Progressive search for action

7+ min ago (499+ words) The Trump administration is trading over $10 billion dollars of taxpayer money for ownership stakes in companies in what Ana Swanson in The New York Times calls an "unusual strategy." A New York Times analysis has found that "the government's growing portfolio of corporate ownership involves minority stakes, or the option to take them in the future, in at least nine companies involved in steel, minerals, nuclear energy and semiconductors." These deals, Swanson writes, were all made in the past six months, with the "bulk" being done in October and November. "The effort appears mostly driven by national security concerns, particularly a desire for the government to prop up strategic industries and lessen America's reliance on foreign countries like China for key resources," she writes. And while some officials hope it will be a "windfall for taxpayers," Swanson says, "the likelihood…...

11+ min ago (153+ words) Over the weekend, Donald Trump amplified posts from pro-Trump X accounts that the platform identifies as operating from outside the United States. Over the weekend, Donald Trump amplified posts from pro-Trump X accounts that the platform identifies as operating from outside the United States. Posted by retort at 08:26 AM | 0 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry | Read the Retort using RSS. A large number of MAGA social media influencers were exposed over the weekend as being being based in other countries. Admin's note: Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed. The following HTML tags are allowed in comments: a href, b, i, p, br, ul, ol, li and blockquote. Others will be stripped out. Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive…...

20+ min ago (829+ words) Romcom season is officially upon us, and while the genre has historically relied on heteronormative tropes, a new wave of queer romance films and books are challenging that standard. While reading them is a pleasure, writing and marketing those books comes with a unique challenge. Autostraddle: Casey, what drew you to Rose's book? There are some characters in both of your works that don't always do the right thing. Characters that aren't always on their best behavior. Are you ever afraid of writing that way, that maybe you are giving people ammo?" RD: No. Because a lot of queer people aren't nice and are messy. I think there might be some people who would read Best Woman and be like, "this is a bad look for us" or "this is bad representation" but some trans people suck, and I want…...

28+ min ago (473+ words) U.S. District of South Carolina Senior Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed the charges against Comey and AG James on Monday on the grounds that Trump-picked interim U.S. Attorney'Lindsey Halligan was appointed illegally. On Monday night's edition'of CNN's'The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins asked Honig for his insights on the dismissal, which he chalked up to obvious "malice" and "incompetence": KAITLAN COLLINS: Elie, obviously you heard Pam Bondi saying the Justice Department will be appealing this. Given what the judge said, though, I mean, what would that route look like? What are their options here? ELIE HONIG: So they do have the right to appeal up to the Fourth Circuit. But I don't like their odds. Because if you look at this ruling, I will tell you, as a Justice Department alum, Kaitlan, it's painful. Because what this decision does is it calls…...

36+ min ago (782+ words) (Press Association via AP Images) At first I thought this was a personal glitch. It wasn't. Friends admitted they do the same thing. Not dramatically'but constantly. Micro-adjustments, all day long. A kind of self-policing. A low-level performance. Call it algorithmic discipline. We're not being watched by people. We're performing for machines. When this mindset meets politics, things get ugly fast. I know moderates who refuse to click anything from the "other side" because they don't want their feed to lock them into a political identity they didn't choose. Conservatives who avoid progressive creators they're curious about. Liberals who won't read certain Substack essays because they don't want to "signal interest." People aren't afraid of being persuaded'they're scared of being reclassified. So in that context, political curiosity is becoming a liability. Our feeds shape our informational world; we act as though…...

37+ min ago (316+ words) Best Overall: Crescent Shoulder Bag, $152 (originally $379)Best Wallet Deal: Devin Smooth Small Bifold Wallet, $64 (originally $128)Best Tote Deal: Hudson Large Work Tote, $159 (originally $398)Best Jewelry Deal: So Spade Studs, $19 (originally $48)Best Shoe Deal: Bikini Bow Slide Sandals, $51 (originally $128) And that's not all! We're all for a "sale on sale" and that's exactly what you'll get during Kate Spade New York's Black Friday event. In addition to the up to 50% off deals on select full-priced items, Kate Spade's main site is also offering an extra 50% off already on-sale prices. So, you're sure to find the best deals on site by browsing their sale section, which has over 300 items starting at just $18. It's worth noting, the discount auto-applies to select items once added in your cart, so don't be shocked if you don't see it right away as you browse. As for…...

37+ min ago (694+ words) Everyone who's flown has probably wondered what they would do in case of an emergency. You're trapped thousands of feet in the air with a bunch of strangers. Anything could happen. How would you react in the event of a dire emergency? One woman says she witnessed a fellow traveler on a flight have an appalling reaction to what turned out to be a fatal medical event. Creator @greeneyedworld_ recently shared the disturbing tale on TikTok. The actions of her fellow traveler have people decrying his "lack of humanity." "Someone died on my flight last night," the creator begins in a post with nearly 86,000 views as of this writing. Continuing, she says the pilot had just informed them they were 15 minutes from landing when he abruptly came over the intercom to ask any medical personnel onboard to press their call buttons…...

37+ min ago (1225+ words) Alexandria Jacobson is an investigative reporter at Raw Story, focusing on money in politics, government accountability and electoral politics. Jacobson joined Raw Story in 2023 with an extensive track record of social justice, business and tech reporting. Her reporting has been published by numerous national outlets, including ABC News, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. She earned her master's and bachelor's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University and has taught journalism classes at Northwestern University and DePaul University. She's also a skilled multimedia journalist, particularly in the realm of news and documentary video reporting and editing. Jacobson serves on the board of directors for the Chicago Journalists Association. Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award Best in Business Award First, President Donald Trump issued pardons and other acts of clemency for 1,500 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, leaving police officers like Aquilino…...

40+ min ago (317+ words) After President Donald Trump threatened to execute several Democratic lawmakers who urged service members to defy illegal orders, one conservative commentator is pushing back on the administration for what he labeled as "one of the dumbest controversies" he'd seen. "I really wish both sides would take it down a notch," said Andy McCarthy, a conservative commentator and former assistant U.S. attorney, appearing on Fox News Tuesday. "I think the Democrats are wrong to have pitched this the way they did; the reaction to it is a way, way overreaction, and we'd be better off if both sides just took it down about 11 notches." Last week, a handful of Democratic lawmakers published a video in which they urged active duty service members to "refuse illegal orders," sparking an immediate reaction from Trump: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH" he wrote on social media....

40+ min ago (519+ words) As the public fixated on fresh Nuzzi scandals last week, RFK Jr. was instructing the CDC to add language on its website about the possibility of vaccines leading to autism. It's the latest in his expanding focus on autistic individuals; he has also overseen the creation of a national autism research registry and blamed parents for taking Tylenol during pregnancy." "In elevating someone who has now become essentially the most powerful person in public health in the country and who is taking a wrecking ball to public health institutions, she has done untold damage," Gavin Yamey, professor of global health at the Duke Global Health Institute, said of Nuzzi. "She certainly contributed to his rise." "It's not just about a violation of journalistic ethics. It's so much bigger than that," Nair agreed. As a historian of vaccination, Nair knows exactly…...