US employers add a solid 199,000 jobs and unemployment falls, signaling a still-sturdy labor market

Daily Dose of Democracy:

Trump co-defendant cooperating with additional state probes into fake electors
Uh, oh. Former Trump attorney and co-conspirator Kenneth Chesebro, who has already pleaded guilty to involvement in the criminal fake electors scheme in Georgia to overturn the state’s 2020 election result, is now reportedly helping investigators in at least four other states, including Michigan and...Wisconsin. He mozzareally seen the writing on the wall. It's never a gouda idea to brie on the wrong side of the law, especially whey up north this time of year. We cantal you precisely how Trump will respond to this latest legal blow, but if we've learned anything this muenster has taught us over the years, he'll likely thumb-smash it late at night when everyone else is curdled up in bed and he's provolone. Apologies to our lactose-intolerant friends.

Take Action: We cannot afford to wait any longer! Add your name to elect REAL climate champions in 2024!

Texas woman with risky pregnancy granted emergency abortion, forced into awful legal battle with Ken Paxton
Folks, it has come to this. Republicans' obsession with dictating reproductive rights in America has forced a 31-year-old mother of two in Dallas into a byzantine and costly court battle to fight for her right to terminate her dangerous and emotionally traumatic 20-week pregnancy. Kate Cox's fetus has been diagnosed with trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder. In the majority of cases the condition results in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of the baby within the first year of life. "It is not a matter of if I will have to say goodbye to my baby, but when," Cox said in a statement. "I'm trying to do what is best for my baby and myself, but the state of Texas is making us both suffer." Doctors have told her continuing with the pregnancy poses a risk to her health and, potentially, her ability to carry another child. She has already had to visit the emergency room four times because of pain and discharge. After the court order was issued, Texas Attorney General and barbaric goon of goons Ken Paxton sent a letter to area hospitals, threatening to prosecute anyone who is involved in providing an emergency abortion to Cox, because he believes she failed to prove she qualifies for one. Ken Paxton has no medical training, but he did work at JCPenney prior to entering politics.

Take Action: Tell corporations to stop funding lobbyists pushing harmful laws!

Republicans salivate at the thought of stealing a battleground Senate seat
Bob Casey for Senate: Stung from their humiliating defeat in 2022, McConnell and his cronies have now set their sights on defeating Bob Casey and flipping the Senate back to red. Can you chip in to help re-elect Sen. Casey and protect our critical Senate majority?

US university presidents face firestorm over "evasive" answers on antisemitism
The presidents of three of the nation’s top universities — Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT — are facing intense backlash, including from the White House, after being accused of evading questions during a congressional hearing about whether calls by students for the genocide of Jews would constitute harassment under the schools’ codes of conduct. Problematic "gotcha" questioning from House Republican Elise Stefanik aside, fallout from the bone-headed testimonies has been swift and severe. Here, let's make this easy: calling for the genocide of ANY people is a huge f*cking problem, and it definitely constitutes harassment under the code of basic human decency.

Take Action: Tell Biden to demand Netanyahu stop slaughtering innocent civilians in Gaza!

Hunter Biden indicted on nine tax charges, adding to gun charges in special counsel probe
Hunter Biden was indicted on nine tax charges — three felonies and six misdemeanors — in California on Thursday as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election. In a fiery response, defense attorney Abbe Lowell accused special counsel David Weiss of "bowing to Republican pressure" in the case.

House Republicans unveil resolution to authorize Biden impeachment inquiry
In a nakedly political move the Biden administration characterized as a "baseless stunt," House Republicans are expected to vote on a formal impeachment resolution next week. White House spokesperson Ian Sams trashed the news, calling out "extreme House Republicans’ shameless desire to abuse their power to smear President Biden." Friendly reminder that radical right-wing goons in Speaker Johnson's clown caucus have gone on the record admitting their futile efforts to impeach President Biden are nothing more than retribution for the entirely legitimate impeachments of Donald Trump, designed to give the serially indicted con man a "little ammo" in his bid to return to power. They just love saying the quiet part out loud, don't they?

Take Action: Don't let Republicans get away with taking credit for the Biden infrastructure plan they opposed!

Legal weed takes effect in Ohio as Republican lawmakers scramble to change voter-passed law
Provisions of a voter-approved legalization law took effect at midnight, making Ohio the 24th state to have legal, adult-use marijuana. But Republican state lawmakers are rushing to pass legislation to make changes to the initiative, because, well, they know better than their constituents, right? On Wednesday, the Senate passed legislation to alter potency caps, taxation, home cultivation, and social equity and expungement provisions — measures legalization advocates say undermine the spirit of the ballot initiative and will drive Ohioans to continue traveling to Michigan to purchase marijuana products.

Trump suddenly rocked with BOMBSHELL new ruling in court
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: Bad news for Trump...

US police agencies took intelligence directly from IDF, leaked files show
Hacked police files show US law enforcement agencies for decades received analysis of incidents in the Israel-Palestine conflict directly from the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli thinktanks, training on domestic "Muslim extremists" from pro-Israel non-profits, and surveilled social media accounts of pro-Palestine activists in the US. The Guardian’s analysis of documents from the Blue Leaks trove of internal law enforcement documents found no indication that this was balanced by information from other Middle Eastern sources or US Muslim community groups. At a time of polarized reactions to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the analysis raises questions about the scope of police intelligence-gathering in the US and the influence of Israel and its supporters on those efforts, and how this has shaped the treatment of activists and social movements, especially those who are pro-Palestinian.

Candidate for George Santos' old House seat is convicted on Jan. 6 charges after testifying he had "no idea" Congress met in the Capitol
49-year-old Philip Sean Grillo, of Queens, was found guilty Tuesday of the felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, along with a series of misdemeanors for entering restricted grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Grillo entered and exited the Capitol on Jan. 6 multiple times and recorded videos of himself cartoonishly proclaiming, "It's our f*cking House! We f*cking did it, you understand? We stormed the Capitol." Interestingly, Grillo also filed to run for Santos' congressional seat, despite testifying he had no idea Congress convened inside the Capitol. We aren't sure what residents of New York's 3rd congressional district did to deserve such impressive Republican candidates, but we can't wait to see who the GOP taps to run for the Rock & Roll Hall-of-Fame founder and 11-time world curling champion's old seat in February's special election.