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Well Done, America
Well that was a night. The glad spectacle of a newly sentient America tottering back to its capacious ideals was dubbed Orange Crush, Bluenami, a political earthquake, a wily tweak to Hegseth's coveted public execution and "one of the great acts of defiance in American history." It was both landslide too big to rig or stop and "extinction-level" rout. Above all, it was a thunderous rejection of fear, greed, lies, cruelty, war-mongering, authoritarianism. Tell your kids, urged Abdul El-Sayed, "The bad guys lost."
Who knew, pundits marveled: Turns out if you keep lying, stealing, abusing children, terrorizing, kidnapping, assaulting neighbors, shooting people in the street, making it impossible to get food, gas, health care or education while gloating about it and lining your fat pockets, everyone hates you. So it was that a "Trump Reckoning" and GOP "Armageddon" beyond even their worst doomsday scenarios arrived wherein Democrats swept "nearly every race that matters” as Americans en masse embraced all the shithole, lunatic, transgender, anti-Semitic, dog-eating, Medicare-wanting Muslim Brotherhood communists they'd been so helpfully warned about, alas, in vain.
This, of course, despite MAGA's best/worst efforts to re-draw districts, shutter polling places, strong-arm election officials, browbeat brown and black voters, pre-litigate election results they couldn't buy, and launch 1,000 DOJ "polling monitors" into all 50 states in hopes of targeting vulnerable minority districts. And yet, noted Garrett Graff, nothing untoward happened. Instead, voters "gave America another chance." Millions stood up, showed up, voted early, refused to bend the knee or be silenced. Graff said a friend wrote from deep-red Mississippi, where Democrat Scott Colom still had a stunning, razor-thin lead. "My flabbers are gasted,” she wrote. “Be on the lookout for pigs in the sky."
"So much history was made last night," Graff added, much of it shaped by both the 250 years and then Trump's dark reign of white supremacist politics. The startling result: The most diverse set of newly elected lawmakers the country has ever seen, with one historian writing Dems are winning races "they haven’t won since they were the white supremacist party.” An Atlanta Journal-Constitution story begins, "In 1860, an enslaved man named Sheppard Peek was listed among the possessions of William Peek, a white man in Crawfordville"; Sheppard's value was placed at $1,400. In Georgia on Tuesday, his great-great-granddaughter, Keisha Lance Bottoms, was elected the first Black female governor in the country.
Bottoms is just one of many historic firsts. Xavier Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, became California's first elected Latino governor. Deb Haaland became New Mexico’s first Native governor. Wisconsin and Nevada elected their first Black governors. There are three other first women governors. New Hampshire's Chris Pappas will become the first out gay man in the Senate. A trans woman won a House seat in...Alabama. Colorado elected its first Gen Z woman; she will be one of a record 100 women to serve simultaneously in the House. Democrats gained full control of a record six state governments, Southern voters swung 20 points to Dems, Jon Ossoff was easily re-elected on a platform, essentially, of "I don't like Nazis." Virginia ended Jim Crow after 124 years, and enshrined abortion in its constitution. Nancy LaCore, a former Navy admiral fired by Hegseth, flipped Nancy Mace's seat in South Carolina. The GOP lost all four of its gerrymandered districts in Florida. Egyptian-born Adam Hamaway, 57, will be the first Muslim elected to the House from New Jersey. A Rutgers-educated doctor, he served 8 years as a combat surgeon in the US Army before starting private practice in Princeton; he also volunteered in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Jordan.
Beating back a grotesquely Islamophobic campaign, Michigan's Dr. Abdul El-Sayed will become the first Muslim in the Senate.In his victory speech, he thanked "everyone who sent a dollar, made a call, posted a story and most importantly gave us your stake in democracy. You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates." Summoning "all the kids who watched and the parents who struggled to explain why the president openly mocked someone for their name or how they pray, let them (know) the bad guys lost...We deserve an America big enough for all our kids - let's go build it." He also cited the "delicious irony" that JD, whose "view of America is small, like him," is constitutionally obligated to swear him in come January.
In another sweet spot and longtime pipe dream, Talarico took back Texas from the scandal-smeared Paxton in "not just a tsunami, but a bloodbath." Adding to the schadenfreude was the upset win by Gina Hinojosa, the state's first Latina governor-elect, over monstrous Greg Abbott. In a stunning twist, Dems also won every statewide office down to railroad commissioner, along with four Supreme Court seats; the wins prompted an explosion of noisy joy in Austin that "sounded like an Eastern European city that just overthrew a dictator.” The cherry on top: Texas' new Dem Attorney General, who campaigned on investigating Elon Musk after he moved his business there to escape California woke, can now prosecute him for state level crimes without any DOJ interference.
Musk, who spent half a billion dollars nationwide and lost every race he tried to buy, is among MAGA fat cats, tech bros and grifters who'll likely be targeted by California's (easily reelected) Robert Garcia, set to chair the House Oversight Committee. His blunt message: "Lawyer up." Many others also feel "the only way we want Dems to reach across the aisle is with a subpoena." With an "accountability bill" ready, Dean Blundell argues, "A LOT of people need to go to jail" - Hegseth, the Trump family crypto empire, the DOJ hacks who covered up Epstein crimes, the Rapist-In-Chief, the sadists of ICE once it's been "torn down to the studs." Scores of voters also demanded justice for their victims Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by putting "I Voted" stickers on their memorials: "They were on the ballot."
Over at the presumably ketchup-encrusted White House, Trump remains in his own daft fantasy world, the "lamest of lame ducks." He burbles he "looks forward to working with" the trans jihadists he says are destroying America, but he'll veto everything. He's awash in his "magnificent" ballroom. He insists if he was on the ballot "we'd have won IN A LANDSLIDE," but of course he was and CNN's John King is happy to name all the places he told voters to pretend he was: "They did. They'd had enough." Even his cultists - and ex-cultists - blame him: "The reason isn't them, it's you. You fucked us. We chose Hitler with Down Syndrome, and we lost." Online, meanwhile, the White House posted a desperate "PSA: Trump Is Still Your President." Like we could forget.
Still, the seismic shift tentatively feels like a new dawn, a path toward redemption, a sliver of hope, the long-ago thing with feathers we can barely remember. Candidates, volunteers, organizers, lawyers stepped up, and vast numbers of Americans showed up to support them. The mood was buoyant. Some said they wished Mitch McConnell was alive to see the Senate results. The Borowitz Report said Mike Johnson begged God to "rapture him up" immediately; tearfully, he said that as a loyal Republican he couldn't bear to be in a "minority" because he hates 'em all. Another report said a bitter Elon Musk put Ken Paxton on eBay; no buyers yet. Also, tragically, two sources say cracks and peeling have again emerged in the Reflecting Pool, but MAGA is on it. Said an Interior spokesperson, "The Reflecting Pool has never looked this beautiful, and it's all thanks to President Donald J. Trump."
Update: Can you say learned nothing, knows nothing, never will, truly astoundingly losing it? On Thursday, our lame-duck loser displayed his stellar grasp on political priorities - what election? - by signing an entirely meaningless order proclaiming nobody can de-Cheesecake Factory his tacky abomination of a golden whorehouse of an Oval Office, 'cause then he'd be some pissed and don't forget we won World War One. Beyond the surreal looking-glass,
- YouTube www.youtube.com
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Nov 05, 2026
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Ahead of COP31, 146 Scientists Urge UN to Declare Climate Change a Global Health Emergency
With less than two weeks to go until the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP31, brings world leaders to Antalya, Türkiye to discuss the need to transition away from fossil fuels, nearly 150 international experts warned that climate change brought on by greenhouse gas emissions constitutes a "global health emergency" whose harms are accelerating.
The "2026 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change," written by researchers at University College London and the World Health Organization (WHO) and published in The Lancet, tracks dozens of indicators that link climate change to public health, including drought, extreme hurricanes and flooding, and economic losses.
But one top indicator that planetary heating has caused a worsening public health crisis is the extreme heat that was blamed for more than 50,000 deaths across Europe this summer, and which could lead to 450,000 excess deaths in the coming months as the climate emergency is compounded by this year's "Super El Niño."
According to the report, annual average heat-related deaths have surged by nearly 36% since the Paris climate agreement was signed in 2015, securing pledges from governments to draw down fossil fuel emissions, compared to the decade preceding the deal.
More than 70% of the 710,000 heat-related deaths recorded in 2023 were found to be attributed to climate change, and between 2016-23, 68% of the world's 540,800 heat-related deaths were linked to the warming planet. The previous decade, 55% of deaths caused by extreme heat were blamed on the climate emergency.
"These numbers point to a clear emergency," said climate health researcher Marina Romanello, the executive director of the Lancet Countdown. "The risks become even more profound when you consider how different hazards interact and compound. At the same time, drought is spreading, and the world is swinging to water extremes, some drying out, while others are flooding."
"Progress has been too slow, too small, and isn't reaching those who need it most."
The report was published less than two months after a glacial collapse killed at least 1,000 people in Nepal and Tibet as it sent sudden extreme flooding down a mountain into a number of towns.
Türkiye, where COP31 is set to begin on November 9, was one place where massive wildfires spread rapidly this summer, while hundreds of thousands of people in Spain and France were also displaced by fast-moving blazes.
And in August, more than 5,000 square miles of forest burned in the Northwest Territories in Canada, sparking public health concerns when smoke drifted thousands of miles south to the continental United States.
"A decade after the Paris Agreement, our findings are unambiguous: The health harms of climate change are growing faster than the world's response to them, and in many cases even accelerating," said Romanello.
Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, head of the climate change and health unit at WHO, said the report "demonstrates that climate action is a health intervention. Cleaner energy, stronger health systems and early warning systems are saving lives today. As countries prepare for COP31, placing health at the center of climate policies can help protect communities, strengthen resilience, and deliver immediate benefits for people’s health and wellbeing."
The 146 scientists who authored the report noted that strides have been made in some countries in expanding clean energy infrastructure, passing health protection regulations, and preparing health systems for climate-related crises and conditions.
But in the US, the largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases, the Trump administration has blocked renewable energy projects and rolled back regulations meant to reduce people's exposure to harmful emissions.
"Progress has been too slow, too small, and isn't reaching those who need it most," said Romanello. "That is why we are calling for climate change to be formally recognized as a global health emergency, with health placed at the center of every climate decision."
The report was released a week after the UN Environment Program warned that achieving the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting planetary heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial temperatures is no longer possible, and that world leaders must now focus efforts on ensuring the overshoot is as short-lived as possible.
In the Lancet Countdown, the researchers called on the UN to declare that climate change is a public health emergency of international concern, which could require an international response.
"Priorities," said WHO, "include accelerating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, increasing support for adaptation, and expanding investments that strengthen health system resilience."
Oct 28, 2026
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'We Cannot Let History Repeat Itself': Progressive US Lawmakers Oppose AI Bailouts
As a progressive US senator warned Wednesday that Anthropic going public could leave "Americans holding the bag" if the artificial intelligence bubble bursts, The American Prospect revealed that key Democrats in the House of Representatives have crafted a resolution opposing federal bailouts for AI giants like the ones "too-big-to-fail banks" got nearly two decades ago.
The seven-page resolution obtained by Prospect executive editor David Dayen frames the 2008 global financial crisis as a result of "profit-driven financial risk-taking, fueled by Wall Street's speculative fervor and unleashed by years of zealous deregulation," as well as an example of what not to do when it comes to the booming AI sector.
"The economic harm of a multitrillion-dollar housing bubble caused by predatory lending, reckless financialization and securitization, and off-balance-sheet lending led to a massive surge in layoffs, with the unemployment rate hitting almost 10% at the trough of the Great Recession in 2009," the seven-page measure recalls. "The weak labor market persisted for nearly a decade."
Now, AI firms "hold trillions of dollars in debt, much of which is raised in opaque and unregulated private credit markets," the resolution continues. Financing terms of many "data centers as well as the costs and revenues of major artificial intelligence firms are not publicly available and... corporate borrowing to fund data center investments are multiples higher than projected revenues."
AI-related stock prices "have inflated even more than the tech giants of the 1990s," the measure notes, warning that "a collapse of an artificial intelligence bubble could have serious consequences for the economy, similar if not more significant than the end of the 1990s tech bubble or the 2008 global financial crisis."
Thus, it argues, "Congress must refuse to provide any additional funds or exceptional regulatory support to companies or financial institutions facing insolvency or financial collapse due to exposures to acute stress within the artificial intelligence market and must provide support to all harmed Americans instead."
While politicians from both parties have been ripped for their ties to Big Tech and AI specifically, the resolution explicitly calls out related failures under Republican President Donald Trump, who recently gathered industry leaders at the White House to sign a "self-policing" accord that critics said was "as dangerous as it is absurd."
House progressives' measure points out that "federal regulators have avoided applying robust scrutiny and oversight regarding enormously complicated debt and equity schemes used by artificial intelligence firms or the circular financing mechanisms involved" in the AI data center build-out.
Additionally, "the White House's artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar was personally invested in at least 449
companies" tied to AI "while pushing to eliminate government obstacles," the resolution says, "reflecting the administration's broad deregulatory focus and conflicts of interest" when it comes to this industry.
The House Progressive Caucus is ready for the collapse of the AI bubble. The rest of us should be also. No bailouts for the AI billionaires prospect.org/2026/10/28/h...
[image or embed]
— Dean Baker (@deanbaker13.bsky.social) October 28, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Though the resolution has not yet been introduced, Dayen reported on it less than a week before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the remainder of Trump's second term. It's spearheaded by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).
"Big Tech and Wall Street are taking enormous risks with billions in borrowed money to fuel the AI boom, despite growing warning signs of a dangerous bubble," Waters told him. "We cannot let history repeat itself. The American people should never again be forced to foot the bill for billionaires' reckless bets."
Casar, a 37-year-old former labor organizer, highlighted that "many of us, myself included, came into political life watching as many people who caused the crisis in 2008 or cheered it on weren't held accountable."
"We know that the American people were appalled at these Wall Street executives nearly two decades ago, and they're even more pissed off at these tech oligarchs today. We shouldn't be trying to make them whole," said the congressman, who also leads the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Polling released this past summer by Data for Progress found that among the "bad actors" Americans blame for the country’s concerning conditions, billionaires rank No. 1, but AI companies and social media giants are in the top 10.
The progressives' proposal "is a nonbinding 'sense of the House' measure," Dayen explained. "But it sets a marker that no bailout funds should be made available to AI companies. Casar wants the measure to be voted on early in the next Congress if Democrats take power, if not sooner, to get everyone on the record about an AI bailout."
Welcoming the resolution on social media, economist Leslie Ehrlich called it "both correct and good politics," adding, "Let the Republicans vote against it and be pro-bailouts."
Oct 28, 2026
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Petition Calling for House Speaker Other Than Hakeem Jeffries Hits 1 Million Signatures
An online petition demanding that Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) not be the next Democratic Speaker of the House surpassed one million signatories on Saturday as the clamor for a leadership change within the party exploded after historic midterm wins driven by populist demands.
As of this writing, the Change.org petition—titled "House Democrats: CHOOSE A NEW SPEAKER"—has 1,004,752 verified signatories, with the number rapidly rising.
While the final totals are not yet established, Democrats emerged from Tuesday's elections with at least 254 seats in the next Congress, reclaiming the majority from the Republicans, who currently can count on just 162 seats when new members are sworn in come January.
While Jeffries is clearly the presumptive choice for Democrats, and he formally put himself in the running on Wednesday with a letter to all members, outside progressives have voiced serious opposition given his failure to embrace many of the positions—including backing Medicare for All, taking on entrenched corporate power, and restricting military assistance to Israel over its genocide in Gaza—that have animated voters nationwide this election cycle.
According to the petition:
We believe the Speaker should represent the Democratic voters, not just the Democratic establishment.
The Speaker has enormous influence over the House's direction, including its legislative priorities and agenda. Before casting their votes, representatives should closely examine Jeffries's public record, policy positions, campaign donor record, and leadership...and listen to constituents who do not want him elevated to Speaker.
This is not a foregone conclusion. There is still time for other Democratic members of the House to step forward and seek the nomination for Speaker, someone whose priorities more closely reflect the voters who hope to elect the Democratic majority.
We are calling on every member of the incoming 120th Congress to vote against Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker in January 2027 and choose a different candidate.
Axios reported Friday that members of Congress have been "inundated" with calls urging them not to elect Jeffries and suggested that some of the hesitations are not just among progressives.
The outlet reported, interviewing "nearly a half-dozen incoming House Democrats in deeply red seats Thursday who declined to state a firm position one way or another on voting for him."
As Corbin Trent, the former top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who now runs a progressive organizing outfit called A Fight Worth Having, wrote in a column published at Common Dreams on Friday, "the Democratic leadership we have today is completely ill-suited for this moment. They do not have the vision for what it’s going to take to rebuild the trust the American people have lost in their government, their institutions, and the Democratic Party itself."
"Democrats have spoken loudly and clearly that they want new leadership," Trent said of the election. "Unfortunately, too many of the people in Washington aren’t listening."
While the large Democratic majority in the House makes it easier for Jeffries to maneuver leading up to the leadership vote, and given that no challenger has stepped forward to take him on directly, the betting money is still safe that Jeffries will be the next Speaker of the House.
But the public push denouncing him as the wrong choice of leadership at a moment when Democratic voters are clearly demanding—and expecting—a much bolder agenda may still affect his calculations.
Nov 07, 2026
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'How Do You Get Money Out of Politics Without Overturning Citizens United?' Montana Could Have the Answer
Montanans are voting Tuesday on a potentially groundbreaking ballot initiative that could become a model for how to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—the 2010 US Supreme Court decision that ushered in the era of unlimited money in politics—without the near-impossible necessity of a constitutional amendment.
Citizens United established that the government cannot restrict independent political expenditures by corporations, labor unions, and other outside groups on the basis of their corporate or union identity. Simply put, the decision affirmed corporate personhood and, essentially, that money is speech that cannot be restricted.
Since then, super political action committees have proliferated, and corporate spending has exploded from just $12.8 million during the 2010 election cycle to $737 million during the current one.
Initiative 194, also known as the Montana Plan, would prohibit corporations, nonprofits, trade associations, and other artificial entities from spending money to influence elections and ballot measures in the state. Rather than attempting to restrict corporations' constitutional rights as affirmed by Citizens United, states could simply not give corporations the legal power to spend on politics.
"A yes vote on I-194 means that only real people—not corporations, unions, trade associations, nonprofits, or groups with anonymous donors—are allowed to spend money in Montana elections," the Yes on Initiative 194 campaign said on its website.
"It's time to kick the oligarchs out of Big Sky country," the campaign added.
The proposal's backers argue that legal entities should not have the same rights as natural persons.
"Each state creates and defines its corporations. It need not permit its creations to consume it," Tom Moore, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), explained in September, arguing that corporations are legal creations, not natural persons, and that states retain broad authority to determine what powers they exercise.
"When the state creates a corporation, it is starting from nothing and deciding what to give the corporation, and no case has ever held that they have to give local spending power to a corporation," Moore told Fortune on Tuesday. "It's not regulation; it's redefinition."
Moore stressed that Initiative 194 "is not going to stop Elon Musk from writing a big fat check to some election in Montana."
"What it will stop them from doing is laundering the money through a dark money group," he added.
Montana's former commissioner of Political Practices, Jeff Mangan—who spearheaded Initiative 194—was equally blunt.
"The Montana Plan simply removes the ability for corporations to spend in our politics," he told Montana PBS. "By removing the corporation's ability to spend in our politics, we end dark money. Simple as that."
Initiative 194 has attracted support from Montanans concerned about the growing influence of wealthy donors and anonymous political spending.
"Most people I talk to when they hear about the prospect of getting dark money out of elections are in favor of it," state resident Nathan Kommers told Montana PBS. "I think that it makes sense to almost everybody."
Shannon Stober, who lives in the Bozeman area, said: "I think what I've observed over the past 15 years is the ways in which money and politics has completely created a decline in civic engagement and participation. A lot of people have just decided that their participation doesn't matter and they don't feel like there's a way out."
Opponents, including the Montana Chamber of Commerce, argue that Initiative 194 violates the First Amendment by restricting organizations' political speech. If passed, the measure will surely face legal challenges.
However, former Republican Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who supports Initiative 194, said the effort is worthwhile regardless of the ultimate outcome.
"You can't just sit back and curse the darkness," he told Montana PBS. "You have to try and do something about it."
Nov 03, 2026
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'Deeply Alarming': Hours Before Midterm Elections, Trump Bombs Iran's Qeshm Island
The Trump administration launched a new bombing attack on Iranian territory Monday night, striking Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the US midterms amid mounting fears of a massive post-election assault.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the strikes, which a US official characterized as a "defensive measure" in response to Iran's use of surface-to-air missiles against American forces that have been waging an illegal war of aggression against Iran since February. The Journal noted that "in one instance on Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired a surface-to-air missile at a US jet fighter, which fired back in self-defense."
The US military did not publicly announce the attack on Qeshm Island, which came hours before American voters were set to head to the polls to decide whether President Donald Trump's party should remain in control of Congress. The Journal reported that the Trump administration has "purposefully" been keeping its recent campaign of smaller-scale strikes on Iran quiet "so as not to signal any intention of resuming major combat operations."
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said Tuesday that "Iran is prepared for any scenario" and stressed that the country "retains its right to legitimate self-defense until the military aggression has been brought to a complete and permanent end."
Last month, Trump vowed—falsely, given Monday's strikes—that the US would "not be attacking Iran at any time prior" to the midterms and that the two sides were engaged in "productive discussions."
Vice President JD Vance asserted Monday that he and Trump "both feel really good about the prospect of potentially coming to a negotiated settlement" to end the massively unpopular and destructive war with Iran.
Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said late Monday that "after eight months of an illegal war, there was finally some hope that a diplomatic agreement might be within reach and this war could end through negotiations rather than spiral into the violent scenarios being threatened after the midterm elections."
"But these deeply alarming revelations suggest we may be heading in precisely the opposite direction," Abdi said of the Qeshm Island strikes and other recent attacks on Iran. "Every day that Congress fails to intervene is another day this administration is allowed to wage an unauthorized war, conceal its military operations, and gamble with millions of lives. Congress must immediately demand answers, oppose further military action, and use its power to cut off funding for this unauthorized war. Americans must raise their voices and demand that their representatives act now. There is still a chance to prevent another catastrophe, but that window may be closing. We cannot afford to let this war escalate further.”
The latest US strikes came days after Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned that the Trump administration was considering an "insane" plan to resume major attacks on Iran following Tuesday's midterm elections.
If the plan is carried out, Murphy said, "it will lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law."
Murphy, whose remarks were based on information he and other lawmakers received during a classified briefing, did not specifically warn that Trump is considering the use of nuclear weapons against Iran. But concerns about such a grave escalation grew over the weekend after far-right commentator Tucker Carlson—who has vocally criticized the president's decision to wage war against Iran—claimed that the Trump administration "may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran."
"Whether these allegations reflect serious military planning or reckless posturing, the very possibility of a US nuclear attack on Iran is an unconscionable horror," NIAC said in response.
Nov 03, 2026
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'A Threat to the Constitution': Massie to Force Vote on Hegseth Impeachment Articles
"Secretary Hegseth has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as secretary of defense, and subversive to constitutional government."
Nov 09, 2026
Rep. Thomas Massie on Monday took to the floor of the US House of Representatives to introduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In introducing the articles, which he first filed in September, the Kentucky Republican said Hegseth has "knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders" in carrying out President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran, which was launched without congressional authorization in February.
"In all of this, Secretary Hegseth has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as secretary of defense, and subversive to constitutional government," said Massie. "Hegseth, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law."
Massie: Hegseth knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders.. Hegseth has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law. Hegseth thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 9, 2026
Because of this, Massie continued, Hegseth "warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States."
Massie then made a detailed case for removing Hegseth, as outlined across eight impeachment articles alleging a wide variety of misconduct and criminality.
The Kentucky Republican argued that, in carrying out Trump's Iran War, Hegseth violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which specified that the president cannot send the US military into combat operations absent “a declaration of war, specific statutory authorization, or a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces."
Massie also outlined how Hegseth systematically dismantled rules of engagement intended to minimize civilian casualties, which the congressman said led to the deadly US attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in the city of Minab, Iran.
"Reported death tolls from the strikes on the elementary school indicate that at least 156 civilians were killed, with some reports suggesting the civilian death toll surpassed 170," Massie said. "Those killed include at least 120 school children, 26 teachers, seven parents attempting to evacuate their children, a school bus driver, a pharmacy technician from a nearby clinic, and the six month old unborn child of one of the teachers also killed in the attack."
Massie: Reported death tolls from the strikes on the elementary school indicate that at least 156 civilians were killed, with some reports suggesting the civilian death toll surpassed 170. Those killed include at least 120 school children, 26 teachers, seven parents attempting to evacuate their children, a school bus driver, a pharmacy technician from a nearby clinic, and the six month old unborn child of one of the teachers also killed in the attack.
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 9, 2026
Massie also touched upon Hegseth's campaign of military strikes on purported drug trafficking vessels, which he said resulted in the "summary execution of at least 243 persons in international waters" on the defense secretary's orders.
A vote on Massie's impeachment resolution against Hegseth is expected to take place on Wednesday.
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Wall Street CEOs Told to ‘Preserve Their Documents’ as Warren Prepares Oversight Blitz
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is reportedly preparing to grill bank CEOs and push for a cap on credit card interest rates, among other policies.
Nov 09, 2026
Poised to take over as head of the Senate Banking Committee in the new Congress starting in January, progressive US Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is reportedly preparing to use her powerful role to investigate Wall Street banks and other big corporations accused of profiteering at the expense of working-class Americans.
An unnamed aide to Warren on the banking panel told Politico that "Big Tech CEOs, administration officials, Trump family crypto businesses, Wall Street executives, and giant corporations should preserve their documents and prepare to answer tough questions."
In addition to Warren's planned "oversight blitz," the senator also intends to "pursue affordability-centered policies," including "capping credit card interest rates, cracking down on what she calls 'corporate profiteering,' and pursuing a new bipartisan housing bill with soon-to-be ranking member Tim Scott (R-SC)."
"She’s also planning to continue teaming up with Republican China hawks to restrict exports of advanced AI chips, the aide said," according to Politico. "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a key figure in that push, is also expected to be a top oversight target."
In a social media post on Sunday, Warren argued that Democrats won historic midterm victories "by recognizing Americans’ economic pain, denouncing Washington corruption that has made a rigged economy worse by favoring giant corporations over working people, and by pledging to upend this system."
"Americans need Democrats to deliver now," the senator wrote.
As head of the Senate Banking Committee, Warren would have significant power to demand testimony from corporate executives and advance subpoenas to force companies to hand over documents.
Reuters reported late last week that Warren "will likely probe the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's August decision to approve a bank charter for President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial."
"She is also likely to investigate the administration's mass firings of financial agency workers and its attempts to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency she helped create," Reuters added.
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Sanders Explains How the New Democratic Congress Can Take an 'Immediate First Step to Medicare for All'
Once Democrats take power in the new Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders argued they should pass legislation to lower the Medicare eligibility age and expand the program to children.
Nov 09, 2026
US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday urged Democrats to use their new congressional majorities to lower the Medicare eligibility age by 10 years, expand the program to children, and add dental, vision, and hearing coverage—steps that the progressive senator said would put the country on a path toward a Medicare for All system.
Sanders (I-Vt.), the leading proponent of Medicare for All in the Senate, argued that each proposal he outlined "can be passed with 51 votes in the Senate through reconciliation," a filibuster-proof budget process that would allow Democrats in the upper chamber to approve legislation without Republican support. Any Democratic bill would still face President Donald Trump's veto pen.
"Let's do it," the Vermont senator wrote on social media, calling his plan "an immediate first step toward Medicare for All."
In recent years, Sanders has repeatedly pushed Democrats to incrementally expand Medicare as part of a broader effort to ultimately provide every person in the US with comprehensive health coverage as a right.
The senator's past efforts, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, focused largely on lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 55, but some policy experts have argued that Medicare expansion should begin with children.
"This would move the ball forward on Medicare for All in a serious way by bringing a large group of people who are already not expected to pay for their own insurance into the system," Matt Bruenig, founder of the People's Policy Project, wrote in 2020. "It's easy to come up with many different combinations of ways to pay for it. Medicare for Kids is not a technically complicated proposal or even a very 'expensive' proposal in terms of fiscal cost. The question is only whether elected officials can summon the will to do it."
Sanders' proposal came amid a debate within the Democratic Party on how to approach healthcare in the new Congress after voters delivered a clear rebuke of the GOP agenda. As STAT reported on Monday, "There has been broad agreement among congressional Democrats that they should roll back the historic Medicaid cuts championed by President Trump, and restore the additional Affordable Care Act health insurance tax credits that, upon expiring, put coverage out of reach for many."
"For those debating whether the new Congress should consider big and bold reforms or pass practical help for people right away, the answer is yes."
But many in the public—and some newly elected Democrats—want the party to go much further and embrace Medicare for All, which research shows would save more than 100,000 lives and over $1 trillion per year. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the lead sponsor of Medicare for All legislation in the House, has said she plans to reintroduce her bill in the new Congress.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who are widely expected to lead Democrats in the new Congress despite burgeoning opposition, don't support Medicare for All—though Schumer has previously backed proposals to lower the Medicare eligibility age.
Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA, said following last week's midterms that "for those debating whether the new Congress should consider big and bold reforms or pass practical help for people right away, the answer is yes."
"Voters can and should expect action on multiple fronts: Congress' new majorities must use their oversight and investigative power to check this administration’s attack on our public health infrastructure," said Wright. "They should pass an affordability agenda of price reforms with bipartisan support. They can push to restore the tax credits and reverse, delay, or mitigate the Medicaid cuts before millions lose coverage."
"And beyond repealing and rebuilding," Wright added, "they should develop and pass policies to reimagine and reclaim our health system. Even if they face a veto, those proposals will set the stage for the next phase of health reform.”
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'End the Genocide': 200,000 March for Gaza in Amsterdam
"Too bad the US media can't find out about this," said one American critic recognizing that such displays of opposition to Israel's violent campaign of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement are rarely given much coverage.
Nov 08, 2026
An estimated 200,000 or more people—a sea of protesters dressed in red—marched and rallied in Amsterdam on Sunday to denounce Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, castigate the Dutch government and others in Europe for not doing enough to end the suffering and bloodshed after more than 3 years of US-back bombing, intentional starvation, and endless displacement in the world's largest open-air prison.
Organizers behind the "Red Line" rally—including The Rights Forum, Amnesty International Netherlands, Oxfam Novib, and others—celebrated the extraordinary turnout as they called for the Dutch government to do more to stop an Israeli government that "continues to kill, displace, and starve people in Gaza and the West Bank."
“What is happening there is inhumane,” said one protester, Mike van Dongen, who spoke to the Associated Press while he marched among the enormous crowd near the city's Museumplein. “As far as I’m concerned, [the Dutch authorities] are doing nothing. They don’t dare take any serious steps.”
As Al Jazeera reports, the protesters "called for tighter trade restrictions on Israel and a halt to all arms sales" to help bring an end to violence in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Large crowds join Red Line Gaza protest in Amsterdam
Signs in the crowd read "Stop the Killing in Gaza," "End the Genocide," and "Free Palestine" as speakers at the rally demanded much tougher actions and global solidarity with those suffering in Gaza, including tens of thousands of people who lost their temporary tents and shelters over the weekend to rainstorms and flooding.
According to AP:
The campaign in Gaza has strained relations between the Netherlands and Israel. The Dutch foreign minister resigned last year after failing to secure new sanctions against Israel.
Since then, a new minority coalition government has taken power and introduced an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, which the Dutch government and most of the international community consider illegal — a move that provoked a diplomatic spat with Israel.
Agence France-Presse spoke with Steven Eisinger, a 33-year-old robotics engineer born in the United States who marched with a red scarf around his neck.
Eisinger, who is Jewish and has family living in Israel, said he wanted all arms shipments to Israel to end and that he attended the rally, according to AFP, "to voice his backing for Palestinians and his opposition to genocide."
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'No More Excuses,' Thunders Bernie Sanders. 'Democrats Must Deliver'
Last week's election results, says the Independent from Vermont, show that voters are done with "tinkering around the edges."
Nov 08, 2026
Sen. Bernie Sanders this weekend continued to hammer away at the idea that Democrats in Congress—following sweeping gains in last week's midterm elections—must embrace and push for bold policies that match the economic populist hunger voters have shown.
Having won new majorities in both the US House and Senate, Sanders issued a public missive Thursday telling Democrats that winning the midterm "is not enough" and that "we have got to do more" to fulfill the mandate provided by an electorate that has strongly signaled its desire for a Democratic Party that goes beyond incrementalism, corporate-friendly triangulation, and tepid solutions to the hardships the nation's working class has long endured.
"No more excuses," Sanders said in a social media post on Saturday. "Democrats must deliver."
In his argument last week, Sanders said, "Whether we like it or not, we are living in an unprecedented moment in American history where our country faces extraordinary crises. We cannot and must not run away from them when Democrats assume power in January. These crises must be dealt with."
Appearing Sunday on Meet the Press with NBC News' Kristen Welker, Sanders repeated his argument by saying the election results showed that people are sick of the Trump era, but also ready to go much further in terms of solving the nation's problems.
"What I think this election was about was the American not only expressing disgust with Trump and his policies, but also demanding real change," said Sanders. "No more tinkering around the edges."
This election showed that the American people want BOLD change: - Medicare for All- A wealth tax on billionaires so that we can build affordable housing, have universal childcare and free tuition at public colleges and universities. - Raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour.- End the war in Iran and U.S. military aid to IsraelLET’S DO IT
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 8, 2026
"Now is the moment when Democrats have got to stand up to big money, create an economy and government that works for all of us," said Sanders, who added that his two top priorities when the new Congress is sworn in will be working to enact a Medicare for All healthcare system and taxing billionaires who for too long have avoided paying their fair share.
In his post on Saturday, Sanders listed other specific policy items Democrats must embrace, alongside polling numbers showing how popular those policies are—not just among Democrats and progressives, but among American voters overall.
- 66% want Medicare for All
- 61% want a billionaire wealth tax
- 57% want a $20/hour minimum wage
- 63% want a data center moratorium
- 58% want to end military aid to Israel
- 73% want to ban super PACs
- 79% want a 10% credit card interest rate cap
"Let us do what the American people want," said Sanders on Meet the Press. "Create an economy that works for everybody. Stand up to the billionaire class."
With both Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) under pressure to recognize that the base of the Democratic Party is moving away from the kind of leadership the pair of New York lawmakers represent as key members of the Establishment wing, Sanders' message—which he has been railing on since his 2016 presidential run—is resonating among those seeking bigger and transformative change.
"Democrats won by recognizing Americans’ economic pain, denouncing Washington corruption that has made a rigged economy worse by favoring giant corporations over working people, and by pledging to upend this system," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Sunday. "Americans need Democrats to deliver now."
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Despite Midterm Win, Are Democrats About to Help GOP Pass 'Massive Giveaway' to Big Oil and Big Tech?
"Handing Stephen Miller a loaded howitzer is not something any senator should even contemplate. Period."
Nov 08, 2026
With a vote expected as soon as Monday on a far-reaching permitting reform bill in the US Senate, opponents to the legislation are raising the alarm over legislation they warn represents the worst kind of bipartisanship: the kind where corporate interests have twisted enough arms in each party to get what they want while the public and the common good get the short end of the stick.
The looming vote to advance S.5653, the so-called Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, BAAJA for short, has largely been overshadowed by the midterm elections, but coming on the heels of the Democratic Party's routing of Republicans last Tuesday, it is being pitched as one final chance for the current Congress to pass at least one piece of legislation before President Donald Trump becomes a truly lame duck president come January.
The Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate—Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico—have tried to thread the bipartisan needle by arguing that the benefits of their proposal outweigh what Republicans demanded in exchange.
“We need a fast, fair transition to clean energy, but not one built on the backs of communities that live next to mines and pipelines. These communities are the ones drinking the water and breathing the air and this bill gives them fewer protections."
But the problem, according to critics, is that it's a horrible and counterproductive bill that will empower utility conglomerates, mining companies, data center operators, and oil and gas behemoths to extract huge concessions on the future buildout of polluting projects while hiding behind the promise of a more efficient permitting process for clean energy infrastructure—a noble goal.
The crux, as summarized by The Verge, is that while the legislation, if passed, "could be a catalyst for lots of clean energy, it could also speed up polluting projects and limit oversight of new data centers."
Green groups in the days leading up to Monday have intensified their opposition, even as lawmakers have introduced changes to make the bill more palatable. On Saturday, the Senate Democratic Caucus met in Washington, DC to discuss the bill and offer "manager's amendments" in hopes of garnering enough votes for passage.
According to Elizabeth Bast, executive director of Oil Change International, however, “No amount of last-minute tinkering can disguise that this bill is a massive giveaway to fossil fuel companies and Big Tech at the expense of communities, the climate, and people’s energy bills."
The bill, Bast added, "is exactly what the fossil fuel industry has been asking for years" and called on all lawmakers to vote against it.
Earthworks, one of the hundreds of advocacy groups lining up against BAAJA, warns that the legislation would give the public and Tribes less say in major energy projects, creating conditions that are a giveaway to the mining, data center, and fossil fuel industries.
"The bill would expand the 1872 Mining Law so companies could claim nearly unlimited public land for waste dumps, roads, pipelines and power lines," Earthworks said in a statement. "The demand for minerals for the energy transition is real, but it is no excuse to let mining companies take more public land with fewer safeguards, under a law that already prioritizes mining ahead of other land use."
The group's policy director, Lauren Pagel, said, “We need a fast, fair transition to clean energy, but not one built on the backs of communities that live next to mines and pipelines. These communities are the ones drinking the water and breathing the air, and this bill gives them fewer protections."
Veteran climate organizer Bill McKibben, writing about the legislation on Saturday, also pointed out the fundamental problem with legislation that treats permitting reform for clean energy projects and dirty energy projects as an equal endeavor.
While acknowledging that currently it remains "too hard to build stuff we badly need—housing, transit, energy," when it comes to building energy infrastructure, "there’s a problem, and that problem (as so often) is climate change. Building more housing produces…more housing. But if you take climate change seriously, you have to build more clean energy and less dirty energy, or otherwise you don’t get anywhere."
It's a similar argument made by groups like Public Citizen, who said Friday that while some of the bill's provisions—like those related to transmission lines and ratepayer protections from data centers—are "strong and sorely needed," the problem remains that "the bill’s drawbacks are greater, more immediate, and more certain."
Whatever benefits the legislation might secure, explained David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, the downsides will be far worse, undercutting existing laws designed to protect public lands, endangered species, and the nation's natural resources, including clean air and water.
BAAJA, said Arkush, "seriously weakens the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act and guts the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. It fast-tracks the permitting of all manner of projects, then makes it virtually impossible to regulate or arguably even enforce existing rules against them, without an act of Congress."
"Among other effects," he continued, "the bill will open the door to a vast increase in exports of liquefied natural gas and facilitate a hasty and reckless buildout of data centers powered by fossil gas. And the bill would make it significantly more difficult to moderate, regulate, or alter these actions later, regardless of what public health, climate destruction, or public sentiment demand."
As far as McKibben is concerned, "I think that if this deal had been made 30 years ago, it might have made sense—we’d be reaping the benefits now. But the fossil fuel industry made sure we didn’t. And this bill, which they’re backing with great enthusiasm, seems an awful lot like a hedge to make sure they can string their business model out for a few more decades—a way to lock in the fruits of their decades of political obstructionism."
With Democrats soon returning to power, opponents of the permitting reform bill said it makes no sense to bend to Republicans now to pass a bill that falls short in such fundamental ways.
“In the November 3 elections, voters across the country resoundingly rejected data centers," said Arkush. "This is not the time to pass a bill that enables Big Tech to charge forward with them, powered by fossil fuels, over the objection of local communities."
Come January, he said, "the makeup of Congress will change substantially," making it likely that a significantly "better deal can be reached then—one that enacts the laudable and important provisions in this bill, and more, without so many sacrifices."
In October, veteran Democratic operator John Podesta warned that providing legislation like BAAJA to the Trump administration would be like giving the president and his party a "loaded howitzer" with which to attack environmental protections.
With Trump's appointment on Friday of Stephen Miller to be his new White House chief of staff, McKibben connected that choice of the "single most vile character I've ever seen on our national scene" with Podesta's comments and offered this guidance: "Handing Stephen Miller a loaded howitzer is not something any senator should even contemplate. Period."
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Bernie Sanders: Increasing Social Security Payments by $2400 Next Year a Top Priority
"How? By scrapping the cap and demanding that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes."
Nov 07, 2026
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Saturday that one of his top priorities, once he takes control of the chamber's Social Security Subcommittee in January, will be to lift the cap on taxable income that funds the program and increase benefit payments by at least $2400 per year.
Vowing to extend "Social Security’s solvency for generations" to come, Sanders explained that the way to do that is to raise the limit at which wealthy people stop paying into the program—currently set at $184,500—so that extremely wealthy individuals pay in at the same rate as working-class taxpayers.
By "demanding that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes," Sanders said the government could pay out higher benefits each month and strengthen the program long into the future.
In the wake of Tuesday's massive midterm defeat of the Republican Party, Nancy Altman, executive director of the advocacy group Social Security Works, said the outcome was a major win for Social Security, the nation's most successful anti-poverty program.
With Social Security "on the ballot" in the midterms, Altman said the message sent by US voters was "resoundingly clear: Hands off our earned benefits!"
"Democrats ran on making the wealthy pay their fair share into Social Security," she said, and now they have a chance to show the American people what that looks like.
"In the next two years," Altman said, "lawmakers should vote on legislation that expands benefits with no cuts. This legislation should restore Social Security to long-range balance by requiring the wealthiest Americans, like Elon Musk, to finally start paying their fair share."
Altman also called on Democrats to use their new power in Congress to "investigate Musk and his henchmen in the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency,' who committed the largest data theft in American history by stealing all of our most personal and private Social Security data."
"Democrats should seek to reverse all the damage that Donald Trump and his cronies have done to the Social Security Administration," she concluded, "so that the American people can get the first-rate service they have paid for and deserve."
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'Enough. Have Mercy on Us!' Suffering in Gaza Escalates as 70,000 Tents Destroyed by Floods
“We are poor people in Gaza," said one man whose family of our lost their makeshift home to the storm water. "We want to live. We do not want to die from the bombing or the cold."
Nov 07, 2026
The suffering of the people of Gaza went from horrific and beyond comprehension to something worse on Saturday after storm waters overnight destroyed tens of thousands of tents and flooded tens of thousands of people into further desperation, all while the US and Israeli governments continue to maintain a cruel blockade on life-saving supplies despite a fast-approaching winter and a military occupation with no end in sight.
"At least 70,000 tents have been flooded & blown away by the torrential downpour and tempestuous wind in Gaza since last night," reported Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed, citing statements from health and media officials. "Families are shelterless. Food prices are soaring. Children are starving and shivering with cold. Caravans and mobile homes must enter Gaza now to avert this cataclysm."
Gaza’s Government Media Office on Saturday, holding Israel wholly responsible for the disaster, said initial losses from flooded and destroyed tents were estimated at $3 million and that dozens of walls of homes had collapsed, resulting in injuries, while the threat of broader building collapse remained a serious risk.
In a statement, Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Majed Abu Ramadan said, “What is happening in Gaza is not a passing winter crisis. I urgently call on the international community, the United Nations, and health, humanitarian, and relief organizations to intervene immediately to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Gaza Strip, following the flooding of thousands of tents with rainwater and the absence of basic safe shelter conditions."
Al-Jazeera reports:
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 950,000 displaced people in Gaza are living in areas exposed to flooding. Low-lying locations and sites near the coast are particularly vulnerable, with more than 400,000 people living in areas considered at high risk of flooding.
About 44,000 Palestinians are living in structurally unsafe buildings, while more than 4,000 buildings across the territory are estimated to require full or partial demolition due to damage caused by Israeli air strikes. About 294,250 families need shelter assistance ahead of winter, but the available supplies cover only 18 percent of their needs.
Ramadan further warned of "a catastrophic deterioration in health and environmental conditions, alongside growing risks of the spread of diseases and epidemics" if an emergency response was not rapidly and comprehensively deployed.
Video footage and eyewitness accounts offered a heartbreaking picture of those hit by the floods.
“We woke up and found ourselves surrounded by water," a man named Mansour al-Sakni, 33, told the Middle East Eye. "The children were crying. I did not know what to do, and I started crying too."
“We stood inside the tarpaulin shelter waiting for the rain to stop so we could try to push the water out of the room,” he said. “We are poor people in Gaza. We want to live. We do not want to die from the bombing or the cold. Enough. Have mercy on us.”
According to NBC News:
The territory’s civil defence service said it had received 1,500 distress calls from displaced residents. Three abandoned houses collapsed without causing injuries, it added.
At a tent encampment in Gaza City, some people tried to repair their tents, while others used sand to reinforce them and prevent water from entering. Some were busy getting their children out of flooded tents.
Olfat Magdoub, a Gaza resident, tried in vain to sweep water away from her tent.
“This is the first day of rain, and of course we are already flooded. What will happen if it rains again the next day? This is only the first day and we’re already overwhelmed,” said the woman.
“Two weeks ago when it rained, I swear to God, I spent four days sleeping on blankets spread on the floor because the rainwater had flooded the bedding. Same now, the mattresses are wet so we sleep on the ground.”
While the flooding devastated the people and families trapped by the blockade of life-saving aid and shelter, fresh ire was pointed at the US government for refusing to rebuke the Israeli government for its wanton disregard for human life and suffering.
On the ground in Gaza, the anguish of Palestinians, including children, was on display in videos of the devastation and ongoing catastrophe posted to social media:
🚨 CATASTROPHIC SCENES IN GAZA RIGHT NOW.Heavy rainfall is flooding displaced Palestinians’ tents, leaving families exposed to the harsh winter with no alternative shelter.This is their fourth winter since Israel destroyed their homes and continues to block essential materials from entering Gaza.
— Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) November 7, 2026
"How long are we supposed to live like this?" declares the young boy featured in the video. "I swear I don't know what to do. Have mercy on us for God's sake! For the sake of God, have mercy on us!"
Rain is worsening the suffering of Gaza’s children as water pours into homes damaged by Israeli bombardment, soaking bedding and clothes. With no shelter repair materials or tarpaulins available, families are left unable to protect their children from the flooding. https://t.co/OzVMGHzssI
— Government Communication Center (@pal_gcc_en) November 7, 2026
Children are particularly impacted by the rainwater and vulnerable to the increasingly dangerous conditions imposed by the floods
The image of a little girl in Gaza standing in the rain captures a stark, painful contrast: the innocence of childhood set against the harsh reality of life in Gaza. 🍉 The winter rain has transformed the scene into a tableau that blends spontaneous, childlike joy with profound human suffering. Our tattered tents—and everything we own—have been completely submerged today. 🥹💔 Please, speak about us; be our voice to the world. Please share, or leave a comment—even just a dot—to help boost this post. Thank you, from Gaza.
— Sondos Gaza 🍉🇵🇸 (@SondosMurtaja) November 7, 2026
"What remains of Gaza’s homes is collapsing under heavy rain, amid the ongoing genocide and deafening silence," said Ramy Abdul, chairman of the human rights group Euro-Med Monitor.
"For the fourth consecutive year," Abdul added, "Gaza remains under a suffocating Israeli siege that prevents even the recovery of victims’ bodies from beneath the rubble."
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Petition Calling for House Speaker Other Than Hakeem Jeffries Hits 1 Million Signatures
"We are calling on every member of the incoming 120th Congress to vote against Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker in January 2027 and choose a different candidate."
Nov 07, 2026
An online petition demanding that Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) not be the next Democratic Speaker of the House surpassed one million signatories on Saturday as the clamor for a leadership change within the party exploded after historic midterm wins driven by populist demands.
As of this writing, the Change.org petition—titled "House Democrats: CHOOSE A NEW SPEAKER"—has 1,004,752 verified signatories, with the number rapidly rising.
While the final totals are not yet established, Democrats emerged from Tuesday's elections with at least 254 seats in the next Congress, reclaiming the majority from the Republicans, who currently can count on just 162 seats when new members are sworn in come January.
While Jeffries is clearly the presumptive choice for Democrats, and he formally put himself in the running on Wednesday with a letter to all members, outside progressives have voiced serious opposition given his failure to embrace many of the positions—including backing Medicare for All, taking on entrenched corporate power, and restricting military assistance to Israel over its genocide in Gaza—that have animated voters nationwide this election cycle.
According to the petition:
We believe the Speaker should represent the Democratic voters, not just the Democratic establishment.
The Speaker has enormous influence over the House's direction, including its legislative priorities and agenda. Before casting their votes, representatives should closely examine Jeffries's public record, policy positions, campaign donor record, and leadership...and listen to constituents who do not want him elevated to Speaker.
This is not a foregone conclusion. There is still time for other Democratic members of the House to step forward and seek the nomination for Speaker, someone whose priorities more closely reflect the voters who hope to elect the Democratic majority.
We are calling on every member of the incoming 120th Congress to vote against Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker in January 2027 and choose a different candidate.
Axios reported Friday that members of Congress have been "inundated" with calls urging them not to elect Jeffries and suggested that some of the hesitations are not just among progressives.
The outlet reported, interviewing "nearly a half-dozen incoming House Democrats in deeply red seats Thursday who declined to state a firm position one way or another on voting for him."
As Corbin Trent, the former top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who now runs a progressive organizing outfit called A Fight Worth Having, wrote in a column published at Common Dreams on Friday, "the Democratic leadership we have today is completely ill-suited for this moment. They do not have the vision for what it’s going to take to rebuild the trust the American people have lost in their government, their institutions, and the Democratic Party itself."
"Democrats have spoken loudly and clearly that they want new leadership," Trent said of the election. "Unfortunately, too many of the people in Washington aren’t listening."
While the large Democratic majority in the House makes it easier for Jeffries to maneuver leading up to the leadership vote, and given that no challenger has stepped forward to take him on directly, the betting money is still safe that Jeffries will be the next Speaker of the House.
But the public push denouncing him as the wrong choice of leadership at a moment when Democratic voters are clearly demanding—and expecting—a much bolder agenda may still affect his calculations.
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'If He Wants to Pass Trumpcare-for-All, I'm OK With It,' Says Medicare for All Champion Abdul El-Sayed
"Donald, if you're watching, we'll put your name on it. You get to be the American president who finally guaranteed health care for every single American."
Nov 07, 2026
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senator-elect from Michigan who ran on a progressive platform with Medicare for All at its center, said Friday that he doesn't care what the policy is called as long as it passes, even during President Donald Trump's lame-duck term, which begins in January.
Appearing on Zeteo with editor-in-chief Mehdi Hasan, El-Sayed was asked whether he agreed with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who the night before said he wasn't so sure that if Democratic majorities in the US House and Senate passed a Medicare for All bill, Trump wouldn't sign it.
"If he wants to pass Trumpcare-for-All, I'm ok with it. He seems to like to put his name on things," said El-Sayed.
"That's a pretty good compromise—that's bipartisan," Hasan quipped. "You'll offer him the name, and everyone gets healthcare?"
"Yeah," responded El-Sayed. "Donald, if you're watching, we'll put your name on it. You get to be the American president who finally guaranteed health care for every single American—met the unmet promise of America. You get to be that guy, so let's talk about it."
“If he wants to pass Trumpcare-for-All, I'm ok with it.. Donald, if you're watching, we'll put your name on it. You get to be the American president who finally guaranteed health care for every single American."@AbdulElSayed to me today, lol.Full intv: https://t.co/W8g8V0efSF https://t.co/m4QC14saNE
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) November 7, 2026
In Sanders' remarks Thursday, which he made on MS-NOW with Chris Hayes, the Independent Senator from Vermont interrupted when Hayes said the chances of Trump ever signing Medicare for All into law were extremely low.
"Hold it, hold it, hooooold it," Sanders said, waving his hand. "Two points. Trump has the constitutional right to veto—if he wants to. But we have the constitutional right to represent the American people and to pass the damn thing and to show the American people that we are sick and tired of maintaining a broken [healthcare] system."
Hayes on Medicare for All: "The odds of Donald Trump signing that into law, pretty small--"Sen. Sanders: "Hold it, hold it, hold it... Our job is to produce it. He wants to veto it, Republicans want to sustain that veto, that is their responsibility, the American people will see it."
— NewsNewsNews (@RealCrookedNews) November 6, 2026
"Number two," Sanders continued. "Donald Trump may be a bit crazy, but he is not stupid. And he is a good politician. I mean this guy looks out all over the country, and he says, 'Everyone knows this system is broken. You know what, what do I gotta lose?' So I am not absolutely certain that Trump wouldn't sign it. But whether he would or not, our job is to produce it. He wants to veto it, and Republicans want to sustain that veto—that is their responsibility and the American people will see it."
Poll after poll have shown that Medicare for All—which would cover everyone in the country for less money overall than the current system dominated by for-profit insurers—is incredibly popular, not just among Democrats but also independents and increasing numbers of those who identify as Republican or conservative.
Many social media users applauded the idea. "I just had this discussion with someone," said one user in response to comments separate Sanders made about the subject earlier in the week. "Call it Trumpcare-for-All, who cares as long as we get it. People around him have been taking advantage of his narcissism for years; he doesn't have any real beliefs himself, it's worth a shot."
In response to El-Sayed's strategic idea of renaming "Medicare for All" to "Trumpcare-for-All," Hasan admitted that while he thought it was a "good move," he'd have a hard time seeking care if it meant invoking Trump's name at the doctor's office.
"I just want people to have healthcare," said El-Sayed.
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