December 22, 2025
California Reservoir Water Level Update as Lake Surges 6 Feet in a Day
Newsweek - An atmospheric river is bringing a surge of moisture across California, with excessive rains causing Lake Oroville to rise more than 6 feet in the span of a day.
Atmospheric rivers are a "long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The storms brought by atmospheric rivers are known for their heavy snow, heavy rain and strong winds. They more commonly affect the West Coast, particularly during the winter months. Although the storms can bring beneficial snow that helps supplement reservoirs throughout the dry summer season, they can also trigger deadly flooding, mudslides and widespread power outages.
Atmospheric rivers are a "long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The storms brought by atmospheric rivers are known for their heavy snow, heavy rain and strong winds. They more commonly affect the West Coast, particularly during the winter months. Although the storms can bring beneficial snow that helps supplement reservoirs throughout the dry summer season, they can also trigger deadly flooding, mudslides and widespread power outages.
U.S. Housing Discrimination Complaints Rise
NY Times - Housing discrimination is on the rise in the United States, according to a new report, but fair housing advocates say the figures understate the scope of the problem.
The report, by the National Fair Housing Alliance, a nonprofit, said there were 32,321 complaints in 2024, drawing on data from fair housing organizations and government agencies. Complaints increased by more than 17 percent from 2014 to 2024 before a small drop. The highest number of complaints in recent years was in 2023, with 34,150.
The number of complaints has grown since 2014 for several reasons, including continuous efforts from nonprofits to educate the public about fair housing issues, said Lisa Rice, the alliance’s president and chief executive.
The report, by the National Fair Housing Alliance, a nonprofit, said there were 32,321 complaints in 2024, drawing on data from fair housing organizations and government agencies. Complaints increased by more than 17 percent from 2014 to 2024 before a small drop. The highest number of complaints in recent years was in 2023, with 34,150.
The number of complaints has grown since 2014 for several reasons, including continuous efforts from nonprofits to educate the public about fair housing issues, said Lisa Rice, the alliance’s president and chief executive.
Boiling lobsters alive may become illegal in England
The Guardian - Boiling lobsters alive will be banned under proposals to improve animal welfare in England. Government ministers say that “live boiling is not an acceptable killing method” for crustaceans and alternative guidance will be published.
The practice is already illegal in Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand. Animal welfare charities say that stunning lobsters with an electric gun or chilling them in cold air or ice before boiling them is more humane.
A ban would build on a law introduced by the Conservatives in 2022 which stated that invertebrates including octopus, crabs and lobsters were sentient and felt pain as much as other animals.
The practice is already illegal in Switzerland, Norway and New Zealand. Animal welfare charities say that stunning lobsters with an electric gun or chilling them in cold air or ice before boiling them is more humane.
A ban would build on a law introduced by the Conservatives in 2022 which stated that invertebrates including octopus, crabs and lobsters were sentient and felt pain as much as other animals.
Jeffrey Epstein
Occupy Democrats - The testimony of Susan Ransome from the trial of Epstein’s girlfriend and chief sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell contains a deeply disturbing glimpse into the deviancy of Donald J. Trump.
In her sworn statement, Ransome says that one of her friends “confided in me about her casual ‘friendship’ with Donald. Mr Trump definitely seemed to have a thing for her and she told me how he kept going on about how he liked her ‘pert nipples.’
“Donald Trump liked flicking and sucking her nipples until they were raw. One evening when we were showering together she showed me her nipples. They looked incredibly painful as they were red and swollen and I remember wincing when I looked at them. I also know she had sexual relations with Trump at Jeffery’s NY mansion on regular occasions as I once met Jen for coffee, just before she was going to meet Trump and Epstein together at his mansion.”
While this testimony was originally released in 2024, it somehow made little noise in the media before resurfacing in Friday’s document drop from the Department of Justice.
While it’s just the testimony of one woman, we also have the allegations of sexual assault and abuse from over two dozen women against Trump completely separate from the Epstein case, not to mention Katie Johnson’s allegations that Donald Trump raped her with Epstein.
Polls
American Research Group: Trump approval
Approve: 35% Disapprove: 62%
Approve: 41% Disapprove 50%
Gallup poll
Approve: 36%
Disapprove: 59%
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Christmas note
Sam Smith - Undernews may be unpredictably irregular over the next couple of weeks as your editor celebrates Christmas with his wife, two sons and their wives, and three grandchildren. This gang is a model of what America could be like if run by nice folk rather than the egocentric aggressives now in charge. But they may want to go upstreet just when there are still some unpublished items.
Driverless cars
Bloomberg - In San Francisco on Saturday, Waymo’s driverless cars stalled mid-ride across the city
as traffic lights went dark during a widespread power outage. The cars
became stationary roadblocks as traffic backed up, during one of the
city’s busiest shopping periods. Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft are charging
ahead abroad, teaming up with Baidu to trial robotaxis in the UK, starting in London next year.
US farmers say Trump’s funding not enough to undo damage from tariffs
The Guardian - While the US president has vowed to increase domestic farm production, and even claimed this formed a “big part” of his plan to lower grocery prices for Americans, many US farmers are grappling with mounting financial issues – compounded by Trump’s agenda.
Grain farmers, in particular, have been hit by trade disruptions caused by tariff hikes, and $11bn of the US Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will go to row-crop farmers. Trump’s trade war with China has hit soya bean farmers the hardest, as China bought 54% of US soya bean exports last year, according to the American Soybean Association.
But the one-time payments do little to assuage the financial stressors that row-crop farmers have faced for the past three years because of rising input costs and lower crop prices. This year alone, US crop farmers have lost $34.6bn, before crop insurance and other government support, according to the American Farm Bureau. Neither row-crop, nor specialty producers, who raise fruits and vegetables, made money in 2025, and the 2026 outlooks are bleak.
While federal aid was welcomed, Dan Wright, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said it falls short of what is needed. He said: “A program that provides roughly $50 an acre will not save the thousands of family farms that will go bankrupt before the end of the year.”
Grain farmers, in particular, have been hit by trade disruptions caused by tariff hikes, and $11bn of the US Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will go to row-crop farmers. Trump’s trade war with China has hit soya bean farmers the hardest, as China bought 54% of US soya bean exports last year, according to the American Soybean Association.
But the one-time payments do little to assuage the financial stressors that row-crop farmers have faced for the past three years because of rising input costs and lower crop prices. This year alone, US crop farmers have lost $34.6bn, before crop insurance and other government support, according to the American Farm Bureau. Neither row-crop, nor specialty producers, who raise fruits and vegetables, made money in 2025, and the 2026 outlooks are bleak.
While federal aid was welcomed, Dan Wright, president of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said it falls short of what is needed. He said: “A program that provides roughly $50 an acre will not save the thousands of family farms that will go bankrupt before the end of the year.”
Holiday scams
NPR - In a recent AARP survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. adults, nearly 9 out of 10 reported that someone had targeted them or they had fallen for some type of scam during the holiday season in the past year. Common schemes include fake shipping notifications, stolen packages and fake donation requests. Amy Nofziger, a fraud specialist with AARP, shtips on how to protect yourself.ares with Life Kit the top schemes she's been seeing this season and
🎁 Before using a vendor that is new to you, search their name plus
"scam," "fraud," and "complaint" to see other customers' experiences.
Use this information as a guide.
🎁 Avoid fake gift cards by buying the ones that are close to the front of the store and have more eyes on them. You can also purchase electronic gift cards instead of physical ones.
🎁 If an unexpected text from UPS or FedEx requests your personal information, contact the company’s customer service line separately and confirm that a package is indeed coming your way.
🎁 Avoid fake gift cards by buying the ones that are close to the front of the store and have more eyes on them. You can also purchase electronic gift cards instead of physical ones.
🎁 If an unexpected text from UPS or FedEx requests your personal information, contact the company’s customer service line separately and confirm that a package is indeed coming your way.
Immigration
NPR - If someone who is in the country illegally misses an order to appear
in immigration court, the government can issue in "in absentia" removal
order to deport them, according to NPR’s Ximena Bustillo. Based on
early analysis from January through November, NPR discovered that nearly
every U.S. immigration court has issued more of these orders for
failure to appear, Bustillo says. Orders spiked around June, coinciding
with the time when ICE officers began making arrests inside the
courthouses. Immigrants were hesitant to go to court after learning about these arrests, says Ruby Powers, an immigration attorney in Texas.
The way things used to be
Thom Hartmann - The media is freaking out over a new Rasmussen poll that found “A majority of voters under 40 want a democratic socialist to win the White House in the next presidential election.
“… 51% of Likely U.S. Voters ages 18 to 39 would like to see a democratic socialist candidate win the 2028 presidential election. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t want a democratic socialist to win in 2028, while 17% are not sure. …
“Among the youngest cohort (ages 18-24) of voters, 57% want a democratic socialist to win the next presidential election…
I was on Ali Velshi’s MSNOW show yesterday morning discussing this, along with Michael Green who recently wrote a thought-provoking article about how the official poverty line in America is completely out-of-date and out of touch with the needs of most Americans. I shared a few statistics from my recent book The Hidden History of the American Dream: the Demise of the Middle Class and How to Rescue Our Future:
“… 51% of Likely U.S. Voters ages 18 to 39 would like to see a democratic socialist candidate win the 2028 presidential election. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t want a democratic socialist to win in 2028, while 17% are not sure. …
“Among the youngest cohort (ages 18-24) of voters, 57% want a democratic socialist to win the next presidential election…
I was on Ali Velshi’s MSNOW show yesterday morning discussing this, along with Michael Green who recently wrote a thought-provoking article about how the official poverty line in America is completely out-of-date and out of touch with the needs of most Americans. I shared a few statistics from my recent book The Hidden History of the American Dream: the Demise of the Middle Class and How to Rescue Our Future:
— When, in 1957, my dad bought the house I grew up in, the average cost of a single-family home in America was about 2.2 times the average annual wage. Today it’s more than ten times the average wage.
— When my Boomer generation was the same age as today’s Millennials, we owned a bit over 22% of the nation’s wealth; Millennials today control only about 4% of the country’s wealth (and it’s the same for Zoomers).
— From the 1930s right up until the Reagan Revolution, it was possible for seniors to live comfortably on Social Security alone; Reagan undid that with his “reforms” so today that’s nearly impossible.
— When I ran my first seriously successful business in the early 1970s, it cost me around $35/month for comprehensive health insurance for each of my 18 employees; at that time hospitals and health insurance companies were required by Michigan law (where I lived; most other states were identical) to be run as non-profits. Today, health insurance can be as much as one-fifth of a company’s payroll expense.
— When Reagan came into office in 1981, a single wage earner could support a family with a middle-class lifestyle, and fully 65% of us were in the middle class (up from around 20% in the 1930s). Today, after 44 years of Reaganomics, it takes two full-time people to achieve the same status, which triggers huge childcare expenses, which is part of why only 43% of us are middle class .
— When my Boomer generation was the same age as today’s Millennials, we owned a bit over 22% of the nation’s wealth; Millennials today control only about 4% of the country’s wealth (and it’s the same for Zoomers).
— From the 1930s right up until the Reagan Revolution, it was possible for seniors to live comfortably on Social Security alone; Reagan undid that with his “reforms” so today that’s nearly impossible.
— When I ran my first seriously successful business in the early 1970s, it cost me around $35/month for comprehensive health insurance for each of my 18 employees; at that time hospitals and health insurance companies were required by Michigan law (where I lived; most other states were identical) to be run as non-profits. Today, health insurance can be as much as one-fifth of a company’s payroll expense.
— When Reagan came into office in 1981, a single wage earner could support a family with a middle-class lifestyle, and fully 65% of us were in the middle class (up from around 20% in the 1930s). Today, after 44 years of Reaganomics, it takes two full-time people to achieve the same status, which triggers huge childcare expenses, which is part of why only 43% of us are middle class .
Hundreds of Big Post-Election Donors Have Benefited From Trump’s Return to Office
NY Times - Since President Trump was elected a second time, he and his allies have raised nearly $2 billion for his favored political causes and passion projects. That total, which was confirmed by four people involved in the fund-raising, likely eclipses the amount raised to support his 2024 campaign.
The astounding haul hints at a level of transactionalism for which it is difficult to find obvious comparisons in modern American history. The identities of the donors behind much of the cash are not legally required to be, and have not been, publicly disclosed. In some cases, Mr. Trump’s team has offered donors anonymity.
To shed light on what has been a largely opaque fund-raising apparatus, The New York Times conducted a comprehensive investigation. It relied on previously unreported documents and public campaign finance filings, as well as interviews with dozens of people who are familiar with the solicitations or are involved in the fund-raising. It traced a large portion of the funds raised — more than half a billion dollars’ worth — back to 346 donors who each gave at least $250,000. It also found that more than half of them have benefited, or are involved in an industry that has benefited, from the actions or statements of Mr. Trump, the White House or federal agencies. Lots of details
The astounding haul hints at a level of transactionalism for which it is difficult to find obvious comparisons in modern American history. The identities of the donors behind much of the cash are not legally required to be, and have not been, publicly disclosed. In some cases, Mr. Trump’s team has offered donors anonymity.
To shed light on what has been a largely opaque fund-raising apparatus, The New York Times conducted a comprehensive investigation. It relied on previously unreported documents and public campaign finance filings, as well as interviews with dozens of people who are familiar with the solicitations or are involved in the fund-raising. It traced a large portion of the funds raised — more than half a billion dollars’ worth — back to 346 donors who each gave at least $250,000. It also found that more than half of them have benefited, or are involved in an industry that has benefited, from the actions or statements of Mr. Trump, the White House or federal agencies. Lots of details
Trump Halts Five Wind Farms Off the East Coast
NY Times - The Trump administration on Monday said it would pause leases for five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, a major blow to the country’s nascent offshore wind industry and a sharp escalation of President Trump’s crusade against it.
The decision leaves just two intact wind farms in U.S. coastal waters — one small project off Rhode Island that has been operating since 2016 and a larger project off New York that has been complete since 2023.
Citing unspecified national security concerns, Doug Burgum, the secretary of the interior, said in a statement that “the prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people.” He said the decision “addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers.”
The decision leaves just two intact wind farms in U.S. coastal waters — one small project off Rhode Island that has been operating since 2016 and a larger project off New York that has been complete since 2023.
Citing unspecified national security concerns, Doug Burgum, the secretary of the interior, said in a statement that “the prime duty of the United States government is to protect the American people.” He said the decision “addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our East Coast population centers.”
Trump’s attempted takeover of DC golf courses sets off controversy
The Hill - President Trump is eyeing a takeover of the Washington, D.C., public
golf system, but local golf officials and elected leaders are vowing not
to cede control of the city’s affordable courses
Treating our cultural differences as an asset rather than a problem
Sam Smith –I was one of six children and so learned early in life that other people weren’t like me. After all I had one sister who voted for Donald Trump and a brother who married a Puerto Rican woman.
The lesson I learned as a youngster, although I didn’t have the language for it at the time, was that the world was multicultural and that I had to get along with all sorts of people with different stories and different values. In America alone there were over 300 million folk living different lives than mine.
This turned out to be quite a useful discovery. For example, in the 1960s, I found myself working with several ministers and priests on the social and political issues of the time. I called myself a seventh day agnostic but realized that we could share our common views even though we had reached them in strikingly different ways.
Living in what was then the majority black town of DC made multiculturalism a daily event. One of the things I learned was that common issues can actually bring people together. I was, for example, introduced to the civil rights movement by taking part in a protest against a DC Transit fare increase led by the black Marion Barrry who would go on to be the first chair of SNCC and mayor of DC. Barry visited me after the article appeared and we work on various projects together. Among the issues that joined whites and blacks were the lack of home rule in the city and stopping freeways that could mess up both black and white neighborhoods.
Becoming a journalist had made personal cultural variety an even more common event for me. Majoring in anthropology didn’t hurt. Nor did growing up in a house where the family’s black cook reasonably claimed that it was she, and not my mother, who had raised me.
What has become increasingly clear was that the world – starting with my family – was varied and I had to learn how to get along with those of different styles, values and skin color.
My multicultural experience was a gift to me, but has left me wondering how we can help others treat it as a positive goal rather than endless problems to be overcome.
I suspect that teaching multicultural skills in schools would help. But we shouldn’t treat it just as a problem but rather as a healthy status to be achieved and enjoyed. One of my great pleasures in life has been having friends and allies who didn’t talk or look like me
December 21, 2025
Word
James Talarico, Texas State Representative, former middle school teacher, and Presbyterian seminarian running for the U.S. Senate -- The Bible doesn't mention abortion or gay marriage, but it goes on and on about forgiving debt, liberating the poor, and healing the sick. The closest thing we have to the kingdom of heaven is a multiracial, multicultural democracy where power is truly shared
Polls
Trump Approval Poll Among Hispanics
Disapprove - 71%
Approve - 29%
Approve - 29%
Via YouGov
Pam Bondi Favorables by AtlasIntel
February
Favorable: 49% (+6)
Unfavorable: 43%
December
Favorable: 26% (-41)
Unfavorable: 67%
Net 47-point negative swing
CNN/SSRS poll: Who would you like to see run for president in 2028? Among Democrats/Democratic leaners
Gavin Newsom 11%
Kamala Harris 5%
AOC 4% P
Pete Buttigieg 2%
No one specific in mind 64%
Kamala Harris 5%
AOC 4% P
Pete Buttigieg 2%
No one specific in mind 64%
Among Republicans/Republican leaners
JD Vance 22%
Marco Rubio 4%
Ron DeSantis 2%
No one specific in mind 64%
No one specific in mind 64%
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Mitch McConnell on Trump
NBC News - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has endorsed Donald Trump for president this year. But in a new book, the powerful Kentucky Republican is quoted after the 2020 election disparaging Trump as a “despicable human being,” “stupid” and “ill-tempered."
Those quotes and scenes are depicted in “The Price of Power,” a new book out [in October] by veteran journalist Michael Tackett, deputy bureau chief of The Associated Press. His reporting is based on almost three decades of private oral histories McConnell shared with Tackett, as well as more than 50 hours of interviews and thousands of McConnell’s personal and official records.
McConnell did not deny his statements about Trump as quoted in the book, when asked about it Thursday. “Whatever I may have said about President Trump pales in comparison to what JD Vance, Lindsey Graham, and others have said about him,” McConnell said in a statement, “but we are all on the same team now.”
In the book, McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history, gives his unfiltered observations about presidents, House speakers, Cabinet officials, fellow senators and tech leaders. But his most scathing criticism was reserved for Trump.
In late December 2020, a month after Joe Biden defeated Trump in the presidential election, McConnell skewered Trump for holding up billions of dollars in Covid relief funds.
“This despicable human being is sitting on this package of relief that the American people desperately need,” McConnell told his oral historian.
McConnell was also worried that Trump’s actions after losing the election — questioning Georgia’s election system and feuding with state officials there — could cost Republicans two Senate seats in the Peach State that same month. Republicans did end up losing both seats — and the Senate majority....
Trump is “stupid as well as being ill-tempered and can’t even figure out where his own best interests lie,” McConnell said.
Those quotes and scenes are depicted in “The Price of Power,” a new book out [in October] by veteran journalist Michael Tackett, deputy bureau chief of The Associated Press. His reporting is based on almost three decades of private oral histories McConnell shared with Tackett, as well as more than 50 hours of interviews and thousands of McConnell’s personal and official records.
McConnell did not deny his statements about Trump as quoted in the book, when asked about it Thursday. “Whatever I may have said about President Trump pales in comparison to what JD Vance, Lindsey Graham, and others have said about him,” McConnell said in a statement, “but we are all on the same team now.”
In the book, McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history, gives his unfiltered observations about presidents, House speakers, Cabinet officials, fellow senators and tech leaders. But his most scathing criticism was reserved for Trump.
In late December 2020, a month after Joe Biden defeated Trump in the presidential election, McConnell skewered Trump for holding up billions of dollars in Covid relief funds.
“This despicable human being is sitting on this package of relief that the American people desperately need,” McConnell told his oral historian.
McConnell was also worried that Trump’s actions after losing the election — questioning Georgia’s election system and feuding with state officials there — could cost Republicans two Senate seats in the Peach State that same month. Republicans did end up losing both seats — and the Senate majority....
Trump is “stupid as well as being ill-tempered and can’t even figure out where his own best interests lie,” McConnell said.
Word
Robert Reich - Millions of Americans are about to see their health insurance costs skyrocket as ACA subsidies expire at the end of the year. How did Congress respond this week? By heading home for the holidays.
Good questions
Robert Reich -What do these corporations all have in common?
-Lockheed Martin
-Palantir
-Microsoft
-Amazon
-Comcast
-Google
-Apple
-Meta
-HP
-Nvidia
-T-Mobile ...They all have lucrative government contracts — and they're all donors to Trump's $400M ballroom.
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| Occupy Democrats |
Trump tries to create a royal presidency
NY Times - When President Trump hosted the crown prince of Saudi Arabia last month, he pulled out all the stops. To the traditional pomp of a formal White House visit, he added a few even fancier touches: a stirring military flyover, a procession of black horses and long, regal tables for the lavish dinner in the East Room instead of the typical round tables.
For surprised White House veterans who were paying attention, the unusual flourishes looked a little familiar. Just two months earlier, King Charles III of Britain welcomed Mr. Trump for a state visit that included, yes, a stirring military flyover, a procession of black horses and a long, regal table for the lavish dinner in St. George’s Hall at Windsor Palace.
In his first year back in office, Mr. Trump has unabashedly adopted the trappings of royalty just as he has asserted virtually unbridled power to transform American government and society to his liking. In both pageantry and policy, Mr. Trump has established a new, more audacious version of the imperial presidency that goes far beyond even the one associated with Richard M. Nixon, for whom the term was popularized half a century ago.
For surprised White House veterans who were paying attention, the unusual flourishes looked a little familiar. Just two months earlier, King Charles III of Britain welcomed Mr. Trump for a state visit that included, yes, a stirring military flyover, a procession of black horses and a long, regal table for the lavish dinner in St. George’s Hall at Windsor Palace.
In his first year back in office, Mr. Trump has unabashedly adopted the trappings of royalty just as he has asserted virtually unbridled power to transform American government and society to his liking. In both pageantry and policy, Mr. Trump has established a new, more audacious version of the imperial presidency that goes far beyond even the one associated with Richard M. Nixon, for whom the term was popularized half a century ago.
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