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

Trump threatens to expand strikes on Iran's civilian infrastructure

(The Guardian) Donald Trump has threatened to expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal amid a continuing dispute over the strait of Hormuz. “Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” the US president said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”

sop

Johnson Says Pentagon Needs More Money for 'Fighting Communism on Our Own Shores'

(Common Dream) As he pushed for Congress to approve $350 billion in new spending requested by the Pentagon, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Tuesday that some of the funds were needed for 'fighting communism on our own shores,' an ominous notion in light of President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy the US military against his domestic enemies.

BumRushDaShow

NYC Bar Sends Letter Opposing Todd Blanche's AG Nomination, Calling Him 'Unfit to Lead'

(Mediaite) The New York City Bar Association released a letter it sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the nomination of Todd Blanche as Attorney General, denouncing him for his “misplaced loyalty” to President Donald Trump and numerous egregious ethical issues. Blanche previously served as Deputy Attorney General during Pam Bondi’s tenure leading the Department of Justice, and became interim Attorney General after her ouster.

mahatmakanejeeves

Attorney General Nominee Todd Blanche Testifies at Confirmation Hearing

(C-SPAN) 9:00 AM -- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. President Trump nominated him for the role after firing Pam Bondi.

KS Toronado

Wednesday's Condensed News Cartoons

Dulcinea

'Too cute by half': Senators brush off Trump's suggestions for honoring Graham

(Politico) The late Sen. Lindsey Graham was known as a champion of American military power, strong global alliances, conservative jurisprudence and more. Cryptocurrency regulation? Not so much. So when President Donald Trump suggested in a Truth Social post Monday that the Senate should pass a long-brewing crypto bill in "honor of Senator Lindsey Graham," it struck a false note to many lawmakers. It also underscored how quickly many in Washington are moving after the Republican senator's death Saturday to claim his mantle for their own purposes.

BumRushDaShow

GOP senator revives Trump's birthright citizenship fight

(USA Today) Less than two weeks after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced legislation that would deny automatic citizenship to some children born in the United States. The proposal seeks to revive one of Trump's most contentious immigration policies through federal law.

dalton99a

Trump says ICE should continue traffic stops after recent shootings

(AP) President Donald Trump says Immigration and Customs Enforcement should continue traffic stops after recent fatal shootings, seeming to contradict a new policy to halt them. Trump wrote early Wednesday on his social media site ICE is “doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done.” In Florida on Tuesday, a third man in roughly a week died during an encounter with immigration officers. This time, a 28-year-old man was killed after he was hit by a tractor trailer while running from immigration and other federal officers, authorities said.

BumRushDaShow

WGA sues Paramount, claiming Warner Bros. acquisition would take away jobs

(LA Times) The Writers Guild of America sued Paramount Skydance on Tuesday, alleging that the company's planned $111-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery violates federal antitrust law. The union said that with fewer competitors, the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery business would be able to lower costs by reducing writers' wages and work. "Writers will be paid less and have fewer employment opportunities," the WGA said in its lawsuit.

question everything

Trump Mocked with a 10-Foot 'Iran War Participation Trophy' That Appeared on the National Mall

(People) A large trophy mocking President Donald Trump’s handling of the ongoing conflict with Iran has been erected at the National Mall. The 10-foot-tall statue, which was reportedly created by the satirical art group known as The Secret Handshake, featured a large gold trophy spray-painted with “#1” etched on it and “participant” printed below, according to The Washington Post and U.K. newspaper The Independent.

Expand Featured Stories

Latest Breaking News

Paramount Shareholders Accuse Ellisons of 'Illegal' Trump Deal in 4th Lawsuit

13 sec ago - Jul 15th, 2026, 4:42 pm David and Larry Ellison were named in a fourth lawsuit filed Tuesday by Paramount shareholders in an attempt to stop an impending merger between the company and Warner Bros. Discovery. The father-son pair was accused of strik ... (MEDIAite)

YouTube joins appeal for verdict that faulted them for social media addiction

23 min ago - Posted 2:28 PM, Jul 15, 2026 YouTube has appealed the verdict of a landmark social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles, seeking to challenge the jury's determination that the company designed its platform to hook young users without concern for th ... (Scripps News/AP)

Senior defense officials looking at Cuba military options

37 min ago - As the U.S.-Iran war restarts following the collapse of the weeks-long ceasefire, senior Pentagon officials are also quietly eyeing another flashpoint much closer to home: Cuba. Military planners have in recent weeks examined a range of options for ... (CBS News)

Trump's Pick to Head Bureau of Labor Statistics Clears Key Senate HurdleTrump's Pick to Head Bureau of Labor Statistics

56 min ago - July 15, 2026, at 11:29 a.m WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump's ⁠pick ⁠to head the U.S. Bureau ⁠of Labor Statistics, moved a step closer on Wednesday to running the agency charged with pr ... (US News & World Report/Reuters)

EXCLUSIVE: Trump DOJ's Top 'Antifa' Prosecutor Marched with Crowd on Jan. 6

1 hr ago - On Jan. 6, 2021, a man approached the Capitol who looked like many others in the crowd that day: white, with a Trump 2020 hat on and a shirt marking his service to the country in Afghanistan. But this one was different. Brian W. Lynch was months int ... (TPM)

Over 100 House Democrats vote to end military aid to Israel in rebuke to US ally

1 hr ago - Wed 15 Jul 2026 17.11 EDT Last modified on Wed 15 Jul 2026 17.16 EDT More than 100 House Democrats on Wednesday voted to slash military aid to Israel, a significant rebuke of the longtime US ally as accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu& ... (The Guardian)

Germany warns US against election interference after it announces grants scheme

1 hr ago - Friedrich Merz has warned Donald Trump’s administration against interfering in German elections after the US state department announced a scheme to fund Maga-aligned causes in Europe. The German chancellor was responding to a new US initiative o ... (The Guardian)

Paramount and Warner Bros. expect a delay in closing the deal

1 hr ago - Updated Jul 15, 2026, 1:03 PM ET PUBLISHED Jul 15, 2026, 1:01 PM ET Executives involved in the pending Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery deal expect that a judge will hit pause on the takeover plan in the coming days. Officially, it’s anyone ... (CNN Business)

House Republicans unveil a $95 billion plan for the Iran war, farm aid and elections

2 hrs ago - Updated 1:17 PM EDT, July 15, 2026 WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a $95 billion legislative plan focused on boosting defense, aiding farmers and enacting stricter voter registration rules, a sequel to the massive tax a ... (AP)

JTRAN buses still running as strike continues in Jackson

2 hrs ago - Updated: 2:35 PM CDT Jul 15, 2026 Angela Williams JACKSON, Miss. — All but one of Jackson's 12 fixed-route JTRAN buses are in operation amid a strike, according to city officials. In a statement Wednesday, Mayor John Horhn said the city is work ... (WAPT)

Some ships refusing US-military guided Hormuz transits after attacks, sources say

2 hrs ago - July 15, 202611:42 AM EDT Updated 10 mins ago LONDON/ATHENS, July 15 (Reuters) - Shipping companies are avoiding using a U.S. military-guided transit scheme through the Strait of Hormuz after a wave of Iranian attacks on vessels sparked safety ... (Reuters)

Trump's disastrous Reflecting Pool makeover could see the landmark fenced off until next year, documents reveal

3 hrs ago - Wednesday 15 July 2026 07:54 EDT The “temporary” chain link fence blocking public access to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in the aftermath of President Trump’s shambolic overhaul of the iconic site could be in place until early ... (The Independent)

Despite Judge's Smackdown, Trump Plans To Keep Deal Killing Tax Audits

3 hrs ago - Jul 15, 2026, 06:00 AM EDT | Updated 2 hours ago WASHINGTON – Despite a federal judge saying this week that Donald Trump acted in “bad faith” settling a lawsuit with his own administration, and that the terms of the purported settlemen ... (Huff Post)

Exclusive: Officials asked to turn over phones at the White House as Wiles, Patel lead intensifying leak probe

4 hrs ago - Updated Jul 15, 2026, 1:48 PM ET PUBLISHED Jul 15, 2026, 1:40 PM ET Chief of staff Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s closest aide, and FBI Director Kash Patel helped personally orchestrate a sprawling investigation last week at the White Ho ... (CNN Politics)

Musk Sends Ramaswamy Millions in Ohio Despite Their Clashes Over DOGE

4 hrs ago - Musk Sends Ramaswamy Millions in Ohio Despite Their Clashes Over DOGE Elon Musk gave $5 million to back Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor, seemingly moving past tensions around the effort to downsize the federal work force. Elon Musk ... (The New York Times)

Pete Hegseth says soldiers over age 30 to be screened for testosterone deficiency

4 hrs ago - The US defense secretary unveiled plans for a new screening program for testosterone deficiency among troops that will work to ensure service members have the "right testosterone levels" to perform at their optimal conditions in a video posted to X. ... (Guardian)

Dr. Erica Schwartz faces questions about vaccines at CDC director confirmation hearing

4 hrs ago - July 15, 2026, 12:45 PM Dr. Erica Schwartz faced questions from Democratic senators on vaccines and running agencies independently during her confirmation hearing to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wedn ... (ABC News)

Houston prosecutor "more than prepared" to bring charges against ICE agents if wrongdoing is found in fatal shooting

5 hrs ago - Updated on: July 15, 2026 / 6:12 AM EDT Houston – The top prosecutor in the Houston area, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, told CBS News Tuesday his office is "more than prepared" to prosecute federal immigration agents if it finds cr ... (CBS News)

SpaceX drops below its $135 IPO price for the first time since its debut

6 hrs ago - SpaceX shares slipped below their $135 IPO price for the first time since the company's blockbuster public debut in June. On Wednesday, SpaceX stock sank 2% to a low of $132.75. It marks a 41% drop from a high of $225.64 hit shortly after the stock s ... (Business Insider)

Republican presses Blanche on Trump-IRS settlement at Senate hearing

6 hrs ago - By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, Todd Blanche, faced tense bipartisan questioning at a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday about the rollout of the Epstein files ... (Reuters)