Democratic Underground: Forums for U.S. Liberals and Democrats

Biden Got Everything He Wanted from Congress

(Political Wire) Punchbowl News: “House Republicans came into the 118th Congress with big plans. They were going to cut taxes and spending, impeach President Joe Biden and members of his Cabinet and use their leverage to force Democrats to accept stringent new border security and immigration policies. In short, they were going to shake up Washington, with Biden as their main focus. That didn’t happen. Instead, Biden has gotten pretty much everything he’s asked for from this Congress without having to concede much in return. True, it’s taken a while as the dysfunctional House slowly churned its way through the past 15-plus months. Yet in the end, Biden has emerged as the big winner.”

applegrove

House Republicans Blame Right Wing for Lack of Border Wins

(Political Wire) “A growing number of House Republicans are accusing their conservative colleagues of enabling Democratic wins, especially after this weekend’s foreign aid votes,” Axios reports. “Multiple members believe they could have gotten concessions from Democrats on border policy in exchange for Ukraine funding, only to be blown up by backlash from conservatives.”

RandySF

Hakeem Jeffries emerges as Congress' shadow speaker

(Axios) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) found himself in an unusual position for a minority leader last week: It was he, not the House speaker, who had the ultimate power to decide whether legislation came to the floor. Democrats got everything they wanted – a $95 billion foreign aid bill, the credit for passing it, and adversaries more divided than ever. In their telling, that total victory wasn't a sure thing. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a master legislative tactician, heaped praise on her successor: "He is fabulous. We're so proud of him."

Tom of Temecula

Peckerpalooza: Former Enquirer publisher is crucial to Trump's hush money trial -- here's why

(Alternet) With 12 jurors and six alternative jurors having been sworn in, opening statements in former President Donald Trump's hush money/falsifying business records trial are expected to begin on Monday, April 22. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. alleges that Trump falsified business records when hush money payments were made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election. The first witness in the case, according to NBC News, is likely to be former National Enquirer Publisher David Pecker.

KS Toronado

Monday TOONs

marmar

"The alternate reality Trump lives in is crumbling" with first criminal trial: ex-federal prosecutor

(Salon) Trump is in a setting that he cannot control. The judge and the legal process now have control over him. That is extremely frustrating for Trump. He's been stripped of his power. His diehard MAGA followers are still with him. But the optics of Trump in court are not playing well outside that die-hard group. To those people who are not in the MAGA movement, Trump looks like a mighty man who has fallen hard and will continue in a downward spiral.

ihaveaquestion

Trump 'couldn't get a job at the local mall': New ad hits Trump's legal woes

RandySF

Trump, RNC promise 'aggressive' election interference in battleground states

(News From The States) Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee on Friday announced a “100,000 person strong” program designed to harass election officials and their employees and discredit democracy in Nevada and a dozen other states. In a statement announcing its Orwellian named “election integrity program,” the RNC said it is “establishing a robust network of monitoring, and protection against any violation or fraud.” Neither the RNC, Trump, nor anyone else has ever provided any evidence of fraud that would have altered results of the 2020 election that Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Bundbuster

It's a 'tragedy' NOT to force rape victims to give birth: Kristi Noem

(Alternet) South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), a possible vice presidential candidate, called rape and incest exceptions for abortion a "tragedy." While speaking to Dana Bash on CNN Sunday, Noem was asked if she supported her state's law, which does not provide exceptions for rape, much like Arizona's Civil War-era anti-abortion law. "Do you think there should be exceptions for rape and incest, for example?" Bash asked. "That's what's different, Dana, is that I've constantly looked, and we rely in South Dakota on the fact that I'm pro-life and we have a law that says that there is an exception for the life of the mother," Noem opined. "And I just don't believe a tragedy should perpetuate another tragedy."

applegrove

GOP Lawmakers Take Stand Against Polio Vaccine

(Political Wire) Mother Jones: “New Hampshire could soon beat Florida—known for its anti-vaccine Surgeon General—when it comes to loosening vaccine requirements. A first-in-the-nation bill that’s already passed New Hampshire’s state House, sponsored only by Republican legislators, would end the requirement for parents enrolling kids in childcare to provide documentation of polio and measles vaccination. New Hampshire would be the only state in the U.S. to have such a law, although many states allow religious exemptions to vaccine requirements.”

Expand Featured Stories

Issue Forums

Culture Forums

Latest Breaking News

New York judge sets new conditions on Trump's civil fraud bond

18 min ago - New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Monday accepted the $175 million bond former President Trump posted to appeal his civil fraud case, but the judge imposed several new conditions to ensure sufficient cash funds remain available. Why it matters: Approv ... (Axios)

Express files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, announces store closures, possible sale

23 min ago - By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Updated 11:25 AM CDT, April 22, 2024 NEW YORK (AP) — Express Inc — once a trendsetter of casual office attire that has struggled to compete with the likes of Zara and H&M — has ... (AP)

Russia-linked hacking group claims to have targeted Indiana water plant

25 min ago - Published 4:08 PM EDT, Mon April 22, 2024 CNN — Hackers targeted a wastewater treatment plant in Indiana on Friday evening, prompting plant managers to send maintenance personnel to investigate the suspicious activity, a local official told CN ... (CNN Politics)

Jan. 6 rioter with 'I heart TRUMP' hat and a Confederate flag gets prison for assaults on officers

1 hr ago - April 22, 2024, 3:41 PM EDT WASHINGTON — A Jan. 6 defendant who brought a Confederate flag to the Capitol and wore an "I ❤️ TRUMP" beanie as he assaulted police officers with chemical spray, partially blinding two of them for hours ... (NBC News)

Art Deduction Scams Targeted in IRS Crackdown on Rich Tax Cheats

1 hr ago - April 22, 2024, 4:35 AM EDT The next step in the IRS’s crackdown on wealthy tax cheats is going after inflated art valuations that produce outsized deductions. The IRS has added improper art write-offs to its annually updated “dirty dozen& ... (Bloomberg Law)

Chechen leader Kadyrov suffering from pancreatic necrosis, says Russian media outlet

1 hr ago - The Russian socio-political newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe has reported that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is seriously ill with pancreatic necrosis with no hope of recovery. Kadyrov is sick, and the Kremlin faces a serious problem: how to painlessl ... (Ukrainska Pravda)

Russia warns of direct clash with West over Ukraine

1 hr ago - MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Monday that U.S., British and French military support for Ukraine has pushed the world to the brink of a direct clash between the world's biggest nuclear powers that could end in catastrophe. President Vladimir Putin' ... (Reuters)

Manchin endorses Wheeling mayor to replace him in Senate

2 hrs ago - 04/22/24 2:26 PM ET Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) endorsed a Democratic mayor to replace him in his Senate seat, which Republicans see as the top pickup opportunity for this year. Manchin threw his support behind Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott (D) on Mon ... (The Hill)

Supreme Court divided over homeless ban and rights of the unhoused

2 hrs ago - Supreme Court divided over homeless ban and rights of the unhoused By Ann E. Marimow and Reis Thebault April 22, 2024 at 1:16 p.m. EDT Supreme Court justices expressed concern on Monday about punishing homeless people for sleeping outside when they h ... (Washington Post)

Rightwing media mock Marjorie Taylor Greene after Ukraine aid bill passes

2 hrs ago - Mon 22 Apr 2024 12.26 EDT A New York Post front page on Monday blaring “Nyet, Moscow Marjorie”, its mocked-up picture showing Marjorie Taylor Greene wearing a Soviet cap, was the latest sign of sections of the US right turning on the extrem ... (The Guardian)

Police arrest pro-Palestinian supporters at encampment on Yale University plaza

2 hrs ago - Police officers on Monday arrested protesters who had set up an encampment on Yale University’s campus in support of the Palestinian cause, one of a growing number of American universities to see demonstrations surrounding the ongoing Israel-Ham ... (NBC News)

Review of UN agency helping Palestinian refugees found Israel did not express concern about staff

3 hrs ago - Updated 1:29 PM EDT, April 22, 2024 UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- An independent review of the neutrality of the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees found that Israel never expressed concern about anyone on the staff lists it has received annually sinc ... (AP)

US FAA to mandate use of safety tool by charter airlines, manufacturers

3 hrs ago - April 22, 2024 12:01 PM EDT Updated an hour ago WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday said it is finalizing new rules requiring charter, commuter, air tour operators, and aircraft manufacturers to implem ... (Reuters)

4 Germans caught marking Hitler's birthday outside Nazi dictator's birthplace in Austria

3 hrs ago - Updated 4:39 AM CDT, April 22, 2024 BERLIN (AP) — Four Germans were caught laying white roses in memory of Adolf Hitler at the house where the Nazi dictator was born in western Austria on the anniversary of his birth, and one gave a Hitler salut ... (AP)

House Intelligence Committee finds CIA mishandled sexual assault and harassment claims

4 hrs ago - Published 11:07 AM EDT, Mon April 22, 2024 CNN — The CIA has “failed to handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment within its workforce” in a “professional and uniform manner,” and appeared to mete out “little ... (CNN Politics)

Judge approves safeguards for Donald Trump's $175 million civil business fraud appeal bond

4 hrs ago - New York Judge Arthur Engoron approved a new agreement Monday between Donald Trump's lawyers and state Attorney General Letitia James to reinforce the $175 million bond he posted to appeal a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud trial for inflating ... (USA Today)

Supreme Court declines to hear Kari Lake voting machine lawsuit

4 hrs ago - The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a case brought by Republicans Kari Lake and Mark Finchem over the use of voting machines in Arizona elections, the latest blow to the duo of GOP candidates who have seen their lawsuit rejected several time ... (The Hill)

Biden moves to shield patients' abortion records from GOP threats

5 hrs ago - Biden moves to shield patients' abortion records from GOP threats By Dan Diamond and Rachel Roubein April 22, 2024 at 11:35 a.m. EDT The Biden administration on Monday announced new rules intended to protect the privacy of patients seeking abortions, ... (Washington Post)

"It would be a disaster": Judge's ruling could "short-circuit" Trump's plan to testify at trial

5 hrs ago - Published April 22, 2024 10:26AM (EDT) The judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal hush-money trial on Monday ruled that prosecutors can confront the former president with his past misconduct if he chooses to testify. Merchan ruled that prosecutors ... (Salon)

Trump lawyer defends $175 million bond in New York civil fraud case

5 hrs ago - April 22, 20249:51 AM CDTUpdated a min ago NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Donald Trump tried to convince a judge on Monday that the insurer that provided the former U.S. president with a $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case ... (reuters)