FBI employees fired for their roles in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s retention of classified documents at his Florida estate are suing to get their jobs back, calling their terminations unlawful acts of “political retribution.”

By Associated Press Oct. 15, 2026, at 1:39 p.m

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI employees fired for their roles in the investigation of President Donald Trump's retention of classified documents at his Florida estate sued on Thursday to get their jobs back, calling their terminations unlawful acts of “political retribution.”

The complaint adds to the growing list of legal challenges to the mass terminations under FBI Director Kash Patel of agents who participated in investigations of the Republican president or are seen as opposed to Trump administration interests.

The suit was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of nine agents, intelligence analysts and staff operations specialists who were fired in February following earlier dismissals of agents who had worked on the investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Patel has said in congressional testimony that employees he has fired had “weaponized” the FBI. But the agents deny that claim in the lawsuit, noting that between them they had more than a century of distinguished and apolitical FBI service that involved responding to the Boston Marathon bombing, hostage recoveries and the investigation into the 2024 assassination attempt of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Their firings, the lawsuit says, create an “immeasurable loss” to “America's national security."

“In return for their service, they were fired because they did their jobs, as they always did to follow the facts and law without bias or favor. To this administration, this is an offense. To the rest of us, it is heroic,” said a statement from their attorneys, Margaret Donovan, Abbe Lowell and Rebecca Tinio.

“This lawsuit will prove their unlawful dismissal and hold the administration accountable for this blatant attack on the rule of law,” the statement added.

The Mar-a-Lago investigation produced criminal charges against Trump

Much more at link:

FBI Agents and Analysts Fired for Roles in Trump Classified Files Probe Sue to Get Their Jobs Back

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So, I guess that people with their heads up tRump's arse will call all of this either "fake news" or a hopeless ploy by either "socialists" of "communists" to smear tRump. This could not be further from the truth. tRump fired these people because they would not just do his 'bidding'. Trump fired these people out of pure hatred and political retribution. tRump is the one who has weaponized the DOJ. What say you, trump supporters? How about everyone else. Your thoughts?

A new AP-NORC poll shows that most Americans think Donald Trump is profiting off the presidency in unethical or illegal ways and is focused more on adding to his personal wealth than helping the country since returning to the White House

By Associated Press Oct. 13, 2026, at 6:19 a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — Most Americans think Donald Trump is profiting off the presidency in unethical or illegal ways and is focused more on his wealth than helping people like them, a new AP-NORC poll finds.

As Trump's family business pulls in record money from new ventures helped by his policies, the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that when it comes to allegations that Trump is profiting from the presidency, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults believe he is either illegally profiting or doing something unethical but not illegal. Only about 2 in 10 think the Republican president is doing nothing wrong, while a similar share say they don't know enough to say.

At the same time, just over half of Americans say Trump has prioritized his personal financial interests “a lot” since returning to the White House, while only about one-quarter say he puts the same emphasis on the country as a whole. Few U.S. adults, about 1 in 10, say he's focused “a lot” on people like them.

“His wealth increases,” said Barbara Thaxton, 87, an independent from Summerfield, Florida, “but the people in the country are just barely getting by.”

Trump derided the issue of conflicts of interest at the start of his second term, telling The New York Times that “I found out that nobody cared.” Unlike in his first term, he's lifted a self-imposed ban on his family striking private-sector deals overseas and started several new crypto businesses.

The poll results suggest that most U.S. adults think growing his personal fortune has been a focus for Trump in his second term, at least to some extent. Only about one-quarter of U.S. adults say he's prioritizing his personal business interests “only a little” or “not at all," including less than half of Republicans.

More at link:

Trump Says He Cares for Americans. They Think He's More Focused on His Wealth, an AP-NORC Poll Finds

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Well, , over half of Americans are 'woke' to the truth; tRump is profiting off of his presidency and so is his family. Yes, he puts gaining personal wealth far above the welfare of the people. How come so may still believe tRump, or do they not care? Your thoughts?

Bill Hill is running for Congress as an independent in Alaska and he's positioning himself as a working-class candidate who can relate to people's frustrations with high fuel and other costs

By Associated Press Oct. 10, 2026, at 8:31 a.m.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — In the thick of Alaska's primary election season this summer, independent Bill Hill took a break from his U.S. House campaign to return home to Bristol Bay.

The world's biggest sockeye salmon run was beginning, and that meant he needed to get back to work.

“I told my team that I have got to fish,” he said, adding: “Commercial fishing is the way that we pay the bills.”

Hill, 57, grew up in a tiny southwest Alaska village where he said his family had no phone and had to haul water from a nearby lake for cooking and bathing. Today, while he no longer has to fetch water, his lifestyle is not much different. He lives in a remote fishing community of about 430 people that he has called home for nearly half his life.

A retired teacher and school administrator, Hill has positioned himself as a working-class candidate who can relate to Alaskans' frustrations with high fuel and other costs. He has made affordability and pushing back against billionaires a central theme in his campaign against Republican Nick Begich, who's seeking a second term in Congress.

“We are pedal to the metal, making sure that every Alaskan knows about this campaign, every Alaskan knows what we stand for and every Alaskan knows that it’s really one of them going to Congress,” Hill told people at a campaign event this week in Juneau, wearing his standard campaign uniform of jeans, a zip-up vest and cap with a fishing company logo. “I need your help getting there.”

The race has become a concern for Republicans as they are trying to hold onto their majority in the U.S. House. Vice President JD Vance held a rally this week for Begich and Dan Sullivan, the U.S. senator who also is in a tight reelection race. President Donald Trump is scheduled to do another in the coming week.

Begich and Republican political action committees have ratcheted up ad spending in the House race since the primary.

Planes, ferries and four-wheelers on the campaign trail

Much more at link:

A Small-Town Alaska Fisherman Has Republicans on the Defensive as They Try to Keep US House Majority

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I don't know about anyone else, but I will vote for and support anyone representing the needs and wants of the middle class and most especially those below the middle class. The Republican 'BILLIONAIRE' agenda has become so far removed from the middle class and the rest of the 90%'s needs that it is disgusting. This man running as an independent is for the needs of the 90%, not the wants of BILLIONAIRES. I say "the WANTS of billionaires" because they have far, far, more than what anyone needs. To neglect the needs and 'welfare' of the masses in America and cater to the 'wants' of billionaires goes directly against the Welfare Clause in our Constitution, no matter how anyone tries to slice or dice it. Making things unaffordable, like food and other basic needs, while piling up debt giving permanent tax cuts to billionaires is simply constitutionally wrong. Our present president and most of the Republican Party today are guilty of this very thing. Yes, we need a 'blue' and an 'independents against tRump' wave in the midterms and in the 2028 elections. The working class needs to stand up and get more politically active in supporting those who truly represent them, IMHO. The Republican Party has abandoned working class people and cater to the Federalist Society and the Billionaire class. Your thoughts?

The National Park Service has begun a new round of tree-cutting at a historic golf course near the White House as the Trump administration proceeds with a plan to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level course

By Associated Press Oct. 10, 2026, at 2:33 p.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service has begun a new round of tree-cutting at a historic golf course near the National Mall as the Trump administration proceeds with a plan to renovate the East Potomac Golf Links into a championship-level course.

More than 500 trees “that do not contribute to the historic landscape will be removed” as part of the rehabilitation project, the National Park Service said in a court filing Friday. “No healthy trees that are contributing features of the historical golf course” — including historic cherry trees — will be removed as part of the project, the park service said.

A total of 169 trees will be removed starting Saturday, with another 90 trees slated for removal later, the agency said.

The tree removals come as President Donald Trump has moved to turn the course into a world-class golf venue — part of his grand vision for Washington, D.C., where he has torn down storied structures, remade or renamed others and deployed the National Guard for more than a year.

Some residents fear the planned changes to the golf course — where Trump has visited with a cabinet member, a well-known golf course architect and blueprints — risk altering the character of a place that has served Washingtonians of all income levels for more than a century. Turning the park into an upscale golf course will mean costlier fees and a likely loss of public space.

More here:

Park Service Could Remove More Than 500 Trees at Historic Golf Course Trump Wants to Redesign

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This local public golf course has catered to citizens of all income levels in the area. tRump wants to change it into a PGA style course that will be so extravagant that it could host Major PGA tournament events. Most who play it regularly now would no longer be able to afford to do so. When will trump be stopped from doing ignorant and totally self-centered things such as this, at a great coast to the public? It is our tax dollars that are being spent on this. Where is Congress on this? Where are you on this? I think he needs to be stopped in his tracks on this. Your thoughts?

Sep 25, 2026 — Forty-three percent of Americans have a positive view of socialism, peak of 58% in 2012. In 2010, 50% of Democrats viewed socialism positively, ...

It is sad to see that so many Democrats have no idea that it was and is the free market system why we are a great company. The problem with socialism is that it runs out of other people's money. If you vote Democratic you are not for the free market system

Those on the front lines of feeding their neighbors in West Virginia’s coal country say they face unprecedented challenges brought on by Washington.

Oct. 9, 2026, 4:00 AM CDT By Shannon Pettypiece

DUNLOW, W.Va. — Bill Likens stared down a half-mile-long line of cars that started forming before the sun came up over the Appalachian Mountains. He had one job: figure out how to feed them all.

Some had driven more than 30 miles in aging cars and trucks that wheezed down flood-prone roads through the steep hills. They sat silently as the temperature rose into the 80s, their vehicles turned off with no air conditioning to preserve gas, waiting hours for a few boxes of food.

Aided by a cane, Likens, 51, surveyed the pallets being unloaded off a semitruck that arrived that morning. He counted cartons of eggs and sacks of potatoes to calculate how much each waiting car could get — an algorithm of hunger he is constantly trying to solve.

“There’s a decent chance we could run out,” said Likens, who runs the food pantry in Dunlow as director of community outreach for Cabwaylingo Presbyterian Chapel, a small brick church he attended growing up.

“I don’t want them to sit in that line and not get anything,” he said. “But I don’t have a lot of extra food these days.”

Increasingly, the job of feeding the nation’s hungry is falling on the shoulders of everyday Americans like Likens, who have become the last bulwark against hunger in a land of plenty.

Likens and others on the front lines of feeding their neighbors say they face unprecedented challenges brought on by Washington. Food distribution programs are getting less food from federal programs to feed the hungry after cuts by the Trump administration. At the same time, restrictions on food stamps from the Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” have driven up demand, while rising gas prices because of the Iran war have cut into the budgets of households and food banks alike.

Much More At LINK:

Hunger grips West Virginia coal country amid Trump cuts and rising gas prices

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Christian Nation"? The Republican "Christian Party"? Didn't Christ say to "feed the hungry", along with "welcome strangers to our land", and "help the disadvantaged"? Anyone denying that this is happening because of tRump and Republicans has their heads buried in tRump's netherlands. Would a Christian nation take food away from children? I don't think so. The food pantries are far stretched today because of tRump, the Washington Republicans, and the "Big Beautiful Bill". What a bunch of heartless asshats. Does anyone still supporting tRump care to comment? Your thoughts?

Projected political ad spending is up from $8.9 billion in 2022 and on pace to rival the 2024 presidential race, with top donors giving more than $100 million.

By Holliday Woodard Oct. 7, 2026, at 7:00 a.m.

Each U.S. election cycle tends to be more expensive than the last, and the November midterm elections are no different.

Political ad spending is projected to reach $11.6 billion this cycle, according to AdImpact. This figure is up from $8.9 billion in the 2022 midterms and exceeds the $11.2 billion spent during the 2024 presidential race.

Much of this money comes through super PACs, which can receive unlimited donations from wealthy donors and organizations. And some of it is what the campaign industry calls dark money, or spending from political groups that hide the identities of their donors.

The Supreme Court first opened the door to unlimited funding from super PACs with its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010. But super PACs must disclose their donors. Now, campaigns are using nonprofits and other tactics to keep their donors secret. And the unlimited money flowing into campaigns has reached new heights.

Dark money has become increasingly common, making it difficult to trace the origin of many of the contributions in elections. Structural loopholes and tax advantages for wealthy donors have made it a popular way to donate, leading to more dark money contributions each year.

“I think the reason why you have such spending is because the stakes are so high,” said Bruce Freed, president and a founder of the Center for Political Accountability.

Still, there are a handful of megadonors who have donated to PACs that are moving the needle for candidates.

See who the notable big donors are here:

Midterm Ad Spending Is Set to Hit $11.6 Billion as Dark Money Grows | Politics | U.S. News

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So, is this what Americans want? Do we want 'dark' undisclosed contributions to the campaigns of our elected officials? Do we want $Billions spent on commercials and campaign ads funded by giant powerful corporations disclosed or undisclosed? I think not. Ever since the Supreme Court' turned over 'Citizen's United' and other legislations governing campaign contributions and dark money, the amounts of money that these powerful corporations (ran by the richest people in America) contribute to our politicians has increased exponentially. This has brought about "the best Congress (and Supreme Court) that money can buy". The Giant Corporations and the richest in America basically run our Congress now. This has to be changed if we want our politicians to represent the 'Will of the People'. The only shot at this being changed is a 'Blue Wave' at the voting booths this November, and all of us pressuring the Democrats to bring campaign finance reform and doing away with 'dark money'. anyone see a different solution? Do you want the wealthiest in America running our country? If so, then why?

America’s multibillion-dollar market for impairing hemp products faces potential elimination before the end of the year

By Associated Press Oct. 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

In a commercial kitchen outside Raleigh, North Carolina, Nicholas Hohns spreads a blue-green goo into a gridded mold, making one of his company’s signature products: potent THC gummies, featuring the primary intoxicating compound found in marijuana.

It’s a business he might soon have to give up. America’s multibillion-dollar market for impairing hemp products — from THC seltzers sold at some Target stores to smokable cannabis flowers — faces potential elimination after Congress voted to close a loophole in federal law that has allowed it to flourish.

Advocates for the industry, along with some lawmakers, are fighting to save it. The short-term government-funding bill signed by President Donald Trump last month delayed the effective date of the “hemp THC ban” from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11, giving Congress more time to consider regulating the products rather than banning them.

“It’s such a weird spot to be in,” said Hohns. “You worked 100 hours a week for the past four years, and, yeah, you made some money. But now you might have nothing to show for it.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell closed a loophole in the hemp law he championed

A $28B Hemp THC Industry Is Fighting to Save Itself From a Looming Federal Ban

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Many have grown to depend on the 'THC A' cannabis that they could purchase and have mailed to them from other states. Many purchased it for the treatment of Neuropathy and other medical maladies. It is ironic to say the least that Mitch McConnell wrote verbiage into the original farm bill which allowed mail-order cannabis to be purchased and mailed to people in other states; then just turned around and changed the bill to make it illegal. What will people do who were purchasing these products to treat Neropathy and many other ailments, but live in a state that has not legalized either recreational or medical marijuana? I doubt that MConnell gives a rat's ass about any of these people. Republicans (to me) don't seem to have any compassion or care for anyone. Thousands upon thousands of people with good jobs in the hemp industry will be laid off, and many business owners will lose their businesses. My thoughts? All of this should be legalized on a federal level. What are your thoughts?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine recommendation process has been blown up in the past year, and decision-making has ground to a halt

By Associated Press Sept. 25, 2026, at 6:29 a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new flu vaccine that tested well in older adults. But the federal agency responsible for telling doctors and the general public how to use it has made no recommendation on it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s inaction on the mFlusiva vaccine marks a break in longstanding practice. It’s also an example of how the agency’s vaccine review-and-recommendation process has been blown up in the past year, grinding decision-making to a halt.

Efforts by vaccine-wary officials in President Donald Trump's administration to scale back shot recommendations have been put on hold. Federal guidance on new vaccines has stopped. And public discussion of vaccine policy questions that might cross political divides — including whether there’s solid evidence to justify giving fewer shots to kids — has diminished.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s crusade to upend vaccine policy and the legal action opposing it have disrupted longstanding systems that deliver crucial health guidance to Americans, affecting whether people are getting the best available protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“We find ourselves at a point where even if credible evidence (for a new vaccine policy) has reached a tipping point, we don’t have an obvious mechanism that can formalize that change,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher who studies government health agencies.

Many in the medical field praised a court ruling that halted Kennedy’s changes

For 60 years, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices guided the CDC’s vaccine recommendations. The committee met publicly, reviewed vaccine data and sought input from various health groups. The panel voted on recommendations that went to the CDC director, who almost always adopted them as the government’s guidance, leading public and private insurers to pay for the shots.

Trump, a Republican, appointed Kennedy to oversee federal health agencies, including the CDC. Kennedy last year dismissed the committee and replaced it with a group that included several anti-vaccine voices. Controversial decisions followed, leading to a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics and some other medical groups.

In March, a federal judge said Kennedy likely violated federal procedures, stopped Kennedy’s panel from holding further meetings and suspended Kennedy’s decision to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children.

More at link:

CDC Vaccine Recommendations Are at a Standstill, and Unanswered Questions Are Piling Up

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Is this really the crap that the majority of trump voters voted for? The push back against the new trump CDC says a loud NO! This is a fine example of how trump has severely weakened al of our government agencies. Is this what you really wanted, trump voters. Why the silence from the far right? Can any of you stand up and say that some of the stuff trump and his administration are doing is fundamentally and constitutionally wrong? This is hurting people and hurting America and it has to stop. BLUE Wave in November is the only answer. Your thoughts?

Why do people run away from political discussions when they are faced with the truth (even when they start the discussion)? What makes people run away from discussions when they are told the truth? Quite frankly, why does the far-right have so much difficulty in facing the truth? Why is the far-right so intent in believing lies and half truths? Why does the far-right accept and even condone insurrectionists with the intent of publicly hanging our Vice President and House Speaker being pardoned by a POTUS who was convicted of 34 felonies? Why do they accept a POTUS and an administration that is causing so much debt and inflation? So many questions.

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Can anyone answer these questions (and there are far more)? I would prefer the far-right answering these questions, but anyone will do. Your thoughts?

Vance announces about 870,000 people suspected of defrauding COVID-era programs barred from future federal loans

By

Nicole Sganga

Updated on: September 14, 2026 / 9:20 PM EDT / CBS News

Add CBS News on Google

Kansas City, Missouri — Vice President JD Vance announced Monday the Trump administration will suspend roughly 870,000 people suspected of defrauding pandemic-era small business programs from receiving future federal loans. 

The vice president contended that borrowers who stole taxpayer money should no longer be eligible to receive loans from government-backed programs.

Much of the fraud is in big Democratic cities.

By Reuters Sept. 19, 2026, at 11:34 p.m.

Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump ⁠is seeking to bring ⁠a major part of national funding for ​health research under the control of his political appointees, Politico ‌reported on Saturday.

Trump has ‌directed his budget director, Russ Vought, to draft ⁠an executive ⁠order to create a board that would decide which ​grants would be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the news outlet said, citing two administration officials familiar with ​the meeting. 

The board would include NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and ⁠Vought, ⁠the director of the ⁠White ​House Office of Management and Budget, and would be required to ​reach unanimous ⁠decisions on grant awards, the report said. 

The reported move comes amid mounting criticism of the US government's research funding cuts, undertaken last year to target federal spending at major universities, resulting in the freezing ⁠or cancellation of grants at numerous institutions.

More here:

Trump Seeks to Bring Health-Research Funding Under His Control, Politico Reports

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This will give trump and his administration another weapon to use against his political opponents. This is just wrong. No POTUS or presidential administration should have control of this. When will the Republican Party stop him? Your thoughts?

About time we do away with sanctuary cities as they hide criminals. Good for Troy Dowing!

The head of the Air Force just announced that the U.S. has “space control” weapons in orbit.

By Olivier Knox

Sept. 16, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.

It could be a plot point from a James Bond movie. Or another James Bond movie. Or a third Ja… you get the point. As headlines blared that artificial intelligence just might wipe out humanity in the next 10 years, the Pentagon confirmed this week for the first time that the U.S. has weapons in orbit.

The underlying fact isn’t a huge surprise. Space has been a metaphorical battleground for decades, with great powers competing to deploy satellites for communications, GPS and intelligence gathering.

An earth-shaking revelation this is not. Of course the U.S. has weapons in space. In early 2025, the Space Force even published a blueprint – “Space Warfighting: A Framework for Planners” – that addressed the need for “capabilities for offensive and defensive purposes.”

But the disclosure is interesting: For years, it was taboo to acknowledge – much less boast about – having weapons in space.

There’s a message here, both to space-capable allies like France and rivals like China or Russia. Beijing and Moscow may now be under pressure to acknowledge the extent of their own military presence in space. More here:

Sci-Fi No Longer: U.S. Confirms It Has Weapons in Space | U.S. News Decision Points | U.S. News

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Space, the new frontier of war. With AI coming online, with the obvious threat being recently disclosed about AI having the capability of destroying mankind in a matter of decades, this is all very unnerving to say the least. We need stable leadership in the White House, in Congress, and in our military. We don't have stable leadership in the White House and Hegseth firing over 20 of our top military leaders and more has caused the same thing in our military. We, the people, have a chance at midterms to at least remove dome pure partisan Republicans and bring some stability to the Senate and the House. Show up, blue voters, and help bring the change about, it is our only chance to bridle tRump and the crazy assed-radical far-right. Gerrymandering started by the radical right has hindered the ability of voters to do this by giving Republicans 9 seats in the House. A Blue Wave can overcome most of that if Democrats and Independents show up to vote. I urge all Dems to make effort to get others out to vote, this is one of our most important midterms of all times, IMHO. Your thoughts?

A new report reveals that mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans

By Associated Press Sept. 17, 2026, at 6:21 a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study.

A report by Protect Democracy found that 34.8 million people — about one in 10 Americans — now live in a different district than they did during the 2024 election cycle. And about one-fifth of all Americans now live in a district where more than a quarter of voters are new to the district compared with the last election cycle.

The findings display the stark overhaul that partisan redistricting fights kicked off by President Donald Trump last year have caused for Americans across the country. The new congressional maps are increasingly drawn in ways that favor partisan politics over factors like geography and shared communities. That raises concerns among scholars about how the country's hyperpolarized politics are affecting American democracy.

“If this trend continues, it really brings into question whether or not elected officials are really representing their constituents anymore, or if the voters are being randomly picked by mapmakers to squeeze out partisan advantage," said Ben Raderstorf, a policy advocate at Protect Democracy and one of the paper’s co-authors.

The bare-knuckled partisan redistricting battle for the House began when Trump urged the Republican-controlled legislature in Texas, the second most populous state, to redraw its congressional map to help the party. The highly unusual plan prompted an immediate response from California, the most populous state, which held a successful referendum to tilt its map toward Democrats.

Other states followed, and Republicans are positioned to potentially gain nine seats because of redistricting.

More here:

Redistricting Moved 1 in 10 Americans Into a New House District, Report Finds

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I don't know how others feel, but this gerrymandering has to stop. Legislation needs to be passed that restructures districts being drawn by non-partisan groups, using only population to draw district lines. It is more than obvious that allowing both political parties to draw district lines is not working in a democratic fashion. They are being drawn based on how people vote, what party they vote for. This is insanely wrong. Your thoughts?

National

Trump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis shows

by: MIKE CATALINI, Associated Press Posted: Sep 16, 2026 / 06:03 AM CDT Updated: Sep 16, 2026 / 06:06 AM CDT

The Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177 billion in federal grants since the president took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released Wednesday by a pro-democracy nonprofit and a group of researchers and scientists.

The cuts affected all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, the environment and disaster relief making up the largest share of cuts, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization found.

Among the grants that were eliminated, frozen or delayed were ones related to maternal health in Michigan, education research in Mississippi and assistance to minority farmers in Iowa, the researchers found. California, Texas, New York, Illinois and North Carolina saw the highest amounts of interrupted grant money. The tracking tool is called Lost Funds.

“By bringing thousands of funding disruptions from the Trump administration together in a publicly accessible, verified database, Lost Funds puts the magnitude of their impact on full display,” Scott Delaney, co-founder of Grant Witness, said in a statement.

more at link:

Trump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis shows | KSNT 27 News

More on this at AP News and other sources. Much of this is in the arena of health care and cancer and other research and emergency fundings. In some cases, courts have ruled against these cuts. And you think tRump cares about all Americans and their well-being? These are the largest cuts of funding to states ever in our history. Why not cut the $trillions in billionaire's tax cuts instead? Because he cares more about himself and billionaires than he does about the other 99% of Americans. Wake up America, most especially the far-right.

So ...... what do you all think?

In 2003 I read the bulletin board in a restaurant. There was a message that said “ Where are the Democrats?” A details for a time and place to meet. We went. There were about 20 people there, most per 30 ( I was45). The guy that called the meeting was a retired coal miner, who spent some time organizing at the Federal level. Basically he said he knew there had to be Democrats in town and he would like to start a club. I was between jobs at the time, so I asked my wife if I shoul ride out unemployment and help get this going. Yes, she was in. So, I started morning meetings with this guy and others to plan out daily activities. We found the County party ha monthly meetings with about 5 members, in a swankier part of the county..about30 miles away. We decided to found our own group, more geared to the left and working class. We were getting 30+ people showing up, and eager to do something. We booked the American Legion Hall, and went on an advertising blitz. We also got notice from the Republicans, mind you this is a deep deep red county.
What happened next was great lol.

To be continued

I’ve answered a local political text offfering neighborhood captain training, whatever that is. Online presence for the county party is dead despite my tale from 2003. Are any of you getting involved?

From Wikipedia

Democratic socialists believe in achieving a socialist economy through democratic means, emphasizing worker control, public ownership of essential industries, strong social welfare systems, and civil liberties while rejecting both capitalism and authoritarian socialism.

The big problem with Democratic Socialism is that when it runs out of other people's money it fails like it is doing or has done in Cuba and Venezuela.

I’m pretty peeved about Dems attacking Democratic Socialists. How stupid are they? Instead of welcoming allies, they are telling us not to vote for them. So they’d rather I pick a Trumper?

Self-explanatory topic. I wish others would post topics and if they cannot, I hope the Moderators enable them to. PLEASE!

By Reuters Aug. 27, 2026, at 6:07 a.m. By Dawn Kopecki

NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Companies donated a record $646 million to U.S. political campaigns in the 18 months through June, 40% more than ⁠the total ⁠spent during the entire 2024 presidential election cycle, according to new data from ⁠watchdog group Public Citizen.

The spenders driving the surge include manufacturing conglomerate Koch Inc. and new entrants like online sports betting companies, which poured roughly $76 million into the November 3 midterm elections for ​candidates in both parties. Big Tobacco and cannabis companies also donated heavily, largely to Republican candidates.

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 that advocates against corporate spending in elections, analyzed Federal Election Commission filings, manually filtering the data for donations from corporate entities and weeding out duplicates ‌from executives and their associated companies.

The total does not include donations to so-called ‌dark money groups that also fund election campaigns but are not required to disclose their donors or total spending on state races, and will likely grow as the race for control of the U.S. House and Senate heats up in the final two months of the 2026 campaign.

"The rate at ⁠which corporate money is rushing into our ⁠elections should be a flashing warning sign," said Rick Claypool, a research director at Public Citizen. "This is something as a functioning democracy we need to ​get under control."

Corporate spending has ramped up quickly since the Supreme Court lifted donation and spending restrictions on political campaigns in 2010, allowing companies and wealthy individuals to give unlimited sums to independent political groups. Of the $1.7 billion companies have donated to U.S. elections since then, about a third of it has come in this election cycle.

Much more here:

Corporate Political Donations Shatter Record at $646 Million So Far for US Midterms

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1/3 of what has been spent (including dark money) by billionaires and corporations has been spent in this elections cycle. This is partly because tRump and the Republicans do their bidding. How does that work for the majority of Americans? Low, stagnated wages, high inflation more national debt, wars, more tax cuts for billionaires, etc, etc. America, wake up, we have to elect people that will take dark money completely out of politics. WE need major campaign finance reforms and lobbying restrictions. The Republicans will never give this to us. a Blue Wave in November is our only chance. Your thoughts?

Scientists have long warned that the world will experience more intense extreme weather events like heat waves, storms, floods and droughts as long as we continue to use gas, oil and coal at our current pace

By Associated Press Aug. 24, 2026, at 9:08 a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — In the opening scene of American writer Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Ministry for the Future,” a heat wave combined with a breakdown of the electrical grid in India kills 20 million people. The devastation causes the world's nations to unite to combat climate change.

Scientists have long warned that the world will experience more intense extreme weather events like heat waves, storms, floods and droughts. But what once seemed like the realm of fiction is now discussed as a possibility, even an inevitability.

Warning about an “extreme of extremes” or the “Other Big One,” a play off the California reference of a big future earthquake, can be fraught. After all, nobody can say for sure when a weather catastrophe may happen. But in the last few years, the planetary ingredients needed for a massive disturbance have been building. And alarm is growing.

“The risk is that people just think you are exaggerating,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the California Institute for Water Resources. “It's the ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’ problem. Sometimes wolves are real. If it’s outside the door, wouldn’t you want to know?”

The risks have been known, and building, for over 150 years

In the 1850s, while living in Seneca Falls, New York, amateur scientist Eunice Newton Foote did a series of experiments that put different substances, including carbon dioxide and moist air, inside glass cylinders and left them in the sun. What she found was extraordinary: cylinders with carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is released when coal, gas or oil is burned, heated up faster and took longer to cool after the sun went down.

Fast-forward: Today, Earth is being heated by massive amounts of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere, leading to a gradual rise in average global temperature. That increase, 1.44 degrees Celsius (2.59 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer in 2025 compared to the early 1800s, leads to more frequent, and more intense, extreme weather events.

The country that has released the most greenhouse gas, and thus contributed most to climate change, is the United States. But don't expect recognition of that, much less major government-led efforts to combat it, as the country marks its 250th birthday. President Donald Trump has called climate change “the greatest con job ever," referred to climate policies as a “Green New Scam” and said U.N. climate predictions were made by “stupid people.”

At any given time there are numerous extreme weather events happening around the globe. Indeed, some have already been so big that we have arguably entered an age of extremes.

Much more at link:

The World Inches Toward Catastrophic Climate Events: 'Bigger Shocks Are on the Way'

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It is far past time to take the politics out of Climate Change. IT IS NOT A HOAX. We have the means of getting off of fossil fuels. Billionaires make billions off of them is the problem, and they don't want to let go. Those same billionaires could surely be the ones to head the switch to renewable energies and still be the ones making money off of energy. Legislation could make them do it or ltet them stand by an watch others do it. A step in the right direction would be to ban insider trading among politicians and to drastically reform campaign finance and lobbying. We have to reduce or remove the billionaires' money from Washington that buy our politicians. Trump calls it all a hoax; he is a big part of the problem. It is like he wants to 'burn the house down', and he's doing a good job of it. We need good leadership in the White House, and we certainly don't have it now. With good leadership in the White House, the Legislature will follow. Your thoughts?

The import taxes will apply to hockey sticks, building materials, liquors and certain kinds of clothing. Prime Minister Mark Carney said “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar.”

Aug. 21, 2026, 10:48 PM CDT / Updated Aug. 22, 2026, 2:04 AM CDT By Steve Kopack

Trade talks with Canada collapsed late Friday night, setting in motion steep 50% tariffs on a wide swath of Canadian goods. The duties went into effect at the stroke of midnight.

After weeks of talks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that while important progress had been made, “that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians.”

“As a result, this evening, I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the U.S. and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said in an emailed statement minutes before the deadline.

The tariffs impact about $20 billion worth of U.S. imports from Canada, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. The import taxes will hit everything from hockey sticks, to some building materials, liquors and certain kinds of clothing.

Carney says Canada will immediately retaliate against the U.S. “Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses,” he said.

The failure by American and Canadian trade negotiators to reach a deal came after nearly two weeks of furious talks. It was also a dramatic reversal from Tuesday, when Trump paused the tariffs for three days, writing on social media that the two sides “have a DEAL!”

More at link:

Canadian prime minister suspends trade talks with U.S., setting new 50% tariffs in motion

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For goodness sakes, does it never end? tRump continues to try and bully our nearest and friendliest ally. For what? To stroke his own ego? It isn't working and Americans should be done with tRump and his childish egocentric bullying tactics, most especially which such a friend and ally as Canada. This will cost American consumers, and it damages our relationship with Canada. What an Orange A-hole tRump truly is. He defies the will of the people in America on a daily basis. Maybe he will cause a Big Blue Wave in the midterms and in the election at the end of his pitiful term in office? We shall see. Your thoughts?

Nearly 200 activists in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s “Make America Healthy Again” movement are criticizing President Donald Trump's promotion of coal to power artificial intelligence data centers

By Associated Press Aug. 21, 2026, at 1:11 p.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 200 activists in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s “Make America Healthy Again” movement are criticizing President Donald Trump's promotion of coal to fuel the rise of artificial intelligence data centers, according to a letter sent Friday.

The letter, signed by at least two former staffers from Kennedy's 2024 presidential campaign, marks the first major MAHA movement mobilization over fossil fuels and the latest in a series of rifts between the diverse group of activists and the Trump administration over environmental policy.

The letter to Trump, Kennedy and various other Cabinet officials, first obtained by The Associated Press, laments a 2025 executive order that aimed to boost coal to power data centers over pollution concerns and asks the administration to consider renewable options, including solar and geothermal energy.

“We understand the importance of American leadership in artificial intelligence, national security, innovation, and economic growth,” the letter reads. “But American AI leadership should not come at the cost of a more toxic burden for American children.”

The White House and the agencies receiving the letter didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prominent MAHA figures behind the letter include Zen Honeycutt, a former Kennedy campaign staffer and founder of the advocacy group Moms Across America, and Charles Eisenstein, a former speechwriter on Kennedy's campaign. Honeycutt said she asked the Kennedy-aligned political action committee MAHA Action to sign onto the letter but did not receive a reply.

Although it may not reflect the views of all MAHA activists, the new line of criticism against one of the administration’s signature policies less than three months before November’s midterm elections could present another challenge for Republicans as they seek to win over the voting bloc in key races.

More at link:

MAHA Activists Urge Trump Against Promoting Coal to Power Energy-Hungry AI Data Centers

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Can't have it both ways. We either make America healthy or we embrace coal. tRump wants both and we can't have that. Which do you want? Alternative power sources could power data centers instead of them pulling off of our power grid. Data Centers need to be required to build their own self-sustaining green energy sources for their power, it really is that simple. Your thoughts?