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

House Democrat Smacks Down Trump's Double Standard On Protests Amid Tesla Backlash

(Huff Post) Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) ripped Donald Trump on Wednesday after the president said he’d label violence against Tesla dealerships as “domestic terrorism” as the company faces backlash over billionaire Elon Musk’s cost-cutting crusade. Trump, who praised Tesla electric vehicles alongside Musk outside the White House earlier this week, vowed that protesters who target the company with violence would be caught and “go through hell” as a result. “So, Trump thinks that if you try to kill cops to overthrow the government and change an election that’s not domestic terrorism, but somehow having a protest in front of a Tesla dealership is?” said Moulton.

LetMyPeopleVote

Russia says it does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine

(Financial Times) Russia does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and is pushing for a long-term peace settlement that will take into account its interests and concerns, a senior aide to Vladimir Putin has said. Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president’s foreign policy adviser, told state television on Thursday that the 30-day ceasefire proposed after talks between the US and Ukraine this week was “nothing other than a temporary breather for Ukrainian troops”.

douglas9

Trump's FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups

(New Republic) The FBI is moving to criminalize groups like Habitat for Humanity for receiving grants from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration. Citibank revealed in a court filing Wednesday that it was told to freeze the groups’ bank accounts at the FBI’s request. The reason? The FBI alleges that the groups are involved in “possible criminal violations,” including “conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

LetMyPeopleVote

Trump threatens 200% tariff on E.U. booze over tax on U.S. whiskey

(NBC News) President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to impose 200% tariffs on alcohol from the European Union in response to the region's retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., further escalating tensions between two longtime trading partners. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president claimed that the E.U. was "formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States" while calling it "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World." Trump claimed the protectionist move "would be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S."

KS Toronado

Toon Tune Up Thursday

BumRushDaShow

Trump whines about who signed deal to allow Canada to supply energy to the US - it was him

(The Independent) President Donald Trump took to social media to whine about who negotiated a deal allowing Canada to supply energy to the U.S. — but, it turns out, he made the deal. Amidst the trade tariffs back-and-forth with Canada and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who suspended the province’s 25 percent electricity surcharge on three U.S. states Tuesday, Trump fumed on Truth Social: “Why would our Country allow another Country to supply us with electricity, even for a small area?” “Who made these decisions, and why?” the president demanded.

Dennis Donovan

Trump has united the free world against a grave threat

(Public Notice) In his own twisted way, Donald Trump has become a unifying figure. He’s more politically divisive than ever, but his outright attacks on liberal democracy everywhere have managed to rally America’s traditional allies against a common threat — one he sees when he looks in the mirror.

BumRushDaShow

Education Department cuts agency that compiles 'Nation's Report Card' and measures student performance

(ABC News) The Department of Education's far-reaching layoffs have decimated a small statistical agency considered to be the "authoritative and trusted source" of information on the education system in the United States, four former employees familiar with the situation told ABC News. Since the 1860s, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has collected and analyzed data on education across the country, which has been used by policymakers and the public to measure academic success, teacher productivity and crime and safety in schools, among other topics.

Jim__

Study shows widespread H5N1 bird flu infection in cattle

(Phys.org) Scientists are sounding alarms about a genetic mutation that was recently identified in four dairy cow herds, nearly one year after H5N1 bird flu was first reported in Texas dairy cattle. The change is one that researchers have dreaded finding because it is associated with increased mammal-to-mammal transmission and disease severity.

Tanuki

War crime sympathizer Hegseth to "relax" rules of war

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is expected in the coming weeks to start a sweeping overhaul of the judge advocate general’s corps as part of an effort to make the US military less restricted by the laws of armed conflict, according to two people familiar with the matter. The changes are poised to have implications across the military. In Trump’s first term, Hegseth privately and publicly as a host on Fox and Friends appealed to Trump to pardon US soldiers accused of committing war crimes, including Gallagher, who was accused of murdering a captive Islamic State fighter in Mosul.

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Trump White House has asked U.S. military to develop options for the Panama Canal, officials say

1 min ago - March 13, 2025, 9:57 AM EDT / Updated March 13, 2025, 1:23 PM EDT WASHINGTON — The White House has directed the U.S. military to draw up options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama to achieve President Trump’s goal of “ ... (NBC News)

Judge orders Trump admin to hand over records detailing 'parameters of DOGE's and Musk's authority'

23 min ago - Mar 13th, 2025, 10:52 am A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday ordered Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to turn over documents and answer a series of questions regarding “DOGE’s and Musk ... (Law & Crime)

Technology secretary Peter Kyle asks ChatGPT for science and media advice

29 min ago - Peter Kyle, the science and technology secretary, has asked ChatGPT for advice on a range of work-related issues, including why British businesses are not adopting artificial intelligence and what podcasts he should appear on. Information provided to ... (The Guardian)

Protesters take over Trump Tower in NYC to demand release of Mahmoud Khalil

43 min ago - A sit-in at New York City's Trump Tower is underway as protesters gathered to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist detained over the weekend by federal immigration agents. The organization Jewish Voice for Peace livestreamed t ... (NBC)

Top IRS lawyer pushed aside as DOGE seeks records and 20 percent staff cuts

1 hr ago - The Trump administration on Thursday removed the Internal Revenue Service’s top lawyer and rolled out plans to downsize nearly 20 percent of the agency’s staff as billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service seeks access to sensitive taxp ... (Washington Post)

Mahmoud Khalil and anonymous student plaintiffs sue Columbia University and the U.S. House Committee ...

1 hr ago - Adam Steinbaugh ‪@adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social‬ Follow Mahmoud Khalil and anonymous student plaintiffs sue Columbia University and the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, arguing that congressional pressure has caused the u ... (Adam Steinbaugh, via Bluesky)

Tens of thousands of fired federal workers must be reinstated immediately, judge rules

1 hr ago - 03/13/2025 12:35 PM EDT A federal judge on Thursday ordered federal agencies to reinstate tens of thousands of probationary employees who were fired amid President Donald Trump's turbulent effort to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy. U.S. Di ... (Politico)

Canadian entrepreneur detained by ICE and sent to Arizona facility in chains after visa was revoked, family says

1 hr ago - A Canadian businesswoman who was arrested in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents over an incomplete visa is being held in “inhumane” conditions in an Arizona detention center, according to her family, who h ... (The Independent)

Democratic-led states sue Trump administration over dismantling of Education Department

1 hr ago - Updated on: March 13, 2025 / 10:42 AM EDT Nearly two dozen Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration Thursday, seeking to halt an effort to lay off half of the Department of Education's workforce. The suit comes two days after the f ... (CBS News)

Woman who lived to age 117 had genes keeping her cells 'younger', study shows

2 hrs ago - -snip- A study of Branyas’s microbiome and DNA that scientists began conducting before her death reportedly determined that the genes she inherited allowed her cells to essentially feel and behave as if they were 17 years younger than they actua ... (The Guardian)

Walmart feels the heat in China after Trump imposes tariffs

2 hrs ago - Updated 6:33 AM EDT, Thu March 13, 2025 Hong Kong CNN — Walmart is getting caught in the middle of an escalating trade war between the United States and China. Chinese officials confirmed on Thursday they had met with executives from the US re ... (CNN Business)

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz to appear in Omaha

2 hrs ago - Dan Crisler Mar 13, 2025 Updated 15 mins ago Former Democratic vice presidential nominee and current Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will appear in Omaha Saturday morning. Walz and Nebraska Democratic Party officials are set to speak at Metropolitan Communit ... (Omaha World Herald)

Top House Judiciary Democrat seeks IG probe of D.C. U.S. attorney Martin

2 hrs ago - Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) is calling for the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., accusing controversial prosecutor Ed Martin of violating the law and repeatedly ignoring legal ... (Washington Post)

NASA, Yale, and Stanford Scientists Consider 'Scientific Exile,' French University Says

2 hrs ago - Last week, Aix Marseille University, France’s largest university, invited American scientists who believe their work is at risk of being censored by Donald Trump administration’s anti-science policies to continue their research in France. T ... (404 Media)

Sen. Deb Fischer offers up 'canned food' as alternate to USDA food bank cuts

3 hrs ago - 03/13/2025 09:35 AM EDT Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) seemed to defend the Trump administration’s cuts to local food purchasing for schools and food banks, saying Thursday that “canned food” and other non-perishable options can also be ... (Politico)

UN report accuses Israel of sexual violence against Palestinians. Netanyahu claims anti-Israel bias

3 hrs ago - By JAMEY KEATEN Updated 7:27 AM CDT, March 13, 2025 GENEVA (AP) — United Nations-backed human rights experts on Thursday accused Israel of “the systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other gender-based violence” in its war with Ha ... (AP)

Pete Buttigieg Declines to Run for Senate -- Because He's Eyeing the White House: Report

4 hrs ago - Mar 13th, 2025, 9:17 am Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will not run for Senate in 2026 — mostly because he’s got his eye on a bigger prize. According to Politico, Buttigieg has ruled out a bid to join the upper chamber ... (MEDIAite)

Scoop: White House to pull CDC director nomination

5 hrs ago - 21 mins ago The White House is withdrawing the nomination of Dave Weldon to be the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), per a source close to Senate health committee and another source familiar. Why it matters: The forme ... (Axios)

Wholesale price measure was flat in February, compared with expected increase

5 hrs ago - Published Thu, Mar 13 2025 8:36 AM EDT Updated 12 Min Ago Wholesale prices were flat in February providing some more welcome news on inflation amid tariff fears, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The producer price index, considered ... (CNBC)

Trump threatens 200% tariff on E.U. booze over tax on U.S. whiskey

5 hrs ago - President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to impose 200% tariffs on alcohol from the European Union in response to the region's retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., further escalating tensions between two longtime trading partners. In a post on his T ... (NBC)