Political news I want to share. 8-19-2026.

Supreme Court asked to hear case on Texas law requiring Ten Commandments in schools

Freedom Writers Collaborative (@fwcollaborative.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T18:00:00Z

Scores of James Talarico donors are exceeding federal donation limits, with regulators at the FEC identifying 143 such donors who exceeded the legal limit, according to a letter they sent to the Texas Democrat campaign this month.

NOTUS (@notus.com) 2026-08-17T14:11:02.278407873Z

AP on Trump's rule by rich people: "The number of people worth at least $100 million whom the Republican president has appointed to his administration is more than four times the combined total under the three previous presidents."

Michael Derby (@michaelsderby.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T15:39:02.719Z

Trump: "The people that are opposing the ballroom are people that in my opinion are very disloyal to our country. Very very disloyal to our country."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-17T18:10:42.193Z

Trump says he's talked with Kim Jong Un since yesterday and demands South Korea pay up

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-17T18:06:33.919Z

"I asked for $10 billion" — Trump demands protection payment from South Korea

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-17T18:04:24.278Z

hours after threatening military strikes, Trump says he'd "handle Oman very easily"

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-17T17:59:47.162Z

If you lost your right to have and use a firearm due to a felony conviction, now, promises Todd Blanche, you can get it back. The right sum paid in crypto to the Trump Bros will insure a prompt decision. http://www.wsj.com/politics/pol…

Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T18:45:41.831Z

The U.S. and Iran on Monday missed their 60-day deadline to reach a deal to curtail Iran’s nuclear program under the terms of the cease-fire they agreed to in June, underlining the breakdown of a truce that President Trump promised would end the war. Here's what to know.

The New York Times (@nytimes.com) 2026-08-17T09:25:07.323481Z

Iran decided to shift its policy from defensive to ‘fully offensive’ due to the deadlock in efforts to agree to end to its war with the US, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. Progress towards peace ground to a halt since the conflict began in February reut.rs/4x4EuNZ

Reuters (@reuters.com) 2026-08-17T16:31:37.489Z

At the end of his life, when he stands before God in judgment, J.D. Vance wants to be able to say he did everything he could to help MAGA Rep. Brandon Gill get re-elected. http://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwat…

Right Wing Watch (@rightwingwatch.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T16:16:32.463Z

Ken Paxton says he's probing widespread noncitizen voting, claiming that tens of thousands voted illegally in a single Texas election. Three have been prosecuted. Of 53 cases referred for investigation, at least five are US citizens. http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele…

Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T14:18:22.365Z

Trump says he has a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, asks the lifeguard he's honoring to co-sign his attacks on the press, and then snaps at a woman reporter: "Be quiet! Be quiet!"

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-17T18:07:39.031Z

Photos like this are the reason why minority people and women who were sexually abused don't trust law enforcement. Look who they cheer for.

Paul Graf (@paulginva.bsky.social) 2026-08-16T21:19:32.066Z

Hasan Piker Threatens Scott Jennings with Defamation Lawsuit Over ‘Lynchings’ Claim

Mediaite (@mediaite.com) 2026-08-17T14:52:41Z

It used to be that once a NIH grant award hit “status 19,” the money was about to go out the door.That’s not the case anymore. The Trump administration has enacted an unprecedented political review process, pushing hundreds of awards into limbo.

NOTUS (@notus.com) 2026-08-17T11:05:58.0452125Z

The number of parents in the U.S. choosing not to vaccinate their children rose dramatically in the last school year, according to data CDC data released Monday. @erikaedwards.bsky.social @nbcnews.com

sara g miller (@saragmiller.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T21:13:06.999Z

Nation’s Largest Reservoirs Are Drying Up, Threatening Life in the Southwest http://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/c…

Justin Felder (@justinbluepal.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T21:26:52.463Z

ICE pitches legal insurance to help shield local officers who make immigration arrestsapnews.com/article/ice-…

Dave Shutton (@daveshuttonpbs.bsky.social) 2026-08-17T22:05:15.259Z

Luigi Mangione's September trial is off as defense tries to get state charges dismissed gothamist.com/news/luigi-m…

Gothamist (@gothamist.com) 2026-08-17T20:43:52.308885Z

White Lion – When The Children Cry (Official Music Video)

I hate the YouTube algorithm and and myself more for giving into it and saving all the hateful abuse videos I get.  I am crying now trying not to alert Ron who is in the next room with the door between us open.  I had two open windows.  In one I had so many tabs of abuse that the algorithm pushed them to me because I occasionally watch them.  I deleted 8 of them before switching to the other open window.  What does YouTube think I need to see / hear after all that deleting and not watching all those videos?  The two videos below. 

Am I the one to blame but if so what does that say about all the vulnerable children who are led down hate rabbit holes?  At least the harm happening here is to me done myself aidded by the shit pushed into my feeds and I am so stupid that I click on them and leave the tab open while I try to move onto something else.  But eventually I end up coming back to the ones that hurt me so much.  Who is to blame?  As always in my life, as in my childhood … I am, and I have always been according to those that hurt me.   Goodnight.  Scottie.  Hugs

 

DOJ Scrubs Record of Interviews With Trump Accuser From Epstein Files

https://newrepublic.com/post/206765/department-justice-fbi-interviews-donald-trump-accuser-epstein

Edith Olmsted

The FBI interviewed one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims four times over her allegation that Donald Trump assaulted her when she was underage.

Donald Trump stands on Air Force One
Nathan Howard/Getty Images

The Department of Justice spoke four separate times to a woman who credibly accused Donald Trump of having sex with a minor he met through Jeffrey Epstein—but most accusations against the president appear to have been removed from the government’s documents on the alleged sex trafficker.

21-page slideshow buried in the massive trove of Epstein-related documents included allegations that sometime between 1983 and 1985, Trump forced a woman to give him oral sex when she was in her early teens. When the woman bit down on Trump’s exposed penis, he allegedly punched her in the head and kicked her out. That same woman told the DOJ that Epstein had introduced her to Trump in 1984.

Yet last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi insisted that there was “no evidence” that Trump had committed any crime—adding to the growing pile of denials from Trump officials that constitute a sweeping cover-up of the president’s alleged wrongdoing.

Justice Department records indicate that the FBI spoke to this woman not once but at least four separate times, according to independent journalist Roger Sollenberger. Now those records appear to have been removed from public viewing—despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires all documents relating to the alleged sex trafficker to be made public.

Sollenberger discovered a record of four separate interviews, which took place in the summer of 2019, in a separate database of documents downloaded from the government’s public files on Epstein. That document indicated that the first of the four interviews was conducted on July 24, 2019, and the last conducted on October 16, 2019. That document was given to Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers as part of her trial, though the specific allegations predated Maxwell’s involvement with Epstein, Sollenberger wrote.

The woman’s first interview was entered into the FBI’s case files on August 9, 2019, just one day before Epstein was found dead in his jail cell. FBI agents typically have a deadline of five working days to file interview write-ups, indicating an abnormal 16-day gap, Sollenberger noted.