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Polls

Pew Research - The latest polling from the Pew Research Center is a damning indictment of the political establishment in this country. About 60% of Americans have a negative view of both Republicans and Democrats — and Democrats are 1% less popular.

So even with the absolute disasters controlling the White House and Congress, Americans still say they dislike Democrats — even slightly more than they dislike Republicans.

This is why Democrats still lose — even when Republicans are unpopular. ....

Middle East

Headline USA  - Israel’s latest strikes on Lebanon and Iran have made clear that U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who started the war in lockstep, want different things.Trump had publicly warned Israel not to strike Beirut in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. When it did, on Sunday, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire. Israel then struck Iran, with which Trump has been engaged in weeks of high-stakes negotiations.

The fighting has since died down, but the differences between the two leaders are likely to persist. That’s because Trump, whose party faces elections later this year, wants to wind down an unpopular war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ease gas prices. Iran says a full ceasefire in Lebanon is key to any deal.

Roll Call -    The U.S.-Iran war appears to have no end in sight, as it hit its 100-day mark over the weekend despite President Trump’s campaign promises to keep the U.S. out of long-term foreign conflicts.  Trump denied ever promising not to start any new wars and disputed that Washington’s conflict with Tehran constituted an “endless war” during an interview with NBC News’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that aired on Sunday.

However, the president continues to be dogged by questions about the war’s peace prospects as renewed strikes between Israel and Iran threaten the fragile truce between the U.S. and Iran. “The ceasefire was always more theoretical than real,” said Michael Rubin, a Pentagon official during the second Bush administration.

... One former Trump administration official argued the strikes between Israel and Iran do not jeopardize the ceasefire because it is in Iran’s interests for the negotiations to drag out. “Iran is playing a bit of a game here in trying to position that they might jeopardize the talks,” the former official said. “They think they benefit from the talks dragging out over time.”

Others warn that the Iranian regime’s position poses a long-term risk to the country’s own economy if the talks drag.  According to Al-Jazeera, the Central Bank of Iran reported last week that the country’s annual inflation rate spiked to 77.2 percent during the period between April 21 and May 20 compared to last year. The report also found that point-to-point inflation for goods spiked to 113 percent. 

And while Iran’s stock market reopened late last month after being shut down for 80 days due to the war, 40 major companies remained suspended with their latest financial reports outstanding.

“We, actually, as the United States, have a fair amount of leverage at this point, and I have no problem with letting that build,” said Victoria Coates, a member of Trump’s National Security Council during his first administration. 

“They can probably limp along for a couple of months,” she continued. “But those kinds of systemic problems that they have, they compound. If you continue limping along, it becomes harder and harder to come back.”  

Iran’s oil industry was dealt a major blow Monday, when Israel struck the massive petrochemical complex in Mahshahr. 

“They were counting on, particularly that industry springing back to life pretty quickly when the strait was reopened so they could start getting that out. It’s one of their most lucrative exports, and that’s now gone,” she said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.

But as Republicans seek to defend their majorities in the House and Senate, Trump is facing political pressure back home to wrap up the war. Democrats have seized on rising energy prices and voters’ disillusionment over the conflict. 

“Another expensive conflict with no end in sight is not what the American people want or need right now,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), noting the war powers resolutions in the House and the Senate that would theoretically force Trump to end the conflict. 

While a war powers resolution’s passage in the House last week was largely symbolic, four GOP lawmakers notably voted with Democrats on the measure. 

Many Republicans push back against calling the Iran conflict an “endless war,” noting the ceasefire that has been in place since April. 

“It’s hard for me to see this as a quagmire,” Coates said. “That said, the Iranians have a vote in all of this.” 

Iran announced on Monday that it was suspending ballistic missile attacks on Israel but warned of “a harsher and more crushing response” if Israel restarted attacks in southern Lebanon. 

Observers note that Iran has been working to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Israel with Lebanon.

Last week, Trump expressed his frustrations to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s incursion into Lebanon during a heated phone call. The incursion was part of Israel’s effort to target the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah; however, Iran announced it was suspending talks with the U.S. after Israel’s attacks. 

Tensions between Israel and Iran reached a breaking point on Sunday, after Iran launched missiles into Israel, marking the first time Tehran fired into Israel during its ceasefire with the U.S. Israel responded, hitting military targets in western and central Iran. 

Trump’s reply to the back-and-forth signaled a shift in his rhetoric toward Israel, which was closely partnered with Washington at the beginning of the war. 

“I call the shots. I call all the shots. He doesn’t call the shots,” Trump, referring to Netanyahu, told the Financial Times in an interview on Sunday.

Trump also told the publication that Israel “won’t have any choice” but to accept any potential deal to end the war with Iran.

Rubin said Trump’s comments toward Netanyahu were a part of the U.S. president’s effort to “bully” his Israeli counterpart. 

“He plays into Iranian conspiracies by depicting Israel as an American proxy,” Rubin said. “Instead, Trump should tell Iran: ‘You want Israel to stop whacking Hezbollah? Then talk to the Israelis directly.'”

In a statement aired on Israeli television on Monday, Netanyahu warned that if Iran “makes a mistake and resumes attacks against us,” Israel “will respond forcefully.” 

A White House official confirmed that Trump and Netanyahu spoke Monday, while Netanyahu described Trump as his “friend” and their conversations as “positive” in his statement. 

Rubin argued it would behoove Trump to take advantage of the Israeli and Lebanese governments sharing a common enemy in Hezbollah. 

“Hezbollah is more of a threat to Lebanese sovereignty than Israel,” he said. 

Coates acknowledged that there is tension, particularly over Lebanon, between the U.S. and Israeli leaders, but argued Iran has not been successful in driving a wedge between them. 

“They’re two very powerful personalities in very high pressure jobs,” she said. “It doesn’t mean the alliance is fracturing, or it would have fractured 10 years ago.” 

Stellantis recalls more than 1 million Jeeps in U.S

Newsbreak -   Chrysler's parent company, Stellantis, says it's recalling almost 1.08 million Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators in the U.S. due to a potential fire hazard. The company notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the recall.

The model years involved are 2021 - 2025. Stellantis explained in a statement to CBS News that the Jeeps "may have an electrical connection issue in the electric hydraulic power steering pump wiring. In rare circumstances, this may cause combustible materials to overheat, potentially leading to a vehicle fire.

Best states for working dads

WalltetHub - To help fathers manage the demands of both parenting and providing, WalletHub evaluated all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 22 key indicators of how supportive each place is for working dads. The analysis includes factors such as average workday length for men, childcare costs, and the percentage of men in good or better health.
 

Best States for Working Dads	Worst States for Working Dads
1. Massachusetts	42. South Carolina
2. Connecticut	43. Arkansas
3. District of Columbia	44. Arizona
4. New Jersey	45. Oklahoma
5. Rhode Island	46. West Virginia
6. Minnesota	47. Alabama
7. New Hampshire	48. Mississippi
8. Virginia	49. Nevada
9. Vermont	50. Louisiana
10. Washington	51. New Mexico

 
Best vs. Worst

• Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate for dads with kids aged 0 to 17 which is 3.4 times lower than in West Virginia, the highest.
   
• Massachusetts has the lowest male uninsured rate which is 5.7 times lower than in Texas, the highest.
   
• Mississippi has the lowest average annual early child-care costs (adjusted for median family income) which is two times lower than in New Mexico, the highest.
   
• Hawaii has the lowest share of men who couldn’t afford to see a doctor in the past year because of costs which is 2.5 times lower than in Tennessee, the highest.

 To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank

Pentagon tries to redefine religions

The Hill - The Pentagon has adjusted a list of religious denominations for active service members following backlash from Mormon lawmakers in Congress.  Following up on a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year, the Department of Defense announced Friday that it reduced the number of religious designations that service members can register for from 200 to 31. He said the old system was “impractical,” with many designations not being used at all.

But the updated list received criticism over the weekend from multiple Utah members of Congress, who protested that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) was not labeled under “Christian.”....

An updated list shared Monday includes just 30 faith codes, including LDS, with no specification for which ones fall under Christian denomination.

“Last week, a proposed list of simplified faith codes was released to the media. The Pentagon list included redundant and unnecessary labeling, and the mistake has been fixed,” the Pentagon said on X.

The updated list allows service members to identify as various Christian denominations or as Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Bahá’i or agnostic. Other past options such as atheist, pagan and humanist have been left out.

Global conflicts at highest level since WWII

NPR - Global conflicts have risen to the highest number since World War II, according to a new study by researchers at a Swedish university. There were 65 active conflicts in 2025, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program at Uppsala University, a leading source for information on global violence. Out of that total, direct conflicts between individual states doubled from the previous year, reaching eight — the highest since UCDP began collecting data in 1946. These conflicts included wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Iran and Israel; and disputes between India and Pakistan. The study also indicates that fatalities soared to approximately 244,600 in 2025, marking the highest toll since 1994. That's up from 187,000 deaths recorded in 2024.

Donald Trump

Time -  President Donald Trump was hailed with a chorus of boos on Monday night while attending Game 3 of the NBA finals to watch his hometown New York Knicks face off against the San Antonio Spurs. Trump—the first sitting president to attend an NBA finals game—went as the guest of Knicks owner James Dolan, a long-time friend of the President who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to his presidential campaigns. The Knicks ended up losing to the Spurs 115-111 in the third game of the best-of-seven series, which the Knicks lead by two games to one.

Alternet -   President Donald Trump stormed out of an interview with NBC News this weekend after being pushed on false claims, and according to a certified speech pathologist, there might very well have been a dementia warning sign hidden in his explosive reaction.

On Sunday, NBC's Meet the Press released a sit-down interview with Trump conducted by Kristin Welker, in which the president became increasingly frustrated over tough questions. In particular, Welker pushed back on Trump's attempt to reiterate his false claims about elections in the U.S. being rigged, which he has made since losing the 2020 presidential race, and has rehashed this week as Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt lost a spot in the general election.

When Welker pressed him for evidence of these claims, which he has never been able to provide, he chastised her as either "crooked" or "stupid" and stormed out of the interview early. This prompted many shocked reactions from observers, with an MS NOW piece calling it the beginning of the end of his credibility as president, and CNN media analyst Brian Stelter calling it "one of the wildest interviews with President Trump that I've ever seen."

PS: Welker and Undernews editor Sam Smith both went to Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia.

MS NOW -  Trump’s latest ‘voter fraud’ claims may backfire on him in the fall The pushback against his claims about California’s primaries will inoculate the public against similar unsupported charges in November’s midterms.

The Guardian -   Donald Trump is “inventing fraud” in California’s primary elections, and likely to ramp up unfounded allegations when more races go against him, pro-democracy experts have warned. While the US president has used this playbook for years – from his loss at the Emmys as a reality TV star to his defeat in the 2020 presidential election – election integrity campaigners fear this time could be different.

“California’s election is not the problem here,” said Omar Noureldin, senior vice-president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a pro-democracy watchdog group. “The problem is that we have a president in the Oval Office who continues to lie and sow doubt over elections instead of facing accountability from voters.”

Trump lost his cool after a journalist pushed back on his latest attempt to sow doubt in election results, storming out of a Meet the Press interview which aired this weekend.

The outburst showcased a feature of Trump’s approach if results don’t go his way: he quickly declares them rigged, rallying his supporters and rightwing media to spread similar messages. California is the latest – and largest – test of this technique in this election cycle.

This year’s midterms will serve as an example of how the president will wield the federal government’s power at cities and states in a crusade to ensure his party maintains power.

ICE

The Intercept -   ICE detainees at the notorious Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey are being attacked with pepper spray and batons and have endured “scalding hot showers that have led to burns and blisters; worms in food; and [are] being denied medical care,” according to relatives and members of Congress who have accessed the facility.

Meanwhile, federal agents and state police have tear-gassed and beaten peaceful protesters outside the jail, which is operated by for-profit prison giant GEO Group.  This should be a national scandal. However, too many major corporate media outlets are downplaying the crisis at Delaney Hall or simply echoing the Trump administration’s message.

Ukraine

The Guardian 

In the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, Volodymr Zelenskyy says he is feeling upbeat and has been grateful for military support from the US, but has a pointed message for Washington. Speaking to Luke Harding and Pippa Crerar in London, the Ukrainian president acknowledged that the priority of Trump’s second term in foreign policy had shifted away from Ukraine to conflict in the Middle East. “It’s a pity,” he said, that compared with the help given to the US’s Gulf allies and Israel after the US-Israel war against on Tehran began, Ukraine had never received “that volume of support”. What did Zelenskyy say about Trump’s relationship with Putin? He carefully praised US diplomatic efforts, despite his bruising encounter in the Oval Office and the fact that Trump has been willing to meet Vladimir Putin, saying: “I always said to President Trump that Putin is lying. He plays games with you, with the White House.” Does he see any prospect of the war ending? The military situation was the most promising it had been for Kyiv for two and a half years, Zelenskyy ssaid. “We can’t say Russia is losing this war. But we can say they are losing the initiative each day, day by day,” he added. “Victory in this war is when Russian society recognises that the war is awful, that the war is a tragedy not for someone, somewhere, but for themselves.”

Immigration

Roll Call -   A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to charge a $100,000 fee for companies seeking to employ foreign workers with an H-1B visa, ruling in part that it oversteps Congress’ taxing power.  In the ruling, Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts found the Trump administration’s policy was effectively a tax, and that Congress in an immigration law had not given presidents the power to tax.

Environment

SmileHub - With nearly two-thirds of Americans believing the quality of the environment in the U.S. is getting worse, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Environmental Protection and the Best States for Environmental Protection in 2026.

SmileHub compared the eco-friendliness of all 50 states across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of environmental charities per capita to the share of renewable energy consumption to energy efficiency score.

Best States	Worst States
1. California	41. Kansas
2. Washington	42. Alaska
3. New York	43. Iowa
4. Vermont	44. Kentucky
5. Hawaii	45. North Dakota
6. Maryland	46. Wyoming
7. Massachusetts	47. Alabama
8. New Jersey	48. Mississippi
9. Virginia	49. West Virginia
10. Oregon	50. Louisiana

Key Stats

• California has the highest number of environmental protection charities per capita – 9.9 times higher than Oklahoma, which has the lowest number.
• New York has the highest share of workers that use green transportation – 3 times higher than Mississippi, which has the lowest share.
• South Dakota has the highest share of renewable energy consumption – 27 times higher than Alaska, which has the lowest share.

To view the full report and your state’s rank

Polls

 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research - Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.

Americans remain divided about whether diversity is an essential feature of the U.S.'s identity, and agreement about other aspects of the country’s underlying character appears to be eroding, the survey found. Americans are less likely to see a democratically elected government as “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation than they were just a few years ago. About two-thirds of U.S. adults now say a democratically elected government is highly important to the U.S.’s identity as a nation, down from 80% in 2021.

Money

CBS News -  Roughly 48% of Americans said their financial situation was worse in May than a year ago, the highest share since January 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Survey of Consumer Expectations. Consumers are also less optimistic about the future. The share of households expecting their finances to improve over the next year, relative to those expecting them to worsen, fell to its lowest level since October 2022, the New York Fed said.

The findings come amid an inflation spike driven by the Iran war, which has sent oil and gas prices soaring. The May Consumer Price Index, set to be released on Wednesday, is expected to show that the annual pace of inflation accelerated to 4.2% last month, according to financial data firm FactSet. That would mark the highest level in three years.

The survey also found growing public anxiety about the state of the labor market. About 15% of Americans said they believe they could lose their jobs within the next year, 0.5 percentage points above the series' 12-month average. Meanwhile, confidence in finding a new job fell to its lowest level since December 2025.

Trump regime

NY Times  -  The White House is seeking to exert more control over billions of dollars in annual government grants, aiming to restrict a vast swath of funding — in health, housing, science and transportation — so that it primarily serves the purposes and organizations politically aligned with President Trump.

While the administration says that its primary goal is to safeguard taxpayer money, its proposal amounts to a major escalation in its attempt to reimagine the nation’s spending, even as Congress and the courts continue to rebuke the president for abusing such powers.

Mr. Trump’s ambitions were made clear in a roughly 400-page blueprint that was released to little fanfare on Friday. If finalized, it would require all federal grants to be approved by the president’s political appointees, who must ensure that the money would “demonstrably advance the president’s policy priorities.”

Shortlysts -  The Trump administration has proposed a new initiative to reduce federal firearm regulations, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives proposing dozens of rule changes affecting gun sales, transportation, and licensing.

Among the most notable proposals is the repeal of a Biden-era rule that expanded the definition of who qualifies as a gun dealer. That rule was intended to require more firearm sellers to obtain federal licenses and conduct background checks. The administration is also proposing changes that critics say would make it harder for regulators to revoke dealers' licenses for violating federal rules.

A separate proposal from the U.S. Postal Service would allow lawful handgun owners to mail handguns under certain conditions. The change follows a Justice Department legal opinion that questioned the constitutionality of a federal restriction dating back nearly a century.

Best vacation cities

WalletHub - With nearly 72% of Americans expected to travel this summer despite significant inflation driving up travel costs, the personal-finance company WalletHub has released its report on the 2026’s Best & Worst Cities for Staycations, along with expert insights and commentary.

To determine the top destinations for staying close to home, WalletHub evaluated more than 180 cities across 41 key factors that measure both affordability and entertainment value. The study considered metrics ranging from the number of parks per capita to the average cost of restaurant meals.
 

Best Cities for Staycations	Worst Cities for Staycations
1. Orlando, FL	173. Oakland, CA
2. Cincinnati, OH	174. Santa Ana, CA
3. Las Vegas, NV	175. Newark, NJ
4. St. Louis, MO	176. Hialeah, FL
5. Honolulu, HI	177. Laredo, TX
6. Salt Lake City, UT	178. Irving, TX
7. Atlanta, GA	179. Chula Vista, CA
8. Tampa, FL	180. Fremont, CA
9. Chicago, IL	181. Yonkers, NY
10. Portland, ME	182. Pearl City, HI

 
Best vs. Worst

• Boston has the most parks (per square root of population), which is 14.1 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the fewest.
   
• Honolulu has the most tennis courts (per square root of population), which is 18.4 times more than in Mesa, Arizona, the city with the fewest.
   
• Orlando has the most ice cream & frozen yogurt shops (per square root of population), which is 61.1 times more than in South Burlington, Vermont, the city with the fewest.
   
• Amarillo, Texas, has the lowest cost of house-cleaning services, which is 3.4 times less expensive than in Juneau, Alaska, the city with the highest.

Senate rejects Save America Act

Newsflash -     The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose voting restrictions ahead of the November midterm elections.

Senators voted 48-50 against advancing an amendment that would have incorporated Trump’s top legislative priority into an immigration-focused spending bill. The vote offered the clearest sign yet that despite pressure from the president, a handful of Republican senators continue to resist advancing the bill, which critics say would unleash immense chaos ahead of elections this fall.

The SAVE America Act would require voters to offer documents, such as a birth certificate or passport, proving their citizenship when registering to vote. It would also mandate voters show photo ID when casting a ballot and restrict where voters can register, effectively eliminating voter registration drives.

Democrats and voting rights groups have assailed the bill, saying it would disenfranchise voters and upend the midterms because the new rules would take effect immediately. Trump and the bill’s GOP supporters say it’s needed to combat noncitizen voting, an extremely rare phenomenon.

Since taking office last year, Trump has made a series of attempts to shape how elections are run. An executive order that would limit voting by mail remains in effect for now as opponents challenge it in federal court, and the Department of Justice continues to seek to force states to hand over sensitive voter data, so far unsuccessfully.

The Senate amendment, offered by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also included restrictions on sports participation by transgender athletes. On social media after the vote, Graham called the SAVE America Act “one of the most consequential” pieces of legislation developed by Trump and his team.

“All Democrats voted no, and they will eventually pay a price,” Graham wrote.

Republicans also vote no

But the proposal fell short among a small group of Republicans, too. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina joined Democrats in voting no.

Collins is seeking reelection in what is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. McConnell and Tillis have both opted against seeking reelection, while Murkowski has said the bill would set up barriers for voters in her large, rural state.

Sixty votes would have been needed to advance the amendment — the same threshold to overcome a filibuster.

Climate change

The Guardian - The Trump administration has plans to shutter the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a massive US-funded network of seafloor sensors and underwater gliders. Why worry? Because a recent study found that losing this specific network would do more damage to global climate tracking than randomly losing 80% of all other ocean data combined. It plugs gaps no other nation fills, and losing it will severely degrade the data that underpins the world’s weather predictions, El Niño forecasting, and fisheries management.

Middle East

The Guardian - Israel has again attacked Iran, in apparent defiance of the US president, Donald Trump, who had said in an recent interview that “I call all the shots”, not the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The attack was the first exchange of direct strikes between the two enemies since a ceasefire paused the US-Israel war with Iran in April. Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj and Tabriz. Iran also launched about 10 ballistic missiles at northern Israel, in response to Israel bombing a target in southern Beirut. How has Trump responded? “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” he wrote in a social media post.

How is the wider region being affected? Saudi Arabia sounded missile alert sirens in an area home to Prince Sultan airbase that hosts US forces. The Israeli army also said it was working to intercept a missile launched from Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who joined the Middle East war in March in support of Iran, have previously launched attacks on Israel.

Just a reminder

Sam Smith  - War is not foreign policy. It is either defense against an invasion or the presumably self serving creation of an attack on a country. Trump doesn't get to do the latter and claim it as worthy foreign policy. 

ICE

Headline USA -   More than 80 anti-ICE demonstrators have been arrested following a series of protests at Delaney Hall in Newark, where demonstrators say they are showing up in solidarity with detainees.  The protesters, some wearing gas masks and helmets, have used traffic cones, trash cans and other items as makeshift shields, and they tried to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility.  Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche shared images online of bloody wounds and bruises sustained by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Cuba

Wall Street Journal -    Mastercard and Visa transactions by non-U.S. foreign visitors are being suspended, hotel operators are scaling back or pulling out and one of Cuba’s biggest foreign investors is reconsidering its presence on the island. For decades, international companies accepted the risks of doing business in Cuba. Now, as the Trump administration ratchets up the pressure and the economy deteriorates, many are deciding the risks outweigh the rewards.

Trump helps wildfires

Democratic Conservation Alliance - Donald Trump just gutted the U.S. Forest Service — the agency that manages 70% of our country’s wild firefighting resources and successfully stops 98% of new fires within 24 hours of their start. He claims he's "restructuring" to save Americans money. But the changes mean shutting down research, slashing staff, and crippling our ability to protect our public lands — while handing corporations and polluters a free pass to permanently destroy our forests and grasslands for a profit.

Polls

Interactive Polls

2028 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES (top 4) Black Dems Harris: 55% Newsom: 10% AOC: 4% Pete: 1% —— White Dems Harris: 27% Newsom: 17% Pete: 11% AOC: 8% —— Hispanic Dems Harris: 46% AOC: 14% Newsom: 13% Pete: 2% —— Asian Dems Newsom: 39% Harris: 23% AOC: 0% Pete: 0% Focaldata/FT

TEXAS POLL By

@QuantusInsights

SEN Ken Paxton: 45% James Talarico: 43% –– GOV Greg Abbott: 49% Gina Hinojosa: 41%

Congress

The Hill -  House Democrats want 2029 to be the year of reckoning for Trump administration officials.  Democrats have long accused top members of President Trump’s team of violating laws across a wide range of activities, from deadly immigration raids and strikes on alleged drug boats, to financial self-dealing and targeting Trump’s political enemies for prosecutions.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not pursued those cases, the Democrats contend, only because the president’s loyalists control the agency. In many cases, they say, the DOJ itself is guilty of the wrongdoing.  But Trump won’t be in power forever. And while the Supreme Court has granted immunity to presidents, shielding Trump from prosecutions related to his time in office, the dispensation does not extend to other administration officials. With that in mind, Democrats are already clamoring for the next administration, Democratic or Republican, to launch investigations into Trump officials — and prosecute them in cases of demonstrated criminal wrongdoing. 

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who’s in line to chair the House Natural Resources Committee if the House flips in November, cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the criminality of the Trump officials.

“Before we start calling something a crime or making use of these legal terms that actually have very important meanings, we need to investigate,” he said. “We need to do what Congress has declined to do for the last 16 months.”

Donald Trump

Q: "How do you define ceasefire?"

TRUMP: "In that part of the world, ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner."

NBC News -   President Donald Trump did not rule out the government paying people who were charged with assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and he also contended without evidence that recent California elections were “rigged,” in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

Forward Blue -  When Donald Trump ran for president, he made all sorts of promises to the American people. He broke every single one. 

He promised not to start any new wars. In the year and a half he’s been back in office, he’s started a war in Iran and ordered more military strikes than any other president in modern history.

He promised to make gas under $2 per gallon. Average gas prices have skyrocketed to over $4.50 per gallon.

He promised not to cut Social Security and Medicare. His so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” cut both programs.

... And Republicans in Congress? They went along with every bit of it.