News and information

I have allergy shots this morning. Here is some news to look over. Hugs

Rugged individualism is a myth. Your freedom is tied to the freedom and well being of everyone else.

— Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T19:32:47.785Z

An unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat ruins millions of lives and tears apart the fabric of America — while claiming to fight unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. Elon Musk IS the deep state he claims to be fighting

— Tristan Snell (@tristansnell.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T01:14:39.385Z

Savage… but Donald and Elon were asking for it.

— Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T17:04:16.064Z

The US is no longer safe for foreign nationals. Do not come here. You risk being arbitrarily detained, tortured, and put into solitary confinement without due process.

— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) 2025-03-13T15:32:29.448Z

What is wrong with giving a new leader a chance? A new approach, a fresh approach. Someone who has integrity, leadership skills, represents a key state, has guts and the confidence of the base. Time to put ego aside and screw seniority. This is my nominee.

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T00:37:17.936Z

Grow a spine, Chuck.

— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-03-14T04:08:43.881Z

We WERE warned…

— Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T11:35:15.088Z

It's clear Chuck Schumer is not cut out to lead the senate Democrats. There needs to be a vote of no confidence and he needs to be replaced with someone willing to fight. Trump and Elon are dismantling democracy while Schumer whines and capitulates.

— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) 2025-03-14T02:18:28.158Z

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHAT THE FUCK, CHUCK?

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T22:17:32.577Z

“BREAKING: DHS Agents Descend on Columbia’s Campus – Again – to Serve Two Warrants”

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T09:56:38.738Z

The accuracy of depicting the US government officials is mindblowing…

— Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T21:25:14.995Z

Schumer’s decision is an unconscionable surrender that shows he does not have what it takes to meet this moment, and the charade he pulled yesterday makes it even worse. Time for new leadership in the Democratic Party.

— Brett Meiselas (@bmeiselas.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T03:01:07.812Z

Schumer tells Chris Hayes that Trump, Musk, and Vought "want" a shutdown, but also says Republicans do whatever Trump wants.Why did every House Republican except one vote for the CR if Trump didn't want it to pass? You think you're owning Trump by voting for his party's bill?!

— Emma Vigeland (@emmavigeland.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T02:44:46.938Z

I’m calling for new leadership in the Democratic Party. So many democrats want to do the right thing, but leadership is stopping them with the unspoken threat of refusing to give them leadership positions down the road. NEW DEM LEADERSHIP NOW!! #NewDemLeadership

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T03:30:19.982Z

It's not too late. There's still a chance to stop this CR… and potentially humiliate Schumer out of leadership in the process, although no promises there. This backlash is very, very real though.Call your Senators and tell them to vote NO on cloture. 202-224-3121.

— Emma Vigeland (@emmavigeland.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T03:23:45.673Z

“we have to be able to commit war crimes to win wars” is the type of thing a 16-year-old dumbass says and — well, yeah, hegseth is basically a 16-year-old dumbass

— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) 2025-03-13T16:05:01.682Z

Cherry picking false readings of studies and the anti-trans right, name a better duo.abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics…

— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) 2025-03-14T01:15:30.824Z

Despicable.

— Being Liberal ®🗽🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇺🇳🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈 (@beingliberal.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T12:27:46.346Z

1. Major court ruling!The 11th Circuit Court has ruled that there is no constitutional parental right to out trans students at a Florida school in a major ruling against January Littlejohn, who was referenced at Trump's address.The latest from S. Baum.Subscribe to support our journalism.

— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) 2025-03-13T23:06:16.359Z

Chris Murphy for Senate Minority Leader. Schumer has to be replaced.

— Emma Vigeland (@emmavigeland.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T22:45:00.456Z

When you are so afraid of Trump calling you Shutdown Schumer that you willingly accept Surrender Schumer as your legacy.

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T02:33:05.998Z

I for one will never forgive Joe Biden for this. Selfish and insane: thehill.com/homenews/cam…

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T18:24:52.208Z

"Kid." So patronizing. Every woman has been spoken to like this by a dumb older man who thinks he knows better.Harris should have distanced herself from him regardless. But it's obvious that Biden cared more about himself than her or the country, and treated her as disposable.

— Emma Vigeland (@emmavigeland.bsky.social) 2025-03-13T20:33:07.025Z

1. We have entered a new era where states are suing corporations for selling pride merchandise, arguing they should know that bigotry would hurt their bottom line.Florida has now sued Target for selling rainbow merchandise.The latest form S. Baum.Subscribe to support our journalism.

— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) 2025-03-13T16:38:33.639Z

"Privately, House Democrats are so infuriated with Schumer’s decision that some have begun encouraging [AOC] to run against Schumer in a primary."

— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2025-03-14T02:30:47.478Z

100% All you have to do is stick to your principles. If you can’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T01:12:52.749Z

Social security is a set of trust funds with a balance of about $2.7 trillion as of December 2024. We are the source of these funds. It belongs to us. These funds should be protected so we can protect each other. http://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdat…

— Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower.com) 2025-03-13T16:30:34.717Z

Peace & Justice History for 3/14

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march14

Wonkette Has It All Right Here

All the tabs (links) of things that should be read, plus commentary as only Wonkette can provide!

Time To Defund Your Public School! Tabs, Thurs., March 13, 2025 by Rebecca Schoenkopf

Morning news roundup and things to read! Read on Substack

Tabs gif by your friend Martini Glambassador!

Explaining the House’s funding bill. It has something to do with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage wearing each other’s faces. House Democrats actually all voted (except one schmuck) against it, and then they yelled at the Senate like so:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “It [the bill] is not something we could ever support. House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican effort to hurt the American people.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking Appropriations Committee member: “This is Republican leadership handing over the keys of the government, and a blank check to Elon Musk and to President Trump.”
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA): “It [Senate Democratic votes] would be a capitulation to the Trump style of democracy, which is the movement of democracy to dictatorship.”
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): “If the government shuts down with a Republican House, Republican Senate and Republican president, it will be solely because the Republicans have moved forward with a terrible, partisan, take-it-or-leave-it bill.”

What did the Senate do? Presumably I will find out before I finish writing this tabs! (The Fucking News)

What the Senate did, if they ever fucking vote on it before I turn this goddamn laptop and go to bed, goes here!

Time to defund your public school! (CNN)

Trump’s economic excuses: stupid and lying! (Paul Krugman)

The FBI is demanding Citibank freeze accounts for Habitat for Humanity, United Way, New York state tax department, and a bunch of statewide climate investment banks, like for instance Michigan Saves. So that’s are you fucking kidding me! (Citibank filing)

Child genital exams without a parent’s consent, West Virginia? “It also says that all intersex people are ‘either male or female’ but does not give a basis for assigning a sex to them.” Oh, word? Word. (LGBTQ Nation)

Six federal agencies are investigating the two trans girl athletes in Maine. (Pro Publica)

I have not even a single clue what this means or how it would work, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to crypto … ??? (Pro Publica)

Sacrificing “critical safety functions” at the FAA, upside down smile emoji. (The Atlantic archive link)

Tesla owners, Polestar will give you $20,000 to not be a Tesla owner anymore. (Polestar)

Faine Greenwood went to Canada’s Gaspe Peninsula and would like to show us all the pictures. We are all super fucking sorry about all this, Canada! (Little Flying Robots)

That’s right I’m still hounding you to buy the pizzas. Detroit Public Schools is working on the assumption we’ll have budget cuts next year of between $30 and $80 million for just our district. You help me fund the girls’ Detroit public elementary school, and I help you eat delicious fucking pizza, mailed right to your door. Buy the fucking pizzas everybody. They’ll FedEx em right to your door. Pizzas. (Pizzas.) This motherfucking pizza ad will be up all month. (snip)

Thanks For MN Residents’s Generosity-

Tim Walz to launch national tour of town halls in Republican House districts

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN 4 minute read Published 8:09 PM EDT, Wed March 12, 2025

Tim Walz is headed back out on the road – this time, for a tour of House districts represented by Republicans who have stopped holding in-person town halls amid the raucous receptions some of their colleagues have gotten across the country.

The Minnesota governor and 2024 vice presidential candidate will start on Friday in Iowa, in the district represented by Rep. Zach Nunn, then head across the border to Nebraska, for the district represented by Rep. Don Bacon – both of whom won tight races for re-election last year. Walz’s team is already planning stops in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio for the coming weeks, with more stops expected to be added.

Given his national profile after his time on the Democratic ticket last year, Walz said he felt obligated to step up.

“There was just a primal scream of folks recognizing what’s going on with the Trump administration, their authoritarian tendencies, and what they viewed was a lack of a proper response from their representatives,” he told CNN on Wednesday. “It was about these Republican representatives recognizing this stuff’s really unpopular, so they’re going to quit the town halls. These folks need to be heard. They need to be heard, and to be candid with you, Democratic leadership needs to hear them.”

Walz’s plans started with a post last week on X, responding to House Republican leaders who advised their colleagues to stop holding town halls. Republicans have accused those town halls of being packed with paid activists – though those making such accusations haven’t provided any evidence or explanations of why Democratic members’ town halls have also been packed.

Walz said he’d been overwhelmed by the response to that tweet, and his staff has been sifting through what an aide told CNN was hundreds of invitations from local party leaders and candidates asking him to come. He said he found that response reassuring after he and Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump and JD Vance.

“I always feared that they would become apathetic after this last election and just check out, but they are not doing that,” Walz said.

Other than independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has taken two swings of his own through the Midwest in the past month, no major Democratic leaders have been stepping forward with similar kinds of public events. Walz chalked that up in part to his party “trying to find our feet,” but the situation clearly frustrates him.

“I’m going to tell them that it doesn’t have to be this way,” he said, referencing the Trump administration’s moves to dismantle the Department of Education as a prime example. “I’m going to say ways that they can mobilize to fight back, ways that I think are the most effective ways. And I fully expect them to tell me ways that they’re looking for.”

As the Tea Party rose through a different set of town hall protests in the 2010 election cycle, Walz was a congressman in a tight district running for a third term. He won, but that experience was a rough one, he said, and he warned Republicans now to ignore what’s happening at their own peril.

“I’m a catalyst to provide them a megaphone to lift up their voice. And I think that’s what people are looking for,” he said. “I understand now my responsibility. I have a little more of a national voice, so I should bring it to them, and I’m going to basically be handing the megaphone to them.”

But he said when Democrats are “just being a foil to Trump, we are not crossing into that space we need to, to have them believe us, to know what we stand for.”

After going deliberately quiet in the months after the campaign – following a largely low-profile role as running mate that sources say was designed by the Harris campaign leadership – Walz has been stepping out more in recent weeks.

Many expect Walz to run for a third term as governor next year, and he downplayed the suggestion that this effort was laying the groundwork for a future national run.

“I will do anything possible to make sure that we win in ‘28. I do not need to be on that ticket,” he told CNN. “That’s not my pursuit here. My pursuit is that I am still in a position where I have a platform and I have some power to make a difference, and if 20 people show up that’s good by me because those 20 people are making a difference. This isn’t about drawing a crowd. I’ll go to states where it wouldn’t matter, but it matters to those people. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Peace & Justice History for 3/13

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march13

2 More From Clay Jones

MAGA Fire In The Sky by Clay Jones

Oops, there goes another one of Elon’s rockets Read on Substack

A second SpaceX rocket has blown up this year. And remember, the year is less than three months old. Debris from the explosion shut down air traffic in the state of Florida, or it was because they found a trans flight attendant in Orlando.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow had some snark about the explosion, using a metaphor for Elon Musk’s and DOGE’s dismantling of federal government agencies, Maddow said, “Rapid unscheduled disassembly is kind of Elon Musk’s specialty these days, especially in a way that really messes with other people through no fault of their own.”

Just think of all those inconvenienced by Elon’s rocket explosion delaying flights. Florida alligators are waiting to eat those people, Elon!

MSNBC’s Michael Steele said, “For Elon, his response to all of this was, ‘Rockets are hard.’ And Mr. Musk, if they’re so hard, why don’t you go back to your day job and work that out and leave those of us who do government to do government because you can’t do both. Clearly, you’re failing right now at both. Your rockets are blowing up, and the government is blowing up.”

Poor Kayleigh Menaney flipped her blonde wig over at Fox News, saying to the liberal media, “Don’t you dare root against SpaceX.” You would think they had put a shit-covered flag into a blender to serve as smoothies to World War II veterans, but then again…Elon’s making cuts at the Veteran’s Administration. It’s getting harder and harder to use analogies with these bastards.

There was a lot of wig flipping over on Trump TV. (snip-MORE)

=====

BRAAAAAAINS by Clay Jones

Where are the brains in the Trump/Elon Administration? Read on Substack

During Trump’s address to Congress last week, he repeated Elon Musk’s lie that 150-year-olds are collecting Social Security. The lie is even more malicious than originally thought because Trump repeated and enhanced it after it’s been debunked.

It’s a lie.

Elon previously posted on X in February, when it was working, that DOGE found beneficiaries in their 100s, 200s, and even 300s who were still receiving Social Security payments.

Nobody’s actually against the government rooting out waste and fraud. What we’re against is the lack of transparency by a Trump-appointed, corrupt, lying unelected bureaucrat with huge conflicts of interest and a lack of any qualifications to make decisions on government spending without any input from the three branches of government. Why is this so hard to understand?

We know there’s waste and fraud in government, but you don’t elect lying swamp creatures to drain the swamp.

In his address, Trump said, “We are also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors and that our seniors and people that we love rely on. He then went on to list the number of people who are past the age of 100. “Money is being paid to many of them, and we are searching right now,” King Grifter said.

At one point during the speech, he criticized “unelected bureaucrats,” which made the Democrats laugh. (snip-MORE)

Peace & Justice History for 3/12

The very first execution of a Conscientious Objector, and more in today’s items.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march12

Bad News.

Simply very bad news. Precisely what Project 2025/Agenda 47/Republican National Platform said they want to do. I’m sorry; I don’t like to bring bad news. But people need to prepare. This is written in editorial/opinion style, but facts are within and there are citations. For people like us who need time to prepare for austerity, it’s news we ought to read.

Also, there are Senator names included for who we should write to regarding this bill. That’s our last chance. Shutdown is on Republicans, not Democrats, no matter how they try to deflect. We need to tell the Dem senators to speak what’s in this bill, every chance they get, and to refuse to vote in favor, pointing at Republicans the entire time.

There are parts in the article complaining about Democrats and their choices, etc., et. m. Read it if you want (you’ll have to click through for it,) but it won’t help anyone to read more complaining about Democrats. We the people need to energize Dem. Senators to speak out, and to vote no. Especially the speak out portion; Sen. Mark Kelly does that especially well, and is among those the author of this piece feels is wavering. I intend to start first thing in the morning, and I hope all of us will devote some time to this. It’s vital.

Senate Democrats’ Choice: Block the Republican Spending Bill or Dissolve Congress

The House’s continuing resolution would effectively hand over spending decisions to Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

by David Dayen March 11, 2025

Snippets:

Without the luxury of Republicans falling apart, Democrats in the Senate need to decide whether to prevent a dangerous and harmful budget that shrinks the power of Congress in the government. Since operating on principle goes against their “adults in the room” mindset, they are wavering on what to do. But it should be an open-and-shut case.

A normal continuing resolution funds the government at the same level as the previous budget. This bill does not. It cuts non-defense discretionary spending by $13 billion below last year’s level, while increasing military spending by $6 billion. It zeroes out funding for programs that fund homeless shelters and prevent child abuse. It cuts health care funding for clinics and hospitals, emergency preparedness for communities, clean water projects and tribal assistance. Meanwhile, it adds money for mass deportations, just as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has illegally detained a green card holder for his political beliefs.

Most of the budget cuts are achieved by removing earmarks, which members of Congress put in to direct projects. But usually when earmarks are removed, the money goes back to the agency to decide how to distribute it. This maneuver cuts the earmarks and the money.

The House Republican bill also fails to fix a carryover of a $20 billion rescission to IRS money from the Inflation Reduction Act, effectively doubling that cut. This was kind of pre-ordained when Democrats punted on this in a prior continuing resolution last December, but it still means that practically all of the IRA’s funding for greater enforcement of tax collection is now gone.

The bill not only adds $6 billion to the Department of Defense’s enormous budget, but adds $8 billion in “transfer authority” that allows the agency to shift spending where they deem important, a flexibility no other agency gets.

While Republicans tout a $6 billion increase in veterans health care in the bill, they neglect to mention the removal of a $23 billion appropriation to the Toxic Exposure Fund to implement the PACT Act, which cares for veterans exposed to burn pits and other cancer-causing chemicals. While there’s an extra $2.2 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, there’s no additional money to support the rebuilding in southern California after the January wildfires.

But most important, the bill grants an open invitation to Trump and Elon Musk to continue to ignore Congress and toss out disfavored spending. Vice President JD Vance, while selling the deal to House Republicans, stated outright that “Trump would continue cutting federal funding with his Department of Government Efficiency initiative and pursue impoundment — that is, holding back money appropriated by Congress.” This has been reiterated by others in the Trump administration.

In fact, the House Republican bill gives the president more leeway to move money around. It appropriates money for things that Musk has eliminated, meaning that money can operate as a floating slush fund for Trump’s priorities, as long as the courts don’t roll back the illegal impoundments.

… The Trump administration is saying that they will sign a bill appropriating specific funding, and then go about cutting funding anyway. If you’re a member of Congress, you’re being told that your work product doesn’t matter, that the constitutional power of the purse doesn’t matter, and that there’s no guarantee that anything you pass will actually reach the people you serve.

I can see why Republicans would take this deal: they want budget cuts but know they don’t have the votes for them, so they’re plenty happy to outsource that to the president, even if it turns Congress into a separate and unequal branch of government. But why would Democrats willingly submit to a fake budget on paper that can be so easily circumvented? As Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on X, “The Republican spending plan will supercharge Musk’s theft from working people to pay for billionaire tax cuts. Senate Democrats must stop it.”

…

So far, only Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has committed to voting yes. But as Josh Marshall has documented at Talking Points Memo, a number of Senate Democrats have stated no position on the bill, leaving their options open. In general, senators have been hedging their bets until forced to make a decision. That time has come.

Credible sources indicate that the most likely Democrats to offer up the remaining seven votes to avoid a shutdown are Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Mark Warner (D-VA).

Peace & Justice History for 3/11

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march11

Extra-Read All About It!

This is yesterday’s newsletter, but I just got to it, so here it is:

Extra! Extra! 3/9 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 by Jessica Craven

Read on Substack

Found in Jay Kuo’s always excellent “Just for Skeets and Giggles.”

Hey, all, and happy Sunday!

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. To give you a bit more enjoyment, here’s all the good news I could find from the week that just ended. I’m certain there was more, but the below is a good sampling. As awful as things are right now—and they are awful—there’s much good happening as well.

Enjoy this list, read it a few times, and share it with friends. It is not by staring relentlessly at what’s wrong that we will prevail, but in lifting up what’s working and celebrating it. Really!

Let’s do that. Then tomorrow we’ll get back to work making new victories.

Read This 📖

Here’s a great pep talk on the power of our growing movement, courtesy of Framelab!

Celebrate This! 🎉

Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win an Oscar for best costume design, and Zoe Saldaña became the first American of Dominican origin to win an Oscar at all.

A petrol giant in Norway has announced a ban on fuel sales to all US forces following Trump’s treatment of President Zelensky at the White House.

MeidasTouch, an independent news network that is consistently critical of Trump, surpassed Joe Rogan’s podcast to take the top podcast ranking.

Mike Johnson has instructed his members to stop having Town Halls because of their constituents’ anger.

1,400 people showed up to Indivisible Northern NV’s protest in front of their Republican Congressman Mark Amodei’s office on Saturday. WOW!

Despite political headwinds for the U.S. offshore wind industry, global installations are expected to rebound to a record-high 19 GW this year.

Starbucks workers at the S. Dale Mabry & Neptune location in Tampa, FL just won their election to become the 550th union Starbucks store in the US!

The Trump administration has rescinded its decision to cut off legal aid for unaccompanied immigrant children. You sent letters about that! Bravo!

After a public outcry, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs has resumed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, lowering energy bills for thousands of Alabamans.

The Supreme Court lifted its hold on a lower court order compelling the Trump administration to resume nearly $2 billion in foreign aid funding from USAID. HUGE!

Senate Dems all voted against a bad anti-trans bill.

Over the weekend after Trump and Vance’s meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office supporters like you donated $2,597,908 to UNITED24, the Ukrainian government’s official fundraising website. Wonderful!

Los Angeles County sued Southern California Edison over its role in the devastating Eaton fire.

According to one of the organizers, over 200K people watched the “State of the People” livestream that was offered as counterprogramming to Trump’s SOTU.

In Minnesota, House Republicans brought House File 12 to the Floor, legislation that would prohibit trans and non-gender conforming youth from participating in girls’ sports in Minnesota schools and subject all women and girls to inappropriate scrutiny about their bodies. Democrats defeated it!

Rep. Al Green, was ushered out of Trump’s address to Congress by security guards after raising his voice about Medicaid. THAT is resistance!

Jackie and Shadow, two famous bald eagles, finally hatched two chicks after years of trying to become parents.

Campaign Legal Center filed a new lawsuit challenging the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). They claimed Elon Musk’s and DOGE’s actions are unconstitutional.

The African Development Foundation is putting up a fight and denying DOGE and Pete Marocco — the State Dept official dismantling USAID — access to their building.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey just commuted the death sentence of Robin Dion “Rocky” Meyers.

Electric vehicles made up 64% of all new cars sold in Denmark in January — up from 35% last year.

The stock market’s negative reaction to Trump’s tariffs caused him to withdraw them.

More than 34,000 Vermonters attended Rep Rebecca Balint’s town hall the night of the SOTU —she was joined by Sen Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch. Wow! (You can view a recording on Facebook.)

Utility-scale clean energy installations soared to 49 GW in the U.S. last year, with Republican states seeing the fastest growth.

The U.S. built a record 10.9 GW of utility-scale battery capacity in 2024, mostly in California and Texas, and that figure could surge to 18 GW this year.

More states are adopting mandates for reporting lost or stolen guns.

A federal judge extended a nationwide preliminary injunction on Trump’s executive order to end federal funding for gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth.

Jail voting soared in Colorado in November of 2024—this after the state mandated polling places in County jails.

The White House pulled the expected signing of the executive order to dismantle the Department of Education

A federal judge ruled that the head of the Office of the Special Counsel, who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers, must be able to continue in his role through the duration of his term.

With time running short to avoid a shutdown at the end of next week, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are urging Republicans to accept a stopgap bill that would keep federal dollars flowing at current levels through the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

Alabama’s parole rate more than doubled in 2024. The board released 20 percent of prisoners last year compared to just eight percent in 2023. One lawmaker credited the boost to increased scrutiny from journalists.

A trans woman who was fired from McDonald’s after being harassed won a $900,000 lawsuit against the company that runs the restaurant.

A crowd hundreds strong gathered near the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association campus in Boulder on Monday to protest cuts made to the agency last week as part of the Trump administration’s effort to downsize the federal government.

The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) reinstated about 5,600 probationary USDA employees that had been terminated by the Trump administration.

Wisconsin is joining a multistate lawsuit against the Trump admin over the mass firings of federal workers.

Tesla shares tumbled 5.6% in trading Thursday and are now down 45% from their December peak. Just since Trump took office and Musk began wielding power they have lost 38% of their overall value.

Target’s online traffic dropped during The People’s Union USA Economic Blackout on Feb. 28, according to data from website analytics platform Similarweb. Costco’s went up.

Across the country on Friday—in at least thirty localities—protests were held in support of science.

U.S. government employees who have been fired in the Trump administration’s purge of recently hired workers are responding with class action-style complaints.

“Hamilton” is canceling plans to perform next year at the Kennedy Center, citing President Trump’s moves to impose his values on the venue. “We’re not going to be a part of it while it is the Trump Kennedy Center,” said its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Couldn’t love him more.

Virginia lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to educate the public about common menstrual disorders like endometriosis and PCOS.

Educators in New York City are embracing rather than restricting discussions of race in schools. Leaders have said they’ll do so whether the Trump administration approves or not.

This year’s count of endangered Mexican gray wolves shows their recovery is inching forward.

Parents in Britain will be granted a right to bereavement leave after suffering a miscarriage as part of Labour’s workers’ rights reforms.

Black churches across the country were awarded more than $8 million in grants by The National Trust for Historic Preservation, part of an effort to preserve buildings that played significant roles in Black history.

Researchers have created an eco-friendly alternative to plastic Mardis Gras necklaces.

Stanford University chemists have developed a practical, low-cost way to permanently remove atmospheric carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming and climate change, using rocks.

A federal judge ordered the reinstatement of Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, whom Trump fired to eliminate the board’s quorum.

Almost everything Trump and Musk are doing is wildly unpopular with Americans.

Dicks Sporting Goods doubled down on its commitment to DEI.

CBS has filed a motion to dismiss Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit over former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 60 Minutes interview last year, calling the suit an “affront to the First Amendment without basis in law or fact.”

Ontario will charge 25% more for electricity shipped to 1.5 million Americans starting Monday in response to Trump’s tariffs, Premier Doug Ford said Thursday.

In Las Vegas, the Culinary and Bartenders Unions have reached an agreement with Fontainebleau Las Vegas, and for the first time in the 90-year history of the strip every establishment is totally unionized.

Bernie Sanders’ ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ campaign is continuing to draw massive crowds in red districts across the US.

Production workers at Walt Disney Animation Studios officially have a first union contract.

Ukraine supporters unfurled the world’s largest 🇺🇦 flag on the White House ellipse this weekend.

In Oklahoma, the Senate Education Appropriations subcommittee nixed a $3 million request by the state Education agency to place Bibles in classrooms.

In Montana, powerful speeches by the state’s two transgender lawmakers helped flip 29 Republican lawmakers’ votes and kill two anti-trans bills.

Thanks to the ballot measure passed in the state in November, Arizona’s 15-week abortion ban has been permanently blocked!

A Federal judge in Rhode Island entered a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks Trump’s freeze on federal grants and loans, saying the Trump Administration “put itself above Congress.” This lawsuit was brought by Democratic state Attorneys General, led by New York AG Letitia James.

Watch This! 👀

Warning, this is slightly risque. But if you saw the weird AI-generated video about “Trump Gaza” that Trump reposted last week, you have to see this. (Full disclosure; I have not watched it. No time for videos today unless it’s one of you people here. Also, the scene shown has ruined my lunch. -A)