Tell Congress: Investigate Pam Bondi's rigged settlement for Trump’s billionaire cronies!

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Fox News utterly humiliated by Gavin Newsom
The California governor has clearly struck several raw nerves in Trumpistan lately, with Fox News talking heads and GOP allies alike losing their collective minds over Newsom's hilarious, over-the-top impersonation of the MAGA cult leader's obnoxious social media schtick. Newsom has clearly channeled something real here, and the fact that "journalists" at Fox don't "get it" betrays the alarming, might-wanna-see-a-doctor levels of cognitive dissonance at play on the right. If you aren't following along on Twitter yet, we kindly and highly recommend you take a quick peek. To quote Newsom quoting Trump: "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"

Take Action: Demand Trump stop targeting foreign students!

Trump vows changes, says Smithsonian focuses too much on "how bad slavery was"
Lord Goldemort's Yelp review of the Smithsonian is in, and, boy, he is NOT impressed. "TWO WORDS: BOR-RING. 1 out of 5 stars! Extremely WOKE! Why focus on how bad slavery was when it only affected a VERY SMALL percentage of people AND ended A VERY LONG TIME ago??? Also, don't bother visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum unless you just really want to ruin your day looking at grainy, old photos of very unhealthy people looking very sad over some bad things that happened almost a hundred years ago! NO THANKS!"

Take Action: Stop Trump's attacks on Media Matters for America!

Anti-billionaire oysterman, and former Marine launches campaign to flip KEY Senate seat
Graham Platner for Senate: Graham Platner isn’t your average DC Democrat. He’s a working-class oysterman with a plan to bring voters back into the fold by running on a proud platform of economic populism. He’s not afraid to name the billionaire class as the enemies of workers and he’s going to fight to raise the federal minimum wage, stop billionaires from buying elections, crack down on rampant tax dodging by the megawealthy, back labor unions to the hilt, and fight for universal health care. Oh, and send Very Concerned Susan Collins packing while he's at it. Check out his launch video and chip in to help kick-start his campaign!

Elon Musk quietly ends plans for new political party
But what about that super-scientific poll Phony Stark conducted on nüTwitter where millions of respondents who definitely were not bots indicated they were pining to join Elon's ballyhooed "America Party" and finally upend our two-party system?! We were promised a revolution, goddammit! Surely this has nothing to do with Musk's desperate desire to remain relevant and in good graces with future Republican leaders who aren't named Donald Trump or the fact that Tesla's stock price has plunged almost 20% this year or that his precious reputation has irreparably tanked, right? Right?

Take Action: Don't cancel Colbert!

Sen. Jon Ossoff report details ICE abuse of pregnant women and children
A clearer picture of the human cost of the Trump regime's campaign of cruelty and abuse against innocent migrants is beginning to emerge. Since January, Sen. Ossoff’s office has identified 510 credible reports of abuse across facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Prisons, Health and Human Services, county jails, federal prisons, and even overseas US military bases in Cuba and Djibouti. Among them were 41 cases of physical and sexual abuse, 14 involving pregnant women and 18 involving children. Detainees were beaten by guards, held in solitary confinement after reporting assaults, or forced into painful "stress positions" as punishment. Pregnant women were frequently denied medical care, the report found. One detainee miscarried alone in a hospital room after staff delayed treatment for days, while others were told to "just drink water" instead of receiving exams. Children as young as two — including US citizens — were also mistreated, according to the investigation. A girl recovering from brain surgery was detained without access to follow-up care, while another child undergoing cancer treatment was deported without seeing a doctor. In one case, another US citizen child vomited blood in custody; a guard allegedly responded, "Just give the girl a cracker." These incidents are just a drop in the bucket given what we know people are enduring at Donald Trump's authoritarian direction at Alligator Alcatraz and similar concentration camps. History will not forget.

Ousted Trump DOJ lawyer says Bondi appointees let corporate lobbyists "rule" over antitrust enforcement
In January, Trump's Department of "Justice" sued to stop the $14 billion merger between Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networks because it would put 70% of the Wi-Fi networks used by large companies, hospitals, and other organizations under the control of one company. But in June, the suit was abruptly dropped after Pam Bondi's chief of staff personally intervened and overruled the DOJ's chief anti-trust officer, Roger Alford. Now a whistleblower, Alford is publicly trashing the Bondi DOJ for having "perverted justice and acted inconsistently with the rule of law" and allowing "corrupt lobbyists" to hijack the process. Hewlett-Packard hired multiple MAGA allies and lobbyists to push for the merger, which is why Alford, who somehow still considers himself a MAGA loyalist, slammed the "MAGA-in-name-only lobbyists and the DOJ officials enabling them," who he said are "determined to exert and expand their influence and enrich themselves as long as their friends are in power." Uh, dude, were you born yesterday? This kind of shady corporate malfeasance and bribery is one of the primary reasons that the Republican Party exists at all!

Take Action: Don't put Trump on Mt. Rushmore!

Young grads face worst job market since the ‘80s under Trump
Congratulations, kids! Your fancy degrees have never been more expensive to acquire OR less valuable as means for achieving financial security. It is SO good to be great again!

You need to read The Feed, indeed!
The Feed: If you like The Daily Dose of Democracy, you’ll love The Feed, our smart, scrollable companion newsletter packed with big political news, hot creator takes, and real ways to make a difference. That's right, we've got a Substack now! We built The Feed because too much of today’s news cycle feels like noise. Too many sensational headlines without substance, too much commentary without credibility, and too much outrage without options. The Feed flips that script to deliver a wholly different kind of news. It’s where independent journalism meets creator culture. Every week, The Feed breaks down the biggest stories shaping our democracy — delivered by voices you trust and framed with action in mind. Whether you want to go deeper on a particular headline or just need a smart way to talk about it at dinner, The Feed is for you. Don’t worry, if you’re subscribed to Daily Dose, you’re already logged into The Feed! Click here to check it out! We're still going to be sending you the same DDD you know and love every day, but now there's even more to explore!

Senators press Meta on AI chatbots after reports of "sensual" conversations with children revealed
A bipartisan group of senators wrote to Meta to raise concerns about the company’s artificial intelligence chatbots. The letter, signed by Sens. Brian Schatz,, Josh Hawley, Katie Britt, and others, followed stories from Reuters about CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s frustration with the slow pace of Meta’s AI rollout and about how Meta’s digital companions were permitted to hold "sensual" conversations with children. "The wellbeing of children should not be sacrificed in the race for AI development," the senators wrote to Zuckerberg. They also pressed Meta to bar targeted advertising for minors; to implement a mental health referral system; and to spend more on researching how chatbots may affect children’s development. Why does every damn day feel like another episode of "Black Mirror?"

US, allies meet on security guarantees as Trump arranges Putin-Zelenskyy summit
United States and NATO military officials were set to meet Wednesday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine as the White House worked to arrange a summit between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Ukraine and its European allies appeared buoyed after Trump promised during their meeting in Washington on Monday that the US would provide security guarantees as part of any settlement with Russia — a red-line issue for Kyiv. Trump made clear Tuesday that this would not include US "boots on the ground" but could see America provide air support as part of such an arrangement. The Kremlin said Wednesday that it was ready to discuss a settlement with Ukraine, including security guarantees, but that talks without Russia were a "road to nowhere." It also appeared in no rush to agree to a leaders' summit.

Pete Hegseth’s security detail is so big it's pushing an entire Army agency to the brink
Defense Secretary and Trump DUI-hire Pete Hegseth’s "unusually large" personal security detail has put "significant strain" on the Army agency responsible for providing the personnel, The Washington Post reported. According to the Post, the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) has pulled agents off of criminal investigations to safeguard Hegseth, his family, and even his exes. Seriously. "I've never seen this many security teams for one guy," an unnamed CID official said, adding, "Nobody has." The Army’s CID has approximately 1,500 agents — roughly 10 percent of whom typically serve on VIP security details, the Post report said. But numerous sources told the paper that under Hegseth, that figure has more than doubled — or even tripled. Cool, a double whammy! Pissed Ol' Pete's apparently running around with SEVERAL HUNDRED extra security agents AND serious crimes are going uninvestigated. Why is wreaking havoc the only thing these goons are reliably good at?