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

White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump's Construction Blitz

BREAKING BUSINESS White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump's Construction Blitz By Conor Murray, Forbes Staff. Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends. Jul 09, 2026, 02:06pm EDT TOPLINE The White House on Thursday hung large tarps covering the North Portico, printed with images of the columns that are under repair, as the Trump administration ramps up construction and repairs projects across Washington, D.C. Construction workers hung tarps outside the Whit ...

BumRushDaShow

Todd Blanche reamed after 'clear violation' of judge's order: 'More than we allow'

July 9, 2026 12:28PM ET Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was called out by name after the Justice Department violated a federal judge's sealing order by discussing a sealed case at a press conference, a magistrate judge ruled Thursday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura McNally had ordered U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, of the Northern District of Illinois, into court after the Justice Department publicly discussed the case at the July 1 event — while her order sealing it was still in effect. Bl ...

BumRushDaShow

Only One Student Has Enrolled in New WVU Program Designed to Counter 'Woke Ideology'

Jul 9th, 2026, 11:58 am West Virginia University opened a new program in response to “woke ideology” in higher education. At the time of writing, just a single student had enrolled. This fall will mark the first semester for the Washington Center for Civics, Culture and Statesmanship. The opening of the program has been in the works for the last two years and has cost approximately $3 million in state funding. As noted in a report from West Virginia Watch, the formation of the program was m ...

BumRushDaShow

Jeb Bush raises alarm over Iranian drones in Cuba

07/09/26 2:19 PM ET Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Wednesday raised the alarm over Iranian drones believed to be in Cuba. “Iran has been a consistent threat to the united security interests of our country, certainly of Israel,” Bush said during a United Against Nuclear Iran event, serving as the group’s chair. “And now, we see that it’s not just Israel and the United States, but the Gulf region as well. I also want to point out that the press reports that there are 300 of these [drones] ...

BumRushDaShow

Oil tanker traffic through Hormuz at near standstill as attacks strain Iran truce

July 9, 2026 8:44 AM EDT Updated 8 hours ago LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill on Thursday, according to data and sources, as shipping risks escalated after the U.S. renewed airstrikes on Iran, triggering retaliation by Tehran in the Gulf. Just two ‌tankers had so far sailed through the strait in the early hours of Thursday. They included the crude supertanker Berg 1, which had loaded at Iran's Kharg Island and is ...

eShirl

Maine Democrats approve 600-person convention to pick Graham Platner's replacement

(Bangor Daily News) The Maine Democratic Party’s state committee voted Wednesday to hold a nominating convention to select a replacement for U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, according to a party statement and an account of the meeting shared with the Bangor Daily News. More than 100 state committee members attended the meeting and voted in favor of the convention process, the party said in a statement. The convention would include 500 delegates elected proportionally by county committees, along with the entire state committee, according to the account of the meeting.

BumRushDaShow

'This Is a Cover Story': Leon Panetta Says Trump Is Hiding the True Reason Behind Air Force One Switch

(Mediaite) Former CIA Director Leon Panetta wasn’t buying President Donald Trump‘s excuse for switching planes for his journey home from the NATO Summit in Turkey. On Wednesday, Shawn McCreesh of The New York Times asked Trump during a news conference in Ankara why he wasn’t flying the much-ballyhooed new Air Force One home. The $400 million jet was a gift from the Qatari government and has long prompted security concerns.

mahatmakanejeeves

Secret Service advised Trump to not fly Qatari-gifted Air Force One

(The Hill) The Secret Service advised President Trump not to leave the NATO Summit in Turkey on the newer Qatari-gifted Air Force One, according to a Wednesday report. Sources familiar with the matter said the president flew out of Ankara on the older Air Force One model out of an abundance of caution for a potential threat from Iran, although none were explicitly identified, the New York Times reported.

Swede

New photo shows extent of damage Trump has done to the White House

BumRushDaShow

Graham Platner ends U.S. Senate campaign in Maine

(Washington Post) Graham Platner, the populist political newcomer who Democrats had hoped could flip a critical U.S. Senate seat in Maine, ended his campaign Wednesday night after a woman he previously dated publicly accused him of sexual assault. “We believe for the movement to continue, it can’t be me and for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said Wednesday night.

Expand Featured Stories

Issue Forums

Region Forums

Latest Breaking News

U-M nurses reach tentative contract agreement with Michigan Medicine, averting possible strike

10 min ago - Jenny Sherman, Published: July 9, 2026 at 10:46 AM Updated: July 9, 2026 at 11:01 AM ANN ARBOR – After nine months of contract negotiations, multiple collective actions and 20 hours of bargaining by the nurse’s union at the University of Mi ... (Click On Detroit)

Wally Funk, aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to travel into space, dies at 87

1 hr ago - Updated 5:06 PM CDT, July 9, 2026 GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — Wally Funk, an aviation pioneer who was the oldest woman to launch into space, has died. She was 87. Funk died Wednesday at her apartment in an assisted living facility in the Dallas and ... (AP)

Army review of Iran conflict's deadliest attack on U.S. soldiers to be shared with families

1 hr ago - July 9, 2026 / 11:07 AM EDT The Army has completed its investigation into the deadly Iranian attack on U.S. forces in Kuwait earlier this year, sources told CBS News, and Gold Star families are expected to be briefed Thursday on its findings. Six Ame ... (CBS News)

Giant Printed Tarps Are Now Hanging Off The White House

1 hr ago - President Donald Trump’s sweeping makeover of the White House continued Thursday as images emerged of massive tarps being draped over the columns of the famous North Portico entrance. The new coverings on the building’s façade, held ... (HuffPost)

Iran Hatched Fresh Plot to Kill Trump, Israel Told U.S.

1 hr ago - EXCLUSIVE MIDDLE EAST Iran Hatched Fresh Plot to Kill Trump, Israel Told U.S. Israel recently shared new intelligence with the U.S. that they said showed Iran was considering a new plan to assassinate the president, sources say By Anat Peled, Alexand ... (The Wall Street Journal.)

Furious Senate Republican orders Trump FBI chief to explain why he blew cash on BMWs

2 hrs ago - July 9, 2026 9:22AM ET A furious Republican senator wants answers from FBI Director Kash Patel, according to a new report. MS NOW reported Thursday that Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley "demand[ed] that Patel turn over information ... (Raw Story)

Jeb Bush raises alarm over Iranian drones in Cuba

2 hrs ago - 07/09/26 2:19 PM ET Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Wednesday raised the alarm over Iranian drones believed to be in Cuba. “Iran has been a consistent threat to the united security interests of our country, certainly of Israel,” Bush sa ... (The Hill)

Only One Student Has Enrolled in New WVU Program Designed to Counter 'Woke Ideology'

3 hrs ago - Jul 9th, 2026, 11:58 am West Virginia University opened a new program in response to “woke ideology” in higher education. At the time of writing, just a single student had enrolled. This fall will mark the first semester for the Washington ... (MEDIAite)

New York sues 3M, DuPont and other companies over so-called forever chemicals

3 hrs ago - Updated 12:38 PM EDT, July 9, 2026 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued several large chemical and agricultural companies on Thursday, alleging they knowingly sold harmful so-called forever chemicals used in cosmetics, non-s ... (AP)

2 World Trade Center breaks ground 25 years after 9/11

4 hrs ago - July 9, 2026, 11:00 AM Twenty-five years after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, left a gaping void in Lower Manhattan, American Express broke ground Thursday on its new headquarters, a tiered glass and steel tower at 2 World Trade Center. The 55 ... (ABC News)

US deports another group of migrants to country they have no ties to

4 hrs ago - Thursday 09 July 2026 11:52 EDT The southern African kingdom of Eswatini accepted a fourth group of 11 individuals deported from the United States this week, predominantly from African countries, under a bilateral agreement to temporarily host third- ... (The Independent)

Oil tanker traffic through Hormuz at near standstill as attacks strain Iran truce

4 hrs ago - July 9, 2026 8:44 AM EDT Updated 8 hours ago LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a near standstill on Thursday, according to data and sources, as shipping risks escalated after the U.S. renewed air ... (Reuters)

American-made technology guiding Ukraine's strikes into Russia

5 hrs ago - Updated on: July 9, 2026 / 12:38 PM EDT / CBS News KYIV, Ukraine — In early March, an American-made reconnaissance aircraft glided above Ukraine's choppy Black Sea waters, scanning for Russian targets below. As it approached a gas field just off ... (CBS News)

Todd Blanche reamed after 'clear violation' of judge's order: 'More than we allow'

5 hrs ago - July 9, 2026 12:28PM ET Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was called out by name after the Justice Department violated a federal judge's sealing order by discussing a sealed case at a press conference, a magistrate judge ruled Thursday. U.S. Magi ... (Raw Story)

'She's Lying': Epstein Victims Accuse His Ex-Assistant of Misleading Congress With False Information

6 hrs ago - Jul 9th, 2026, 1:19 pm Some victims of late convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein have come forward to accuse his longtime assistant, Lesley Groff, of flat-out lying to Congress. CNN’s MJ Lee and Nicky Robertson dropped a report on Thur ... (MEDIAite)

Planned Parenthood to target GOP with $47 million midterm blitz

7 hrs ago - 07/09/2026 04:45 AM EDT Planned Parenthood is pumping more than $47 million into the midterms as it looks to pick off Republicans who cut off funding to the abortion provider last year. The near-record investment from Planned Parenthood Votes — ... (Politico)

White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump's Construction Blitz

7 hrs ago - BREAKING BUSINESS White House Hangs Tarps Over North Portico Amid Trump's Construction Blitz By Conor Murray, Forbes Staff. Murray is a Forbes news reporter covering entertainment trends. Jul 09, 2026, 02:06pm EDT TOPLINE The White House on Thursday ... (Forbes)

Maine Democrats approve 600-person convention to pick Graham Platner's replacement

7 hrs ago - The Maine Democratic Party’s state committee voted Wednesday to hold a nominating convention to select a replacement for U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, according to a party statement and an account of the meeting shared with the Bangor Da ... (Bangor Daily News)

Kash Patel's 'luxury' perks and 'out of control' spending under microscope by Congressional Democrats

7 hrs ago - Thursday 09 July 2026 12:16 EDT FBI Director Kash Patel is facing an investigation from Democrats in the House and Senate over his alleged “misuse” of taxpayer funds for “luxury” expenses, including a fleet of BMW vehicles, while ... (The Independent)

Germany to buy US Tomahawks in shift towards own long-range capability

8 hrs ago - July 9, 2026, at 3:44 a.m. BERLIN, July 9 (Reuters) - Germany will purchase ⁠Tomahawk ⁠cruise missiles from the United ⁠States and station them on German soil, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday, in a shift from plan ... (US News & World Report/Reuters)