SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
LIVE COVERAGE
Opinion
Climate
Economy
Politics
Rights & Justice
War & Peace
Further
Staircase to Nowhere: MAGA's Crowning Achievement
In a perhaps unprecedented dark time for America and the world, let us take solace in our indomitable Dear Stable Genius, who remains unwaveringly focused on taking care of shiny business: Gold social security cards like Elvis, a $400 million, lopsided shed/ballroom with gaudy columns but no main entrance, and of course gold toilets - which all keeps him so busy he hardly has time to threaten Iran with war crimes. What a time to be alive, barely.
In actual good news, No Kings Day 3.0 drew between 8 and 12 million people, thus hovering tantalizingly close to the 3.5% of a nation's populace historically required to overthrow an authoritarian regime. So good work, patriots. The over 3,000 protests, aka per Mike Johnson "Hate America rallies," ranged from Alaska's Utqiaġvik, the country's northernmost city (7 people) to Ele'ele, Kaua'i, the westernmost, from over 100,000 in New York City to nine stalwarts on Maine's Monhegan Island. Thousands of Trump's neighbors in Palm Beach turned out, ending with a twilight march to Mar-A-Lago, or as close as they could get.
Their signs were brutal: "Elect A Rapist, Expect To Get Fucked. How Many Deaths For the Epstein War? Worst President Since Trump. Criminals Belong Behind Bars, Free Balls for Members of Congress Who Lost Them, Trump Rapes Kids, Impeach Pedolf Shitler, Putin's Bitch, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived. According to The Borowitz Report, Trump, furious about the large protests, argued they'd be much smaller if you subtract all Elon Musk's kids there because they hate him: "People are saying their number (was) much higher than 400, thousands, maybe millions. You take away Elon’s kids and almost no one was there."
There were also "half-dozens to dozens of Americans" at One King co unter-protests, reports The Fucking News, who put the number at "many-ish...Organizers say there were barely any organizers," with attendees ranging from "a tiny number of young people to a die-hard faction of dying people." In Palm Beach, one man carried a heavy sign that read, "Deport the white liberals"; masked to protect himself "against the vindictive left," he said he left soon after he was "attacked" by a woman who denied touching him; her comrades said the guy just dropped his sign "because he was too weak to carry it."
Their small numbers did face competition from "the incredible shrinking CPAC," also meeting that day in Grapevine, Texas with a turnout of "barely thousands." Once a MAGA "center of political gravity," this year's event drew neither Trumps nor presidential candidates. One possible ick factor: MC was (still) CPAC chair Matt Schlapp, who in 2024 settled a pricey sexual misconduct lawsuit from a guy working on Hershel Walker’s (LOL) Senate campaign, who charged Schlapp groped him. The event did boast Todd Chrisley, a reality TV star doing 12 years in prison for massive fraud till Trump pardoned him. Here’s his welcome.
There was also a big contingent of South Korean “stop the steal” activists and supporters of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached last year and now serving life in prison for insurrection. Still, the whole thing was a bit of a slog. Organizers tried to jazz up session subjects - a panel titled "Fraud" became “Ilhan Omar ‘Family’ Values"; Mercedes Schlapp beseeched factions not to "divide from within," which is how you divide; and when Schlapp asked them, the clueless CPAC "crowdette" mistakenly, hilariously cheered the prospect of impeachment proceedings by what could be a newly-Democratic-controlled House. SAD!
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Poor deplorable MAGA. Maybe they're disheartened by Trump's well-deserved plunging approval rating, now at barely 33%. Maybe it's because their regime is such a half-assed shitshow and their people are such self-serving, hypocritical dickwads. As in: Amidst a government shutdown that's seen TSA agents (starting salary $34,454) compelled to work without pay as Congress takes a two-week recess (pay over $170,000) on the taxpayers' dime, TMZ urged readers to send in photos of vacationing pols, and here comes Lindsey Graham at Disney World, “The Most Magical Place On Earth," gaily twirling a Little Mermaid bubble wand yet. America and Megyn Kelly: WTF.
Or maybe it's because Commander-In-Chief Private Bonespurs started another forever quagmire without legal or political justification, and it turns out wars in the Middle East are hard and complex and above his pay grade - like health care! - to solve, and now with no good options he's spewing up only staggering incoherence for strategy, like hailing "great progress" in imaginary "serious discussions" while pivoting to rabidly threatening to "conclude our lovely 'stay’ in Iran" by "obliterating" their civilian infrastructure, electricity, energy and drinking water, which is a war crime. But talks are going “unbelievably well."
Serious discussions with IranImage from Australia's The Shovel
Anyway, his true passion is turning every crass, stupid thing he or Elvis can think of fake gold like the Oval bordello and even Social Security cards, and slathering his repulsive name on structures, coins, currency, and building trashy, illegal monuments to himself like an obscene, unapproved, un-permitted, $400 million ballroom twice the size of the White House, because, "They’ve always wanted a ballroom," except now it's suddenly, "essentially a shed for what goes under it," a massive military complex, presumably a bunker where, as merciful history would have it, he'll finally free us of him, "and we're doing it very well."
He's so ballroom-enraptured that on Air Force One he just pulled out a swath of drawings to show reporters, explaining, "I thought I’d do this now because it’s easier. I’m so busy...fighting wars and other things." Quick mindless pivot to "hand-carved, beautiful, Corinthian columns" - "Corinthian wut" - he's also reportedly re-imagining for the White House facade, a change deemed "at odds with universally held historic preservation standards." Same, experts say of "barely scrutinized" ballroom plans, "riddled with design flaws" - disproportionate, pillars block windows, grand staircase to nowhere. WH lackey on "the best builder in the world": "The American people can rest well knowing this project is in his hands.” We feel better already.
Trump's "plan" for his oversized shed/ballroomImages from New York Times
And then there's his new gold toilet, mounted on a 10-foot throne near the Lincoln Memorial. The new masterwork of Secret Handshake (Best Friends Forever), it celebrates the renovation of the White House Lincoln Bedroom bathroom, all in gold, and "what this President has actually accomplished." The toilet's plaque reads, “In a time of unprecedented division, escalating conflict, and economic turmoil, President Trump focused on what truly mattered: remodeling the Lincoln Bathroom....This, his crowning achievement, is a bold reminder that (he) isn’t just a businessman, he’s taking care of business. It stands as a tribute to an unwavering visionary who looked down, saw a problem, and painted it gold.”
A Throne Fit For a King. Photo from Secret Handshake
Mar 31, 2026
SEE ALL
News
Hidden 'Beneath the Surface,' Freshwater Fish Migrations Collapsing Worldwide
More than 300 species of migratory freshwater fish are in dire need of "urgent coordinated cross-border collaboration" amid a crisis of rapid collapse, according to a report released Tuesday at a key United Nations conservation conference in Brazil.
"Some of the longest, most important migrations of species on Earth are happening beneath the surface of the world’s rivers and many are rapidly collapsing," the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals' (CMS) annual "Global Assessment of Migratory Freshwater Fishes" report states.
Released at CMS' 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) in Campo Grande, Brazil the report details how freshwater fish—which are vital for the health of riparian ecosystems and provide food for hundreds of millions of people around the world—"are among the most imperiled wildlife on the planet."
"Many migratory species now face declines driven by loss of connectivity, flow alteration, habitat degradation, exploitation, pollution, and interacting pressures across borders," the report notes. "Recognizing these trends and their transboundary nature, [CMS] has sought stronger coordinated action for inland fishes that move across national jurisdictions."
📣 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 Out now at #CMSCOP15: the Global Assessment of Migratory Freshwater Fishes, the most comprehensive overview yet on the conservation needs of migratory freshwater fish. 🌍🐟Download the #CMSFreshwaterFishes in English, Spanish and French: www.cms.int/news/un-vita...
[image or embed]
— Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) (@cms.int) March 24, 2026 at 5:28 AM
The report's authors—Zeb Hogan, Zach Bess, Michele Thieme, and Twan Stoffers—identified 325 species of freshwater fish as candidates for international conservation efforts. River basins the report says should be prioritized include the Amazon and La Plata–Paraná in South America, the Danube in Europe, the Mekong and Ganges-Brahmaputra in Asia, and the Nile in Africa.
According to the report:
Many migratory fish rely on long, uninterrupted river corridors connecting spawning grounds, feeding areas, and floodplain nurseries, often across multiple countries. When dams, altered flows, or habitat degradation interrupt those pathways, populations can decline rapidly...
Migratory freshwater fish populations worldwide have declined by roughly 81% since 1970 and nearly all (97%) of the 58 CMS-listed migratory fish species (including fresh and salt-water species) are threatened with extinction.
CMS recommends governments take steps to safeguard migratory fish and their habitats, including protecting migration corridors, devising basin-scale action plans and transboundary monitoring, and international coordination of seasonal fisheries.
“Many of the world’s great wildlife migrations take place underwater," Hogan, the report's lead author, said in a statement. "This assessment shows that migratory freshwater fish are in serious trouble, and that protecting them will require countries to work together to keep rivers connected, productive, and full of life.”
Thieme, who is vice president of World Wildlife Fund-US, said that “rivers don't recognize borders—and neither do the fish that depend on them."
"The crisis unfolding beneath our waterways is far more severe than most people realize, and we are running out of time," she added. "Rivers need to be managed as connected systems, with coordination across borders, and investments in basin-wide solutions now before these migrations are lost forever."
The CMS report follows last month's publication of a study by researchers in Spain who examined how ocean warming driven by human burning of fossil fuels is causing a "staggering and deeply concerning loss of marine life.”
Mar 24, 2026
SEE ALL
News
Patient Advocates Warn Trump Pharma Tariffs Could 'Drive Up Costs and Create More Uncertainty'
On Thursday, the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump's so-called Liberation Day, US advocacy groups sounded the alarm about his new tariffs targeting "patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to bolster American national security and public health."
The administration announced a year ago that the US Department of Commerce would conduct a related investigation under that law. The resulting report was recently sent to the president, and although the findings have not been made public, Trump's executive order summarizes key takeaways and Secretary Howard Lutnick's recommended actions.
According to the order, the secretary's recommendations included "continuing to negotiate onshoring agreements related to most favored nation (MFN) pharmaceutical pricing agreements; imposing significant tariffs on pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security of the United States; and granting preferential treatment to those companies that commit to onshore production of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients."
Citing an unnamed Trump administration official, The Washington Post reported Thursday that "the White House has reached agreements with 13 drugmakers and expects to soon conclude an additional four." As part of these deals, companies are planning to invest at least $400 billion in new US plants.
The Post also pointed out that "some imported drugs will face much lower tariffs under trade deals Trump negotiated with five US trading partners. Goods from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland will face 15% levies, while drugs from the United Kingdom, which was the first to sign a deal with Trump, will be hit with a 10% tariff."
Thanks to Trump's new order, brand-name pharmaceuticals made in other countries could be hit with tariffs as high as 100%.
Merith Basey, CEO of Patients for Affordable Drugs, warned in a statement that "while these tariffs aim to pressure pharmaceutical corporations into US manufacturing and most favored nation agreements, the current MFN deals remain opaque and voluntary, and have not delivered meaningful savings for the vast majority of American patients. There's a real risk these tariffs will drive up costs and create more uncertainty for millions of patients already struggling to afford their medications."
Experts at Public Citizen, another advocacy group that has sued to expose the secretive MFN agreements, were similarly critical.
"By announcing these tariffs without even producing the evidence from the investigation that supposedly justifies them, Trump is continuing his pattern of grabbing headlines by using the word 'tariff' while engaging in secretive ongoing negotiations and opaque exemptions processes that are ripe for corporate corruption," said Public Citizen Global Trade Watch director Melinda St. Louis—who also wrote a broader takedown of Trump's trade policy published Thursday by Common Dreams.
"While strategic tariffs can be used to support domestic manufacturing and good jobs, they must be paired with real public investments and support for workers' rights, which Trump has systematically undermined," she said. "Instead, he's bullying other countries like the UK into paying more for medicines, which will lead to windfall profits for Big Pharma and do nothing to reduce US prices."
Peter Maybarduk, director of Access to Medicines at Public Citizen, stressed that "Trump's tariffs will be either ineffective or harmful for what people need, which is a reliable, plentiful, affordable supply of medicine."
Also taking aim at the "secretive arrangements that allow Trump to claim specious victories on manufacturing and high drug prices," Maybarduk explained that "in reality, many manufacturing commitments claimed under the deals were part of previously planned projects and the drug pricing commitments appear designed to largely spare drug company profits rather than earnestly address affordability concerns."
"Meanwhile the administration has given drugmakers perks like lucrative vouchers to accelerate FDA review of their medicines and a promise from the Trump administration that it will bully other countries into adopting higher prescription drug prices, using tariffs as leverage," he continued, referring to the Food and Drug administration.
"If the administration wants to fix problems like medicines shortages and fragile supply chains," he argued, "it should focus on real solutions to support more transparent and diverse supply sources and make targeted investments for the supply of key medicines."
Apr 02, 2026
SEE ALL
News
Message to Senate Dems: No Confirmation of New AG Without Commitment on Epstein Files Release
With Pam Bondi fired from her position as US attorney general, progressive campaigners on Friday said that Democrats in the Senate, although they are in the minority, must use the leverage they have to force a release of all the remaining files concerning convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"Even in the minority, Senate Democrats have tools to exert pressure—by withholding votes, slowing proceedings, and setting clear conditions," said the grassroots group Our Revolution as it launched a nationwide petition demanding that Senate Democrats block the confirmation of Bondi's replacement unless they commit to the document release. "That leverage must be used."
Our Revolution elevated a call from US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has led the push for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all of the Epstein files.
The latest release of files, which Bondi oversaw and which didn't occur until more than a month after a December 2025 deadline, failed to protect the identities of some survivors of the abuse perpetrated by Epstein and his vast network of powerful associates, while redacting the identities of many of the alleged abusers. Last month at a congressional hearing, Bondi refused to apologize to the survivors in attendance.
Khanna and Massie as well as Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) have led Democrats in demanding the release of 3 million more files that remain, which Garcia said in February include official FBI interviews regarding allegations that President Donald Trump sexually assaulted a 13-year-old child.
The release of files in late January included thousands of references to Trump, but Khanna said the release amounted to a "cover-up" due to the absence of many official FBI survivor statements.
Khanna said in an interview with NPR on Friday that "the Senate should make it absolutely clear they will not confirm a new attorney general unless that attorney general commits to the release of all these files and commits to starting investigations. And if that new attorney general doesn't live up to that word, they will have the same fate as Pam Bondi."
He added that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche—who stepped into the role vacated by Bondi without needing to go through the confirmation process due to his previous confirmation as Bondi's deputy—has falsely stated that "all the files" the DOJ can release have already been disclosed to the public.
"That's just not factual," said Khanna. "In the past, he said that there are 3 million files that have not been released. Now, he claims that they're not releasing those because they're protecting the identity of survivors. But if you talk to the survivors, if you talk to the survivors' lawyers, they will tell you, in fact, that the DOJ was reckless and did not protect their identity. And the 3 million files that haven't been released have the survivors' statements to the FBI agents, where the survivors name the rich and powerful people who raped them, abused them, showed up to Epstein's island, and that they are protecting a group of people who aren't playing by the same rules. This is about two tiers of justice in America."
Massie offered his congratulations to Blanche on Thursday before telling him, "Now you have 30 days to release the rest of the files before becoming criminally liable for failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act."
Our Revolution said Senate Democrats must condition any confirmation vote for Bondi's successor on "a clear commitment" to:
- Release all Epstein-related files with only the most limited and necessary redactions;
- Provide full disclosure of what the federal government knows about the Epstein files;
- Initiate credible investigations and prosecutions of the Epstein network and any co-conspirators; and
- Uphold the rule of law without targeting political opponents or shielding elites.
“The American people are tired of a system where the powerful operate under a different set of rules," said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution. "This is a moment to draw a line. There should be no confirmation vote without a clear commitment to release the Epstein files, pursue prosecutions, and restore trust in the rule of law.”
Apr 03, 2026
SEE ALL
News
Univ. of Washington Removes Mideast Center Director Who Criticized US-Israeli War on Iran
The University of Washington has removed a professor from his role as director of its Middle East Center after he criticized the illegal US-Israeli war of choice on Iran and condemned Zionism, the settler-colonial movement for Jewish hegemony in Palestine.
Aria Fani, who will remain an associate professor at UW’s Jackson School of International Studies, told The Seattle Times on Friday that new interim widirector Daniel Hoffman told him last week he was fired from his leadership role at the Middle East Center.
Fani, who was born and raised in Iran and came to the US when he was 18 years old, said he was hired for his research on Iran. However, he told the Times that he now feels "profoundly hurt and betrayed" by his removal.
"There’s a chilling effect on not just my academic freedom, but that of my colleagues; anyone who dares to speak out against the war and against aggression," he said.
In a separate interview Friday with My Northwest, Fani said he was removed "for improper use" of the center's listserv, an email application.
"I sent out two memos about this atrocious war on Iran in which I offered historical analysis that’s lacking in the media,” Fani said. “I was told that my email made ‘certain constituents feel attacked.’ By certain constituents, I assume the university means Zionists who would like to keep bombing every Middle Eastern country and continue dehumanizing their people.”
Last July Fani told the The Daily UW, a student newspaper, that President Donald Trump's militaristic foreign policy—he's bombed 10 countries, more than any other US leader—is not making the world safer.
“If you tell the dozens of children that were killed in Israeli bombardment... in Iran, or the families of the nuclear scientists who were just wiped out, I hardly imagine they would say that the world is a more peaceful place," he said amid the first round of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
Since then, many more Iranian children have been killed by US and Israeli bombing, including more than 100 students who were among around 175 people massacred in the February 28 US cruise missile strike on a girls' school in Minab.
“The [only] peace this secures is for weapons manufacturers, for oil companies, for drone companies," Fani said in an implicit rebuke of Trump's claim to be the "president of peace."
"It secures peace for them, fills their pockets with money, and makes them fully invincible," he added. "It’s creating a class of people that are living [on] an alternate planet."
Fani was a close friend and defender of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, the 26-year-old Turkish-American UW grad and International Solidarity Movement volunteer who was fatally shot in 2024 while peacefully protesting the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Witnesses said Israeli occupation forces deliberately shot Eygi in the head.
The professor also called Zionism—some of whose founders acknowledged the colonial nature of their endeavor—a "cancerous" ideology.
Fani noted that his removal from his position at the Middle East Center coincided with a recent town hall-style meeting attended by UW President Robert Jones and right-wing media personality Ari Hoffman. According to Fani, Hoffman "specifically asked Jones" about the professor's leadership at the center.
“All we can do is try to remind people of their responsibilities as members of the university community,” Jones said at meeting. “Not trying to tell them that they can’t have a discussion about Palestine or about Israel, but let’s be clear that those discussions need to be had in a way that doesn’t perpetuate an environment where people feel unsafe.”
According to its website, UW's Middle East Center seeks "to strengthen an understanding of the Middle East in all sectors of American society through training and research at the University of Washington, as well as through delivery of outreach programming across the nation."
Fani is one of dozens of US academics who have been fired, had their contracts terminated, lost job offers, or faced other punitive repercussions for advocating Palestinian rights or opposing Israeli policies and practices.
Earlier this week, Shirin Saeidi, who headed the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, was terminated for social media posts deemed supportive of Iran's government, despite the fact that the school's Faculty Committee on Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure ruled unanimously in February that she should return to her position.
Late last month, Texas State University philosophy professor Idris Robinson sued school officials after he was fired for what he says was his 2024 off-campus lecture in North Carolina titled “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance."
Israel's conduct in Gaza is the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case filed by South Africa and formally supported by nearly 20 nations. The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
The ICJ found in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestine is an illegal form of apartheid.
Apr 03, 2026
SEE ALL
News
Dems Say Iran Ceasefire Doesn't Change Fact That 'Unstable, Unhinged, and Unfit' Trump Must Go
US President Donald Trump's whiplash-inducing announcement late Tuesday of a two-week ceasefire with Iran did nothing to diminish calls for his removal from office, with Democratic lawmakers arguing that the president's genocidal threat earlier in the day—and his decision to launch the illegal war in the first place—cannot be walked back.
"The president has threatened a genocide against the Iranian people, and is continuing to leverage that threat," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said in a statement after the deal was announced. "He has launched a massive war of enormous risk and of catastrophic consequence without reason, rationale, nor congressional authorization—which is as clear a violation of the Constitution as any."
"Each day this goes on, the risk and criminality of these actions escalate for our nation and the world," Ocasio-Cortez continued. "We cannot risk the world nor the wellbeing of our nation any longer... Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the president must be removed from office. We are playing with the brink."
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), one of two Iranian Americans in Congress, said while she was "momentarily relieved" by news of the ceasefire, "this doesn't change anything."
"Trump threatened genocide and war crimes against Iranians this morning," Ansari wrote. "His statements that 'a whole civilization will die' and that he’ll take Iran 'back to the stone ages' confirm that he is mentally unstable, unhinged, and unfit for office or any position of authority."
Ansari called for the removal of both Trump and Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, the administration's leading cheerleader for the war. The Arizona Democrat said earlier this week that she would soon introduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth for "repeated war crimes" in Iran, including the deadly bombing of an elementary school on the first day of the war.
"Thousands of civilians have been tragically killed across the region, American servicemembers have died and suffered unnecessarily, and millions are displaced from Lebanon to the Gulf," Ansari said Tuesday. "Trump and Pete Hegseth have already committed explicit war crimes by bombing schools, hospitals, bridges, and water desalination plants... Whether through impeachment or by invoking the 25th Amendment, it is far past time Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are removed from office."
Instead of leaking to the press that he was opposed to the war, the @VP should convene the cabinet immediately to invoke the 25th amendment and remove Trump from office.
This is the time for leadership, and we will remember it when he runs for president. https://t.co/lAWjWyb7T1
— Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (@RepYassAnsari) April 7, 2026
According to a tally by Axios, at least 85 House Democrats have called for Trump's removal via the 25th Amendment, which gives the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet—or a majority of a body established by Congress—the ability to declare the president unable to perform his duties and remove him from office.
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) announced Tuesday that he filed new articles of impeachment against Trump after the president's threat to wipe out the "whole civilization" of Iran.
"He's becoming more unstable by the day. His profane and sacrilegious Easter Sunday and subsequent threats, including ‘a whole civilization will die’ and ‘open the Strait…or you’ll be living in hell,’ not only foreshadow war crimes, but put our security at risk," Larson said in a statement. “People across my district know he is unfit to lead and are calling for impeachment. While Republicans in the majority have so far failed to uphold their constitutional responsibility to initiate impeachment proceedings, that does not absolve others of their duty."
The House and Senate, both controlled by a Republican Party whose ranks are packed with Trump sycophants unwilling to restrain him, are currently on spring recess and aren't scheduled to return to Washington until next week.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called for both chambers to reconvene immediately to "stop this war and remove Donald Trump."
"I’m glad there is a reported ceasefire deal with Iran. But we shouldn’t be in this illegal war in the first place," said Markey. "And Donald Trump can’t simply threaten war crimes with impunity."
Democratic leaders, who have faced backlash for slowwalking a new vote on a resolution aimed at forcing an end to the Iran war, vowed to move ahead with a War Powers vote when lawmakers return from recess.
"We need a permanent end to Donald Trump's reckless war of choice, which is why House Democrats have demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson immediately reconvene the House back into session so we can move a War Powers Resolution that will end this conflict permanently," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in an appearance on CNN late Tuesday.
"Assuming it doesn't happen this week, we'll go back into session next week and we will present a War Powers Resolution as soon as it becomes available to us to do so as a matter of privilege on the House floor," said Jeffries. "All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us."
Apr 08, 2026
SEE ALL
LATEST NEWS
Democrats Cautioned Against Baiting Trump Back Into War With Iran With Criticism of Ceasefire Terms
"I’m grateful there’s a ceasefire and scores of innocent people didn’t die tonight," said Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the only Iranian-American member of Congress.
Apr 08, 2026
With a potential US nuclear attack against Iran's 93 million people averted by the ceasefire deal that was reached Tuesday evening, anti-war advocates including the only Iranian American member of Congress urged the Democratic Party to focus first and foremost on the fact that through diplomacy, President Donald Trump had been led away from the brink of disaster—instead of using the high-stakes moment to to score political points.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) cautioned against members of either political party joking that Trump had "chickened out" after threatening the "whole civilization" of Iran on Tuesday, hours before the deadline he had set for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which it effectively closed in retaliation for the unprovoked US-Israeli invasion of the country at the end of February.
Taking aim at the use of the acronym "TACO"—for "Trump Always Chickens Out," coined by a Financial Times columnist last year—Ansari issued a reminder that "the president was threatening genocide against 90 million Iranians."
"I’m grateful there’s a ceasefire and scores of innocent people didn’t die tonight," said Ansari.
Branko Marchetich of Jacobin called on Democratic leaders to take "their cues" from Ansari, adding, "There is nothing shameful about de-escalation and peace."
The congresswoman spoke out as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), whose name has been floated as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, expressed outrage at the 10-point plan the US, Israel, and Iran agreed upon as a starting point for negotiations over the next two weeks as Trump backed off his threat to annihilate Iran.
Al Jazeera's James Bays reported that the 10-point plan allows limited daily passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz for the next two weeks "in coordination with the Iranian armed forces; cancellation of sanctions against Iran; the US and Israel's acceptance of Iran's nuclear enrichment program; and full compensation for damages suffered by Iran during the war, to be secured through payments to Iran by ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Murphy called the deal's inclusion of Iranian control of the strait "cataclysmic" and "extraordinary," while author and attorney Chase Madar argued the outcome is "considerably less awful than what Trump was promising to do on Easter," when he pledged to attack civilian infrastructure across Iran.
"Let's hope Democrats don't bait Trump back into this war," said Ryan Grim of Drop Site News.
On social media and in a CNN interview, Murphy also railed against reports that the deal allows Iran to "keep their missiles," which the Trump administration had been intent on destroying—although the country was permitted to have ballistic missiles under the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump exited during his first term.
"Anyone who thinks Iran's having conventional ballistic missiles isn't acceptable—and this tweet suggests that's Murphy's position—shouldn't be president," said Robert Wright of NonZero Newsletter. "Murphy is shamelessly playing politics at a delicate moment in world history."
The senator rejected criticism from those who said he was being insufficiently laudatory of the ceasefire, arguing that being "glad if this ceasefire holds" is "not inconsistent with pointing out that we are worse off now than before the war started."
Iran's control of the strait is expected to result in higher global oil and gas prices and inflation; since it closed the key waterway over a month ago, US gas prices have risen above $4 per gallon.
On Wednesday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Murphy in denouncing the deal that allows Iran to retain missiles and continue enriching uranium.
"Leading Senate foreign policy Dem attacks Trump for not achieving his goals... in his criminal war of aggression against Iran," said Erik Sperling of Just Foreign Policy. "The only acceptable goal is immediately ending the illegal war, Senator!"
Sperling noted that prior to the ceasefire deal, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) had spoken with clarity on CNN about the need for Democratic lawmakers to refrain from "play[ing] politics" as the Trump administration engages in brinkmanship with Iran while continuing negotiations.
"There's too much at stake," said Khanna. "I'm going to say, 'Thank you, finally, diplomacy prevailed.'"
Keep ReadingShow Less
Small Wisconsin City Overwhelmingly Passes First-of-Its-Kind Measure Restricting AI Data Centers
“This is really setting a precedent,” said one activist. "This is something that other communities can look to."
Apr 08, 2026
The nationwide backlash against the artificial intelligence industry entered a new stage on Tuesday after a small Wisconsin city overwhelmingly passed a first-of-its-kind referendum limiting AI data center construction.
According to a Wednesday report in Politico, voters in the Milwaukee suburb of Port Washington, home to roughly 12,000 residents, supported the data center restrictions by a margin of around 2-to-1.
The referendus requires town officials to seek voter permission before approving or providing tax incentives for any future data centers in the community, giving residents veto power over new projects.
Port Washington is already home to a $15 billion, 1.3-gigawatt data center funded by tech giants Oracle and OpenAI, and local residents wanted to ensure that no additional facilities are green lit without their express approval.
The referendum was pushed by a grassroots community organization called Great Lakes Neighbors United, which advocates "advancing transparency, environmental stewardship, and responsible development in Wisconsin."
Christine Le Jeune, founder of Great Lakes Neighbors United, told Politico that she hopes the work done limiting AI facilities' construction can be replicated nationwide.
“This is really setting a precedent,” Le Jeune, said. "This is something that other communities can look to."
Politico noted that similar anti-data center measures are coming up for votes later this year in communities across the US, including in Monterey Park, California; Augusta Township, Michigan; and Janesville, Wisconsin.
Opposition to AI data centers has become a major political issue in recent months, as local residents have objected to the large facilities consuming massive amounts of electricity and water, while also generating significant noise pollution.
Data centers also put a major strain on the US electrical grid, causing a spike in utility bills across the country. PJM Interconnection, the largest US grid operator that serves over 65 million people across 13 states, projected earlier this year that it will be a full six gigawatts short of its reliability requirements in 2027 thanks to the demands of data centers.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced a bill in March that would impose a nationwide moratorium on AI data center construction “until strong national safeguards are in place to protect workers, consumers, and communities, defend privacy and civil rights, and ensure these technologies do not harm our environment.”
At the same time, the AI industry is planning on spending big money in 2026 to influence elections, with the goal of passing legislation setting a single set of AI regulations that will take effect throughout the US, overriding any restrictions placed on the technology by state governments.
CNN reported in February that Leading the Future—a super political action committee (PAC) backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, is pledging to spend at least $100 million to ensure AI-friendly candidates get elected to Congress this year.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Despite Ceasefire With Iran, Israel Pummels Lebanon With ‘Apocalyptic’ Strikes
Mediators said Lebanon was included in the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran. Netanyahu said it “does not include Lebanon" and launched the largest attack of the war so far.
Apr 08, 2026
Israel made it abundantly clear on Wednesday that it does not consider Lebanon to be protected by Tuesday night’s ceasefire that halted hostilities for two weeks between the US and Iran.
Hours after the ceasefire was reached, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had begun "the largest coordinated strike across Lebanon," since it began its assault on the country in early March, with bombardments on what it said were Hezbollah targets across Beirut, Bekaa, and southern Lebanon.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 87 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded across the country.
Hezbollah reportedly held its fire against Israel after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who mediated the agreement, said on Tuesday that "Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY."
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Wednesday that, at least in Israel's eyes, the two-week agreement “does not include Lebanon." Israel said much of what was hit was located “within the heart of the civilian population."
Images and videos posted to social media show scenes that one resident described as "apocalyptic." Many of the attacks reportedly came without warning.
"Families were caught completely by surprise, with no time to escape," the resident said.
According to The Guardian:
Warplanes leveled several buildings in the center of the capital city without warning, filling the skies with smoke and the sounds of sirens as ambulances headed to impact sites.
The streets of Beirut were filled with cars crumpled by the blasts and the flaming wreckage of buildings that first responders struggled to extinguish.
People rushed home to check on their families; a man filmed as he ran towards a struck building in the Chiyah neighbourhood, screaming: “There are people inside!”
Pictures of rubble-covered children circulated on social media as people tried to find their parents.
Israel said it attacked more than 100 targets in less than 10 minutes.
Many more people remain trapped beneath the rubble, according to Haaretz, and full casualty counts have not yet been conducted. Meanwhile, hospitals across Beirut are overflowing with injured people, and first responders have issued urgent appeals for blood donations.
"The wounded and casualties are numerous," said Lebanese Red Cross head Georges Kettaneh, according to the Lebanese news network LBCI. "We are doing everything we can to save them.”
Israel launched another wave of attacks across other parts Lebanon, including a strike on an ambulance in Tyre that killed at least four people, according to local sources.
A bombing in the port city of Sidon left eight people dead and 22 injured. Video from local media outlets shows a local cafe lying in ruins as residents run in fear and paramedics rush to transport the wounded.
Other footage posted by local media showed a gigantic plume of smoke rising above a village in Shamstar, where mourners were reportedly attacked during a funeral procession.
Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, said on social media: "Whilst we welcomed the agreement between Iran and the United States, and stepped up our efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, Israel continues to escalate its attacks, which have targeted densely populated residential neighborhoods and claimed the lives of unarmed civilians across Lebanon."
He added that Israel was "showing no regard for regional and international efforts to end the war, let alone the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, which it has never respected in the first place."
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Israel planned to continue the attacks "without stopping."
The attacks are already threatening to torpedo the ceasefire between the US and Iran in its infancy. Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Al-Moussawi has warned of a response from Iran if Israel continues to attack Lebanon.
“The agreement includes Lebanon, according to its terms, and Iran insisted on this inclusion,” Al-Moussawi told local television channel Al-Jadeed.
According to Iran's Fars News Agency, it has once again halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel's attack, putting in jeopardy a core piece of the agreement—that the waterway would be reopened.
Already, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,500 people in Lebanon since the beginning of March, including at least 130 children. Israeli evacuation orders have forced more than 1.2 million people—one in five—to flee their homes, and the military has pressured Christian and Druse communities and southern Lebanon to force out Shia Muslims in neighboring communities, which has been described by observers as a push for ethnic cleansing.
Israel routinely violated its previous ceasefire with Lebanon that began in November 2024 with more than 10,000 air and land attacks over the first year, which the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said demonstrated a “total disregard of the ceasefire agreement.” It has done the same in Gaza, where hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire began in October 2025.
The Beirut-based journalist Séamus Malekafzali warned that by launching the "largest attacks... of this war so far" immediately after the US and Iran reached a tentative agreement, Israel was attempting to create conditions that make a durable ceasefire impossible.
He said, "Israel is attempting to create facts on the ground regarding this ceasefire and the supposed stopping of the war on all fronts, not just Iran."
UPDATE: This article has been edited following publication to contain more updated casualty numbers from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular
Progressive Newswire
Attack on Iran's Bushehr reactor would spell disaster
Apr 07 2026 · 01:41pm EDT
Trump Wages War on Working Families to Fund $500 Billion Pentagon Boost
Apr 03 2026 · 02:12pm EDT
Progressives Urge Senate Dems to Block AG Confirmation Until Epstein Files Released
Apr 03 2026 · 01:01pm EDT