The Fierce Urgency of Now!https://youtu.be/_j4h3gGYZSk?si=UPYogVf4AfM1VUKL

Some people watch Netflix in their spare time. Remy Osman tracks rusty tankers transporting illicit oil through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. https://cnn.it/4pIC6rK

A new investigation by @propublica.org has found over 40 cases of immigration agents using chokeholds and other potentially fatal breathing restrictions, including during the ICE arrest of 16-year-old U.S. citizen Arnoldo Bazan in Texas.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights was gutted in Trump’s mass layoffs last year, leaving half as many lawyers to investigate complaints of discrimination based on race, sex or disability in schools. Those who remain face a backlog of more than 25,000 cases.

Celebrate Marting Luther King Jr. Day on MONDAY with community, music, and inspiring leaders. Voices of the Dream is free to attend, just register online. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

College racial diversity drops again as Trump ramps up scrutiny www.phillytrib.com/news/across_...

Join @senvincenthughes.bsky.social, Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., and other leaders and entertainers for a celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on MONDAY, January 19th. Register for Voices of the Dream online --> docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

This video is the perfect encapsulation of the illegal, thuggish, unprovoked, violent conduct of ICE. Rep. @benniethompson.bsky.social, I trust that you and the House Homeland Security Committee will have interest in this.

Join @senvincenthughes.bsky.social for a Fireside Chat at the Fitler Club on January 22nd. Register online! www.eventbrite.com/e/making-sus...

Nearly 40 scientists are aboard the Araon, an icebreaker heading for Antarctica’s fastest-melting glaciers. Our journalists are traveling with them for a two-month expedition that could unearth crucial data about rising sea levels. Here’s a tour of the ship. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/cl...

"His physical signs of aging are becoming more evident to some of his closest advisers. His skin is so delicate that Pam Bondi caused his hand to bleed when she nicked him with her ring while giving him a high-five at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee..." www.wsj.com/us-news/as-s...?

Open city data complete through 12/31/25 now show 952 total shooting victims in Philadelphia during 2025, down 48 percent from the pandemic-era peak year of 2021, when 1,825 were recorded. Fatal shooting victims declined 60 percent, from 507 in 2021 to 203 in 2025. www.pcgvr.org/philadelphia...

Far-right extremists have recklessly let the Affordable Care Act tax credits expire. House Democrats will advance bipartisan legislation on the floor next week to restore healthcare affordability for millions of everyday Americans. How many House Republicans will join us?

Many Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act are seeing the cost of their insurance more than double, after Congress ended 2025 without acting to bring down costs.

Issa Rae has canceled her sold out performance at the Kennedy Center. Pulitzer Prize winner Rhiannon Giddens, Peter Wolf, Low Cut Connie, and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., have also canceled. Lin-Manuel Miranda has canceled the entire Kennedy Center run of Hamilton.

Cheap Solar Is Transforming Lives and Economies Across Africa www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/c...

New tax plan released by R’s Low-income earners, including many single-parents, would pay a higher tax under the proposal because refundable credits are reduced or restricted, while tax cuts for higher earners are expanded and made permanent. That’s not a talking point — it’s how the math works.🤬

Trump and his billionaire buddies running this country are hoping that the rest of us will just give up and quit fighting. But our country, our chance to build a future for our kids and grandkids is too precious. We stay in the fight because it's a righteous one.

Loser Mike Johnson hopes we forgot about extending ACA tax credits while he was on Christmas vacation. Let’s make it very clear how wrong he is:

4 people died in ICE detention in 4 days! Should an immigration violation be a death sentence? Is it worth calling Congress to tell them you don't want mass detention & immigrants brutalized&tortured? Yes, it's the least you can do. CALL THEM 202-224-3121. FFS speak out about #ICELawlessness. 🧵

Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. If you're stopped by police or ICE, knowing your rights can protect you: #MasksOffRightsOn https://bit.ly/3KIVlDd

Jasmine Crockett: “People are understanding it’s not good to have a con man as commander in chief — People are frustrated because the cost of everything is going up. We’ve lost 1.1M jobs since he swore in just in January — People are not happy with anything that is going on”

America's richest 10% now hold 60% of the nation's wealth. The bottom half of America? It holds just 6%. Wealth inequality is eating this country alive.

@senvincenthughes.bsky.social sat down with the City Cast Philly podcast to discuss everything from keeping phones out of classrooms to SEPTA funding. Listen online or wherever you get your podcasts. philly.citycast.fm/podcasts/kee...

@senvincenthughes.bsky.social joined the grand opening of a NEW bilingual credit union in Philly that's seeking ‘unbanked’ customers to buy homes, build family businesses www.inquirer.com/business/fin...

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season, filled with love and hope for our future! - @senvincenthughes.bsky.social & Sheryl Lee Ralph-Hughes

Trump lackey Mike Johnson is super pissed that we were able to force a vote on extending ACA tax credits. Imagine how mad he’ll be when we get it passed. Make your voice heard and demand that Congress vote yes on this as soon as they come back:

While schools and nonprofit organizations offer support groups and art therapy, teens and those who serve them say children need more encouragement to find safe spaces to share their feelings.

A quite startling overperformance for Democrats in tonight's special election for a state Senate seat in Kentucky: Democrat Gary Clemons won 72% to 25%. He was defending a Dem-held seat where Kamala Harris beat Trump by 5% last year.

ICYMI: Philly launched $600K in emergency grants to aid small grocers who were hit by the SNAP shutdown in November. Applications are open through Dec. 31 on the Merchants Fund website: merchantsfund.org/grants/emerg...

Robert Reich

After the first canceled monthly jobs report in decades, we finally got updated numbers about Trump's economy – and they don’t look good for the American people. Donald Trump’s chaotic tariffs and failed economic policies are hammering the labor market and harming workers.

Almost no jobs have been added to the American economy since April. In fact, 710,000 more people are unemployed now versus November 2024. More thoughts on today's dismal jobs report — and what it means for America's affordability crisis.

@senvincenthughes.bsky.social joined PA leaders to celebrate a new Main Street Matters Designation for the City Ave District. Expect improved walkability, new retail and dining options, enhanced greenspace, and redevelopment of vacant property. dced.pa.gov/newsroom/sha...

@senvincenthughes.bsky.social Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Bill Moves Forward in the Senate www.senatorhughes.com/senator-hugh...

I was devastated to hear about the loss of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer. Rob is a generational talent that used his voice to advocate for a better world. We live in a better country because of them. They will be missed.

Why are Americans fed up with Republicans on affordability? A story in three parts. 1: Families are struggling under sky-high housing costs. 2: The Senate UNANIMOUSLY approved a bill to lower housing costs. 3:

Donald Trump just ended a rule that required airlines to compensate you for delayed or canceled flights. Why? Maybe because the airlines donated big bucks to Trump. Or maybe because the Secretary of Transportation used to be an airline lobbyist. Either way, you lose.

Arianna Freels, a stylist and magazine owner, says tax credits keep her monthly health care premium at roughly $60. But she fears how that might change if lawmakers allow these tax credits to expire at the end of the year. “If things are going up, that plan is easily $500 a month.”

@senvincenthughes.bsky.social joined Finanta to celebrate the grand opening of their new credit union branch in Port Richmond. He worked with other leaders to help the credit union set up shop in Philly so they can serve people who have traditionally been underserved by banks.

@senvincenthughes.bsky.social helped host a powerful discussion with former Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown and Renee Chenault-Fattah. The main message: We can all have a life impact if we use our talents and platform to help others.

This is why MAGA is unpopular: bad policy usually makes for bad politics! www.inquirer.com/health/inq2/...

Pennsylvania becomes 28th state to enact CROWN Act prohibiting hair discrimination www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/l...

H🤯LY VJ EDGECOMBE.

Meanwhile, Trump is planning to pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, a former president of Honduras who had been convicted in the U.S. of drug trafficking.

I choose to remember all those who died from the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Damn shame my Country can’t find the appropriate compassion to remember them, and the necessary resolve to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS!