Democratic Underground: Forums for U.S. Liberals and Democrats

Republicans propose naming the Kennedy Center's opera house after Melania Trump

July 22, 2025, 4:03 PM EDT WASHINGTON — Republicans on Tuesday proposed naming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Opera House after first lady Melania Trump, with the lawmaker who sponsored the measure saying he wanted to honor the first lady's "support and commitment in promoting the arts and humanities." House Republicans tucked the provision by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, into the bill that would fund the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency a ...

highplainsdem

Amazon acquires Bee, the AI wearable that records everything you say

Amazon has acquired the AI wearables startup Bee, according to a LinkedIn post by Bee co-founder Maria de Loudres Zollo. Amazon confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch, but noted that the deal has not yet closed. Bee, which raised $7 million last year, makes both a standalone Fitbit-like bracelet (which retails for $49.99, plus a $19-per-month subscription) and an Apple Watch app. The product records everything it hears — unless the user manually mutes it — with the goal of listening to convers ...

BumRushDaShow

Outrage Grows as Delta to Price Tickets Based on What AI Thinks You'll Pay

Published Jul 22, 2025 at 10:24 AM EDT Three U.S. senators are demanding answers over Delta Air Lines' planned expansion to use artificial intelligence to set individualized fares — insisting the strategy is fraught with privacy concerns. Sens. Ruben Gallego, Richard Blumenthal and Mark Warner, all Democrats, sent a letter Monday to the Atlanta-based airline seeking additional details of plans to deploy AI-based revenue management technology across 20 percent of its domestic network in a matt ...

BumRushDaShow

Republican Jim Jordan deposed in federal suit tied to sex abuse by late Ohio State team doctor

Updated 1:42 PM EDT, July 22, 2025 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan was among those questioned under oath this month about the sexual abuse of Ohio State University athletes decades ago by a team doctor, according to a court filing. Jordan’s deposition Friday came in a federal lawsuit brought by former student athletes against the university over its failure to stop abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss, who died in 2005. Hundreds say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the ...

highplainsdem

Pam Bondi says judge-picked New Jersey prosecutor succeeding Alina Habba has been removed

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday said the New Jersey federal prosecutor, who just hours earlier was named as the replacement for interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, has been removed. Desiree Leigh Grace was named by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb as Habba’s successor under a statute that permits district court judges to name a prosecutor if the president’s nominee has not been confirmed by the Senate after 120 days. Tuesday was the 120th day since President Donald Trump h ...

BumRushDaShow

Epstein furor upends House for second week in row

(The Hill) The Jeffrey Epstein saga is causing chaos in the House for the second week in a row, as threats of Democrats forcing politically tough votes are prompting House GOP leadership to toss out many of their plans for the week. The trouble started as soon as lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday, when the House Rules Committee, which sets up action for bills on the floor, met to tee up votes to rescind Biden-era rules and on an immigration bill.

BumRushDaShow

'Ask the FBI': WH Throws Kash Patel Under the Bus on Epstein

(Daily Beast) The White House is desperately trying to move on by directing the ongoing uproar to the FBI as MAGA world clamors for the release of more Jeffrey Epstein files. When asked on Monday why the president does not just order the FBI to release the full Epstein files, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt left the ball in the bureau’s court and claimed it was up to the attorney general. “The president has said if the Department of Justice and the FBI want to move forward with releasing any further credible evidence, they should do so,” Leavitt responded. “As to why they have or have not or will, you should ask the FBI.”

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

GOP megabill's final score: $3.4T in red ink and 10 million kicked off health insurance, CBO says

(Politico) Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper released its final prediction Monday for how President Donald Trump’s signature legislative achievement will grow the national debt and affect U.S. households. Over the next decade, the megabill Trump signed on July 4 would increase the federal deficit by $3.4 trillion and cause 10 million people to lose health insurance, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts.

babylonsister

FEMA Search and Rescue Chief Resigns

(Political Wire) “The head of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue branch, which runs a network of teams stationed across the country that can swiftly respond to natural disasters, resigned on Monday,” CNN reports. “Ken Pagurek’s departure comes less than three weeks after a delayed FEMA response to catastrophic flooding in central Texas caused by bureaucratic hurdles put in place by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the disaster response agency.” “Pagurek told colleagues at FEMA that the delay was the tipping point that led to his voluntary departure after months of frustration with the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency.”

BumRushDaShow

Trump's border czar to target sanctuary cities in US: 'We're gonna flood the zone'

(The Guardian) The Trump administration is targeting sanctuary cities in the next phase of its deportation drive after labelling them “sanctuaries for criminals” following the shooting of an off-duty law enforcement officer in New York City, allegedly by an undocumented person with a criminal record. Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s hardline border czar, vowed to “flood the zone” with Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (Ice) agents in an all-out bid to overcome the lack of cooperation he said the government faced from Democrat-run municipalities in its quest to arrest and detain undocumented people.

Expand Featured Stories

Alliance Forums

Region Forums

Latest Breaking News

President Trump indicates he'll let Fed Chair Jerome Powell serve out his term

34 min ago - July 22, 2025 3:01 PM ET President Trump indicated on Tuesday he would let Jerome Powell serve out his term as Federal Reserve chair, saying "he's going to be out pretty soon anyway." The comment comes as the president has relentlessly attacked Powe ... (NPR)

Republicans propose naming the Kennedy Center's opera house after Melania Trump

1 hr ago - July 22, 2025, 4:03 PM EDT WASHINGTON — Republicans on Tuesday proposed naming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' Opera House after first lady Melania Trump, with the lawmaker who sponsored the measure saying he wanted to honor ... (NBC News)

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials bar transgender women from Olympic women's sports

1 hr ago - COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women's sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an "obligation to compl ... (NPR)

House to pilot program to increase security allowance to members

1 hr ago - July 22, 2025 / 1:18 PM EDT Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday a pilot program to raise the security allowance of members of the chamber until the end of September as lawmakers have faced increasing threats. It comes in th ... (CBS News)

Teamsters Expand Nationwide Strike Against Airgas

1 hr ago - Workers Demand Fair Contracts as Picket Lines Stretch Across 11 States Press Contact: Maura Drumm Phone: (215) 510-3735 Email: mdrumm@teamster.org (WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters have expanded their nationwide strike against Airgas, with hundreds o ... (Teamsters)

DOJ fires US attorney for New Jersey after state picks her over former Trump lawyer Alina Habba

1 hr ago - The Justice Department on Tuesday said it fired Desiree Leigh Grace as the newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, hours after federal judges in the state chose her over President Donald Trump's pick, Alina Habba. The announceme ... (ABC)

Lawyers for election pollster scathingly threaten Trump with sanctions after 'transparently improper' defiance of court

2 hrs ago - Jul 22nd, 2025, 10:51 am Attorneys for a retired 2024 election pollster and a top Iowa newspaper on Monday scathingly mocked President Donald Trump's "transparently improper" procedural gamesmanship and asked a federal judge to consider issuing sanc ... (Law & Crime)

Obama stands by intelligence conclusion that Russia tried to influence 2016 election

2 hrs ago - Former President Barack Obama on July 22 said he stood by the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election. July 22, 2025 5::13 p.m. ET Obama was hitting back at a report released by the Office of the ... (USA today)

Exclusive: Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX

2 hrs ago - July 22, 2025 2:00 PM EDT Updated 4 hours ago WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contract ... (Reuters)

Trump rehashes years-old grievances on Russia investigation after new intelligence report

2 hrs ago - BY ERIC TUCKER AND CHRIS MEGERIAN Updated 5:12 PM EDT, July 22, 2025 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump rehashed longstanding grievances over the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his first term, lashing out Tuesday following a n ... (Associated Press)

Pam Bondi says judge-picked New Jersey prosecutor succeeding Alina Habba has been removed

2 hrs ago - TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday said the New Jersey federal prosecutor, who just hours earlier was named as the replacement for interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, has been removed. Desiree Leigh Grace was named by Chie ... (AP)

Trump says U.S. struck trade, military deal with the Philippines; Manila has not confirmed

2 hrs ago - Published Tue, Jul 22 2025 1:48 PM EDT Updated 3 Hours Ago President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. has “concluded” a trade deal with the Philippines that includes a 19% tariff on goods imported from the southeast Asian country. Ma ... (CNBC)

Essentia health workers end strike in Duluth on Tuesday

3 hrs ago - Updated: 5 hours ago Published: July 22, 2025 - 7:50 AM Essentia Health nurses and other healthcare workers ended their two-week strike Tuesday. They are set to return to work on Wednesday while negotiations continue. “We’re not giving up, ... (KSTP)

Amazon acquires Bee, the AI wearable that records everything you say

3 hrs ago - Amazon has acquired the AI wearables startup Bee, according to a LinkedIn post by Bee co-founder Maria de Loudres Zollo. Amazon confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch, but noted that the deal has not yet closed. Bee, which raised $7 million last yea ... (TechCrunch)

Outrage Grows as Delta to Price Tickets Based on What AI Thinks You'll Pay

3 hrs ago - Published Jul 22, 2025 at 10:24 AM EDT Three U.S. senators are demanding answers over Delta Air Lines' planned expansion to use artificial intelligence to set individualized fares — insisting the strategy is fraught with privacy concerns. Sens. ... (Newsweek)

2,000 National Guard troops expected to be called up to assist at ICE detention facilities, sources say

4 hrs ago - Updated 2:54 PM EDT, Tue July 22, 2025 CNN — Roughly 2,000 National Guard troops across multiple states are expected to be mobilized to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement at detention facilities, according to a US official and a source f ... (CNN Politics)

US appeals court will not lift limits on Associated Press access to White House

4 hrs ago - July 22, 2025 1:55 PM EDT Updated 2 hours ago July 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday declined to lift restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump's administration on White House access by Associated Press journalists after the news or ... (Reuters)

Republican Jim Jordan deposed in federal suit tied to sex abuse by late Ohio State team doctor

5 hrs ago - Updated 1:42 PM EDT, July 22, 2025 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan was among those questioned under oath this month about the sexual abuse of Ohio State University athletes decades ago by a team doctor, according to a court ... (AP)

Trump admin cannot be stopped from stripping deportation protections for thousands of foreign nationals, appeals court

6 hrs ago - Jul 22nd, 2025, 10:38 am An appeals court has allowed the Trump administration to proceed in its plan to strip temporary protected status (TPS) designations for Afghans and Cameroonians in the United States. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals ... (Law & Crime)

NPR's editor-in-chief to step down days after Congress cuts $1.1bn in funding

6 hrs ago - Tue 22 Jul 2025 13.17 EDT Last modified on Tue 22 Jul 2025 13.29 EDT The editor-in-chief of the US public radio network NPR has told colleagues that she is stepping down later this year. Edith Chapin’s announcement comes just days after federal ... (The Guardian)