially accused the Trump administration of ignoring his orders to restore Voice of America's operations and explain clearly what it is doing with the government-run operation that provides news to other countries."
"U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of the District of Columbia gave the administration until Aug. 13 to explain how it will get VOA working again. The outlet that dates back to World War II has been largely dark since March."
"Lamberth said the administration needs to show what it is doing with the $260 million Congress appropriated for VOA's operations this year."
20 states sue over collection of food stamp recipients’ personal information
Comment: "A group of 20 states filed a Monday lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent the government from collecting personal data from food stamp recipients."
"The coalition of lawyers argues the effort violates privacy laws by requesting individuals’ immigration status, birthdates and home addresses, according to the Associated Press."
Comment: " 'This isn’t about oversight and transparency,' Banta said, according to NPR.
" 'This is about establishing widespread surveillance under the guise of fighting fraud. We can call it what it is, an illegal data grab designed to scare people away from public assistance programs.' ”
CNN: Democratic-led states sue over Trump administration’s effort to obtain personal information of SNAP recipients
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/28/politics/snap-lawsuit
Politico: Judges press Trump administration on deportation quotas
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/28/judges-trump-administration-deportation-quotas-00480899
Comment: "A federal appeals court is demanding answers about the Trump White House’s effort to set numerical goals for its mass deportation campaign, including the accuracy of news reports suggesting that the administration is seeking to carry out 3,000 deportations per day."
Comment: "Gould suggested that pressure from superiors to fulfill arbitrary quotas could be prompting Immigration & Customs Enforcement personnel to sweep up throngs of people based on very general conclusions about where undocumented immigrants are likely to gather."
" 'I’m just trying to understand what would motivate the officers who did the round-up of aliens here to grab such a large number of people so quickly and without marshaling reasonable suspicion to detain,' the judge said."
Comment: " 'Under President Trump’s leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day,' Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News in May."
Trump justice department sued over legal memo on Qatar’s luxury jet gift
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/28/trump-jet-qatar-memo-lawsuit
Comment: "The US Department of Justice is facing a federal lawsuit for refusing to release a legal memorandum that reportedly cleared the way for Donald Trump's acceptance of a $400m luxury aircraft from Qatar's government."
Comment: " The president’s 'deal to take a $400m luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny – not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice', American Oversight’s executive director, Chioma Chukwu, said in a press release. 'This is precisely the kind of corrupt arrangement that public records laws are designed to expose.' ”
Judge orders Medicaid funding temporarily restored to all Planned Parenthood affiliates
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5423680-planned-parenthood-medicaid-lawsuit-injunction/
AP News: Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
Comment: "President Donald Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland's coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the American."
Comment: "Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff U.S. tariffs on goods imported from the U.K."
NPR: 'Scotland is already great.' Protesters troll Trump on his golfing trip
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/26/g-s1-79744/scotland-protesters-anti-trump-golf
AP News: Judge issues temporary injunction against Trump administration cancellation of humanities grants
https://apnews.com/article/doge-trump-humanities-first-amendment-43e25c97dcd665f0cbfb285a6d517888
Video: Lukewarm welcome expected as Trump heads to Scotland - July 25, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rHqQKuotz0
Federal judge dismisses Trump administration's lawsuit against Chicago over its sanctuary city policies
Court order allows 99 Job Corps centers to stay open
https://www.wsfa.com/2025/07/25/court-order-allows-99-job-corps-centers-stay-open/
Comment: "A district court issued an order that prohibits the U.S. Department of Labor from closing Job Corps centers across the country."
" '“The SPLC applauds the Court’s recognition that the Trump Department of Labor exceeded its authority and unlawfully shuttered the Job Corps program, which plays an essential role in strengthening Southern communities,' said Scott McCoy, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center. 'This program has consistently reduced unemployment and homelessness, empowered underserved communities—especially for Black and Brown youth—and breaks the cycle of poverty through education, training, and opportunity.' "
Bondi Sued by ‘Exemplary’ DOJ Officials Fired After Working on Jan. 6 Prosecutions
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bondi-sued-exemplary-doj-officials-160116701.html
Comment: "Three career Justice Department officials—described as “exemplary” public servants—have sued Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. government, alleging they were abruptly and unlawfully fired after working on the Jan. 6 prosecutions."
Comment: "The three litigants were all fired 'without cause, justification, or due process' on the same day earlier this summer via a one-page document 'signed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi,' according to the suit, which cited only 'Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States.' ”
Federal judge tosses Trump administration effort to end union rights for federal workers
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5418136-trump-judge-tosses-union-suit/
Politico: Trump-appointed judge tosses White House lawsuit against labor unions
Comment: "A Trump-appointed judge on Wednesday dealt a blow to the White House’s bid to kick out labor unions from an array of federal agencies."
"Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas said that the Trump administration lacks the legal standing necessary to pursue the case it filed against the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest labor union representing federal workers."
"The lawsuit was a preemptive strike against AFGE and other public-sector unions, seeking to nullify collective bargaining agreements that interfered with White House goals. It was submitted shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March stripping hundreds of thousands of government workers of unionization rights by vastly expanding the use of a national security exemption in federal labor law to cover agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Agriculture Department."
Appeals court finds Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship unconstitutional - POLITICO
Comment: "The ruling brings the issue one step closer to returning to the Supreme Court."
NBC News: Obama pushes back on Trump's 'outrageous' and 'bizarre' treason claim
Comment: "Former President Barack Obama's office issued a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the president accused his predecessor of having committed 'treason' and rigging the 2016 and 2020 elections."
" '"Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,' Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said. 'But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.' "
Comment: "House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California told NBC News on Monday that 'it’s all a distraction.' "
" '[T]hey’ll release anything if it buys them another day or two to not talk about Epstein or to get the angry mob to talk about Epstein,' Aguilar said."
KQED: The Giant Elon Musk 'Make America Wait Again' Head Made It to Yosemite This Weekend
Comment: "Earlier this month, a giant bust of Elon Musk — accompanied by the words “Make America Wait Again: Now With Longer Lines Thanks To DOGE Cuts!” — appeared in Utah's Arches National Park, towed on a trailer behind a truck driving through the park."
"Now, the Musk bust has appeared again — this time in Yosemite National Park."
"Visitor Greg Perkins told KQED that he spotted the sculpture, which makes reference to the Tesla CEO and former Department of Government Efficiency leader’s attempts to reduce the staff and budgets of federal departments like the National Parks Service, in Yosemite this weekend — and captured photos of the giant head passing iconic park spots like Yosemite Falls and El Capitan. According to Outside magazine, the head spotted in Arches was 12 feet high."
Judge rules Trump administration broke law in takedown of public funding tracker
https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-rules-trump-administration-broke-144225860.html
Comment: "A federal judge ruled the Trump administration violated federal law by taking down a public website that showed how funding is apportioned to federal agencies, ordering its reinstatement."
"U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Monday that removal of the online database overseen by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) violated legislation passed by Congress, which requires the OMB to make apportionment decisions publicly available within two business days."
" 'There is nothing unconstitutional about Congress requiring the Executive Branch to inform the public of how it is apportioning the public’s money. Defendants are therefore required to stop violating the law!' Sullivan wrote in his 60-page opinion."
CNN: Attorneys for wrongly deported Venezuelan asylum seeker will seek criminal contempt proceedings after prisoner swap
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/22/politics/venezuela-asylum-seeker-trump
Judge restores Democrat to Federal Trade Commission, ruling her firing by Trump was illegal
https://apnews.com/article/federal-trade-commission-trump-firings-c0b4f6a5169ab54e3c630a39ad5a8aef
Comment: "A federal judge has restored a Democrat to the Federal Trade Commission, ruling that President Donald Trump illegally fired her earlier this year in his efforts to exert control over independent agencies across the government."
"U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled late Thursday that federal law protects FTC commissioners from being removed by the president without cause, citing a key 1935 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the FTC."
Democratic attorneys general sue Trump administration to block ObamaCare changes
Comment: "A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration Thursday to block implementation of a rule they argue will undermine the Affordable Care Act."
Comment: "The final rule, issued in June, would make numerous amendments to regulations governing federal and state health insurance marketplaces, which the administration estimates will cause almost 2 million people to lose their health insurance."
Comment: "According to the lawsuit, the rule 'truncates and eliminates enrollment periods, makes enrollment more difficult, adds eligibility verification requirements, and erects unreasonable barriers to coverage—making sweeping changes that reach far beyond and bear little relation to the primary harm HHS asserted as its justification: fraudulent enrollment by insurance brokers and agents.' ”
Urban League declares a 'state of emergency' for civil rights in the U.S. in response to Trump
Comment: "One of the nation’s oldest civil rights organizations on Thursday declared a 'state of emergency' for antidiscrimination policies, personal freedoms and Black economic advancement in response to President Trump’s upending of civil rights precedents and the federal agencies traditionally tasked with enforcing them."
Comment: "The report, to be released Thursday at the group’s conference in Cleveland, Ohio, criticizes the administration for downsizing federal agencies and programs that enforce civil rights policies. The authors aimed to highlight what they saw as a multiyear, coordinated effort by conservative legal activists, lawmakers and media personalities to undermine civil rights policy and create a political landscape that would enable a hard-right agenda on a range of social and economic policy."
Comment: " 'It is not random. It is a well-funded, well-organized, well-orchestrated movement of many, many years,' said Marc Morial, president of the Urban League. 'For a long time, people saw white supremacist politics and white nationalism as on the fringe of American politics. It has now become the mainstream of the American right, whose central foundation is within the Republican Party.' ”
See the 'Good Trouble' protests across the US in opposition to Trump
PBS: ‘Good Trouble’ protests against Trump’s deportations and health care cuts held nationwide
Video: New CNN poll: 61% of Americans oppose Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill - July 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLwJQvVMqAE
Federal judge would block Trump's birthright citizenship order nationwide | AP News
Comment: "A federal judge in Maryland could soon become the second to block President Donald Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship from taking effect nationwide, if an appeals court were to allow it."
Video: RFK Jr. has ‘brought fringe medical theories’ into HHS role: House Democrat - July 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OwwgF061s
Comment: Lengthy video Interview also addresses many other medical related quality and coverage issues.
NPR: U.S. senator wants DOGE out of sensitive payment system for farmers
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/15/nx-s1-5468585/doge-usda-farmers
Comment: "Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, wants the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revoke high-level access granted to the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to a sensitive database that controls tens of billions of dollars in payments and loans to American farmers and ranchers."
"In a letter first shared with NPR addressed to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, Baldwin writes 'on behalf of Wisconsin farmers,' arguing that DOGE's access to sensitive agricultural information is 'an intrusion that not only breaches [farmers'] privacy, but also raises serious concerns about the future of USDA payments, our nation's food security, and the consolidation of farmland and processing operations.' "
Video: 'Toughen up': Obama's blunt message for Democrats - July 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yoMmStxzW8
Comment: Video includes a lengthy analysis of Obama's comments regarding Democratic leadership and resistance to Trump's agenda
The Guardian: DNC threatens to sue North Carolina elections board over plan to purge 100,000 voters
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/14/dnc-north-carolina-elections-voter-purge
Video: Gov. Andy Beshear says Trump’s new law is a ‘betrayal to rural America’: Full interview - July 13, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv_xHLk2o6g
Video: Trump Booed Before Presenting Chelsea With FIFA Club World Cup Trophy | 10 News - July 13, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmDcm1G94_E
Politico: Americans have made a U-turn on immigration since 2024 election
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/11/trump-immigration-crackdown-poll-00448342
Comment: "New polling from Gallup shows record-high support for immigration, potentially complicating the president’s strongly anti-immigration policy."
Judge orders Trump administration to stop immigration arrests without probable cause in Southern California | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/politics/california-immigration-arrests-probable-cause
Comment: "A federal judge on Friday found that the Department of Homeland Security has been making stops and arrests in Los Angeles immigration raids without probable cause and ordered the department to stop detaining individuals based solely on race, spoken language or occupation."
Comment: "The ruling is limited to the seven-county jurisdiction of the US Central District of California, which includes Los Angeles and surrounding areas."
Comment: Do you think the judge's decision might have been made easier by very recent comments from border czar, Tom Homan?
House Democrat: ‘Kash Patel is an extraordinarily unqualified sycophant’
https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-democrat-kash-patel-extraordinarily-164805342.html
Comment: "Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) slammed FBI Director Kash Patel on CNN Friday over reports that the bureau has stepped up the use of polygraph tests to screen employees for loyalty."
Comment: " 'I don’t need a lie-detector test to tell the American people that Kash Patel is an extraordinarily unqualified sycophant who will do what the president of the United States says, even if it violates the Constitution,' Quigley said."
" '“That scares me. And this is just additional evidence of the fact that his primary concern is defending the president.' "
CNN: Federal judge issues new nationwide block against Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/10/politics/birthright-citizenship-hearing-rhode-island
Comment: "The ruling from US District Judge Joseph Laplante is significant because the Supreme Court last month curbed the power of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, while keeping intact the ability of plaintiffs to seek a widespread block of the order through class action lawsuits, which is what happened Thursday in New Hampshire."
Comment: " 'The preliminary injunction is just not a close call to the court,' Laplante said during a hearing. 'The deprivation of US citizenship and an abrupt change of policy that was longstanding … that’s irreparable harm.' ”
The Fallout Is Growing on Trump’s Deals With Law Firms - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/10/trump-law-firms-deals-mess-column-00445259
Comment: "The Trump administration is on an unbroken losing streak in the courts — 0 for 4 — in its effort to defend President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting large law firms. And things could get worse — for Trump, and for the law firms that capitulated to him."
Comment: "Trump’s executive orders and the deals struck by the settling firms have not aged well. The firms that threw in the towel appear to have misjudged the fallout — financial, reputational, political and legal. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has gotten hammered by the judges presiding over the cases challenging the White House, and it’s far from clear the government's appeal will get a better reception in the higher courts, including the Supreme Court, if it gets there. Furthermore, the deals with the settling firms have so far produced scant results for the Trump administration in concrete terms."
Politico: Jan. 6 rally organizer must pay $2K a day until she complies with subpoena, judge rules
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/09/january-6-rally-contempt-ruling-00444812
Comment: "Caroline Wren, a longtime Republican fundraiser, was a liaison between the Trump White House and participants in the Jan. 6 rally, helping arrange speakers, coordinate the timeline and boost attendance. She’s among the many witnesses subpoenaed by Capitol Police officers suing Trump, accusing him of fomenting the violence that occurred that day, in a lawsuit that has been pending for four years."
NPR: Canceled grants get the spotlight at a Capitol Hill 'science fair'
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5461062/science-fair-canceled-funding-nih-federal
Comment: "On Tuesday, Chanda stood alongside roughly two dozen other scientists in the lobby of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill for what resembled a science fair — but with a twist. Instead of students presenting class projects, the event featured leading researchers from across the country standing in front of posters outlining their work — and the federal cuts that now threaten it."
Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from enforcing funding ban against Planned Parenthood | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/07/politics/planned-parenthood-funding-lawsuit
ActBlue brings in nearly $400 million more for Democrats amid Trump’s pressure on the fundraising platform
https://share.google/Q5A1PCMo1htQrztfp
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s demand for an investigation into ActBlue worried some Democrats who argue his order was not about allegations of campaign finance violations, but an attempt to stifle liberal campaigns."
"So far, ActBlue remains a Democratic juggernaut."
"The platform brought in more than $393 million during the second quarter of this year, nearly on par with the $400 million it processed in the first quarter, according to figures shared first with CNN. The April-to-June haul marks a roughly 36% jump from its second-quarter receipts of $289 million in 2021, at the start of Democrat Joe Biden’s term."
The Guardian: Pregnant doctor denied Covid-19 vaccine sues Trump administration
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/07/pregnant-doctor-covid-19-vaccine-rfk-jr-trump
Comment: "A pregnant physician who was denied a Covid-19 vaccine is suing the Trump administration alongside a group of leading doctors associations, charging that the administration sought to 'desensitize the public to anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric', according to their attorney."
"The lawsuit specifically takes aim at health secretary Robert F Kennedy’s unilateral decision to recommend against Covid-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children."
"Kennedy’s announcement circumvented expert scientific review panels and flouted studies showing pregnant women are at heightened risk from the virus, and made it more difficult for some to get the vaccine."
"That's An Incredible Picture Of How Most Americans Feel Right Now" — People Are Praising France's New Lady Liberty "Protest" Mural That's Going Mega-Viral
https://www.yahoo.com/news/thats-incredible-picture-most-americans-182321331.html
Comment: "Recently, France unveiled a mural called 'The Statue of Liberty's Silent Protest,' designed to illustrate the 'shame' surrounding the recent immigration policies of the Trump administration. The now-viral painting, seen by over 16 million people, features Lady Liberty covering her face with her hands, with her torch lying on her chest."
Comment: "It's important to note that France formally gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States on July 4, 1884, to celebrate US independence and American democracy, among other things. De Leeuw called the unveiling of her mural on July 4 a ' meaningful coincidence.' "
New Indivisible Baldwin County chapter stages July Fourth protest in Foley
Judges are finding workarounds to Trump’s big Supreme Court win - POLITICO '
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/03/supreme-court-nationwide-injunctions-rulings-00439335
Comment: "If the Supreme Court’s near-ban on nationwide injunctions was the earth-shattering victory President Donald Trump claimed, no one seems to have told his courtroom opponents."
"While the absence of that tool is clearly a sea change for the judiciary, early results indicate that judges see other paths to impose sweeping restrictions on government actions they deem unlawful. And those options remain viable in many major pending lawsuits against the administration."
Federal judge blocks Trump administration from ending temporary legal status for many Haitians | AP News
NBC News: U.S. citizen seeks $1M after arrest for filming Home Depot ICE immigration raid
Democrat mayors sue over Trump effort to restrict Obamacare enrollment | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-baltimore-aca-obamacare-oz-rfk-jr-2edbf585f8f7337e64a4368fb4967513
Comment: "New Trump administration rules that give millions of people a shorter timeframe to sign up for the Affordable Care Act's health care coverage are facing a legal challenge from Democratic mayors around the country."
The Guardian: A private prison firm wants to detain immigrants in this Kansas town. Its residents are pushing back
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/kansas-leavenworth-corecivic-prison-immigrants
Court limits on nationwide injunctions pose challenge for those fighting Trump’s agenda
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5377883-supreme-court-ruling-nationwide-injunctions/
Comment: " 'The decision signals the loss of one of the best tools lawyers have had in their arsenal for dealing with this administration’s constitutional excesses. It is not the only tool, but it was a significant one,' Joyce Vance, a law professor and former U.S. attorney appointed by former President Obama, wrote on her blog."
20 states sue after the Trump administration releases private Medicaid data to deportation officials
https://www.yahoo.com/news/20-states-sue-trump-administration-003117784.html
States sue to stop health data sharing with DHS : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/01/nx-s1-5453885/medicaid-data-immigration-dhs-lawsuit
Comment: "Twenty states, led by California, sued the Trump administration Tuesday after federal health officials shared sensitive data about Medicaid recipients with the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement."
Forbes: Trump ‘Snitch Signs’ Calling For ‘Negative’ National Park Comments Spark Counter-Protest
https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2025/06/30/national-parks-snitch-signs-backfiring/
Comment: "Just as digital protesters took credit for raining on Trump's military parade, national park supporters appear to have flooded the Department of Interior’s feedback portal, possibly frustrating an order by Trump to remove any 'negative' history from national parks and monuments."
Comment: Do you think the public might find that the only negativity they find at the national parks/monuments are the asinine attempts to rewrite (sugar coat) history by the current Trump administration?
To fight Trump's funding freezes, states propose a new gambit: Withholding federal payments
https://www.yahoo.com/news/fight-trumps-funding-freezes-states-093000945.html
Comment: "The novel and untested approach — so far introduced in Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin — would essentially allow states to withhold federal payments if lawmakers determine the federal government is delinquent in funding owed to them. Democrats in Washington state said they are in the process of drafting a similar measure."
Video: Protests erupt against ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention facility
https://youtu.be/wSFAmaxYn-g?si=9Sk-PPyBLyIA4Odt
AL.com: ‘MTG is not welcome in HSV’: Protesters hit the streets ahead of Marjorie Taylor Greene visit
Hundreds march in protest of Marjorie Taylor Greene visit to Huntsville while supporters fill venue
Comment: "Marchers chanted slogans and displayed signs addressing Greene's position on library materials, Christian nationalism, and other subjects on which she has been outspoken. Some posters echoed broader themes, such as fascism."
Lawsuit challenges billions of dollars in Trump administration funding cuts
https://share.newsbreak.com/dr3gyq2w
Comment: "The lawsuit filed in Boston is asking a judge to limit the Trump administration from relying on an obscure clause in the federal regulation to cut grants that don’t align with its priorities. Since January, the lawsuit argues that the administration has used that clause to cancel entire programs and thousands of grants that had been previously awarded to states and grantees."
CNBC: Capitol Police arrest dozens of people protesting Medicaid cuts in Trump budget bill
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/25/capitol-police-medicaid-protests-.html
Comment: "U.S. Capital Police arrested more than 30 protesters on Wednesday, including some in wheelchairs, during a demonstration against the proposed Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's budget bill."
NPR: Judge orders Trump administration to resume distributing money for EV chargers
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/25/nx-s1-5445042/ev-charger-funding-freeze-injunction
The Guardian: RFK Jr grilled on vaccine policies and healthcare fraud in bruising House hearing
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/24/rfk-congress-hearing-vaccines
Pediatrician In Congress Tells RFK Jr.: I Will Blame You For All Vaccine-Preventable Deaths
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pediatrician-congress-tells-rfk-jr-211101475.html
Comment: "Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) on Tuesday tore into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for his decades of lies about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, saying she will blame him every time someone dies from a vaccine-preventable disease on his watch."
Opinion: ‘No Kings’ was just the start of America’s fight for democracy
https://share.newsbreak.com/dr38c3dg
Comment: "With more than three years left in Trump’s term, we will all face a series of decisions about whether, when and how to act. Those decisions will collectively determine whether we face a future of freedom or fascism."
'The Onion' Mocks Congress' 'Cowardice' in 'NY Times' Full Page Ad
https://share.google/ScpsCCKv6HfCOtHDJ
Comment: "“Now is not the time for bravery or valor! This is the time for protecting your own hide and lining your pocket,” satirical newspaper writes in letter to Congress members"
Congress, Now More Than Ever, Our Nation Needs Your Cowardice - The Onion
https://theonion.com/letter-to-congress/
'Dictator Approved' statue at National Mall takes aim at President Trump
https://www.yahoo.com/news/dictator-approved-statue-national-mall-150347539.html
Comment: "The 8-foot-tall art installation, an apparent criticism of President Donald Trump, has been drawing the attention of visitors at the Capitol this week. It is unclear who put it there, but it was first spotted Tuesday near the site where a bronze statue mocking rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, was placed months before."
"Along with the golden marking reading 'Dictator Approved,' the pedestal of the statue features quotes lauding Trump from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban."
'No Secret Police': Lawmakers propose prohibiting masked agents
Comment: "The 'No Secret Police Act,' introduced by two Democrats in the California Senate, is a reaction to immigration sweeps across the country by masked agents in plainclothes, who are increasingly refusing to identify themselves by name or the agency they work for."
USA Today: DHS, Kristi Noem sued over actions against journalists in LA
NPR: The story behind the arrest of 87-year-old veteran John Spitzberg at the Capitol
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/20/nx-s1-5438406/john-spitzberg-veteran-arrest-trump-parade
Video: Sen. Duckworth grills Sec. Pete Hegseth over Confederate renaming military bases - June 19, 2025
https://share.newsbreak.com/do6d12i0
Comment: Duckworth mentions Fort Novosel and Mike Novosel.
Black churches push back against Trump-fueled anti-DEI wave
https://share.newsbreak.com/do6jwg6u
Judge rejects ‘Duffy Directive’ tying DOT grants to immigration cooperation
Comment: " 'Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes,' U.S. District Judge John McConnell wrote in the preliminary injunction."
Politico: Judge rules EPA termination of environmental justice grants was unlawful
Comment: "EPA cannot 'thumb its nose at Congress' by refusing to spend appropriated funds, the judge wrote."
Axios: "No Kings" protest organizers announce July 17 as next demonstration
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/17/no-kings-july-17-protests
Comment: "Building off the success of Saturday's rallies, Transformative Justice Coalition announced Monday the next protests are planned for July 17 in honor of Civil Rights activist and lawmaker John Lewis who died on that date in 2020."
Comment: " 'We're going to center racial justice, because this country will never be right until it's racially just ... we're going to center voting rights for all, because voter suppression has no, no right to be in this country. We're going to talk about our continued and united fight for a just, inclusive and strong democracy that is our goal, that is our obligation in these times.' "
AP News: Judge finds Florida attorney general in contempt over immigration law
https://apnews.com/article/florida-immigration-uthmeier-desantis-dc63318b3b2ab1e20ba61aa83e4f102c
Comment: "In a social media post, Uthmeier said, 'If being held in contempt is what it costs to defend the rule of law and stand firmly behind President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration, so be it.' "
Comment: So the Florida Attorney General says defying a federal judge is OK, as long as it's to defend "Trump's agenda"?
The Daily Beast: NAACP Breaks With 116 Years of History With Snub for Trump
https://www.thedailybeast.com/naacp-breaks-with-116-years-of-history-to-snub-trump/
Comment: "Citing what they describe as unprecedented attacks on American democracy, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson accused Trump of acting in direct opposition to the group’s values by seeking to 'eliminate civil rights' in the U.S."
AP News: Judge rules some NIH grant cuts illegal, saying he's never seen such discrimination in 40 years
https://apnews.com/article/nih-research-trump-cuts-dei-rfk-4fec9f308f3ff427185a12e88f260c81
Judge deems Trump's cuts to National Institutes of Health illegal
Comment: "U.S. District Judge William Young said during a nonjury trial that the NIH violated federal law by arbitrarily canceling more than $1 billion in research grants because of their perceived connection to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives."
Alabamians join millions nationwide for "No Kings" protest
https://www.alreporter.com/2025/06/16/alabamians-join-millions-nationwide-for-no-kings-protest/
Here’s what protesters say brought them out to ‘No Kings’ events across the country | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/16/us/protestors-voices-no-kings-trump
Organizers gather for ‘No Kings’ protest in Montgomery
https://www.wsfa.com/2025/06/15/organizers-gather-no-kings-protest-montgomery/?outputType=amp
From a founding father to a golden toilet: protesters get creative at Pennsylvania "No Kings" rally - CBS Philadelphia
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/no-kings-protest-rally-philadelphia-norristown/
“No Kings” protest held in Downtown Dothan | WDHN - wdhn.com
https://www.wdhn.com/news/local-news/no-kings-protest-held-in-downtown-dothan/
Mobile ‘No Kings’ protest draws largest crowd yet for anti-Trump movement - al.com
Mobile joins nationwide NO KINGS protests with about 1,500 in attendance
'No Kings' protest held in Montgomery
Hundreds participate in Birmingham's 'No Kings' protest, joining millions of protesters nationwide
https://www.wvtm13.com/article/birmingham-no-kings-protest-trump-army-parade/65066478
Several hundred protesters gather for the No Kings rally in Tuscaloosa
Hundreds turn out for ‘No Kings’ protest in Tuscaloosa
https://www.wbrc.com/2025/06/15/hundreds-turn-out-no-kings-protest-tuscaloosa/
Thousands attend “No Kings” protests around North Alabama
https://www.waff.com/2025/06/15/thousands-attend-no-kings-protests-around-north-alabama/
Comment: "Rallies were held in Guntersville, Florence, Huntsville, Athens, Fort Payne, Scottsboro and Pulaski, Tennessee. Attendance varied from a few hundred in Scottsboro to several thousand in Huntsville."
Axios: Photos: "No Kings" protests take over downtown Chicago
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/06/14/photos-no-kings-protests-downtown-chicago-trump
Every Senate Dem demands Trump withdraw military from Los Angeles: Scoop
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/14/senate-democrats-trump-withdrawal-military-los-angeles
Comment: "Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led the entire Senate Democratic caucus in writing to President Trump Saturday, demanding he remove all military forces from Los Angeles and cease threats to further deploy troops, Axios has learned."
Democrats reclaim the American flag - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/13/dems-rally-flag-00402458
Comment: "And it comes at a time when the party’s brightest stars include a number of veterans — including some poised to enter governor’s mansions and help Democrats retake the House."
Comment: "Mendoza, a retired US Marine, says she finds it 'extremely frustrating' when Republicans claim to be the true party of patriots. Mendoza said she deliberately chose her campaign colors to be red, white and blue to make a point that 'they don’t own it, and we have to take it back.' "
Democrats seize on Padilla video as a unifying immigration message - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/13/democrats-padilla-video-immigration-messaging-00405108
Judge halts plan to downsize State Department, citing injunction | AP News
Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order, siding with Democrats who called it overreach
https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-executive-order-4f863aaa8e0c59640ebc727827ffc887
A 2nd judge halts more of Trump’s voting executive order : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/13/nx-s1-5429744/trump-elections-executive-order-judge
Comment: "The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper, in the District of Massachusetts, affirmed a pause on one of the most controversial parts of the order, which would require that people provide documents that prove their citizenship, like a passport, when they register to vote using the national registration form."
"But Casper also blocked a provision aimed at barring states from counting mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but that election officials receive after."
The Hill: Judge invokes monarchy talk while mulling Trump’s National Guard deployment
The Guardian: Newsom calls Trump a ‘stone cold liar’ as LA protests against Ice raids continue
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/12/gavin-newsom-trump-liar-national-guard
Comment: "Governor condemns federal deployment of troops in Los Angeles as ‘theater’ in interview with the Daily podcast"
Map and List of Cities Hosting 'No Kings' Protest Against Trump on June 14 - Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/map-list-cities-protests-trump-june-14-2081284
Comment: " 'Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption.' "
Comment: Dothan "No Kings" protest is outside of Houston Co. Courthouse from 11 AM - 2 PM.
NPR: Protests grow across the U.S. as people push against Trump’s mass deportation policies
AP News: EPA says power plant carbon emissions aren't dangerous. We asked 30 scientists: Here's what they say
Comment: Who do you trust, the Trump administration or scientists?
Billionaire Walmart Heiress Urges People To ‘Mobilize’ At June 14 Anti-Trump Protests
Comment: "The 76-year-old Walton, who is worth an estimated $19.3 billion according to Forbes, paid to take out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times on Sunday calling on readers to “mobilize” on Saturday, June 14."
Judge blocks Trump administration from enforcing anti-DEI orders in grant funding | Trump administration | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/10/judge-blocks-trump-anti-dei-grants
Video: 'Arrest me': Gavin Newsome pushes back against threats of arrest by Trump administration - June 9, 2025
Politico: Gavin Newsom: Trump is ‘unhinged,’ speaking like an ‘authoritarian’
CNN: Brother of AG Pam Bondi and a former Ed Martin aide lose their bids to take over DC Bar
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/09/politics/bradley-bondi-dc-bar
NBC News: Judge blocks administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders
CNN: ‘If you fall silent, the country is doomed’: CBS News’ Scott Pelley stresses courage as network faces pressure campaign
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/07/media/scott-pelley-good-night-good-luck
Comment: "A climate of fear is perceptible in the United States today, and it must be resisted no matter what, CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley says."
'No Kings' Anti-Trump Protest Planned for President's Birthday—What to Know - Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/anti-trump-protest-president-birthday-2080741
Video: Veterans and allies rally in Washington to oppose VA staffing cuts - June 6, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyxl50PH6js
Scoop: $5 million ad blitz targets GOP senators over "big, beautiful bill"
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/06/5-million-ads-reconciliation-unrig-economy-billionaires
Government Executive: Federal workforce advocates flood opposition to renewed Schedule F
Comment: "With just a day remaining before the deadline to submit comments on the Trump administration’s proposed Schedule F regulations, the vast majority of more than 30,000 submissions were opposed to the measure."
NPR: The U.S. Copyright Office used to be fairly low-drama. Not anymore
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/06/nx-s1-5399781/copyright-office-explainer-perlmutter-trump
Comment: "Shira Perlmutter, the abruptly fired ex-head of the Copyright Office, is suing President Trump, arguing her firing was unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of powers. This is going on just as the office has published its report on whether or not using copyrighted works to train generative AI counts as fair use, which is a legal idea allowing the use of some copyrighted materials without permission in certain circumstances. And it's a report that could influence the dozens of lawsuits going on right now over copyright and AI usage."
Judge halts nationwide Job Corps funding freeze | localmemphis.com
Judge blocks Trump's move to stop international Harvard students from entering US
Bondi accused of ‘serious professional misconduct’ in Florida Bar complaint
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bondi-accused-serious-professional-misconduct-231513404.html
Pennsylvania is suing the USDA over cutting funding to a $1 billion food aid program for states
https://www.yahoo.com/news/pennsylvania-suing-usda-over-cutting-161128936.html
NBC News: 'More is more': Hakeem Jeffries pushes Democrats to flood the zone in opposition to Trump
Axios: Elon Musk gives Dems new ammo against Trump's big bill
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/03/musk-trump-big-beautiful-bill-johnson-jeffries
The Guardian: Kennedy Center sees ticket sales fall dramatically amid Trump intervention
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/03/kennedy-center-sales-trump
Comment: "Donald Trump appointed himself chair of the performance center in February, leading to boycotts and cancellations"
Alina Habba sued by Ras Baraka over arrest at ICE facility
Comment: "Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka (D) on Tuesday sued interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba in her personal capacity over his arrest last month outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility he was visiting with three Democratic members of Congress."
Homeland Security stonewalling info on noncitizen DNA collection operation, lawsuit alleges
AP News: Judge grants preliminary injunction to protect collective bargaining agreement for TSA workers
https://apnews.com/article/tsa-homeland-security-union-injunction-9c85707f3c5eae5748bd539b836d2ea3
The great undoing: Trump's presidency reeled in by courts
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/31/trump-courts-tariffs-immigration-judges
Comment: "The big picture: Trump is testing the limits of presidential power at every turn, and the courts are just about the only thing standing in his way."
Appeals court denies Trump administration's request to resume mass firings of federal employees
'We all are going to die': Republican Sen. Ernst defends Medicaid cuts at town hall
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/die-sen-ernst-defends-trumps-bill-amid-concerns/story?id=122352640
Comment: "She's the latest GOP lawmaker to get heckled over Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' "
House Democrats demand answers from Noem on plans for $50M jet
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc8b9zob
Key House Democrat presses for more details on Trump's pardons, alleging "favors"
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc8llohi
Video: GOP members face tough crowds at town halls over House bill: 'They are getting heckled' - May 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGcQSSvRjYo
Top Democrat demands answers on Trump’s major crypto investors
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc8oa0j1
Alabama organizations plan NO KINGS protest to coincide with President Trump's Army Parade
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc88y5a7
Comment: "Organizers of Alabama's NO KINGS Nationwide Day of Defiance say the event reminds Americans that America was founded in opposition to oppressive rule. They point to the formation of the U.S. Army as a stand against monarchy, not to serve one."
Comment: "Dothan: Houston County Courthouse, 11 a.m.-2 p.m."
VIDEO: A Message to Scientists - Sen. Adam Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeoZDPy5cIY
US court blocks most Trump tariffs, says president exceeded his authority | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-court-blocks-trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-2025-05-28/
CNN: US court blocks Trump from imposing the bulk of his tariffs
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/28/business/us-court-blocks-trumps-tariffs
Video: Reality splashes cold water on Patel, Bongino, conspiracy theorists now White House insiders - May 28, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcGucdaVq3s
Former FBI Director Comey takes dig at Kash Patel, explains controversial Trump post
Comey rips Patel, Bongino on leadership abilities, reopened FBI cases
https://share.newsbreak.com/dc8wpemm
GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson met with boos at Iowa town hall
Judge: Rubio ‘likely’ violated Constitution in ordering Mahmoud Khalil deported : NPR
Wall Street Journal Shatters Core Trump Fantasy In Editorial Urging GOP ‘Revolt’
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wall-street-journal-donald-trump-putin_n_68356aafe4b034e8d0515eca/amp
Comment: " 'Trump and his advisers fancy themselves' as one thing, but on Russia, they are something totally different, warned the newspaper’s conservative editorial board."
Climate and weather scientists are joining the anti-Trump resistance in the most ‘scientist-iest’ way
https://www.cnn.com/scientists-resistance-livestream-trump
Republican lawmaker Mike Flood grilled during town hall
US judge allows states' lawsuit against DOGE to proceed
https://share.newsbreak.com/da60kn1r
NPR sues Trump over executive order cutting federal funding
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/27/trump-npr-lawsuit-funding-order.html
Federal judge blasts Trump admin over deportees in South Sudan
https://share.newsbreak.com/d9vh6i1h
NIH staff stage walkout during director’s town hall as tensions persist over research cuts, ideology https://www.yahoo.com/news/nih-staff-stage-walkout-during-120013343.html
The Guardian: Indivisible: the mass movement leading the progressive fight against Trump
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/25/indivisible-donald-trump-progressive-movement
The Guardian: Now is the time for scientists to stand up against Trump’s repressive agenda | Daniel Malinsky
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/25/scientists-trump-agenda
VIDEO: We Need to Talk About Kristi Noem - Sen. Adam Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvyuVK3bN4k
Judge orders Trump administration to pursue return of improperly deported Guatemalan man
https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-orders-trump-administration-pursue-140035084.html
The Independent: ‘America is not for sale:’ Protesters mob Trump golf course guests ahead of exclusive crypto dinner
Federal News Network: Judge extends ban on large-scale RIFs indefinitely
Government Executive: Most major agencies are now indefinitely barred from issuing mass layoffs
The Guardian: Judge blocks Trump administration’s ban on Harvard accepting international students
Reuters: Judge temporarily blocks Trump admin from revoking Harvard enrollment of foreign students
Video: 'Prepared to welcome Harvard students': Overseas elite school shares open invitation amid U.S. ban - May 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPALOz9NSRg
Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking foreign student enrolment - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje7ledqvyqo
AP News: Organizations sue Justice Department to reverse hundreds of grant cancellations
Politico: ‘I don’t work for you’ : Jeffries’ broadside against GOP megabill included testy exchange
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/22/congress/hakeem-jeffries-gop-megabill-00364711
Comment: "The House Democratic leader spoke for roughly 37 minutes, framing his party’s attacks on the legislation."
Federal judge blocks immigration authorities from revoking international students' legal status | AP News
Politico: California says it’ll sue feds over electric vehicle rule reversal
PBS: Institute of Peace reclaims its headquarters after court win over DOGE
Supreme Court blocks creation of religious charter school in Oklahoma : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/22/nx-s1-5407475/supreme-court-religious-charter-school-oklahoma
Politico: Trump admin deportation flight to South Sudan violated court order, judge rules
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/21/trump-deportations-south-sudan-00362919
Furious Democrats call for investigation into Musk’s bid to help build Trump’s ‘$500 billion’ Golden Dome project
https://www.yahoo.com/news/furious-democrats-call-investigation-musk-095402218.html
VIDEO: Schiff Reads Trump EPA Director a List of His Failures: "You Don't Give a Rat's A--" - Sen. Adam Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-SC6B2rXG8
Democrats Grill Trump’s IRS Nominee On His Role Promoting Suspect Tax Credits
Chicago Mayor says he will tout diversity despite a DOJ probe into city hiring : NPR
Reuters: US judge nixes Treasury's bid to cancel IRS workers' union contract
NPR: Federal judge blocks Trump's takeover of U.S. Institute of Peace
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/19/g-s1-67681/judge-block-trump-takeover-us-institute-of-peace
Axios: Anti-DOGE billboards in Pittsburgh slam national park cuts
https://www.axios.com/local/pittsburgh/2025/05/19/anti-doge-billboards-slam-national-park-cuts
VIDEO: We Need to Talk About Jeanine Pirro... - Sen. Adam Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_K1o0vR4Qk
ProPublica: Trump Asked EPA Employees to Snitch on Colleagues Working on DEI Initiatives. They Declined.
https://www.propublica.org/article/epa-diversity-initiatives-trump
NPR: DOGE tried assigning a team to the Government Accountability Office. It refused
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/16/nx-s1-5401008/doge-gao-congress
NBC News: Supreme Court rules administration must give Venezuelans more time to challenge deportation under Alien Enemies Act
CNN: Supreme Court blocks Trump from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/16/politics/supreme-court-alien-enemies-act
NPR: Nashville mayor demands names of nearly 200 people detained by ICE
Comment: "He worries some immigrants in the U.S. legally were arrested."
The Hill: Federal judge extends block on HHS termination of billions in public health funds
VIDEO: Schiff Takes To Senate Floor to Lay Out Trump's 10 Most Corrupt Acts So Far - Sen. Adam Schiff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=000yxkGXSVM
AP News: Judges dismiss national security charges against immigrants who enter new militarized zone at border
https://apnews.com/article/military-trespassing-cases-dismissed-6c4a83f4d1fd9674e5b49d4a23dc91be
Federal News Network: Democratic lawmakers condemn looming reclassification of career civil servants
From free planes to crypto meme coins, Democrats seize on Trump’s deals to raise corruption concerns
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/politics/democrats-raise-trump-corruption-concerns
Reuters: Ousted top federal prosecutor in Washington facing ethics probe
NPR: Georgetown researcher released from immigration detention on federal judge's order
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/14/g-s1-66606/georgetown-badar-khan-suri-immigration-release
The Hill: Judge rules DOJ canceled grants to lawyers’ group as retaliation for criticism
Exclusive: Democratic governors blast GOP's "impossible" Medicaid proposal
https://share.newsbreak.com/d3a7gghp
HHS reverses NIOSH firings that stripped coal miners' health protections - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/US/hhs-reverses-niosh-firings-stripped-coal-miners-health/story?id=121764796
Comment: "The announcement came just hours before a judge ordered the workers reinstated."
AP News: Newark mayor returns to immigration detention center days after trespassing arrest
The Daily Beast: Library of Congress Mounts Standoff Against New MAGA Bosses
https://www.thedailybeast.com/library-of-congress-staff-mount-standoff-against-new-bosses/
CNN: Senior Justice Department officials tapped by Trump to run Library of Congress are denied access
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/politics/library-of-congress-trump-justice-blanche
Two Trump appointees escorted out of Library of Congress amid White House takeover, report says
https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-trump-appointees-escorted-library-221125716.html
afge.org/article/judge-blocks-trumps-unconstitutional-reorganization-of-government/
https://www.afge.org/article/judge-blocks-trumps-unconstitutional-reorganization-of-government/
AP News: Episcopal Church says it won't help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status in US
Comment: " 'It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,' Rowe said. 'I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country.' "
AP News: Illinois governor is first in US to block federal access to personal data on autism
The Hill: Raskin blasts Trump for Qatar plane ‘grift’
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5294981-raskin-blasts-trump-for-qatar-plane-grift/
Judges have a warning about Trump’s rapid deportations: Americans could be next - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/10/donald-trump-immigration-deportations-due-process-00339319
Judges warn Trump's mass deportations could lay groundwork to ensnare Americans
https://www.yahoo.com/news/judges-warning-trump-rapid-deportations-110000608.html
Opinion: We need a bipartisan Congress to check presidential power
https://share.newsbreak.com/d0kzpan8
Judge pauses Trump's effort to reduce the size of the federal government
Federal judge temporarily halts Trump's sweeping government overhaul
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5393777/trump-rifs-court-mass-layoff-doge
Local ordinances help cities fight prisons reopening as immigrant detention centers : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5392341/cities-thwart-immigrant-detention-local-ordinances
AP-NORC: Few support punitive funding cuts to colleges and universities
https://apnorc.org/projects/few-support-punitive-funding-cuts-to-colleges-and-universities/
Comment: "Most of the public believes that colleges and universities make significant contributions to scientific and technological advancement and think their federal research funding should be maintained."
Popular Resistance to Trump Is Working
https://www.yahoo.com/news/popular-resistance-trump-working-083212588.html
Politico: Leo is America’s first pope. His worldview appears at odds with ‘America First.’
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/08/leo-american-pope-worldview-00337247
CNN: New pope appears to have reposted critical social media posts about Trump and Vance
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/politics/pope-prevost-trump-vance-social-media
ProPublica: Democratic Lawmakers Blast Trump Administration’s VA Cuts After ProPublica Investigation
Government Executive: Judge orders halt to the shuttering of three independent agencies
Mohammed Hoque: Judge orders release of detained international student who says he was targeted for supporting Palestinian human rights | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/07/us/mohammed-hoque-minnesota-state-university-mankato
WATCH: House Democrats blast Trump budget bill | PBS News
Comment: Includes long 30+ video. Please watch!
Democrats make long-shot effort to stop Trump cuts to Medicaid and Snap | House of Representatives | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/06/trump-democrats-medicaid-snap-cuts
The Hill: Universities sue over National Science Foundation funding cuts
2 more judges block Trump administration's use of Alien Enemies Act to remove certain migrants
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/judge-blocks-trump-alien-enemies-act-southern-district-of-new-york/
Federal judge in Denver issues injunction against Trump's Alien Enemies Act removals • Colorado Newsline
Comment: "The injunction followed similar orders by a federal judge in New York earlier on Tuesday and another in Texas last week. A wave of litigation has followed in the wake of Trump’s March 14 invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and subsequent deportation of 137 migrants to El Salvador’s so-called Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, a maximum-security prison criticized by human rights groups for its crowded and abusive conditions."
Another judge skewers Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act for deportations to El Salvador - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/06/trump-alien-enemies-act-court-ruling-00331487
Exclusive: Democrats target Trump's meme coin, family's crypto empire
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/06/trump-coin-democrats-crypto-stablecoin
Federal News Network: NLRB whistleblower encourages federal workers to ‘speak up’
The Hill: Waltz faces ‘brutal, brutal’ confirmation hearing: Senate Democrat
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5283136-senator-duckworth-criticizes-waltz/
Video: Massive 'No Kings' protest expected to rain on Donald Trump's (military) parade - May 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vwhKYDuOsw
NBC News: In New York, a GOP congressman is shelled with questions about Trump during raucous town hall
The Hill: Schumer blasts Trump’s response on upholding the Constitution
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5282219-schumer-trump-meet-the-press-constitution/
CBS News: Ex-Harvard president Lawrence Summers says Trump's endgame is getting universities to "bend the knee"
Vance Under Fire for Defending Trump’s Tasteless AI Pope Joke
https://www.yahoo.com/news/vance-under-fire-defending-trump-133043833.html
Daily Kos: Oh, FFS, Let Him Be Pope Already
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/4/2320518/-Oh-FFS-Let-Him-Be-Pope-Already
Comment: Just a little satire in response to Trump's disrespect.
The Daily Beast: Trump’s Favorite Cardinal Dresses Him Down for AI Pope Stunt
https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-cardinal-rips-trumps-pope-stunt-it-wasnt-good/
CNN: Trump posts AI image of himself as pope, leaving Catholics offended and unamused as conclave nears
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/04/world/trump-ai-image-pope-intl-hnk
People Are Calling Donald Trump's Latest Truth Social Post The "Most Disrespectful Post In A Sea Of Disrespect"
https://www.yahoo.com/news/people-calling-donald-trumps-latest-155001543.html
AL.com: ‘Do not mock us’: Donald Trump’s AI-generated pope image sparks backlash as conclave nears
NBC News: Trump's social media post targeting Harvard's tax-exempt status could create problems for the IRS
Comment: "Tax and legal experts say the appearance of Trump's directing the IRS to take action could work in Harvard's favor if a legal battle ensues."
'Do I Look Like I Care?': AOC Shreds Trump's Border Czar In Blunt Free Speech Reminder
https://www.yahoo.com/news/look-care-aoc-shreds-trumps-040436294.html
NPR: Statement from Katherine Maher, NPR President and CEO, on White House Executive Order
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/g-s1-64016/npr-statement-on-white-house-executive-order
A new mega-lawsuit is targeting the very heart of the Trump administration
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-omb-trump-rcna203829
Trump will unfreeze Maine funding after state’s trans athlete lawsuit. ‘We took him to court and we won,’ says governor
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-unfreeze-maine-funding-trans-233443609.html
Lowell launches firm for those ‘unlawfully and inappropriately targeted’ by Trump
https://www.yahoo.com/news/lowell-launches-firm-those-unlawfully-090000683.html
Trump-appointed judge calls Trump’s Alien Enemies Act invocation ‘unlawful’
Comment: "The Texas judge’s ruling is significant because it dealt head-on with the merits of the wartime law. It’s not the last word on the issue."
PBS: Judge blocks Trump executive order targeting elite law firm Perkins Coie
Axios: Exclusive: Christian leaders blast Trump's "anti-Christian bias" unit
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/01/christian-leaders-denounce-white-house-task-force
House Democrats demand Musk financial disclosure from White House
https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-democrats-demand-musk-financial-173404192.html
Yahoo News: ‘60 Minutes’ Set to Air Segment That Will Infuriate Trump
https://news.yahoo.com/60-minutes-set-air-segment-225854038.html
CNN: ‘50501’ movement plans anti-Trump protests across US on May Day
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/01/us/50501-movement-anti-trump-protests
For News Articles links from before May 1st, 2025, please go to:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-resistance-to-trump-agenda
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to May 1, 2025 The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/ (Topic Initialization - April 30, 2025)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse