Tell musicians to boycott the Kennedy Center until Trump's name is removed!

VIDEO OF THE DAY: "Five alarm fire!" Justice Department declares war on states
Brian Tyler Cohen sits down with Marc Elias to discuss the Trump administration's disturbing campaign to bully states into handing over private voter data to the Department of Justice.

Take Action: Demand Congress investigate the FBI attacks on anti-ICE dissent!

Nigerian villagers are rattled by US airstrikes that made their homes shake and the sky glow red
"Sanusi Madabo, a 40-year-old farmer in the Nigerian village of Jabo, was preparing for bed Thursday night when he heard a loud noise that sounded like a plane crashing. He rushed outside his mud house with his wife to see the sky glowing a bright red. The light burned bright for hours, Madabo said: “It was almost like daytime.” He did not learn until later that he had witnessed a U.S attack on an alleged Islamic State camp. Residents of Jabo, a village in the northwestern Nigerian state of Sokoto, told The Associated Press in interviews Friday that they were seized with panic and confusion at the airstrikes. “Our rooms began to shake, and then fire broke out,” he told AP. “The Nigerian government should take appropriate measures to protect us as citizens. We have never experienced anything like this before.'"

Newsom’s new maps opens up MAJOR opportunity to unseat California’s “Mini-Trump”
Marni von Wilpert for Congress: The new maps pushed through by California Governor Gavin Newsom to fight back against Trump’s efforts to rig the midterms has opened up the perfect opportunity to get rid of one of his most loyal acolytes in the House, the infamously corrupt Darrel Issa. Progressive federal labor attorney Marni von Wilpert is launching her bid to take advantage of this newly competitive district and unseat Issa for good. A proven winner, von Wilpert flipped a City Council seat from red to blue, fought to ban ghost guns, prosecuted the opioid industry, and took on price gougers driving up costs for families, and helped write the PRO Act to strengthen unions. This fight isn’t going to be easy, but the new maps have given us an opportunity to steal a seat we didn’t have before. We can’t afford to squander this advantage in elections where every last seat could mean the difference between holding the tide against Trump or allowing fascism to take over. Will you make a donation to help win this critical race?

Kennedy Center criticizes musician who canceled performance after Trump name added to building
The president of the Kennedy Center on Friday fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue after the White House announced that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility. “Your decision to withdraw at the last moment — explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure — is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with The Associated Press. In the letter, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages “for this political stunt.” Redd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aluminum salts emerge as likely target as health officials scrutinize childhood vaccines
With further changes to the U.S.’ recommended vaccine schedule likely in the year ahead under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, his agency’s recent scrutiny of one vaccine additive in particular — aluminum salts — may offer a clue about what’s to come. Earlier this month, members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee — whom Kennedy selected after firing the previous group — suggested digging into concerns about aluminum salts, though large studies have found them to be safe. Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, told NBC News that the committee is “reviewing the body of science related to aluminum and other possible contaminants in childhood vaccine[s].” Aluminum salts are not a “contaminant” in vaccines: The compound is added as an adjuvant, an ingredient that boosts the body’s immune response to a vaccine, allowing for a smaller dose to be used. Nearly a century of evidence has found it to be safe for this purpose. Aluminum salts are naturally present in soil and water, and the amount children are exposed to from vaccines is minuscule compared with cumulative daily exposures from food.

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Federal judge to hold hearing on whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being vindictively prosecuted
A federal judge this week canceled the trial of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported, and scheduled a hearing on whether the prosecution is being vindictive in pursuing a human smuggling case against him. Abrego Garcia has become a centerpiece of the debate over immigration after the Trump administration deported him in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Facing mounting public pressure and a court order, the Trump administration brought him back to the U.S. in June, but only after issuing an arrest warrant on human smuggling charges in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia has denied the allegations, and argued that prosecutors are vindictively and selectively targeting him. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. wrote in Tuesday’s order that Abrego Garcia had enough evidence to hold a hearing on the topic, which Crenshaw scheduled for Jan. 28.