Kick Jesse Watters off the air for targeting Trump’s jurors!

Israel launches airstrikes on Iran, US confirms, as Tehran plays down attack

Daily Dose of Democracy:

Freedom Caucus deploys FART to defend itself against GOP leadership
Radical right wingers in the House Freedom Caucus are signing up to take shifts to monitor the chamber floor in order to prevent their own party leaders from making silent but deadly moves that could curb their power in a sign of just how laughably dysfunctional the Republican Party has become. The Freedom Caucus’ Floor Action Response Team — and, no, we are not making this up — shorthanded as "FART," aims to guard against an unannounced request to, um, pass resolutions that would stealthily limit their leverage against leadership. Smells like the perfect job for a bunch of professional gas bags.

Take Action: Demand Arizona repeal its near-total abortion ban from 1864!

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Trump intimidates juror during his own criminal trial
In a flagrant violation of both a warning Donald Trump received from the judge in the courtroom and from the terms of his own gag order, we have definitive proof that the serially indicted fraudster has intimidated and exposed a juror at his own trial. Will he face literally any consequences for endangering a private citizen for simply doing her civic duty? We aren't holding our breath.

Take Action: Tell the Biden Administration to ban deep sea mining now!

Right-wing billionaires busted in shocking plot to gut EVERYTHING
Vote NO on 2117: The innocuous-sounding “Initiative 2117” in reality is nothing but an extremist plot to kill Washington’s historic climate bill and in doing so wipe out BILLIONS of tax dollars devoted to education, clean energy, transportation, and healthcare — everything we care about is under threat from the billionaire axe. It’s going to take a national movement to counter the oligarchs’ dark money war chests and we need your help. Will you chip in to foil these greedy billionaires and their destructive agenda?

Disgraced ex-president moans hush money case is a "mess" as jury finally selected
Oh, it's a mess alright. And one entirely of Donald's making. Thursday marked the disgraced ex-president's third day in court for his historic porn-star-hush-money trial and ended with 12 jurors and one alternate being selected. Should the court successfully find five more alternate jurors today, opening statements will begin on Monday. Game on.

Take Action: Stop tax breaks for Republican dark money corruption!

Georgia lawmaker runs secret election-conspiracy Telegram channel
Donald Trump's normalization of propagating thoroughly debunked, bullshit election conspiracies long ago took root in the "establishment" wing of the Republican Party, but the slow-drip revelation of MAGA's reach into every nook and cranny of the GOP is no less concerning. Bridget Thorne, a Fulton county commissioner in Georgia, has been operating a private Telegram channel for years, promoting debunked claims about the 2020 election and spreading absurd accusations of crimes by county employees, including Ruby Freeman, an election worker defamed by Rudy Giuliani in the wake of the disgraced ex-president's resounding 2020 loss. The right-wing disinformation faucet flows freely, and will continue to do so until these enemies of democracy are held to account, starting at the very top.

Take Action: Tell Congress to protect reproductive rights and repeal the Comstock Act!

House Republican blames "Matt Gaetz and seven useful idiots" for congressional chaos
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler traced the current dysfunction in the House of Representatives to last October when suspected sex-trafficker Matt Gaetz succeeded in removing a speaker of the House for the first time in US history. "I look at this very simply. In October, the House was thrown into chaos by Matt Gaetz and seven useful idiots that teamed up with him," Lawler said. He may be onto something, but, please, let's not sell the Republican Party short on its deep bench full of supreme dum dums. Idiocy of this magnitude must be properly acknowledged.

Biden’s new Title IX rules protect LGBTQ+ students, but transgender sports rule still on hold
The rights of LGBTQ+ students will be formally protected by federal law, and victims of campus sexual assault will gain new safeguards under rules finalized Friday by the Biden administration, in yet another sign of just how much elections matter in today's hyper-polarized and downright exisential political environment. President Biden is officially undoing highly problematic sexual assault rules put in place by his disgraced predecessor and presidential opponent — a man who's been accused of sexual misdeeds for literally decades. The new rule makes “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. “No one should face bullying or discrimination just because of who they are, who they love,” Cardona told reporters. “Sadly, this happens all too often.”

Trump finally meets his match as his campaign craters
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen: There it is.

California won’t prosecute LAPD officer who shot teenage girl in store’s dressing room
The California Justice Department announced today that it has found no cause to file charges against a Los Angeles police officer who, while aiming at a suspect, shot and killed a 14-year-old girl hiding in a department store fitting room. Valentina Orellana Peralta was picking out a quinceanera dress with her mother just before Christmas in 2021. She was shot and killed by a bullet that ricocheted off the floor. The suspect, Daniel Abisai Elena Lopez, 24, who was attacking random shoppers with a U-shaped bike lock, was also killed in the shooting. Officer William Jones will not face charges, despite body cam footage showing multiple officers instructing him to "slow down." Jones fired three rounds from his AR-15 before a fellow officer could take aim and fire at Lopez with a non-lethal 40-millimeter bean bag gun.

US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
The United States has vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations security council for full UN membership, blocking the world body’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state. The vote in the 15-member security council was 12 in favor, with the US opposed and two abstentions — the UK and Switzerland. Washington’s position is that the emergence of a Palestinian state had to be the outcome of negotiations on all aspects of a Middle East peace settlement. "The United States continues to strongly support a two-state solution. This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgment that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties," Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council.

Tesla shares sink, wiping out a year’s gains — three days days after Musk sacked 14,000 people
Billionaire, right-wing tech bozo and neo-Nazi promoter Elon Musk took time away from wrecking nüTwitter to lay off 14,000 employees at Tesla, and the market responded accordingly as the electric car maker's stock fell dramatically, wiping out a year's worth of gains in just one week. Keep up the good work, Elon!

Police arrest Columbia University students protesting Israel’s war on Gaza
The university deployed the NYPD to break up a massive protest for Palestinian human rights, arresting more than 100 students. Six students were suspended and summarily evicted from campus, including Rep. Ilhan Omar's daughter, Isra Hirsi. The decision to deploy cops to break up the modern version of the historic 1968 Columbia protests against the Vietnam War — which were also broken up by the NYPD — call into question the school's stated committment to free speech and expression. “I feel pretty disgusted,” said a 21-year-old student named Aidan, who declined to give his last name, fearing retaliation from the administration. “It’s crazy seeing how much police presence they need for non-violent protesters too.”