Progressive search for action

10+ min ago (694+ words) It all might make more sense if he actually were drinking. By all accounts, President Trump doesn't touch the stuff. So when his own chief of staff said that he has "an alcoholic's personality,' she was talking about his larger-than-life nature rather than his consumption," the New York Times reports. Yet in some ways, it may be an apt description for a president who seems even less inhibited than ever in a way that has many in Washington and beyond shaking their heads or even wondering if the leader of the free world has lost it. The word often whispered by Republicans and shouted by Democrats and Never Trumpers is "unhinged.'" The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday deleted language from its new workplace harassment policy that had downgraded the definition of swastikas and nooses from overt hate symbols to "potentially divisive,…...

12+ min ago (247+ words) Fox News host John Roberts told White House aide Howard Lutnick that President Donald Trump's claim of cutting drug prices by 600% was "mathematically impossible." "I'm going to ask you about the reality versus the perception," Roberts said the day after Trump's speech to the nation. "Because some of them were just mathematically impossible." "Well, if you cut something by 100%, the cost goes down to zero," he continued. "If you cut it by four, five, or 600%, the drug companies are actually paying you to take their products." "So it raises the question, how much of last night's speech was hyperbole and how much was fact?" "Now, what he's saying is you bring it, if a drug was $100 and you bring the drug down to $13, right?" Lutnick replied. "If you're looking at it from $13, it's down seven times." "It's not 600%!" Roberts protested....

16+ min ago (635+ words) The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday deleted language from its new workplace harassment policy that had downgraded the definition of swastikas and nooses from overt hate symbols to "potentially divisive," an abrupt turnaround after the more lenient interpretation of those items was allowed to take effect this week despite objections from Congress," the Washington Post reports. It all might make more sense if he actually were drinking. By all accounts, President Trump doesn"t touch the stuff. So when his own chief of staff said that he" TikTok has signed a deal to sell its U.S. entity to a joint venture controlled by American investors, Reuters reports. Save to Favorites Become a Political Wire member and unlock exclusive analysis, trending news, bonus newsletters, the Trial Balloon podcast, and an ad-free experience " all for 20% off an Annual Plan. Looking" Perhaps the board isn…...

23+ min ago (178+ words) A renowned historian on Thursday accused President Donald Trump's administration of attempting to install a "Nazi worldview" in America. Heather Cox Richardson, historian and author of the Substack "Letters from an American," discussed how the Trump administration differs from previous presidential administrations in a new interview on Zeteo News with journalist John Harwood. The interview occurred at a time when Trump's rhetoric had become increasingly dark around topics like immigration and citizenship. "It is worth looking at two ways to look at human society," Richardson said. "One is that some people are better than others and have the right to rule, and the other is that we are all created equal and have the right to be treated equally before the law." Heather Cox Richardson on How the Trump Administration is Pursuing "A Nazi Worldview" by Mehdi Hasan The renowned…...

31+ min ago (257+ words) President Donald Trump was accused on Thursday by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) of lying about the process of his marijuana policymaking. Trump told reporters this week he has not spoken with any GOP senators who oppose his decision. But Budd, who is one of the most outspoken opponents of this policy in the Senate, claims that he did in fact talk to Trump about it, according to Punchbowl News' Andrew Desiderio. "I don't want it to be for the lack of me calling," said Budd. "I called him personally Friday last week and let him know. He said that others had been calling him on the issue. I was aware of people calling him then " against rescheduling. So I knew that my colleagues had been calling him." Budd is the author of an open letter, signed by 21 other Republican senators,…...

36+ min ago (236+ words) In a recent analysis, Mediaite contributing eitor Sarah Rumpf observed that while there's a common axiom that a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, prosecutors at President Donald Trump's Department of Justice are failing to even meet that standard. The Biden DOJ, comparatively, averaged fewer than 1 percent of federal criminal defendants being acquitted in 2022. This should be a pace the Trump DOJ can maintain considering how many advantages a federal prosecutor has over the defendant, per Rumpf. For years, it was rare for a federal court to question the Justice Department's good faith or competency. But now judges are reportedly growing suspicious of the DOJ's legal missteps and its scent of deception under Trump. "As a result, it's becoming increasingly common for DOJ prosecutors to see their credibility and ethics openly challenged in judicial opinions, subpoenas quashed, charges dismissed, and…...

38+ min ago (284+ words) Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, informed the public on Thursday that the cost of making penises has reached astronomical proportions. "We're not gonna let taxpayer money go to hurt these children, and no children will no longer be hurt by this ideology," Oz said. "We know that inflicting these procedures on young people costs them and the Medicaid system countless dollars, not just in medical bills, but all kinds of downstream issues, while providers reap the rewards." Then, in remarks that could have doubled as an indictment of inflation, Oz delved into the cost of creating penises and vaginas: According to 2022 [Journal of American Medicine] data " so it's very recent " the typical vaginoplasty, a vaginoplasty, a procedure a child does not need, costs $60,000. Shockingly, a phalloplasty " the creation of a penis " costs, on…...

40+ min ago (763+ words) Erika Kirk's scheduled speech at her company's grand annual meeting on Thursday was overshadowed by what she called a "fun technical difficulty." Kirk spoke on day one of Turning Point USA's AmericaFest Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday, an event she called the organization's "Super Bowl." Her dramatic entrance followed an emotional video about her late husband, conservative activist and TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. Still, as she began talking, it soon became apparent that something went wrong. "The enemy has thrown a lot of curveballs at us today, and this week, and the past three months," Erika Kirk began. "One of them is the fact that my entire speech has been wiped." She held up her black iPad, showing a blank screen. "Because my iPad won't even turn on," she continued. "That's a fun technical difficulty that we can figure…...

42+ min ago (302+ words) In the interview that follows, an Australian postal worker discusses the relevance of Socialism AI amid the "Amazonification" of postal services and the growing use of AI to intensify exploitation and destroy jobs. I'm a postal worker from Australia, and over the last five years we have seen postal services around the world transformed into parcel-delivery operations driven by the relentless pursuit of profit. This transformation has had a major impact on the wages, conditions and safety of postal workers internationally. AI is already being deployed by Australia Post and postal services globally to intensify exploitation and eliminate jobs. Postal operators are following the example set by corporations such as Amazon and UPS, which have introduced AI systems to cut thousands of jobs in order to compete in the cut-throat parcel delivery market. What we are witnessing is the "Amazonification…...

43+ min ago (1251+ words) I've wanted a perm for years now, but with the amount of damage my hair went through with multiple bleaching sessions (I had a pastel pink phase), I had to wait until I had a full head of virgin hair. When I told one of my best friends I was finally about to get a Korean digital perm, she was horrified and said I would probably regret it. Look, I get it. The perm is controversial. You probably instantly think of giant fluffy '80s hairdos or tight ringlets. But unlike traditional perms, the Korean style uses heat technology to create softer curls, which appear more natural. My hair is naturally straight with a slight wave that becomes more obvious the shorter it is. I also have incredibly thick and heavy lengths, so when I use a curling iron, I have to…...