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

Trump says he's holding Canada responsible for wildfire smoke and threatens higher tariffs

PUBLISHED Jul 17, 2026, 4:49 PM ET President Donald Trump said Friday he’s holding Canada responsible for wildfire smoke hovering over much of the Midwestern and eastern United States and vowed to call Prime Minister Mark Carney, suggesting that the “cost of this pollution” could be added to tariffs Canada is already paying. “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily inva ...

BumRushDaShow

Appeals Court Lifts Block on USPS Mail-In Ballot Plan in Win for Trump

Jul 17th, 2026, 10:08 pm The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay on Friday, temporarily lifting a lower court’s block on USPS’s mail-in ballot proposal, in a major win for President Donald Trump. On March 31, Trump issued an executive order, “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” which directs federal agencies to develop state-specific lists of voters who are confirmed U.S. citizens. A provision calls on USPS not to hand ...

BumRushDaShow

Stephen Miller Declares Trump Admin Pushing to De-Bank Illegal Immigrants

Jul 17th, 2026, 6:01 pm White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said President Donald Trump’s administration will be pushing to de-bank illegal immigrants — a move he said will be a “major driver of self-deportation.” Miller talked about the plan during a Friday radio interview on Clay Travis and Buck Sexton’s show. “Contrary to popular perception, you know this stupid phrase that ‘illegal aliens live in the shadows’ — illegal aliens don’t live in the shadows,” Miller said. “Illega ...

BumRushDaShow

Democrat drops out of Wisconsin governor race amid financial disarray

July 17, 2026, 3:36 p.m. ET MADISON – Less than a week after the bombshell revelation that her campaign infrastructure was in disarray, Wisconsin's Democratic Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has ended her gubernatorial campaign. "As we have continued to dig into our financial reports, it has become clear that there are issues that would be an ongoing distraction – not just for this campaign, but for the primary and for Wisconsin. This race is too important to Wisconsin to let that happen," ...

muriel_volestrangler

Israeli ministers announce plans for new illegal settlements in Gaza and West Bank

Israel’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (£300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebrated violent outposts as his “security partners”. With national elections scheduled for 27 October, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition is racing to expand control of land in occupied Palestine and drive out Palestinians before its mandate expires. The defenc ...

BumRushDaShow

Trump Admin Warns 4 States Over 250,000 Potential Noncitizens Voting

Published Jul 17, 2026 at 10:07 AM EDT updated Jul 17, 2026 at 01:52 PM EDT Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin this week sent letters to officials in four states, warning that a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review identified what the agency described as more than 250,000 potential non-citizens registered to vote. Mullin sent letters to the secretaries of state in California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania, urging them to work with the department and respond within two ...

BumRushDaShow

Appeals court says NJ's AR-15, high-capacity magazine bans violate Second Amendment

07/17/26 3:11 PM ET A federal appeals court invalidated New Jersey’s ban on “assault” firearms and high-capacity magazines in a 10-5 vote on Friday, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment. The decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hands gun rights advocates one of their biggest legal victories yet on the issue as the Supreme Court gears up to provide a nationwide resolution next term in a separate case. “The text of the Second Amendment covers all magazines, not just magaz ...

BumRushDaShow

Leon Black walked out of Epstein interview after refusing to answer questions about NDAs

July 17, 2026, 11:28 AM Private equity billionaire Leon Black walked out of his transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee regarding his decades-long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after refusing to answer questions about nondisclosure agreements allegedly related to the disgraced sex offender, according to a transcript of the June 26 interview released by the committee Friday. While he said he would be willing to talk about three women involved in lawsuits against him, Black ...

BumRushDaShow

U.S. strikes bridges in Iran; Tehran targets U.S. bases in the Gulf

July 17, 2026 7:13 AM ET The U.S. and Iran expanded their targets in the latest round of strikes on Friday, as fighting over the control of the Strait of Hormuz reignites fears of an all-out war. The U.S. military said it struck Iranian air defense sites and military logistics infrastructure in its attacks, as it sought to pressure Iran to lift its chokehold on the strait. Iran said those targets included six bridges in the Hormozgan province facing the key waterway, as well as power infrastr ...

BumRushDaShow

FCC commissioner says Trump call to revoke ABC, NBC licenses is unconstitutional

July 17, 2026 2:28 PM EDT Updated 3 hours ago WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - The sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission on Friday criticized President Donald Trump's call for Disney-owned ABC (DIS.N), opens new tab and Comcast (CMCSA.O), opens new tab unit NBC to lose their broadcast ‌licenses because they refused to air his speech. During a nearly half-hour prime-time speech on Thursday, the Republican president revived many of his longstanding claims that U.S. ...

Expand Featured Stories

Issue Forums

Alliance Forums

Region Forums

Latest Breaking News

Thunderstorms will clear wildfire smoke from Northeast ahead of World Cup final, meteorologists say

17 min ago - By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and PHILIP MARCELO Updated 12:20 PM CDT, July 18, 2026 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Smoke from the Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze is expected to mostly clear from the New Jersey area just in time ... (AP)

US military says 2 troops are dead and 1 is missing after Iran attacks a base in Jordan

1 hr ago - DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday announced the first U.S. troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, saying two were killed and another was missing in an attack on a base in Jordan. ... (Associated Press)

Murkowski: SAVE Act Could Require $1,000 Trips to Register to Vote

1 hr ago - Published Jul 18, 2026 at 12:58 PM EDT Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaskan Republican, detailed her opposition to the GOP-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in a Friday opinion piece that was published in the Wall Street Journal, ... (Newsweek)

Sen. Ossoff fuels reelection campaign with attacks on Trump

1 hr ago - By BILL BARROW Updated 9:29 AM CDT, July 18, 2026 ATLANTA (AP) -- Nearly a decade ago, Jon Ossoff was a 30-year-old Democratic congressional candidate promising Georgia suburban voters he would "cut wasteful spending" and make "both parties in Washin ... (AP)

Trump administration activates never-before-used 'alien terrorist' deportation court

2 hrs ago - Trump administration activates never-before-used ‘alien terrorist’ deportation court The court has been dormant since it was created in 1996. Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters are seen in Washington, D.C. on July 9, 2026 | Francis Ch ... (Politico)

Trump's Pick for Minnesota Governor Still Can't Vote for Himself

3 hrs ago - Published Jul. 18 2026 9:56AM EDT MAGA MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is still not registered to vote in the state where he is running for governor. Lindell, 65, who President Donald Trump has endorsed in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, is still a r ... (Daily Beast)

Doctors question evidence behind Pentagon plan for testosterone screening

4 hrs ago - July 18, 2026 6:03 AM EDT Updated 4 hours ago July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, which he says will help to ... (Reuters)

Memphis rallies for progressive Democrat after four fatal shootings by taskforce: 'Fight of our lives'

5 hrs ago - ri 17 Jul 2026 22.18 EDT Last modified on Fri 17 Jul 2026 22.19 EDT More than a thousand people rallied for Justin Pearson, a Democratic state representative running for Congress, in the wake of four fatal shootings by members of the Memphis Safe Tas ... (The Guardian)

ICE shared improperly obtained Medicaid data with Palantir: NPR

6 hrs ago - 11h Immigrations and Customs Enforcement shared Medicaid data it improperly obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service with data analytics firm Palantir, NPR reported Friday. Palantir’s “ELITE” app is utilized by ICE a ... (msn/Huff Post)

AIPAC halts fundraising for endorsed House Democrats who opposed Israel aid

6 hrs ago - 12h The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has suspended campaign fundraising efforts for more than two dozen House Democrats who voted to cut off billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Israel earlier this week. More than 100 House ... (msn/The Hill)

They Were Charged With Assaulting ICE Agents. The Cases Are Crumbling.

6 hrs ago - They Were Charged With Assaulting ICE Agents. The Cases Are Crumbling. The Trump administration has lost or abandoned hundreds of criminal cases against protesters and immigrants, a Times investigation found. Jaime Diaz, an undocumented immigrant, wa ... (The New York Times)

DOJ says it's no longer illegal to download TikTok on federal devices

7 hrs ago - July 17, 2026 / 11:53 PM EDT The Justice Department determined this week a federal law banning TikTok from government devices no longer applies to the social video app. The written opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel — ... (CBS News)

Appeals Court Lifts Block on USPS Mail-In Ballot Plan in Win for Trump

8 hrs ago - Jul 17th, 2026, 10:08 pm The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a stay on Friday, temporarily lifting a lower court’s block on USPS’s mail-in ballot proposal, in a major win for President Donald Trump. On Ma ... (MEDIAite)

Judge blocks South Dakota abortion advertising ban against nonprofit

8 hrs ago - Updated 7:24 PM EDT, July 17, 2026 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota cannot enforce its abortion advertising ban against a reproductive health nonprofit, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler issued a prelimina ... (AP)

Kroger, Albertsons pharmacists authorize strike

8 hrs ago - Workers seek staffing, pay increases comparable to CVS Mark Hamstra July 17, 2026 Supermarket pharmacists across Southern and Central California voted on Thursday to authorize an unfair labor practice strike against Kroger- and Albertsons-owned store ... (Supermarket News)

Stephen Miller Declares Trump Admin Pushing to De-Bank Illegal Immigrants

9 hrs ago - Jul 17th, 2026, 6:01 pm White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said President Donald Trump’s administration will be pushing to de-bank illegal immigrants — a move he said will be a “major driver of self-deportation.” M ... (MEDIAite)

US firms sign energy and other deals with Iraq after Trump touts its oil

9 hrs ago - 07/17/26 5:32 PM ET U.S. firms signed several oil-related and other deals with Iraq on Friday, days after President Trump said the two sides would be “doing a lot of deals” because of the Middle Eastern nation’s oil. Among the U.S. co ... (The Hill)

Israeli ministers announce plans for new illegal settlements in Gaza and West Bank

9 hrs ago - Israel’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (£300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebr ... (The Guardian)

'The facts have not changed': States push back on allegations of non-citizens voting

9 hrs ago - 12h We're learning more details about steps the administration plans to take before and after the upcoming midterm elections. This comes a day after President Trump addressed the nation and claimed, without evidence, that previously classified docum ... (msn/Scripps News)

TPS Update: DHS Warns of 'Last Opportunity' After Supreme Court Ruling

10 hrs ago - Published Jul 17, 2026 at 01:44 PM EDT updated Jul 17, 2026 at 04:53 PM EDT The Trump administration warned Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders Friday that they have only a short time left to self-deport before their legal status officially laps ... (Newsweek)