wow if only the people who wrote our constitution had anticipated this, if only there had been some language about searching and seizure but alas

When you can’t say “sorry we capitulated to bigots” because you’re afraid the bigots might hear you, so you just throw some glitter around and hope for the best.

U.S. military spending is set to hit a record $1 trillion. Roughly half of defense spending goes to private contractors that routinely price-gouge the government. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has failed seven straight audits. This is the military industrial complex on steroids.

A powerful, beautiful and essential message about love in the presence of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. #Alzheimers #dementia #humanity #dignity #love

When @dfriedman.bsky.social discovered a Goodreads page tied to the email of a top Pentagon official featuring “Asian wife sharing” books and other pornographic works, he did what any reporter would do: ask the Pentagon questions. The very next day, a threatening email from Jack Posobiec arrived.

A 9-0 GOP gerrymander goes down in flames.

“What most struck me is the brutality and physical violence involved in every story,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “This is stuff that should be unrecognizable as America. It should make everyday Americans outraged.” By @nicolefoy.bsky.social

Six months after ICE apprehended 47 people, including nine kids, in Hays County, Tex., County Judge Ruben Becerra said DHS has ignored his attempts to get answers: “We’re not told why they took them, and we’re not told where they took them. By definition, that’s a kidnapping.” (Published Oct.)

The U.S. has zero voting power in the ICC, and Trump’s team still wants to gut the Rome Statute, protect Trump, and delete two war-crimes investigations. You only fight this hard to hide something you never want the world to see. 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄 www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

After we drive the fascist from power, the next President should have a two-pronged approach: 1) the U.S. will prosecute any crimes that were committed, consistent with Federal law and existing precedent about immunity 2) the U.S. will not consent to extradite former officials to the ICC, but

In a leaked memo, AG Pam Bondi told the DOJ to compile a “list of groups or entities engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism,” suggesting the department could target Americans based on their political beliefs rather than their actions.

NEW: Christopher Dawson won hundreds of millions in federal contracts, promising to help Native Hawaiians. Documents suggest he pocketed the profits to invest in a beachfront horse farm and luxury homes. With @civilbeat.bsky.social

Iran and Egypt have complained to FIFA over Seattle’s plans to promote LGTBQ+ support during a World Cup match this June.

Trump hung up on a ProPublica reporter after being asked whether his Florida mortgages were similar to those of others he had accused of fraud. Read our full investigation here 👇

Russia’s State Duma speaker sounded the alarm to Putin over an “AI minister” in Europe accused of embezzlement — a case that was, oops, invented by Croatian satirists. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

What would the peace plan Washington proposed in November mean for NATO’s eastern members? According to former U.S. Army Europe commander Ben Hodges, it would “guarantee” a Russian attack on NATO territory. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

4. Vekslberg reportedly has "close ties" to Putin. Based on his connections to the Putin regime, Blavatnik was sanctioned by Ukraine in December 2023 for at least 10 years.

3. Blavatnik made his fortune investing in Russia alongside sanctioned Russian oligarch Victor Vekselberg. Blavatnik and Vekslberg bought a stake in the Russian oil company TNK, which they sold in 2017, netting Blavatnik $7 billion. Blavatnik and Vekslberg also co-invested in Russian aluminum.

1. Steve Witkoff, Trump's top negotiator for a peace deal in Ukraine, has an active financial partnership with Len Blavatnik, a billionaire sanctioned by the Ukrainian government. Witkoff and Blavatnik are co-developing ultra-luxury condos in NYC, a Popular Information investigation reveals.

As Jared Kushner prepares to meet with Putin today on behalf of Trump, REMEMBER: After taking billions from the Saudis and other foreign governments, Kushner explicitly said he would not have a foreign policy role in this administration. popular.info/p/jared-kush...

7. Prior to Trump’s victory in 2024, Kushner pledged to have no foreign policy or other role in a second Trump administration. He used this promise to wave away concerns about Affinity Partners being used as a vehicle for foreign influence.

1. Jared Kushner's trip to Moscow yesterday was not just unethical; it was illegal. You cannot accept tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments and simultaneously conduct high-level diplomacy for the federal government. It says it right in the Constitution.

Just FYI, Kushner's actions are pretty clearly unconstitutional: popular.info/p/kushners-m...

Pretty much every article about the Putin-Kushner-Witkoff summit in Moscow yesterday fails to mention that Kushner is simultaneously accepting tens of millions in annual payments from the Saudis and other foreign governments. Seems like a key detail!

1. CNN and CNBC recently announced partnerships with Kalshi, a prediction market that lets you place bets on the news. Now, every story is a casino game. Although Kalshi's popularity has exploded, it remains relatively small and vulnerable to political manipulation.

1. Paramount's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery exposes Jared Kushner's game Kushner is not running a private equity fund. He's running an influence peddling operation. It's spelled out on page 42 of Paramount's new SEC filing

Actually, Saudi Arabia is covering Kushner's travel expenses

The department under Blinken in early January 2023 had switched to Calibri, a modern sans-serif font, saying this was a more accessible font for people with disabilities because it did not have the decorative angular features and was the default in Microsoft products.

This transcript is like reading some random, senile 85-year old bigoted uncle being put in charge of U.S. foreign policy. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Democrats continued their run of successes in special elections by flipping a state House seat in Georgia Tuesday, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk. Democrat Eric Gisler will defeat Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest in the 121st House District. https://cnn.it/4qjT3cT

New videos and photos shared with 404 Media show a Border Patrol agent wearing Meta Ray-Bans glasses with the recording light clearly on. This is despite a DHS ban on officers recording with personal devices...

NEW: More than 300,000 Missourians signed a petition for a referendum aimed at blocking Missouri Republicans’ new congressional gerrymander. Despite the GOP doing everything in their power to stop them, voters successfully delivered those signatures to the state.

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds

Democrats have become the party of the status quo, says Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. He's urging members of his party to craft sharper election messages and back new voices in the party. n.pr/3KH1RKn

The US is not just Europe’s unwilling ally, but an adversary steeped in far-right ideology | Cas Mudde

NEW: A new congressional investigation prompted by ProPublica reporting has found that, contrary to the Trump administration’s claims, immigration agents have frequently detained and mistreated U.S. citizens. By @nicolefoy.bsky.social

Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor's race on Tuesday, defeating a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump to end her party's nearly three-decade losing streak. n.pr/48I1reS

As w/Reconstruction, it's true that the CRM produced a period of greater equality, but in both cases, white conservatives maintained militant opposition to equality & the rule of law. No evidence that this ~37% eventually came around. Came to the suburbs, sure, but never to democracy & equality.

As was clear during Trump 1, roughly 37% of Americans are committed to white supremacy &/or Christian nationalism, no matter the cost. Very much reminds me of the Reconstruction South, which doubled down on the plantation regime that had destroyed the country in the aftermath of emancipation.

And to think there are media organizations that still refuse to call Trump a pathological liar.

Sign seen in Cleveland yesterday

bsky.app/profile/matt... When DOJ's public integrity section used to teach seminars on identifying/ combating corruption, they had examples just like this from Africa and Latin America. Now we are the laughing stock, the case studies for corruption and cronyism.

“The president knows he is failing, and so he is reverting to what he knows best: trying to divert attention by stoking bigotry.”

EU and African Union officials urged the wider international community to reach agreement on the funding on an anti-Al Shabaab military mission in Somalia that is otherwise due to run out of cash this month, at a meeting in Doha.

Of course Jared Kushner (Trump) is leading Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros. to challenge Netflix. So do we say case closed Paramount wins and Netflix loses? 🤔 I'm pretty sure we all know the answer to that question. 🙄 www.axios.com/2025/12/08/j...

NEW: The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found that Trump once did the very thing he claimed could be a crime.

The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children. Click here to read AAP's full statement: bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT

A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...

Polish Foreign Minister replies to Musk: 🇵🇱