NEW: Court blocks Texas's mid-decade redistricting, finding it likely unconstitutional, with DOJ largely to blame. "DOJ Asked Texas to Engage in Unlawful Racial Gerrymandering," Judge Jeffrey Brown, a Trump appointee, wrote for the 2-1 majority. Texas is appealing to the Supreme Court. Law Dork:

I have a sneaking suspicion that Majority Leader Thune does not like Speaker Johnson very much.

re-upping this today -- if you haven't read it yet, it is really worth a look:

Congress sent a clear message to the White House: Release the Epstein Files. It should have never taken this long. Why did Trump fight this for months?

The Trump administration is waging an illegal assault on public school kids. Instead of working to lower costs, they're punishing students. Linda McMahon knows she doesn’t have the power to dismantle the Department. Only Congress can, and I will not let that happen.

A lot of people didn’t like the Washington Post journalist who was tortured and dismembered with a bone saw for writing critically about the man sitting next to me

Live your life in a way that your name and misdeeds aren’t on Time Square shame billboards.

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

A very intimidating appearance with God and Jesus on @thegodpodcast.com in which I resemble a Force Ghost. Their podcast is hilarious and brilliant: www.thegodpodcast.com/p/thou-shalt...

Loved your show tonight, less focus on just all the terrible things Trump is doing, more on the resistance to it. Much more hopeful and less depressing. That's important for all us, and will bring back viewers.

In case you doubted that the new MS NOW is the same channel only with a different name, we even kept the whale. @msnownews.bsky.social

Reporter: Is it appropriate for your family to do business with Saudi Arabia while you’re president? The us intelligence concluded you orchestrated the murder of a journalist… Trump: Who are you with? Reporter: ABC News

The vote was 427 to 1 The 1 "NO" vote: Republican Clay Higgins of Louisiana

Justice!

Fox News credulously reports that "the Saudis now say their investment pledge in the US will be increased to $1 trillion." THE ENTIRE GDP OF SAUDI ARABIA IS $1.1 TRILLION, so this is total nonsense.

A South Carolina woman who police say tried to end her pregnancy with medication has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and child neglect. Don't miss this story from @kylietcheung.bsky.social jessica.substack.com/p/south-caro...

NEWS: House passes bill to release the Epstein files. Republican Clay Higgins is the only member of Congress to vote no.

Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."

Swalwell: Kristi Noem and Tom Homan, you should familiarize yourselves with this room. Get to know that witness chair — you’re going to be parked in it for a long time. Accountability is coming.

Yeah, everyone knows Saudi Arabia and MBS in particular are deeply committed to “Western values.”

The Trump administration is trying to sell federal student loans to private companies. This sale would be a giveaway to wealthy insiders at the expense of working-class borrowers and taxpayers. It’s a tremendous mistake, and I’m fighting back.

“If the government starts using the database and does not put out the appropriate disclosure and then later does put out that appropriate disclosure, they still have violated the law,” EFF’s Adam Schwartz told @WIRED.com. www.wired.com/story/socia...

The U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status in January, if current outbreaks in Utah and Arizona aren't brought under control. @sipappas.bsky.social recently wrote about what that would mean for @sciam.bsky.social: www.scientificamerican.com/article/meas...

There is no easier ethical test in the world than "should MBS's money buy him international respect."

Breaking: Leader Schumer says he will immediately move — TODAY — to pass the Epstein resolution in the Senate by unanimous content after it passes in the House.

Andrew Johnson — a Jan. 6 rioter who went by "Am🇺🇸rican T🇺🇸rrorist” on Elon Musk’s platform — has been arrested on child molestation charges, with police saying he used the promise of a taxpayer-funded payout from Trump's DOJ to try and keep one of the victims silent. theintercept.com/2025/11/17/p...

"My healthcare plan is to bankrupt the insurance companies. And then people can buy their own health insurance from, umm, ur, I haven't figured that part out yet. I'll tell you in two weeks."

Trump's DOJ confirmed 97.4% of people ICE has been arresting in Chicago have no criminal record whatsoever. The state is using its power to terrorize a community. Worst of all, Chicago is not an isolated example and these abuses are not stopping at U.S. borders. www.qasimrashid.com/p/trumps-ice...

A preclinical study in Nature Microbiology shows that respiratory immunization with an antibiotic-treated bacterial vaccine is a highly effective approach for inducing tissue-resident memory T cells that protect against whooping cough. #medsky 🧪

President Trump’s pick to be the US deputy representative to the UN, former Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce, for years promoted inflammatory, anti-Muslim and conspiratorial claims, including suggesting former President Barack Obama was a secret Muslim bent on harming America. https://cnn.it/3JK72Jk

contrast Trump's gushing over MBS with how he treated Zelenskyy

TRUMP: So you're saying to me now that the $600 billion will be one trillion? MBS: Definitely TRUMP: I like that very much. We're doing numbers that nobody has ever done.

Trump tells MBS, who was complicit in the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, it’s an “honor to be your friend” during a WH visit. www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/u...

SCOOP: Senators Padilla, Merkley and Wyden are calling for top election official Christy McCormick to resign from her position on the EAC or rescind her accusations against Democrats that they’re encouraging “open borders” because “they need the votes.”

Mike Johnson refused to swear in Adelita Grijalva for months because she was the 218th signature to force a vote on the Epstein files, but sure, Republicans always wanted to release them as they now claim today for the first time.

Trump to MBS: "I want to just tell you what an honor it is to be your friend and I very much appreciate the investment of now $1 trillion."

Exclusive: After Conspiratorial Rant, Top Federal Election Official Must Recant or Resign, Democratic Senators Demand www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

This is so pathetic.

Mike Johnson's final words during a press conference where he announces the Epstein coverup will not only continue but deepen: "They're trying to attack President Trump. That's it."

Q: I'm confused because the bill specifically says 'the AG may withhold or redact portions related to child sex abuse materials.' The survivors are comfortable with that. These things are actually in this bill. JOHNSON: They're not Q: It's up to the AG J: No it's not! We're not making this up

For me and clearly many others, the SOB test is now the primary lens for judging Democratic candidates. Every election at every level, from now through 2028, is a referendum on an unbearable presidency. My latest, at The Big Picture. thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/democrats-...