TheDemCoalition - In 2025, payroll growth slowed to less than half the pace of 2024 - and hiring particularly fell off a cliff after ‘Liberation Day’ on April 2nd when Trump's asinine tariff policy was officially launched in full.
January 13, 2026
Federal judge rules against Trump regime
Newsweek - A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration's cancellation of approximately $8 billion in energy grants violated the Constitution by targeting recipients primarily based in Democratic-leaning states.
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta issued a 17-page opinion finding the Department of Energy's (DOE) grant terminations unlawful under the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee. The ruling orders the department to restore seven specific grants worth $27.6 million that were part of a broader cancellation affecting more than 200 projects announced by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought on October 1, 2025, the first day of the government shutdown.
Elizabeth Warren urges a Democratic left turn
NY Times - Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Monday let fly a wide-ranging attack on business-friendly Democrats and their billionaire supporters, warning that her party risked cozying up too much to corporate interests as it tries to shed perceptions that it has drifted too far to the left.
“I understand the temptation — in this moment of national crisis — to sand down our edges to avoid offending anyone, especially the rich and powerful who might finance our candidates,” she said in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. “But we can’t win unless we rebuild trust” with the working class.
Her speech sought to stake out a progressive economic vision for the Democratic Party as some of its leaders work to pull the party to the center in an effort to make it more competitive nationally. As an attempt to get attention, it worked in one way: Ms. Warren said on Monday afternoon that President Trump had called her after her speech and they had discussed affordability.
Now 76 and unlikely to run for president again in 2028, Ms. Warren has mostly taken a back seat as younger Democratic politicians jockey for the next presidential contest. She remains a prominent voice on the party’s left, however, and her remarks signaled worry among progressives that they may not have much of a say in Democrats’ future economic message.
Falls cause more deaths than car crashes
USA Facts - Accidental falls have quietly become one of the deadliest threats to older Americans, surpassing many other major causes of death. Despite widespread efforts to prevent them, fall-related deaths have increased over the past two decades.
In 2023, more Americans died from accidental falls (47,026) than motor vehicle accidents (44,762), reversing a pattern from 2000.
While an aging population contributes to the rise, fall death rates have still more than doubled on an age-adjusted basis, with rates rising in every senior age bracket.
Trumpers even oppose protests
Mother Jones - Two days after an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis, Rep. Roger Williams issued an ultimatum to the Trump administration’s critics in Minnesota and beyond.
That’s a pretty clear encapsulation of MAGA-world’s views on dissent these days. You aren’t supposed to protest. You aren’t supposed to “yell at” or “challenge” the militarized federal agents occupying your city. And anyone who wants to be “protected” should probably just stay “in their homes.” Williams isn’t some fringe backbencher; he’s a seven-term congressman who chairs the House Small Business Committee. He is announcing de facto government policy.
“People need to quit demonstrating, quit yelling at law enforcement, challenging law enforcement, and begin to get civil,” the Texas Republican told NewsNation. “And until we do that, I guess we’re going to have it this way. And the people that are staying in their homes or doing the right thing need to be protected.”
That’s a pretty clear encapsulation of MAGA-world’s views on dissent these days. You aren’t supposed to protest. You aren’t supposed to “yell at” or “challenge” the militarized federal agents occupying your city. And anyone who wants to be “protected” should probably just stay “in their homes.” Williams isn’t some fringe backbencher; he’s a seven-term congressman who chairs the House Small Business Committee. He is announcing de facto government policy.
You could be next
Robert Reich - If agents of the federal government can murder a 37-year-old woman in broad daylight who, as videotapes show, was merely trying to get out of their way, they can murder you.
Even if Trump and his vice president and his secretary of homeland security all claim, contrary to the videotapes, that Renee Macklin Good was trying to kill an agent who acted in self-defense, they could make up the same about you.
Even if Trump describes her as a “professional agitator” and his goons call her a “domestic terrorist,” they could say the same about you regardless of your political views or activism. If you have left-wing political views and are an activist, you’re in greater danger.
How can we believe what the FBI turns up in its investigation, when the FBI is working for Trump and is headed by one of his goons, and is investigating possible connections between Renee Good and groups that have been protesting Trump’s immigration enforcement?
What credence can we give federal officials who are blocking local and state investigators from reviewing evidence they’re collecting?
You could be murdered because Trump’s attorney general has defined “domestic terrorism” to include impeding law enforcement officers. What if you’re merely standing in the way — in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or maybe you’re engaging in non-violent civil disobedience?
ICE
NY Times - State and city officials in Minnesota and Illinois filed federal lawsuits against the Trump administration on Monday, claiming that the mass deployment of immigration agents to the Minneapolis and Chicago regions violated the U.S. Constitution and infringed on states’ rights.
Illinois asked a judge to block U.S. Customs and Border Protection “from conducting civil immigration enforcement” in the state without “express congressional authorization.” The Minnesota lawsuit asked a judge to block the federal government from “implementing the unprecedented surge in Minnesota.”
The lawsuits, filed separately in U.S. District Courts in the two Democratic-led states, came a week into a stepped-up immigration enforcement blitz in Minnesota and following a highly visible campaign in Chicago in recent months. Both the Illinois and Minnesota lawsuits claimed that the federal deployments violated state sovereignty under the Constitution’s 10th Amendment.
States ranked by ethnic progress
WalletHub - WalletHub measured the gaps between Black people and white people across 22 key indicators of equality in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data set ranges from median annual household income to standardized-test scores to voter turnout.
Key Stats
| States With the Most Racial Progress | Most Integrated States Overall |
| 1. Georgia | 1. Arizona |
| 2. Mississippi | 2. New Mexico |
| 3. Texas | 3. Delaware |
| 4. North Carolina | 4. Washington |
| 5. Maryland | 5. Texas |
| 6. Florida | 6. Maryland |
| 7. New Jersey | 7. Hawaii |
| 8. Massachusetts | 8. Georgia |
| 9. Louisiana | 9. Kentucky |
| 10. New Mexico | 10. Alaska |
Key Stats
- The District of Columbia has the lowest gap in homeownership rates between white people and Black people. Connecticut has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970.
- New Hampshire has the lowest gap in median annual household incomes between white people and Black people. Georgia has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1979.
- Alaska has the lowest gap in unemployment rates between white people and Black people. North Dakota has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970.
- Hawaii has the lowest gap in poverty rates between white people and Black people. Mississippi has made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970.
- Wyoming has the lowest gap in bachelor’s degree attainment (for adults ages 25+) between white people and Black people. Wyoming has also made the most progress in closing this gap since 1970.
Major changes in health funding will affect hospitals' survival
Axios - Sweeping changes to Medicaid and the ACA are combining with rising health costs to make 2026 a high-stakes year for hospital operators.
While major health systems like HCA are likely to weather the worst, some safety net providers and facilities on tight margins could close or scale back services as uncompensated care costs mount and uncertainty around future policies swirls.
- "We took a big hit in 2025," said Beth Feldpush, senior vice president of policy and advocacy at America's Essential Hospitals. "I don't think that the field can absorb any further hits without us really seeing a crisis."
Last year's GOP tax-and-spending law will decrease federal Medicaid funding by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, translating into millions more uninsured, lower reimbursements and higher costs for hospitals.
- The Trump administration is also considering big changes to the way Medicare pays for outpatient services that could reduce spending by nearly $11 billion over the next decade, including less for chemotherapy.
Hospitals have the rest of this year to boost their balance sheets, invest in technology including AI, and even consider merger plans before the biggest changes take effect in 2027, Fitch Ratings wrote in its annual outlook for nonprofit facilities. The financial outlook remains stable for the sector overall next year, the report predicts.
Hospitals in some instances have started closing unprofitable services like maternity care and behavioral health care in the face of financial pressures. More than 300 rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closing their operations Read more
Just a suggestion for the Supreme Court
Sam Smith - Postpone the decision on transgender athletes for a year or two. Then you'll have better actual stats and can make a stronger case.
Clintons Refuse to Testify in Epstein Inquiry
NY Times - Bill and Hillary Clinton refused on Tuesday to testify in the House’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation, escalating a monthslong battle with Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky, and effectively daring him to follow through on his threats to hold them in contempt of Congress.
“Every person has to decide when they have seen or had enough and are ready to fight for this country, its principles and its people, no matter the consequences,” the Clintons wrote in a lengthy letter to Mr. Comer, which was obtained by The New York Times. “For us, now is that time.”
Mr. Comer’s relentless efforts to force them to testify reflect his overall approach to his panel’s Epstein inquiry. As the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Mr. Comer has sought to shift the focus from President Trump’s ties to the convicted sex offender and his administration’s decision to close its investigation into the matter without releasing key information. Instead, he has sought to shift the spotlight onto prominent Democrats who once associated with Mr. Epstein and his longtime companion Ghislaine Maxwell.
Health
Axios - Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s ideas have made their deepest inroads at the state level, where lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills targeting vaccines, fluoridated water and "forever chemicals." (KFF Health News)
Health.com - On Jan. 6, the Food and Drug Administration gave the highest risk level, Class I, to a nationwide recall of Pecorino Romano cheese. The cheese, produced by the Ambriola Company, was initially recalled in late November after routine testing found Listeria contamination. Listeria infections are relatively rare, but the bacteria are a leading cause of death from foodborne illness. To date, no infections have been reported in connection to the recalled cheese
Immigration
The Hill - The Trump administration said it would end temporary deportation protections for Somalis, targeting one of the largest immigrant communities in Minnesota. The decision, announced by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt ... indicates Somali recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would need to leave the country by March 17. According to the National Immigration Forum, 705 Somalis are covered by TPS.
Trump finds a few things in common with liberals
NBC News - Trump is turning to unlikely allies as he rolls out a new economic agenda to address affordability concerns and position Republicans for the midterm elections.
The president has renewed a campaign promise to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent, vowed to ban investors from buying up housing and directed mortgage giants Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac to invest $200 billion in mortgage bonds.
This new agenda, which includes several liberal wish-list items, has raised eyebrows among traditional economic conservatives by having the government take ownership stakes in some private companies and pressuring Federal Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, along with the Justice Department launching an investigation into his leadership at the Federal Reserve.
Liberal Democrats in the House and Senate have pushed to lower home prices by targeting investors for years, and Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Josh Hawley, R. Ro., recently introduced legislation to limit credit card rates for one year.
Meanwhile. . .
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Mark Kelly strikes back at Hegseth
Roll Call - Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly on Monday sued Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department in D.C. district court over the Pentagon’s attempt to reduce Kelly’s pension pay and rank after he appeared in a November video that urged troops to refuse unlawful orders.
The lawsuit contends that Kelly’s speech was protected by the First Amendment and that the video constituted protected speech. It also argues that the Pentagon’s retaliation violated the Speech or Debate Clause that protects members of Congress for legislative activity.
“In 1986, at just 22 years old, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. I have fulfilled that oath every day since, but I never expected that I would have to defend it against a Secretary of Defense or President,” Kelly said in a press release.
By filing the lawsuit, Kelly said he was standing up for “bedrock principles of our democracy,” including freedom of speech, separation of powers and due process. More
Trump's war on civil rights
NY Times - President Trump said in an interview that he believed civil rights-era protections resulted in white people being “very badly treated,” his strongest indication that the concept of “reverse discrimination” is driving his aggressive crusade against diversity policies.
Speaking to The New York Times on Wednesday, Mr. Trump echoed grievances amplified by Vice President JD Vance and other top officials who in recent weeks have urged white men to file federal complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
When asked whether protections that began in the 1960s, spurred by the passage of the Civil Rights Act, had resulted in discrimination against white men, Mr. Trump said he believed “a lot of people were very badly treated.”
“White people were very badly treated, where they did extremely well and they were not invited to go into a university to college,” he said, an apparent reference to affirmative action in college admissions. “So I would say in that way, I think it was unfair in certain cases.”
House of Representatives
The Hill - Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) already fragile GOP majority is hanging by a thread, as the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and the departure of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) narrow the party’s razor-thin margin.
LaMalfa’s death and Greene’s exit leave Johnson with a 218-213 majority in the House, allowing him to lose no more than two votes on any given bill, assuming all members are present and Democrats are unified in opposition.
Climate
The Guardian - The Trump administration’s exit from the world’s most important climate treaty – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – may have been illegal, some experts say. “In my legal opinion, he does not have the authority,” says Harold Hongju Koh, former head lawyer for the US state department. The US entered the UNFCCC with the consultation and approval of the Senate in 1992.
President Trump last week announced that he's withdrawing from the world's flagship climate treaty that's been in place for more than 30 years, making the U.S. the only country not to be part of it.
"There's no hand-waving about how 'We want to cooperate on climate,'" oil historian and S&P Global vice chairman Dan Yergin said in an interview. "It's, 'We're slamming the door on that issue.'"...
.After the Cold War, countries — led by the U.S. — bonded together and created global institutions.
The last Mhas seen an epic reversal that spread quickly from governments to boardrooms to pop culture.... More
Trump's war on American history
The Guardian - The Smithsonian has been in Donald Trump’s sights in his war on “woke.” Charlotte Higgins writes for the long read about Trump’s desire for museums “to reflect a MAGA vision of American history that was nationalist and triumphalist,” and downplay “reflection on darker aspects of [the US] past, specifically its history of slavery.”
CBS
The Guardian - David Letterman, the former CBS late-night host, has criticized his old network, calling CBS News a “wreck” under its newly installed leadership, which has already prevented 60 Minutes from airing an episode critical of the Trump administration.
Gaza
The Guardian - Artists, doctors, human rights leaders and humanitarian organizations signed a letter calling for an end to Israel’s “systematic attacks” on Gaza hospitals, including Cynthia Nixon, Mark Ruffalo and Ilana Glazer.
Trump's attack on Powell
The Hill - Senate Republicans are rushing to defend Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from a Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation that Powell says is politically motivated and aimed at undercutting the Fed’s independence.
GOP lawmakers are challenging the Trump administration’s investigation of Powell a week after five Republican senators voted to advance a war powers resolution to bar Trump from taking military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization.
The loudest warning shot against the White House came from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, who accused Trump’s advisers of deliberately trying to undercut the Fed’s independence and threatened to block the president’s nominees to the Fed until the investigation is “fully resolved.”
He said the criminal probe into Powell’s testimony before Congress last year over the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington raises questions about the “independence and credibility of the Department of Justice.”
Bloomberg - Global central bankers threw their support behind Jerome Powell, saying they “stand in full solidarity” with the Fed.
NY Times - A criminal investigation into whether Mr. Powell lied to Congress, revealed by The New York Times on Sunday, has prompted the central bank to jettison its cautious approach and fight. The battle’s outcome could determine whether the Fed remains an independent entity.
“Trump is now exercising the nuclear option, so there is no longer a reason for Powell not to speak his mind,” said Maurice Obstfeld, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who was formerly the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
Mr. Powell’s decision to push back, which came in a rare video message on Sunday evening, tees up the most challenging moment in his roughly eight years at the helm of the central bank. Mr. Powell, whose term as chair ends in May, must now decide how hard to continue fighting and whether to remain in his role as a governor, a term that is set to expire in 2028.
On Tuesday, nine central bank governors – including the governor of the Bank of England and the chair of the European Central Bank – issued a joint statement offering “full solidarity” to Powell.
Hayes Brown, MS NOW - The Trump administration’s legal threat against Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell is as unprecedented as it is ham-fisted. Powell revealed in a video statement Sunday that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into him over the renovations of the Washington headquarters of the independent agency he runs. Although everyone can see through the stated reason for the lawsuit to the president’s obsession with interest rates — which Powell articulated sharply — it’s startling that the Justice Department is willing to risk colossal damage to the U.S. economy to further President Donald Trump’s agenda. Especially considering it still might not even accomplish the latter.
As a criminal matter, the investigation makes little sense. Federal prosecutors are examining whether Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project or did not obtain the proper permits to undertake the $2.5 billion renovations, The Wall Street Journal reported. The project has run over budget, but the Fed has been transparent about where the additional costs have come from, and which features from an earlier proposal that drew criticism had been nixed. It’s hard to see how benefit Powell could have benefited from this situation.
As a criminal matter, the investigation makes little sense. Federal prosecutors are examining whether Powell lied to Congress about the scope of the project or did not obtain the proper permits to undertake the $2.5 billion renovations, The Wall Street Journal reported. The project has run over budget, but the Fed has been transparent about where the additional costs have come from, and which features from an earlier proposal that drew criticism had been nixed. It’s hard to see how benefit Powell could have benefited from this situation.
Iran
The Guardian - Donald Trump has said any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the US, as Washington weighs a response amid Iran’s largest anti-government protests in years....
Footage showed dozens of bodies lined up outside Tehran’s morgue, as the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 648 people have been killed. The US-based Human Rights Activists’ News Agency has reported more than 10,600 arrests.
Footage showed dozens of bodies lined up outside Tehran’s morgue, as the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 648 people have been killed. The US-based Human Rights Activists’ News Agency has reported more than 10,600 arrests.
January 12, 2026
History moments
Frenk Woody - One evening in October 1994, John F. Kennedy Jr. entered a small Italian restaurant in southern Manhattan and did something that the owner, Giovanni Russo, said he never forgot. Seeing that all the tables were occupied and that a young waitress, on her first night of work, was overwhelmed and on the verge of tears, John discreetly asked if he could help clear tables until the situation calmed down.
Giovanni later told the New York Times that he had tried to politely refuse: “Mr. Kennedy, you are a guest, please have a seat and I’ll find you a table.”
But John smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and replied:
“I worked in a restaurant during law school and I remember how scary the first night can be. Let me help.”
For the next forty-five minutes, he cleared tables, refilled water glasses, and made jokes to calm the waitress, Maria Sanchez. When the rush hour ended, he refused the free meal offered by Giovanni and instead left a hundred-dollar tip with a note:
“For Maria — you’re doing great, and it gets easier, I promise.”
Maria, who later became a restaurant manager, kept that note framed in every establishment where she worked for twenty-five years. In 2004, she told a journalist:
“That evening, Mr. Kennedy taught me that true class isn’t about where you sit, but about who you choose to stand beside when things get tough.”
Polls
Gallup Poll: The percentage of Democrats identifying as 'Liberal' or 'Very Liberal' has more than doubled over the last 30 years
• 1994: 25%
• 2005: 33%
• 2025: 59% (New Record High)
Nearly 15,000 nurses go on strike at NYC hospitals
NY Times - Nearly 15,000 nurses went on strike Monday at some of New York City’s top hospitals, setting the stage for what could be one of the biggest labor showdowns in the city’s health care industry in decades.
The union representing the nurses says a strike is necessary to force hospitals to ensure minimum staffing ratios so that nurses aren’t overwhelmed with too many patients. They are also demanding higher wages and more security at hospitals to reduce violent episodes and shootings.
... For weeks, hospital executives had been preparing to keep hospitals running and medical care accessible in the event of a strike. They secured contracts with staffing agencies to provide travel nurses and reserved hotel rooms for them, according to officials at the Greater New York Hospital Association, a trade group.
Some hospitals canceled scheduled surgeries and accelerated discharges during the weekend to reduce patient counts because of the prospect of a strike. The affected hospitals arranged to transfer infants out of their neonatal intensive care units to units elsewhere, according to Elisabeth R. Wynn, an executive vice president at the hospital association.
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The state Department of Health on Saturday instructed hospitals not affected by the strike to be prepared to accept patients from the affected medical centers. The letter makes it clear that hospitals where nurses are on strike are free to transfer patients, even against the patients’ will.
Donald Trump says white men are discriminated against
Indpendent UK - President Donald Trump said that landmark civil rights protections ushered in during the 1960s have resulted in white people being treated “very badly.”
The president was interviewed by The New York Times last week and was asked whether he believed civil rights protections that began in the 1960s with the passage of the Civil Rights Act “resulted ultimately in the discrimination against white men.”
“Well, I think that a lot of people were very badly treated,” Trump replied. “White people were very badly treated, where they did extremely well and they were not invited to go into a university or a college.”...Trump added the protections “accomplished some very wonderful things, but it also hurt a lot of people,” and claimed that “people that deserve to go to a college or deserve to get a job were unable to get a job.”
Meanwhile. . .
Axios - Miami Beach's Fisher Island (33109) was the priciest U.S. ZIP code in 2025, with a median sale price of $9.5 million, according to a PropertyShark analysis. ...Atherton, California (94027), near San Francisco, where the typical home sold for $8.3 million, came in second after eight straight years at the top. Sagaponack, New York, in the Hamptons (11962), followed at $5.9 million. In all, California ZIPs made up 61% of the 120 ranked.
McDonald’s plans big menu changes in 2026 including its biggest burger ever
Business leaders affiliated with AI companiess were among those who made big donations to MAGA Inc.
Cuba has rejected Trump’s call for the country’s government to “cut a deal” with the U.S. on oil, responding, “No one dictates what we do.”
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