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Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

Nakhie Faynshteyn, 617-943-7073, nickfayn@yahoo.com
Today, 37 Sunrise Movement activists attempted to visit the offices of three prominent Massachusetts politicians--Governor Charlie Baker, State Senate President Karen Spilka, and State House Speaker Robert DeLeo--to demand the cancelation of summer recess until action is taken on climate change legislation. Activists were denied entry into the offices of Speaker De Leo and Governor Baker--with police barricading the former. Senate President Spilka's staff briefly allowed Sunrise Movement members entry before quickly asking them to leave.
Today, 37 Sunrise Movement activists attempted to visit the offices of three prominent Massachusetts politicians--Governor Charlie Baker, State Senate President Karen Spilka, and State House Speaker Robert DeLeo--to demand the cancelation of summer recess until action is taken on climate change legislation. Activists were denied entry into the offices of Speaker De Leo and Governor Baker--with police barricading the former. Senate President Spilka's staff briefly allowed Sunrise Movement members entry before quickly asking them to leave.
"In the past two weeks, we have seen unprecedented heat waves strike our commonwealth, and tornadoes ravage Cape Cod. It is unconscionable that our state leaders intend to go on vacation despite having done absolutely nothing to mitigate climate change this year. Scientists say we have 11 years to ward off the worst impacts of climate change. As young people, we demand that they do their job to protect Massachusetts residents", Sunrise Movement action lead, Eric Fishman explained.
The Sunrise Movement will continue to exert pressure on state politicians until they act to pass meaningful legislation to prevent the worst of climate change.
A livestream of today's events can be found here.
Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
"Oh look—Republicans helping private-jet billionaires avoid paying taxes," said one Senate Democrat. "If only they worked that hard for consumers."
Nearly a year after congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump made private jets tax-deductible in last summer's budget package, they're again trying to push through legislation that would benefit people rich enough to own personal planes.
Members of Congress have been working on an air safety bill since a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane over the Potomac River last year, killing dozens of people. Early Monday, Politico reported on "a little-noticed" provision on private jets that was slipped into legislation passed by the House of Representatives in April, but not included in the Senate version.
The debated provision stems from the Federal Aviation Administration's 2020 requirement that aircraft adopt a satellite-based tracking technology called Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out.
"Private aircraft owners go to great lengths to hide their aircraft from us," Jeff Prang, the assessor for California's Los Angeles County, told Politico. "This data helps us to identify where those aircraft are located."
Prang said that since the beginning of the year, the data has helped his office find an additional 1,000 aircraft in the county, with a total assessed value of $3.5 billion. Private jets in California are subject to sales tax and a 1% annual property tax, so "that's $35 million in local property taxes that aircraft owners had been avoiding," he explained.
The House provision states that the data "may not be used by any person, government agency, or other entity to identify aircraft for the purpose of obtaining revenue from the owner or operator of such aircraft" without permission.
If passed, billionaires will "get to fly private and pay NO taxes," Americans for Tax Fairness Americans warned on social media Monday. "This is a handout to the superwealthy—and we're going to pay for it."
Also responding to reporting, John Loftus, editor at large of the right-wing Daily Caller, suggested the policy could harm Republicans who are at risk of losing control of one or both chambers of Congress in the November midterm elections.
"It's annoying and wrong that private jet owners dodge taxes. This is a great political issue for Democrats because they like to portray those with money as responsible for all ills in American society—$35 million in tax revenue for California is a drop in the ocean (and would likely get wasted anyway)," Loftus wrote. "Republican lawmakers trying to carve out this loophole in a midterm election makes them look sneaky and unconcerned with the issue on 99% of the population's mind: inflation."
Although Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is not up for reelection this cycle, he, too, noted the reporting: "Oh look—Republicans helping private-jet billionaires avoid paying taxes. If only they worked that hard for consumers."
“Without recordings, we wouldn’t know the truth of what happened to Renee Nicole Good, Alex Pretti, Marimar Martinez, George Retes, and so, so many others,” said one of the bill's sponsors.
A pair of congressional Democrats on Monday introduced legislation that would protect the constitutional right to legally record federal agents and open the door to civil compensation for people whose rights have been violated.
Congressman Maxwell Frost of Florida and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced the Right to Record Act, which according to Frost's office, "establishes the right to sue individual law enforcement agents if they violate First Amendment rights, including the right to record, observe, or peacefully protest."
“The First Amendment defends the right to assemble, protest, and record government officials in public," Frost said in a statement.
No federal agent is above the Constitution. My bill, the Right to Record Act, with @blumenthal.senate.gov strengthens your First Amendment right to record, observe, and peacefully protest — and gives you the power to sue federal agents who violate those rights.
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— Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@frost.house.gov) June 8, 2026 at 2:24 PM
"That right has never been more important. In cases like the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, officials and their allies tried to paint the victims as threats despite evidence showing otherwise,” the congressman said, referring to two people shot and killed during the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Operation Metro Surge anti-immigrant blitz in Minneapolis.
"Without firsthand recordings, those false narratives might have become the official story, which is why the Right to Record Act is so important," Frost added. "It would protect the public’s ability to expose the truth without fear, giving individuals a legal path forward if an officer does violate their constitutional rights.”
In the same statement, Blumenthal said that “over the last year, I’ve investigated dozens of cases of Americans brutalized by agents of their own government, and across the board, video footage corroborated their testimony—showing the world what they experienced and making sure that justice was served."
"Without recordings, we wouldn’t know the truth of what happened to Renee Nicole Good, Alex Pretti, Marimar Martinez, George Retes, and so, so many others," the senator continued.
Martinez, a US citizen, was shot five times by a US Customs and Border Protection agent last October in Chicago while going to donate clothing to her church. Officer body camera footage showed that DHS officials—who labeled Martinez a "domestic terrorist"—lied about events leading up to the shooting.
Retes, who is also a US citizen, is an Iraq War veteran who was violently arrested last July during an immigration raid on his job site and subsequently jailed for three days.
"The right to bear witness has never been more important," Blumenthal said in his statement Monday. "I’m proud to work with Congressman Frost on bicameral legislation that will strengthen the right to record, observe, and peacefully protest—creating real enforcement tools for the protections of the First Amendment that lay the foundation for our democracy.”
Recording federal law enforcement agents in public is protected First Amendment activity, as long as the recorder is not interfering with the officers' duties. Federal courts have repeatedly upheld this right.
"The right to observe and record law enforcement is fundamental to our democracy," Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel with the ACLU—which has endorsed the Right to Record Act—asserted Monday.
"We can't hold our government accountable if we can't see for ourselves what they're doing in our communities," she argued. "Observing and filming allows people to create an independent record, share information with their communities, and demand better from our government."
"Protesting for what we believe in is a core American value, and observing and filming government activity can drive the protest movements that spark change," Leventoff added. "All of these rights are squarely protected by the First Amendment, and we're hopeful that Congress will codify them into law by enacting the Right to Record Act."
"He's never given up his primary role: Donald Trump’s chief defender in court," said Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats.
President Donald Trump on Monday officially asked the Senate to confirm his former personal lawyer and "henchman," Todd Blanche, as US attorney general, despite concerns from senators in both major parties and various other critics about the man currently leading the Department of Justice on an interim basis.
Blanche has been acting attorney general since April, when Trump fired Pam Bondi after reportedly growing frustrated by her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and his efforts to abuse the DOJ to target political enemies. Since then, the DOJ has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), former Cuban President Raúl Castro, and ex-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey (again).
The DOJ has also settled Trump's $10 billion "sham" lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax records by creating a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to line the pockets of the president's allies—which is "dead for now" after public backlash and setbacks in court—and forever barring the IRS from pursuing any other actions against Trump and his family.
"Todd Blanche has spent months running the Justice Department like it's Trump's family law firm, and now Trump wants to give him the attorney general title."
"This is yet another example of Trump assembling a team of henchmen whose primary qualification is doing his own bidding, rather than serving the nation, to staff the government," Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, said Monday. "Blanche demonstrated his toady qualities throughout his 'audition' for this role, and is being awarded with the leading role as a result."
"The examples of his malfeasance are stark, from the unjust SPLC indictment, to a second indictment of Jim Comey, to the settlement shielding Trump's family from IRS audits, are all glaring demonstrations of the fact that his loyalty lies with Donald Trump, not with the American people who the DOJ is supposed to serve," she warned. "The rule of law has already taken too many hits under this authoritarian administration, and we don't need another vengeful pick that will weaponize the government against Trump's political adversaries."
Citing Blanche's recent actions, along with his service as Trump's criminal defense attorney for the cases on hush money, federal classified documents, and election interference that culminated in the president's supporters storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Public Citizen and other groups behind the Not Above the Law Coalition launched a "Block Blanche" campaign last week.
"Donald Trump just made it official with his personal fixer," coalition co-chairs Gilbert, Praveen Fernandes of the Constitutional Accountability Center, Kelsey Herbert of MoveOn, and Brett Edkins of Stand Up America said Monday. "Todd Blanche has spent months running the Justice Department like it's Trump's family law firm, and now Trump wants to give him the attorney general title."
"The Senate has one job here: reject Blanche," they argued. "Blanche weaponized the DOJ against Trump's enemies, fired career prosecutors, and cut deals for his boss—including by blocking the full release of the Epstein files, crafting a $1.8 billion slush fund for Trump's political allies, and trying to arrange immunity from IRS audits for Trump and his family."
According to the co-chairs: "Every senator who lets this nomination sail through is signing off on the end of an independent Justice Department. We're not letting them do that quietly."
Gilbert, Elizabeth Wydra of the Constitutional Accountability Center, Maya Wiley of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) plan to join a coalition call about Blanche on Wednesday afternoon.
While the Senate confirmed Blanche as deputy AG in a 52-46 party-line vote last year, the coalition highlighted in an email roundup on Monday that some "Republican lawmakers are breaking ranks" now.
The Hill noted Monday that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said last week that "most of our members are pretty deferential to who the president wants in some of these key positions," but "this is an environment where nothing’s a safe or sure bet these days."
As Politico's Jordain Carney detailed last week:
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is viewed as the critical vote for Blanche to win over on the Judiciary Committee. Tillis has vowed he won’t support Justice Department nominees who he views as sympathetic those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and previously told Politico that the Justice Department's "Anti-Weaponization Fund" would be a factor in whether or not an attorney general nominee is able to be confirmed...
“What we need to do right now is focus on the [Anti-Weaponization] Fund, or he's not going to have a very good time in Judiciary Committee," Tillis, who will retire after the end of this year, told reporters when asked about Blanche’s forthcoming nomination. "Just think about what the Democrats would do to him."
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, another Senate Judiciary Republican, said of Blanche's chances, "I think it depends on his answers to questions that I intend to ask him at the Judiciary Committee."
"The attorney general is not the president’s private lawyer, so it's sort of by its nature, it's a really hard job to do, but I want to make sure he understands the difference and is committed to making sure that the law is enforced," Cornyn said.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) is also reportedly undecided on Blanche. Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats, and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who sometimes votes with the GOP, said last week, "I would not vote for him."
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats declared on social media Monday afternoon that "Todd Blanche is no neutral law enforcement officer. He's never given up his primary role: Donald Trump's chief defender in court. Putting Donald Trump and the Epstein class before YOU."