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

The White House Intervened to Get a $620 Million Deal for a Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr.

(ProPublica) When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a small North Carolina startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism. The president’s eldest son said through a spokesperson that he wasn’t involved. The Pentagon said Trump Jr. played no role in the record-setting deal. And the startup’s founder told reporters that his company, Vulcan Elements, received no political favoritism. But interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s.

Dulcinea

Talarico targets Paxton's scandals in Texas Senate race, pivoting from his sunny primary message

(AP) Texas Democrat James Talarico launched his general election campaign for the U.S. Senate Wednesday by framing his Republican opponent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, as part of a corrupt political establishment that uses power to serve itself rather than the people. Talarico has given Democrats their best chance in years of winning a Senate race in Texas and has boosted their still-uphill chances of retaking the majority in the U.S. Senate in November. Talarico, a former middle school teacher and a state lawmaker from Austin, laid out a clear strategy for the months ahead: Litigating Paxton’s scandals to a weary electorate.

BumRushDaShow

Republicans brace for money problems in Texas after Ken Paxton's win

(NBC News) President Donald Trump may be celebrating that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won Tuesday’s Senate primary, but some Republicans now worry that they have a Texas-sized problem on their hands. Paxton, with Trump’s endorsement, handily defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the runoff. Democrats largely viewed Paxton as the weaker candidate because of his many controversies. But his fundraising struggles are also raising alarm bells among Republicans. “Economically, it’s a disaster. Texas is extremely expensive,” said a GOP consultant working on Senate races, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about party resources.

ImNotGod

Trump administration 'drawing up plans' to stop processing international flights in sanctuary cities

(The Guardian) The Trump administration has threatened to stop processing international flights in major cities around the country as a reaction to protests against immigration enforcement. Markwayne Mullin, the homeland security secretary, said during an interview with Fox News on Tuesday that the administration is “drawing up plans” to take the action, in response to days of clashes at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in New Jersey.

KS Toronado

Thursday's Condensed News Cartoons

RandySF

ICE detainees are dying by suicide at an 'alarming' rate, an AP investigation finds

(AP) Brayan Rayo Garzon was distraught. Detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he was on his fourth day of isolation in a Missouri jail as he battled the fevers and chills of COVID-19. His request for mental health treatment had been put off, records show, and staff had forbidden Rayo from making his nightly call to his mother as a precaution intended to prevent the spread of illness.

BumRushDaShow

ICE agents privately admit to horrific conditions in Manhattan facility: report

(Raw Story) Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents privately admitted to each other how horrific the conditions were in their section of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, Courthouse News reported on Wednesday — including the proliferation of dangerous diseases in the facility. Nancy Zanello, a New York-based ICE assistant field office director, raged in a 2025 email that “This week has been one gross contagion after another,” leading to “multiple” cases of detainees requiring hospital treatment for “cardiac and seizures.”

marmar

Americans know something is deeply wrong. They're not imagining it.

(Salon) Civil rights activist and former sharecropper Fannie Lou Hamer was weary when she spoke alongside Malcolm X at a church in Harlem in December 1964. “I’ve been tired so long,” she said, “now I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.” More than 60 years later, many Americans share this feeling but in a different context. More than ten years of the Age of Trump — and the great problems that birthed it — have left us full of dread and weariness. The evidence is clear: Donald Trump’s return to power is taking a deep toll on the American people’s psychological and overall health.

demmiblue

Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait

(Washington Post) Trump administration officials have pressed the office responsible for printing the nation’s money to design a $250 bill featuring the president’s portrait, according to four current and former employees, in what would be the first appearance of a living person on U.S. currency in more than 150 years. Starting last year, two political appointees at the Treasury Department — U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach and his senior adviser, Mike Brown — repeatedly urged staff at the agency’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing to prepare prototypes of the note, according to the employees, who said the move raised concerns because federal law currently allows only deceased people to appear on bills.

BumRushDaShow

Newt Gingrich says impeaching Clinton over sex scandal was a mistake

(The Independent) Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich admitted in an interview that it was a “mistake” to impeach former President Bill Clinton over the sex scandal involving Monica Lewinsky, saying it drew attention away from Clinton’s perjury charge. Gingrich, a Republican congressman from Georgia and Speaker of the House, led the 1998 House impeachment inquiry into Clinton, which arose after the affair between Clinton and Lewinsky became public.

Expand Featured Stories

Issue Forums

Latest Breaking News

Senate Dems urge investigators to check Pentagon's math on Iran war

36 min ago - Updated May 28, 2026, 12:24 p.m. ET Senate Democrats are pressing federal budget investigators to examine the gap between the Pentagon's stated cost for the Iran war – $29 billion – and outside estimates that peg the cost up to tens of bill ... (USA Today)

Israeli minister confirms goal of large-scale expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza

37 min ago - Israel’s defence minister has said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale migration of Palestinians as part of Israel’s long-term plans for the territory. Israel Katz said the government would implement a plan f ... (The Guardian)

Multiple artists listed for America 250 event on National Mall deny involvement

1 hr ago - 05/28/26 10:11 AM ET Multiple artists listed as entertainers for a massive bash slated for next month on the National Mall to celebrate America’s 250th birthday have pushed back on reports of their participation. Young MC, Morris Day and the Ti ... (The Hill)

No Kings event set for 14 June, as Trump celebrates birthday with White House UFC bout

2 hrs ago - Thu 28 May 2026 10.11 EDT Last modified on Thu 28 May 2026 11.20 EDT The No Kings movement has announced a nationwide event on 14 June, directly counter-programming Donald Trump’s 80th birthday celebrations and a Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ... (The Guardian)

Global temperatures set for record highs and could hit 1.9C above pre-industrial levels by 2030

3 hrs ago - There is a 75% chance the 2026-2030 five-year mean will exceed 1.5C above the 1950-1990 average, scientists say Rebecca Speare-Cole Thursday 28 May 2026 06:45 BST Global temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels in the next five ye ... (The Independent)

US Treasury sanctions Iran's Hormuz strait authority

3 hrs ago - May 26, 2026 11:02 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - The United States has sanctioned the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body Iran has set up to ‌manage the Strait of Hormuz, the Treasury Department said on We ... (Reuters)

Supreme Court rules for Black death row inmate from Mississippi over racial bias in makeup of jury

4 hrs ago - Updated 10:24 AM EDT, May 28, 2026 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for a Black death row inmate from Mississippi who claims there was racial bias in the makeup of the jury that convicted him. By a 5-4 vote, the justices sided ... (AP)

Congress members say Delaney Hall detainees fed small portions 'often' containing maggots

4 hrs ago - Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday said they observed dire conditions within a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey where protesters have been demonstrating for days and asserting that detainees are on a hunger strike. U.S. Rep ... (NBC)

Scoop: U.S. and Iran reach deal but need Trump's final approval, officials say

4 hrs ago - U.S. and Iranian negotiators have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, but President Trump has yet to give it his final approval, two U.S. officials an ... (Axios)

Trump uses Cabinet meeting to promote his $55 America's 250th birthday hats

4 hrs ago - Wednesday 27 May 2026 21:58 EDT The White House used the latest cabinet meeting to display bright red, $55 hats sold by the president’s family company in honor of the upcoming American 250th anniversary celebrations, the latest way the Republica ... (The Independent)

Core inflation hit an annual rate of 3.3% in April, as expected, Fed's preferred gauge shows

5 hrs ago - Published Thu, May 28 2026 8:32 AM EDT Updated 27 Min Ago Inflation continued to hit consumer wallets in April, likely keeping the Federal Reserve on the sidelines until the current wave subsides, fresh pricing data released Thursday showed. The pers ... (CNBC)

Michigan arts center to demolish lodge formerly named for Jeffrey Epstein

5 hrs ago - May 27, 2026 6:16 PM PT INTERLOCHEN, Mich. — A Michigan summer arts camp and boarding school where Jeffrey Epstein has been accused of meeting at least two of his victims will tear down a lodge that once bore his name. The Interlochen Center for ... (Los Angles Times/AP)

Wealthy families cut dollar exposure, survey finds

5 hrs ago - The world's richest families are trimming exposure to the U.S. dollar as geopolitical tensions and rising sovereign debt drive a broader rethink of portfolio risk, UBS (UBSG.S), opens new tab said in a ‌report published on Thursday. About ... (Reuters)

Republicans brace for money problems in Texas after Ken Paxton's win

5 hrs ago - May 27, 2026, 9:13 PM EDT President Donald Trump may be celebrating that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won Tuesday’s Senate primary, but some Republicans now worry that they have a Texas-sized problem on their hands. Paxton, with Trump’ ... (NBC News)

Trump Refiles $10 Billion Defamation Suit Against WSJ Over Report on Epstein Ties

6 hrs ago - May 28, 2026, at 1:49 a.m. NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday refiled ⁠a ⁠defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion in ⁠damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to J ... (US News & World Report/Reuters)

Federal judge refuses to block Trump order to create federal voter list and limit mail voting

6 hrs ago - Updated 7:57 AM EDT, May 28, 2026 A federal judge has declined to halt President Donald Trump's executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting mail voting, clearing the way for potential sweeping changes in how American elections are run ... (AP)

Trump visited soldiers at Walter Reed -- but not the 14 injured in the Iran war

6 hrs ago - By Kristin Brown, May 27, 2026 / 6:00 PM EDT President Trump made time to visit with U.S. service members during his trip Tuesday to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but he did not see any of the 14 troops injured in the war he started ... (cbs news)

Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait

6 hrs ago - Trump administration officials have pressed the office responsible for printing the nation’s money to design a $250 bill featuring the president’s portrait, according to four current and former employees, in what would be the first appearan ... (WaPo)

Trump customs official hauled to court over suspicion of botched tariff refunds: report

7 hrs ago - May 27, 2026 7:43PM ET Rodney S. Scott, the head of President Donald Trump's Customs and Border Protection, is being ordered to a federal court hearing next month to answer for whether the administration is complying with court orders to issue refund ... (Raw Story)

California to impose 100% tax on Trump's January 6 'slush fund,' governor says

7 hrs ago - May 27, 2026 7:31 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago May 27 (Reuters) - California will impose a 100% tax on payments distributed under the Trump administration's nearly $1.8 billion fund for victims of alleged political "weaponization," the state's ... (Reuters)