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

Trump banner on gov building sparks backlash: 'Welcome to North America's North Korea'

May 15, 2025 2:33PM ET A massive banner of President Donald Trump is now hanging from the outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s building in Washington, D.C., opposite a banner of President Abraham Lincoln. Several critics are suggesting the hanging is fascist or authoritarian, with some saying it is giving off North Korea vibes. “Looming down from the pillared front of the neo-classical facade is an enormous, brooding picture of President Donald Trump, adapted from his official pres ...

groundloop

Mother allegedly buys ammunition, tactical gear for son's planned 'mass targeted violence' at middle school: Officials

A Texas mother has been arrested and charged for allegedly buying ammunition and tactical gear for her son's planned "mass targeted violence" at his middle school, officials said. Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested on Monday and charged with aiding in commission of terrorism after she allegedly provided ammunition and tactical gear to her 13-year-old son, whose behavior demonstrated plans for a "mass targeted violence" aimed at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, according to a ...

Dreamer Tatum

Democrats reintroduce federal resolution for reparations

A coalition of Democratic lawmakers and advocates on Thursday reintroduced a resolution to offer reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans and people of African descent. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) led the reintroduction of the Reparations Now resolution, which was first introduced in 2023 by former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). ...

highplainsdem

Price tag for Trump's military parade could reach $45 million

A massive military parade planned in Washington next month will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million and will involve dozens of war planes, hundreds of Army vehicles and thousands of soldiers from across the country sleeping in downtown government office buildings, an Army spokesperson said Thursday. The parade, to commemorate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, will be held June 14, the same day as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, and will include representation from all 10 activ ...

highplainsdem

DHS asks for 20,000 National Guard troops to assist in deportations

The Department of Homeland Security is asking the Pentagon to provide some 20,000 National Guard forces to assist in the removal of migrants in the United States without legal status. A U.S. official with knowledge of the plan who was not authorized to talk tells NPR that military lawyers are reviewing the request from DHS. The request was first reported by The New York Times. Under the proposal, state governors would be asked for volunteers among their Guard forces to take part in the removal ...

demmiblue

Walmart to raise prices due to tariff costs after posting solid first quarter sales

(AP) Walmart’s first quarter profit slipped and it said it must raise prices due to higher costs from tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump. The nation’s largest retailers posted strong quarterly sales Thursday and said it expects sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% in the second quarter. Like many other U.S. companies, however, it did not issue a profit outlook for the quarter because of the chaotic environment, with stated U.S. tariff policies changing constantly.

babylonsister

Massive Cost of Trump's Birthday Military Parade Revealed

(Daily Beast) President Donald Trump is planning to celebrate his 79th birthday and the Army’s 250th anniversary in one yuge celebration—all on the dime of U.S. tax payers, Reuters reported Wednesday. The birthday celebration could cost as much as $25 million to $45 million in tax payer dollars, depending on if there is a parade, and could include as many as 25 tanks thundering through Washington, D.C., 6,500 troops, and around 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft moving to Washington, according to officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Dulcinea

'What a joke': Republicans lock horns over Medicaid proposal

(ABC News) A growing number of House Republicans -- from moderates to hardliners -- are expressing grievances with key components of the megabill encompassing President Donald Trump's legislative agenda -- threatening to undercut the package's momentum ahead of an expected vote late next week. Speaker Mike Johnson faces yet another critical test of his speakership and must corral his divided conference around the final reconciliation package in the House.

Dulcinea

The latest roadblock for House Republicans' 'big beautiful bill': Senate Republicans

(NPR) As House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., feverishly works to finalize the details of a massive package that includes major portions of President Trump's agenda, many Senate Republicans are dismissing the legislation before it is even finished in the House. "Unfortunately, it's a sad joke," Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson said Wednesday. "Wimpy," and "anemic" were the words Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., used to describe the spending cuts in the proposal.

Miles Archer

Lawrence O’Donnell: Trump Is ‘Too Stupid’ to See How He’s Being Humiliated With $400M Jet Gift

(Daily Beast) The MSNBC host said Trump is on a “humiliation tour” of the Middle East. On Tuesday’s episode of The Last Word he even suggested that leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates view Trump with contempt. O’Donnell said they see Trump as “someone who lives beneath them, as someone who takes their secondhand junk, their secondhand toys.” The veteran host suggested that the 13-year-old Boeing 747-8 is only being given to Trump because it’s been “abandoned by the dictator of Qatar because it’s not good enough for him anymore.”

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Latest Breaking News

US rooftop solar companies say Republican House bill would be a major setback

23 min ago - May 15, 2025 5:51 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago May 15 (Reuters) - Companies that put solar panels on U.S. homes say a Republican budget bill advanced in Congress this week would deal a massive blow to the industry by eliminating a generous subsidy for ... (Reuters)

Senate Republicans put House on notice: We won't accept your Trump agenda bill without changes

58 min ago - May 15, 2025, 5:44 PM EDT WASHINGTON — As House Republicans scramble to corral the votes to pass a massive bill for President Donald Trump's agenda, their Senate counterparts are making clear the emerging package won’t fly as written when i ... (NBC News)

New Jersey Transit engineers strike, impacting 350,000 passengers

1 hr ago - May 16, 2025, 3:19 a.m. ET WOODLAND PARK, NJ — New Jersey Transit engineers have walked off the job, halting the agency's train service throughout the Garden State at 12:01 a.m. on May 16 after agency officials left contract talks, only the seco ... (USA Today)

Alexandria [Virginia] to host Vietnam Veterans' events displaced by DC parade

1 hr ago - News Alexandria to host Vietnam Veterans’ events displaced by DC parade By Ryan Belmore Published May 15, 2025 at 8:00PM The Wall That Heals exhibit features a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The ... (ALXnow)

Republican hardliners threaten to derail GOP bill encompassing Trump's agenda

1 hr ago - May 15, 2025, 4:30 PM A mega-bill encompassing President Donald Trump's legislative agenda appears to be in jeopardy as several Republican hardliners on Thursday signaled their opposition to advancing the package out of the House Budget Committee lat ... (ABC News/AP)

Senate rejects Democratic measure to force more transparency on deportations to El Salvador

2 hrs ago - Updated 4:26 PM EDT, May 15, 2025 WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic resolution to require more transparency from the Trump administration about deportations to El Salvador. The vote Thursday was the latest attempt b ... (AP)

GOP congressman calls out Marjorie Taylor Greene's stock trades

2 hrs ago - May 15, 2025, 4:01 PM ET First, it was Democrats who made a big deal out of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's stock trading habits. Now, a fellow Republican is joining in. "Just another reason why stock trading by members of Congress or their spouses s ... (Business Insider)

Alina Habba taunted with boos and shouts of 'shame' as she arrives at hearing for arrested Newark mayor

2 hrs ago - Thursday 15 May 2025 20:28 BST Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for the state of New Jersey, faced a crowd of protesters outside a federal courthouse where Newark Mayor Ras Baraka made his first court appearance after federal agents arrested hi ... (The Independent)

Former FBI Director James Comey under investigation for post seen as a potential threat to Trump's life

7 hrs ago - WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service are investigating a social media post by former FBI Director James Comey that several U.S. officials interpreted as calling for the assassination of President Donald Trump, Home ... (NBC News)

Exclusive: DHS civil rights office opened investigation into Mahmoud Khalil's arrest days before office was dissolved

9 hrs ago - Published 12:03 PM EDT, Thu May 15, 2025 CNN — The Department of Homeland Security’s oversight arm opened an investigation into the controversial arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil only days before officials working for that of ... (CNN Politics)

Space Force, governors at odds over plans to pull talent from National Guard units

10 hrs ago - May 15, 2025, 2:33 PM WASHINGTON -- The head of the U.S. Space Force is moving ahead with plans to pull talent from Air National Guard units to help build up the still new military service — but several governors remain opposed and argue it tram ... (ABC News/AP)

House Republicans float compromise to placate warring factions: Faster Medicaid cuts and a larger SALT deduction

10 hrs ago - Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to strike a delicate balance between blue-state Republicans and conservative hard-liners on a sprawling bill for Trump's agenda. May 15, 2025, 6:29 PM GMT / Updated May 15, 2025, 9:42 PM GMT By Scott Wong, Melanie Zano ... (NBC News)

'Under the radar' plan to kill beloved tax filing program hidden in GOP bill

10 hrs ago - May 15, 2025 10:49AM ET In addition to showering rich Americans and large corporations with more tax breaks, legislation that Republicans advanced out of committee on Wednesday would officially eliminate the Internal Revenue Service's popular and fre ... (Raw Story)

Democrats reintroduce federal resolution for reparations

11 hrs ago - A coalition of Democratic lawmakers and advocates on Thursday reintroduced a resolution to offer reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans and people of African descent. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) led the reintroduction of the Reparations Now reso ... (The Hill)

US Lost Business Travelers in April as Economic Anxiety and Border Detentions Cooled Demand

11 hrs ago - May 15, 2025, at 2:22 p.m. Business travel to the U.S. fell 9% in April as companies and workers grappled with economic uncertainty and anger over the Trump administration's tariffs and border policies. The National Travel and Tourism Office releas ... (US News and World Report/AP)

2-year-old survives 15-story fall from Silver Spring [Maryland] apartment building balcony

11 hrs ago - 2-year-old survives 15-story fall from Silver Spring apartment building balcony Ciara Wells ciara.wells@wtop.com May 15, 2025, 6:21 PM A 2-year-old boy fell off a 15th-floor balcony at an apartment building in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Thursday an ... (WTOP)

Fed chief Jerome Powell warns that U.S. could face "supply shocks"

11 hrs ago - Updated on: May 15, 2025 / 2:07 PM EDT Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is cautioning that the U.S. could face an increase in supply shocks. The comes a week after the central bank announced it would hold interest rates steady amid a period of eco ... (CBS News)

Autopsies misclassified deaths in police custody that were homicides, Maryland officials say - WTOP News

11 hrs ago - ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — An audit of Maryland autopsies has uncovered at least 36 deaths in police custody that should have been considered homicides, state officials announced Thursday following a comprehensive review of such cases spurred by wide ... (Associated Press)

Mother allegedly buys ammunition, tactical gear for son's planned 'mass targeted violence' at middle school: Officials

12 hrs ago - A Texas mother has been arrested and charged for allegedly buying ammunition and tactical gear for her son's planned "mass targeted violence" at his middle school, officials said. Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested on Monday and charged with aiding in co ... (ABC News)

Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova to be transferred to Massachusetts

12 hrs ago - May 15, 2025, 1:23 p.m. ET Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova is set to be transferred from a Louisiana jail to Massachusetts where she faces a strongly disputed charge of felony smuggling. On May 15, federal Magistrate Judge Kayla McClusky of Louisi ... (USA Today)