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

Khanna, Massie plan to force war powers vote on Iran

02/19/26 9:53 AM ET Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) plan to move next week to force a vote on a resolution to require authorization from Congress before President Trump can use military force against Iran. “Trump officials say there’s a 90% chance of strikes on Iran. He can’t without Congress,” Khanna said Wednesday in a post on the social platform X. “@RepThomasMassie & I have a War Powers Resolution to debate & vote on war before putting U.S. troops in harm’s way. I wi ...

mahatmakanejeeves

Giant banner of Donald Trump hung at Justice Department headquarters

Politics 2 min read Giant banner of Donald Trump hung at Justice Department headquarters By Hannah Rabinowitz 1 hr 50 min ago PUBLISHED Feb 19, 2026, 2:56 PM ET Members of the National Guard walk past a banner of President Donald Trump, hanging on the Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on Thursday. (Allison Robbert/AP.) A large banner of Donald Trump was hung outside of the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday, emphasizing the White House's control o ...

mahatmakanejeeves

"White House Ballroom Proposal Now Open for Public Comment"

Federal Government “White House Ballroom Proposal Now Open for Public Comment” By Prince Of Petworth Published February 19, 2026 at 1:05PM Thanks to J. for passing on from the National Trust for Historic Preservation: “The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) has opened public comments on the proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom addition to the White House. ... Written comments are due March 4 at Noon ET. The White House is a National Historic Landmark and National Park, owned by th ...

BumRushDaShow

Bill Gates Abruptly Cancels Big Event After Epstein Files Bombshells

Updated Feb. 19 2026 6:09AM EST Published Feb. 19 2026 6:02AM EST Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has pulled out of a major tech summit just hours before he was due to deliver a flagship speech amid fresh scrutiny of his ties to pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. “After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities, Mr. Gates will not be delivering his keynote address,” the Gates Foundation said in a statement issued shortly before its chair ...

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

Trump vows $10 billion from U.S. for his 'Board of Peace,' as he leans into global role Chantal Da Silva

President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" gathered in Washington on Thursday for its long-awaited first meeting, with the next stage of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza in focus. -snip- The board would not only achieve peace in Gaza but also intervene in “hotspots” around the world, Trump said. “We will help Gaza," the president said. "We will straighten it out. We will make it successful. We will make it peaceful. And we will do things like that in other spots.” Its members ...

irisblue

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested and in custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office

(BBC News) Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police say King Charles's brother is in custody and officers are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk. Photos show cars arriving at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk earlier this morning.

orangecrush

South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol jailed for life for leading insurrection

(The Guardian) A South Korean court has sentenced the former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment with labour over his failed martial law declaration in December 2024, finding him guilty of leading an insurrection and making him the first elected head of state in the country’s democratic era to receive the maximum custodial sentence. The Seoul central district court found that Yoon’s declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024 constituted insurrection, carried out with the intent to disrupt the constitutional order.

LiberalArkie

Last Year, Trump Imposed the Largest U.S. Tax Increase Since 1993

(The Intellectualist) In the aftermath of World War II, the United States began dismantling the high-tariff regime that had defined the interwar period. The 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade marked the beginning of a multi-decade shift toward trade liberalization as a central pillar of American economic policy. Over the following decades, tariffs receded as a source of federal revenue and rarely shaped macroeconomic outcomes. That posture has reversed.

BumRushDaShow

Meta's Zuckerberg testifies about social media's effects on children in landmark trial

(CNN) The Meta CEO, testifying before a jury for the first time on years-old claims about social media harming children’s mental health, said he believed he has navigated the safety of young users “in a reasonable way.” But parents who traveled from across the country for the trial, saying their children had been hurt or died because of social media, painted a different picture outside the Los Angeles courtroom, describing a company that they say preyed on and exploited their children in the name of profits.

BumRushDaShow

Minnesota authorities demand federal records, evidence from Pretti killing

(The Hill) The Hennepin County, Minn., attorney’s office on Wednesday demanded that the federal government hand over records and evidence related to the killing of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti by federal officers during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis last month. Moriarty’s office said the “final decision” conveyed by the FBI to the BCA last week was “that there would be no cooperation.” “Hiding evidence and obstructing our investigation is unacceptable and indicates a total lack of confidence in their agents’ actions,” Moriarty said in a statement.

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Kristi Noem Wants A Swanky $70 Million Jet For Deportations -- And She Might Get It

25 min ago - Feb 19, 2026, 04:38 PM EST Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is apparently too bougie for budget economy. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking approval from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to purchase a luxur ... (Huff Post)

Epstein Built Ties to U.S. Customs Officers, Prompting Criminal Investigation

43 min ago - Feb. 19, 2026 Updated 4:32 p.m. ET One of Jeffrey Epstein's greatest skills was building and exploiting connections with those who had the power to help or hinder him. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, that included the federal Customs and Border Protectio ... (New York Times)

Epstein revelations spur calls to scrape Lutnick's name from college library

1 hr ago - 12h Haverford College students and alumni are calling on the school to remove Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's name from its library after revelations about Lutnick's ties to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Why it matters: It follows reports t ... (msn/Axios)

White House pressure leads universities to cut ties with nonprofit that helps racial minorities

1 hr ago - Thu, February 19, 2026 at 4:15 PM EST The Trump administration said Thursday its campaign to end diversity programs in higher education has led dozens of universities to cut ties with an organization known as The PhD Project, which helps racial minor ... (Yahoo! News/AP)

US pays about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations

1 hr ago - Updated 3:36 PM EST, February 19, 2026 UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States has paid about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations, the U.N. said Thursday, and President Donald Trump promised more money to the financi ... (AP)

GOP carved up Kansas City district. But who's running to unseat Cleaver?

2 hrs ago - Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith was poised to launch a campaign for Congress on Thursday, marking the first major Republican to enter the race for Kansas City’s new, gerrymandered district. Smith’s announcement, expected at a campaign ... (Kansas City Star)

4 journalists detained in Cameroon reporting on Trump's deportations

4 hrs ago - Four journalists, including three working for the Associated Press, were detained in Cameroon on Tuesday while reporting from a facility where migrants deported by the Trump administration are held, according to one of the detained journalists and tw ... (Washington Post)

IAM Union Local 588 Members at Garlock in Palmyra, N.Y. on Strike for Fair Contract

7 hrs ago - PALMYRA, N.Y., Feb. 19, 2026 — IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) Local 588 (District 65) members have been on strike at Garlock Sealing Technologies in Palmyra, N.Y., since Monday, Feb. 16, after contract ... (GO IAM)

Man allegedly assaulted by Shia LaBeouf in New Orleans wants to see hate crime charges

7 hrs ago - One of the men whom Shia LaBeouf allegedly battered and insulted with a homophobic slur on Mardi Gras morning in New Orleans on Tuesday, leading to his arrest, would like to see the actor face hate crime charges. Jeffrey Damnit, who dresses in drag a ... (The Guardian)

Catholic leaders bring communion to immigration detainees near Chicago after court win

7 hrs ago - February 19, 2026 10:45 AM EST Updated 10 hours ago BROADVIEW, Illinois, Feb 19 (Reuters) - For the first time in six years, two priests and a nun escorted by police have walked past barbed wire and concrete barriers to enter a Chicago-area immigrati ... (Reuters)

Trump says Obama disclosed classified information with alien comments

7 hrs ago - President Donald Trump accused Barack Obama of releasing classified information in comments the former president made recently about aliens. "He gave classified information, he's not supposed to be doing that," Trump told reporters Feb. 19 aboard Air ... (USA Today)

Amazon dethrones Walmart as the world's biggest company by sales

8 hrs ago - February 19, 2026 11:16 AM ET In a slow-motion race of two behemoths, Amazon has officially displaced Walmart as the world's biggest company by sales. For the first time, Walmart on Thursday reported lower annual sales than Amazon: Walmart's revenue ... (NPR)

Trump ditched the World Health Organization. His new plan will cost three times as much, report says

8 hrs ago - Thursday 19 February 2026 14:29 EST The Trump administration is reportedly proposing to spend around $2 billion per year replicating the global health capabilities of the World Health Organization, after the U.S. finalized its exit from the UN agency ... (The Independent)

Wisconsin GOP leader Robin Vos, who clashed with Trump, leaving office after reshaping the state

9 hrs ago - Updated 3:19 PM EST, February 19, 2026 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Robin Vos, who has led the Republican charge in Wisconsin during his record-long stint as state Assembly speaker and blocked much of the Democratic governor’s agenda, announced Thu ... (AP)

Trump to name Jared Kushner envoy for peace

9 hrs ago - 02/19/2026 11:53 AM EST President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he intends to name his son-in-law Jared Kushner as a special peace envoy, unveiling the decision at his “Board of Peace” event, attended by more than a dozen world leade ... (Politico)

Florida Legislature OKs changing Palm Beach airport name to Trump's new trademark

9 hrs ago - While Florida Republicans are at odds over many things this legislative session, they are united on changing the name of the Palm Beach International Airport to "President Donald J. Trump International Airport," which the president has trademarked. T ... (Tampa Bay Times)

House Democrats probe Musk and Grok over nonconsensual undressing on X

9 hrs ago - Feb. 19, 2026, 11:02 AM EST A group of House Democrats sent a letter to tech billionaire Elon Musk on Thursday criticizing him for releasing a “reprehensible” tool with his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, which has created sexualized ... (NBC News)

Wisconsin poised to leave Arkansas as only state without expanded Medicaid for new moms

10 hrs ago - February 19, 2026, 10:59 AM MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin Republicans who long blocked a bipartisan measure to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage planned to pass the measure on Thursday, which would leave Arkansas as the only state yet to expand Medica ... (ABC News/AP)

Exclusive: US CDC cancels February vaccine adviser meeting, no new one set yet

10 hrs ago - February 19, 2026 1:32 PM EST Updated 49 mins ago Feb 19 (Reuters) - A U.S. vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for later this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not be held, with no new dates announced, according t ... (Reuters)

Citizen sues ICE over arrest during California cannabis farm raid

11 hrs ago - February 19, 2026 LOS ANGELES (CN) — A United States citizen and Iraq combat veteran sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies claiming he was wrongfully arrested during an ICE raid of a licensed California cannabi ... (Courthouse News Service)