An incoming member of Congress said senior House Democrats have vowed to make his life “a living hell” and oust him in 2028 if he does not support Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ speaker bid.

Rep.-elect Don Leonard (D-Ohio) said in a social media post that the senior members told him to vote for Jeffries regardless of whether the Democratic leader commits to addressing key issues, including a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision and ending U.S. support for Israel and the war in Iran.

 

Results of a survey, split out by religion (10 groups), where Americans answer how strongly they agreed with two statements:

  1. "Empathy is a foundational moral value that helps build a healthy society", and
  2. "Empathy can become dangerous when it leads people away from building a society guided by God's truth".

The top 4 groups most likely to agree with (1) and least likely to agree with (2) were, in order (1 vs. 2): Unaffiliated (83% vs. 13%), Other non-Christian religion (80% vs. 18%), Jewish (77% vs. 23%), and White mainline non-evangelical Protestant (73% vs. 25%).

The least likely to agree with (1) and most likely to agree with (2), by far, was White evangelical Protestant (42% vs. 44%).

 

The mounting worry among big investors, insiders say, is the threat of a left-wing takeover of Congress, conjuring nightmare scenarios of Democratic Socialists on Capitol Hill looking to throttle deals as they grill tech executives over everything from AI-sparked job losses to deepfakes.

 

The Post noted that while moving historical items such as the globe is normally “a deliberate process overseen by trained curators,” Hegseth’s staff dispensed with such formalities and attempted to move it by themselves.

The staffers subsequently dropped the globe, cracking its shell and creating a gash several inches wide.

 

It seems like more and more often when I see people on a video or being interviewed on TV or whatever, someone is wearing a black ring. Usually on the index finger but not always.

Does a black ring actually mean something or is that just a current fashion fad?

I also see a lot of rings on index fingers or even thumbs, that may or may not be black. Do they mean anything?

Thanks

 

Cole Allen, the person who tried to get through security and into the White House Correspondents Dinner, wanted to 'take out' members of the Trump administration. What if he had succeeded?

Both Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, the first two in line of Presidential succession, were attending the White House Correspondent's Dinner last night.

Next in line would be Chuck Grassley, who was not attending the dinner. He is 92, a dozen years older than Trump!

The order of presidential succession is Vice President, then Speaker of the House, then President Pro Tempore of the Senate (Grassley), then members of the Cabinet in the order shown here.

 

A realistic analysis. Murphy's conclusion:

What happens next? I do not know. I do know there are lessons to be learned.

The first is that we must not allow fascism.

The second is that the USA and Israel must now be treated as the pariah states they are. They are not our allies. They are, in a very real sense, because of the threats that they pose to our well-being, our enemies. The toxic politics they both represent have to be openly and directly rejected.

Thirdly, the warning has been given, and it is that we need to prepare for a world without oil and gas. We have known this for a long time. We have done nothing about it. The moment to transition to a sustainable world has arrived. Whatever happens, we have no choice but to do that now.

Fourthly, we also have to reimagine how we live. The excess that has characterised some aspects of life for many in the West is not sustainable. This, too, is something that we have known for a long time. Now is the time to embrace that fact.

The only options we are now being given are to make these transitions in a disaster situation or through careful planning.

 

I've been wondering, if you never learned cursive writing, how do you sign your name, like on a lease or other place where you have to sign?

Do you just print your name like you would anything else? Or maybe you looked up how to write just the cursive letters needed for your signature? Or maybe invented a way to sort of connect your printed letters together so it looks like a signature? Or ... ?

edit: Specifically hoping to hear from people who did not learn to write cursive, please indicate if that applies in your answer. Thanks

 

A 6-month-old baby was hospitalized after federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis struck a car full of children with a flash bang, before flooding it with tear gas.

Parents Shawn and Destiny Jackson told Kare11 that they were driving their six children home from a basketball game Wednesday when a protest stopped them in their tracks.

As bystanders rushed the children to the safety of a nearby house, they had to go back for the 6-month old who had stopped breathing. “He was the last person to come in, he was just like, lifeless, like, he had like, foam, like, around his mouth, and you can, he had tears coming out of his eyes,” Destiny told Kare11.

Destiny said she performed CPR on the child while others called emergency services, who arrived shortly after.

 

During a remarkable hourlong session with Bovino on the witness stand Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis instructed the 30-year border patrol veteran to get his own body-worn camera and send her every use-of-force report — and accompanying body-cam footage — filed since “Operation Midway Blitz” began nearly two months ago.

While she stopped short of finding any specific violations had occurred, Ellis ordered Bovino to appear before her in open court at 5:45 p.m. each weekday to go over any uses of force from that day. The appearances would be required until at least Nov. 5, when Ellis is scheduled to hold a full hearing on a preliminary injunction.

The judge said that since she’s sure Bovino would not simply ignore a court order, the only explanation for what she’s been seeing on videos sent to her by the plaintiffs is that her order is simply not clear enough. “So I thought it would be a really good idea to go through it so that we are on the same page,” she said.

 

Against that backdrop, the order from U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis confirms journalists’ right to report and the public’s right to protest under the First Amendment.

“Whatever lawlessness is occurring is not occurring by peaceful protesters” and journalists, Ellis said after reading her decision aloud. Some actions by federal agents “clearly violate the constitution,” the judge said. “Individuals are allowed to protest. They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our Constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.”

The order also requires federal agents to wear badges or other “visible identification” so the public can know who they are, with exceptions for those officers who work undercover.

 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided the following template language to establish employees' out-of-office notifications.

"Furloughed Employees: Thank you for contacting me. On September 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5371, a clean continuing resolution. Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume," the text read.

However, multiple furloughed employees at the Department of Education report their out-of-office replies were automatically reset to mimic the language above – without their permission.

"They changed our out-of-office message… [They] did it after everyone left," one department of education staffer told ABC News. "[I'm] so pissed," they said.

 

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, 79, suffered multiple broken ribs, elbow injuries and a traumatic brain injury during the Sept. 9 incident, according to the federal tort claim filed by his attorneys.

According to his claim, when Shouhed attempted to show agents proof of his employees' work authorization, agents "cursed at him" and "violently body-slammed him onto the pavement." Three agents then allegedly pinned him down, with one placing a knee on his neck, the claim stated.

"You don't f--- with ICE. We are here," agents responded, according to the claim.

 

Protests will put pressure on the president and weaken the extent to which he can say he commands broad support.

The protest takes place on Labor Day, a federal holiday dating back to 1894 recognizing workers' contributions to America. This year, it falls on September 1.

On the website, the organizers listed the following demands:

  1. Stop the billionaire takeover corrupting our government.
  2. Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people.
  3. Fully funded schools, and health care and housing for all.
  4. Stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, and all our communities.
  5. Invest in people not wars."
The Last Holdouts (www.youtube.com)
 

I came across this video yesterday that I really liked, kind of a mini-documentary about people who've stuck with flip phones this whole time, never made the switch. I'm one of them.

I like technology, but every time I think about getting a smartphone, it does not spark joy. I feel much happier when I look at flip/feature phones (currently using a Coolpad Snap flip phone and thinking about pulling the trigger on a Sunbeam F1).

Watching this video has strengthened my resolve to avoid using a smartphone for as long as I can get away with it. Do you identify with any of the people in the video?