curated citations to news sources
NY Times: These Are Drug Cartels Designated as Terrorists by the U.S.
President Trump has signed an order telling the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain criminal gangs that the United States has named terror organizations.
President Trump’s directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American gangs and cartels has turned a spotlight on those groups and raised a host of questions about legal issues, U.S. intervention abroad and which organization might be targeted.
It remains unclear what plans the Pentagon is drawing up for possible action, and where any potential military operations might take place. Mexico’s president said on Friday that U.S. military action in her country is “absolutely ruled out.”
(NY Times more…)
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – August 9, 2025
Last Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted a video in which Christian nationalist pastors express their opposition to the idea of women voting. “I would like to see this nation being a Christian nation, and I would like this world to be a Christian world,” said Christian nationalist Doug Wilson. In his repost of the video, Hegseth wrote “All of Christ for All of Life.”
But the government of the United States of America is not, and never has been, based in Christianity. In his 1785 “Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments,” framer of the Constitution James Madison explained that what was at stake in the separation of church and state was not just religion, but also representative government itself. The establishment of one religion over others attacked a fundamental, unalienable human right—that of conscience. …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Independent: Europe rallies behind Ukraine after defiant Zelensky rejects any peace plan that gives up land to Russia
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Daily Kos: Why the right thinks Barack Obama still controls the universe
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Obama is the first Black person to be elected president of the United States. He first did so by running in 2008 against then-Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a decorated military veteran and an icon in the conservative movement. Obama’s win was an affront to conservatives, who have historically treated Democratic presidents like usurpers, but with Obama, conservatives perceived it as more egregious because of his race.
(Daily Kos more…)
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NBC: Why the internet is still obsessed with Octavia E. Butler, years after her death
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In “Parable of the Talents,” published in 1998 and set in the 2020s, Butler introduces a conservative presidential candidate who urges voters to join him in a project to “make America great again.” The words on the page reverberated through Morris’ classroom as she taught the book during Trump’s first presidency. It’s why many readers think Butler’s work was nearly prophetic. “Psychic? Maybe not,” Morris says. “Prescient? Absolutely.”
(NBC more…)
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Crooks & Liars: Kristi Noem’s DHS Delaying Millions In Already Approved Recovery Funds For N.C.
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Your Local Epidemiologist: Bullets in the windows
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The perpetrator was shooting at public health workers—the people who devote their careers to keeping communities safe. The ones who work to stop the spread of disease and reduce gun violence. And in this case, targeted because of their work on the Covid-19 vaccine.
…Over these past six years, I’ve learned that the loudest voices are not the majority, even though it feels like hell that they are. It’s also clear that the path is long, and I fear it’s going to get harder before it gets better. But, as MLK Jr. said: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Don’t let the darkness erase the stars, the sunset, the good that still exists. We need your light in the world.
(Your Local Epidemiologist more…)MSNBC: After a deadly shooting at the CDC, shaken scientists demand answers from RFK Jr.
CDC Director Susan Monarez convened an online all-hands meeting of the agency division that focuses on vaccines, and employees called out Kennedy’s rhetoric specifically.
AP: CDC shooter believed COVID vaccine made him suicidal, his father tells police
Bulwark: How RFK Jr. Mastered Fake Science
He’s Making America Great Again—for lethal pathogens.
Politico: Top vaccine regulator returns to FDA after recent firing
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The return of Prasad marks a personnel victory for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Makary, who opposed his dismissal. In the days after Prasad’s ouster, Makary told reporters he encouraged Prasad to reconsider his exit from government.
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Thom Hartmann: Climate Change: Where is the accountability for the killers ushering in the Dream-destroying climate apocalypse?
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Wired: Why the US Is Racing to Build a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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Guardian: ‘She’s the one that matters’: the growing influence of Melania on Donald Trump
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emptywheel: John Durham’s Show Trials: A Preview of Coming Attractions
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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