Tell the Senate: Don’t confirm Fox host Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense!

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Trump throws temper tantrum over his own inauguration
Former President Jimmy Carter passed away at 100 last week, prompting the federal government to lower US flags across the country to half-staff for 30 days, which is customary when a president dies. Donald Trump, who is nothing if not consistent when it comes to wallowing in his own victimhood, took to social media to thumb-smash his latest conspiratorial complaint — that Democrats are somehow using Carter's death to sully his inauguration, by nefariously lowering American flags as some sort of protest. Imagine being so profoundly insecure that — despite winning the presidency, again, and as a convicted felon — you feel threatened by something as simple and straightforward as a flag ceremoniously flown at half-staff. Buckle up, folks. The next four years are going to be wild. [RETWEET THAT!]

Take Action: Stop Trump from killing the Department of Education!

Trump orders congressional Republicans to pass the mother of all MAGA bills
You will not be surprised to learn that the MAGA cult leader has ordered Republicans in Washington to pass "one powerful" bill that will ram through his most controversial policies on everything from taxes to energy to immigration. Trump has repeatedly made promises to enact a merciless immigration crackdown that could see millions deported, to cancel green energy projects to make way for more oil and gas drilling, and to extend tax cuts passed during his first term that disproportionately benefit the rich — and coincidentally, himself. And despite pleas from a wide swath of economists and analysts across the political spectrum, the 78-year-old fraudster is vowing to pay for his disastrous agenda with tariffs, tariffs, and more tariffs, a move that experts warn could spark a trade war, trigger inflation, and wreck the global economy.

Take Action: Support the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s mission to cure Parkinson’s disease!

Women's March plans HUGE show of resistance to Trump at inauguration
Women's March: On inauguration weekend in DC and nationwide, Women's March is rebelling against hopelessness and kicking off a new season of collective action against Trump! Will you make your voice heard and pledge to march on Saturday, January 18th, with Women's March? If you can't make it to D.C., you can do your part and help supportt the organizers of this critical show of defiance against a would-be dictator. All hands on deck!

"Never forget!" Biden calls out Republicans' bid to "erase" Trump's Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection in searing editorial
In a scathing editorial published by The Washington Post, outgoing President Joe Biden ripped concerted, rightwing efforts to “rewrite” and “erase” the “violent” events of the 2021 Capitol riot four years ago today. Biden did not mince words, writing, "Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol, threatened the lives of elected officials, and assaulted brave law enforcement officers. We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year." He continued, "We must remember the wisdom of the adage that any nation that forgets its past is doomed to repeat it. We cannot accept a repeat of what occurred four years ago." While we surely won't see a repeat of Trump's failed insurrection four years ago, we, as a nation, are nowhere near out of the woods when it comes to learning from our past. We have, in fact, rewarded the very culprit who nearly brought American democracy to its knees with the most powerful bully pulpit in the world. Again. What a world.

Take Action: Tell your attorney general to investigate Amazon for discrimination against Black neighborhoods!

Higher Social Security payments coming for millions of people from bill that Biden signed
You're more likely to hear news today of a crotchety Joe Biden snapping at a reporter over a question about his age, but the real headline is this: the president signed another momentous measure into law boosting Social Security payments for current and former public employees, affecting nearly 3 million people who receive pensions from their time as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and in other public service jobs. "The bill I’m signing today is about a simple proposition: Americans who have worked hard all their life to earn an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity — that’s the entire purpose of the Social Security system," Biden said. Hear, hear!

Take Action: Block RFK Jr. from leading Health and Human Services!

Congress to certify Trump’s election win as shadow of 2020 Capitol riot looms
Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over a joint session of Congress today and peacefully certify the MAGA cult leader's electoral victory in November. The proceedings will take place amid unprecedented security measures from US Capitol and Washington, DC police, fearful of a repeat of the tumultuous events four years ago, when thousands of Trump’s supporters, incited by their dear leader, violently tried to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory amid false allegations that it had been stolen. Let's hear it for the adults in the room today, and let's hope democracy can survive the coming storm. We are about to subject our nation to a stress test heretofore unseen in modern American politics.

Antibiotic emergency "could claim 40 million lives in next 25 years"
As superbugs spread across the globe, death rates from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are set to double, according to England's former chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies. "About a million people die every year because of the spread of microbial resistance, and that figure will rise over the next 25 years," Davies said. Estimates suggest that by 2050, death rates from AMRs will have doubled, with figures indicating almost 40 million people will lose their lives to superbugs over the next 25 years, with elderly people especially at risk.

Michael J. Fox leads the charge against Parkinson's disease
Michael J. Fox Foundation: With nearly 90,000 new diagnoses in the United States each year, Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing and second-most-common neurodegenerative disease in America. Tackling this silent menace is going to require a united effort from the public and from our representatives in Congress, so Michael J. Fox is mobilizing a national movement to help policymakers understand what matters to people with Parkinson’s and share our stories to expand our understanding of this vicious disease.Will you add your name to stand with Michael J. Fox and the one million Americans living with Parkinson’s disease and be ready when it’s time to reach out to your elected officials?

Key Oath Keepers leader revealed as former Las Vegas police detective
Well, well, well. What do we have here. Robert "Bobby" Kinch, the man in control of the Utah-based rightwing militia Oath Keepers USA, a recent spinoff of the national organization first established by Stewart Rhodes in 2009, is a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide detective who left the force in acrimony after advocating for a "race war." The revelations about Kinch, now of Duck Creek, Utah, come from public records, online materials, and the work of a longtime infiltrator of the patriot movement in the Pacific northwest, who provided vital evidence to The Guardian captured inside Kinch’s home. The findings show that four years on from Trump's January 6 attack, the Oath Keepers, who played a central role in fomenting that day’s insurrection in Washington, have not disappeared but have continued quietly adding law-enforcement officers to their ranks. What is it about our nation's vaunted law enforcement community that so regularly attracts such far-right trash? And vice versa?

Melania Trump to get her very own Amazon documentary, directed by Hollywood outcast Brett Ratner
Disgraced director and producer Brett Ratner, forced out of Hollywood at the peak of the #MeToo movement over credible sexual misconduct allegations, will direct a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump for Amazon, the studio confirmed Sunday in Jeff Bezos' latest move to ingratiate himself to Donald Trump. Ratner’s Hollywood career stopped in 2019 when an actress accused him in the Los Angeles Times of forcing himself on her sexually, and other women described inappropriate conduct. A different woman accused Ratner of rape in a Facebook post, then retracted that allegation. Ratner denied all of the allegations, and he was never charged with misconduct. Seems like just the guy to film a feature-length fluff-piece on Donald's third and current wife, Melania.

Firms that donated to Republican Party curiously avoided tariffs in Trump's first term
With the MAGA cult leader threatening to impose steep tariffs upon his return to office this month, US firms are bracing for impact. But an analysis of Trump’s last presidency identified one way to boost their chances of avoiding the levies: donating to the Republican party. Huh, you don't say?