Democratic Underground: Forums for U.S. Liberals and Democrats

'Home Alone' and 'Schitt's Creek' actor Catherine O'Hara dies at 71

Actor Catherine O'Hara, best-known for roles in "Schitt's Creek," "Home Alone," "SCTV" and other TV and film productions, has died at age 71, according to her representative. O'Hara died at her home in Los Angeles "following a brief illness," according to a statement from her agency, CAA, the Associated Press reported. More details were not immediately available. The Canadian actor, writer and comedian rose to fame as one of the original cast members on ...

BumRushDaShow

Trump DOJ accidentally exposed Epstein victims' identities in new botched release

January 30, 2026 3:43PM ET The Trump administration has botched the release of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case files to accidentally expose private information about the victims — something that was clearly carved out of disclosure requirements under federal law, and that the administration itself has said it is working hard to avoid doing. According to MS NOW legal analyst Lisa Rubin in a post on X Friday afternoon, her network's "initial review of documents just produced in re ...

BumRushDaShow

Senate set to pass government funding bill Friday after Graham pledges to lift hold

01/30/26 1:06 PM ET The Senate is on track to pass a government funding package Friday afternoon after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told colleagues that he will release his hold on the massive spending bill if he gets a vote on legislation to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities. Graham brought the funding package, which includes five regular appropriations bills and a two-week stopgap funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security, to a griding halt Thursday evening, just a day b ...

highplainsdem

There's a social network for AI agents, and it's getting weird

Yes, you read that right. “Moltbook” is a social network of sorts for AI agents, particularly ones offered by OpenClaw (a viral AI assistant project that was formerly known as Moltbot, and before that, known as Clawdbot — until a legal dispute with Anthropic). Moltbook, which is set up similarly to Reddit and was built by Octane AI CEO Matt Schlicht, allows bots to post, comment, create sub-categories, and more. More than 30,000 agents are currently using the platform, per the site. “The way th ...

BumRushDaShow

Elon Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known, emails show

Fri 30 Jan 2026 16.19 EST Last modified on Fri 30 Jan 2026 17.06 EST Elon Musk had more extensive – and more friendly – communications with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than previously publicly known, according to documents released on Friday by the Department of Justice. Emails in the files appear to show the two cordially messaging each other on two separate occasions to make plans for Musk to visit Epstein’s island. The documents include Musk and Epstein emailing in both ...

demmiblue

Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest

(NY Times) The former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested late Thursday night on charges that he violated federal law during a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minn., multiple people familiar with the matter said, in a case rejected last week by a magistrate judge. Mr. Lemon has said he was simply reporting as a journalist when he entered the Cities Church on Jan. 18 to observe a demonstration against the immigration crackdown in the area.

Dulcinea

Tulsi Gabbard under scrutiny for showing up at FBI raid of Georgia election hub

(NBC News) When President Donald Trump watched a live feed of the U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was not in the room. That she appeared to be on vacation in the run-up to such a high-stakes, ultra-sensitive military operation seemed to underscore the extent to which she has been sidelined by the administration. But there she was on Wednesday, at an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, as FBI agents conducted a raid seeking ballots from the 2020 presidential election, which Trump has falsely claimed he won. Gabbard's presence baffled national security experts and raised questions about whether she is seeking new relevancy in the eyes of a president who had soured on her.

BumRushDaShow

Senate shutdown deal stalls over Graham objection

(The Hill) The Senate's race to avert a shutdown hit the skids late Thursday night as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) placed a hold on the government funding package, forcing leaders to punt the vote. Senators had been hoping to vote on the so-called minibus after leaders struck a deal earlier in the day and President Trump endorsed it. Under the agreement, the Senate was set to vote on a package of five full-year funding bills and a stopgap measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for two weeks. But as lawmakers awaited word on the vote late Thursday, a fired-up Graham emerged from Senate Majority Leader John Thune's (R-S.D.) office and declared, "We're not voting tonight."

marmar

Even Republicans are asking what is wrong with Trump

(Salon) President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting of the year on Thursday looked like a remake of the movie “Freaks,” the 1932 horror film about a group of carnival sideshow performers. High government officials sang his praises, chanted their version of “one of us, one of us” and buried him in needless and irrelevant praise. Later that afternoon, as Trump signed yet another executive order in the White House, the chanting was repeated. In neither case did the president entertain questions from the press — though we still have many after the recent killings of two American citizens in Minneapolis at the hands of federal officers. Untethered by reality, the Trump circus can no longer surprise any of us. But it is a growing danger to all of us — and the Republicans know it.

KS Toronado

Friday's Condensed News Cartoons

Expand Featured Stories

Issue Forums

Region Forums

Latest Breaking News

Canadian company says Virginia warehouse sale to ICE won't proceed

26 min ago - Updated 5:51 PM EST, January 30, 2026 VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A Canadian company announced Friday it will no longer be selling a Virginia warehouse property to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which said it wanted the site as ... (AP)

Johnson backs fast-track process requiring Democratic support to swiftly end shutdown

54 min ago - 01/30/26 5:33 PM ET Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told House Republicans he wants to utilize a special fast-track process that will require cooperation from Democrats to swiftly pass the funding package that the Senate is poised to send over and end w ... (The Hill)

Government paid discrimination claim related to office of ex-Rep. Chavez-DeRemer

1 hr ago - Posted January 30, 2026 at 5:34pm The government paid nearly $100,000 to resolve an employment discrimination claim that arose from the former congressional office of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, according to a report from the Office of Congr ... (Roll Call)

New SNAP work requirements are coming on Feb. 1. What to know.

1 hr ago - Jan. 30, 2026, 3:59 p.m. ET Come Feb. 1, the nearly 42 million low-income Americans on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can expect major changes. The United States' largest nutrition assistance program has been a funding flashpoin ... (USA Today)

Fearing ICE, Native Americans rush to prove their right to belong in the US

2 hrs ago - Updated 3:16 PM EST, January 30, 2026 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooded Minneapolis, Shane Mantz dug his Choctaw Nation citizenship card out of a box on his dresser and slid it into his wallet. Some strang ... (AP)

SpaceX Eyes 1 Million Satellites For Orbital Data Center Push

2 hrs ago - Late on Friday, the company filed the request with the Federal Communications Commission, describing the project as a “constellation of satellites with unprecedented computing capacity to power advanced artificial intelligence (‘AI’) m ... (PC Mag)

Most of the U.S. government is shut down but is expected to reopen early next week

5 hrs ago - WASHINGTON -- Most of the U.S. government shut down as the clock ticked over to Saturday, Jan. 31, but the funding lapse is expected to be brief. The Senate passed legislation Friday evening that would fund the government, but the House is not in Was ... (NBC)

ICE buys warehouses for mass detention network, rattling locals

5 hrs ago - Full article/gift link "The Trump administration has moved to acquire industrial buildings in at least eight states. DHS bought two this month: one in Maryland for $102 million and another in Arizona for $70 million. ... ICE expects to hold between 1 ... (WaPo)

Trump Officials Bypass Congress to Push Billions in Weapons Aid to Israel

5 hrs ago - Full article/gift link "The State Department announced on Friday that it was planning to send Israel more than $6.5 billion of weapons aid that included Apache attack helicopters and combat land vehicles, bypassing a congressional review process. ... ... (NYT)

'Melania': What The Critics Are Saying About Amazon's Controversial Big-Budget Documentary

9 hrs ago - The first notices are rolling in for Amazon MGM Studios’ controversial, big-budget First Lady documentary Melania. Described as “an intimate chronicle that offers a rare glimpse into the life of Melania Trump, exploring her role as First La ... (Deadline)

Attorney General Ken Paxton cannot shut down Texas Latino voting group, judge rules

9 hrs ago - Updated 3:24 PM EST, January 30, 2026 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton failed to offer “any plausible proof” that Jolt Initiative, a nonprofit that aims to increase civic participation among Latinos, is violating the law, a federal judge r ... (AP)

President Trump issues executive order to begin preparations for IndyCar race in Washington

9 hrs ago - Could an IndyCar Series race in Washington actually happen? President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday to go forward with preparations for an Aug. 23 race. The “Freedom 250 Grand Prix” would take place near the National Mall. I ... (Yahoo Sports)

Video game company stock prices dip after Google introduces an AI world-generation tool

9 hrs ago - The stock prices of some major video game companies, including Take-Two Interactive, Roblox, and Unity, had notable declines on Friday, just a day after Google announced its Project Genie tool that lets users prompt AI to generate interactive experie ... (The Verge)

ICE eyeing Ohio next, where it is expected to target Haitian immigrants

10 hrs ago - News ICE eyeing Ohio next, where it is expected to target Haitian immigrants An estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield, Ohio, a community that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance targeted during the 2024 campaign, fals ... (MS-NOW)

US Federal Trade Commission warns law firms about DEI hiring

10 hrs ago - January 30, 2026 12:31 PM EST Updated 4 hours ago Jan 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Friday it had written to 42 law firms warning them about diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring, which it described as potentially unfair ... (Reuters)

Argentina in Advanced Talks to Become Destination for U.S. Deportations

10 hrs ago - The United States and Argentina are in advanced talks to sign an agreement that would allow the U.S. to deport immigrants from other countries to the South American nation, according to two people familiar with the negotiations and U.S. government re ... (NYT)

Senate passes $1.2T government funding deal -- but a brief shutdown is certain

10 hrs ago - 01/30/2026 06:42 PM EST The Senate passed a compromise spending package Friday, clearing a path for Congress to avert a lengthy government shutdown. The 71-29 vote came a day after Senate Democrats and President Donald Trump struck a deal to attach t ... (Politico)

Ghislane Maxwell's citizenship records released in Epstein file drop

11 hrs ago - Jan. 30, 2026, 4:59 p.m. ET Ghislane Maxwell's’ United States citizenship application appeared Friday, Jan. 30 among the latest tranche of files the Department of Justice released on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, a close ass ... (USA Today)

More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in eastern DRC, officials say

11 hrs ago - More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuter ... (The Guardian)

Elon Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known, emails show

12 hrs ago - Fri 30 Jan 2026 16.19 EST Last modified on Fri 30 Jan 2026 17.06 EST Elon Musk had more extensive – and more friendly – communications with the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein than previously publicly known, according to document ... (The Guardian)