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

New Years Day News Cartoons

Dulcinea

Capitol riot 'does not happen' without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress

(AP) The Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without Donald Trump, former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers earlier this month in characterizing the Republican president as the “most culpable and most responsible person” in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee released on Wednesday a transcript and video of a closed-door interview Smith gave about two investigations of Trump.

mahatmakanejeeves

Zohran Mamdani Is Sworn In as Mayor of New York City

(NY Times) Zohran Mamdani, the left-leaning populist who deployed a mix of charm, social media savvy and an unyielding focus on affordability to catapult him to political stardom, was officially sworn in as mayor of New York City early Thursday, just after the New Year’s Eve ball dropped in Times Square. .. The ceremony, held underground at an abandoned showpiece of a subway station by City Hall, caps Mr. Mamdani’s yearlong rise from obscure state lawmaker to international figure, embodying the hopes of New Yorkers and Americans across the country who were enthralled by his journey to becoming the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor.

edhopper

Here's everything Elon Musk promised in 2025 - and failed to deliver

(Mashable) By now, everyone knows that Elon Musk is very much an optimist when it comes to making predictions. That's the nice way to put it. To be blunt, Musk is a "bullshit artist." He makes promises he can't keep. With 2025 nearly over, Mashable decided to revisit his predictions related to this year. Time has run out. What did Musk promise for this year that didn't come to fruition?

riversedge

Melania Trump Declared Least Popular First Lady Again: What's Behind Her Dwindling Approval?

(OK) By multiple measures, Melania Trump’s public standing continues to plummet. According to YouGov polling, her popularity stands at just 36 percent, with more Americans voicing their dislike for her than showing support — 43 percent disapproved while only 18 percent described their views as neutral. This figure reflects a significant decline compared to recent first ladies and even from Trump’s own standing when she departed the White House in 2021.

demmiblue

House Judiciary Committee releases Jack Smith deposition video and transcript

Jack Smith deposition transcript PDF

BumRushDaShow

Trump Says Construction of His 'Triumphal Arch' Will Begin 'Sometime in the Next Two Months'

Dec 31st, 2025, 2:01 pm President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he expects construction of the “Triumphal Arch” he wants to build in Washington, D.C. to begin “sometime in the next two months.” The arch is one of several building projects Trump has pushed for as the country enters into its 250th year, proposed to be constructed at the culmination of a bridge that leads from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. The design of models Trump has shown reporters echoes that of t ...

demmiblue

NASA's Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts

Holdings from the library at the Goddard Space Flight Center, which includes unique documents from the early 20th century to the Soviet space race, will be warehoused or thrown out. The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else. Jacob Richmond, a NASA spokesman, said the agency would review the library holdings over the next 60 days ...

muriel_volestrangler

Finnish police seize ship suspected of sabotaging undersea cable

Finnish police have detained a vessel suspected of damaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki to Estonia across the Gulf of Finland. The cargo vessel, the Fitburg, was sailing from St Petersburg to the port of Haifa in Israel, under the flag of St Vincent and Grenadines. All 14 crew members were arrested after the cable owned by Finnish telecoms operator Elisa was damaged. The operator said in a statement that the damage had "not affected the functionality of Elisa's servic ...

BumRushDaShow

Ohio Republicans introduce bill to rename part of I-70 after President Trump

Posted 12:59 PM, Dec 31, 2025 and last updated 1:07 PM, Dec 31, 2025 A new bill, if approved in the Ohio General Assembly, seeks to rename a two-mile stretch of I-70 in Columbus, Ohio, in honor of Donald Trump. The bill, co-sponsored by State Reps D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Jeff LaRe (R–Violet Township), would rename the stretch of I-70 from mile marker 98 to mile marker 100 in Ohio as "President Donald Trump Freedom Highway." If approved, the bill would direct the Ohio Departmen ...

Expand Featured Stories

Issue Forums

Culture Forums

Alliance Forums

Region Forums

Latest Breaking News

US federal employees file complaint against ban on gender-affirming care

13 min ago - Thu 1 Jan 2026 10.23 EST Last modified on Thu 1 Jan 2026 14.22 EST The Trump administration is facing a legal complaint from a group of government employees affected by a new policy going into effect Thursday that eliminates coverage for gender-affir ... (The Guardian/AP)

Two killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in Iran

31 min ago - Many protesters have called for ending the rule of the country's supreme leader. Some have also called for a return to the monarchy. Thursday marks the fifth day of protests in cities across the country, sparked by a currency collapse. Videos verifie ... (BBC)

Trump tells WSJ he is taking more aspirin than doctors recommend

1 hr ago - January 1, 2026 9:39 AM EST Updated 4 hours ago WASHINGTON, Jan 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he is taking a larger daily dose of aspirin than his doctors recommend. "They say aspirin ... (Reuters)

At least 6 reported killed during widening protests in Iran sparked by ailing economy

1 hr ago - By JON GAMBRELL Updated 11:56 AM CST, January 1, 2026 Leer en español DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy spread Thursday into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, with ... (AP)

Trump delays increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year

2 hrs ago - Updated 9:07 AM EST, January 1, 2026 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks. Tr ... (AP)

U.S. has sharply cut proposed pasta tariffs after a review, Italy says

3 hrs ago - Jan. 1, 2026, 10:17 AM EST The United States has sharply lowered proposed duties on several Italian pasta makers following a reassessment of their activities, Italy’s foreign ministry said Thursday. In October, the United States said that 13 Ita ... (NBC News/Reuters)

Russia says Ukrainian drone strike kills 24 in occupied Ukraine as tensions grow amid peace talks

3 hrs ago - By ILLIA NOVIKOV Updated 7:56 AM CST, January 1, 2026 Leer en español KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and wounded at least 50 more as they celebrated the New Year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine ... (AP)

'Something's Wrong There': Nancy Pelosi Sounds Alarm On Trump's 'Mental Incapacity'

4 hrs ago - Jan 1, 2026, 01:40 AM EST | Updated 2 hours ago Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she didn’t watch President Donald Trump’s wild prime-time speech last month for one simple reason. “I’ve had enough of him,” she told ABC ... (Huff Post)

Trump is reconstituting the Fine Arts panel set to review his ballroom

5 hrs ago - Trump is reconstituting the Fine Arts panel set to review his ballroom The White House is seeking members likely to clear the way for President Donald Trump's controversial ballroom and other projects. January 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. ESTToday at 5:00 a. ... (Washington Post)

White House announces Washington Monument illumination to kick off America's 250th celebration

5 hrs ago - December 31, 2025, 10:46 PM President Donald Trump's plans for wide-scale celebrations to commemorate the nation's 250th birthday begin on New Year's Eve with illumination of the Washington Monument on the National Mall, the White House announced Wed ... (ABC News)

As Signs of Aging Emerge, Trump Responds With Defiance

6 hrs ago - WASHINGTON—President Trump is taking more aspirin than his doctors recommend. He briefly tried wearing compression socks for his swelling ankles, but stopped because he didn’t like them. And he regrets undergoing advanced imaging because it ... (WSJ)

Federal ruling blocks Hawaii's climate change tourist tax on cruise ships

6 hrs ago - Updated 9:26 PM EST, December 31, 2025 HONOLULU (AP) -- A federal appeals court ruling on New Year's Eve blocked Hawaii from enforcing a climate change tourist tax on cruise ships passengers, a levy that was set to go into effect at the start of 2026 ... (AP)

A Happy MAGA New Year! Trump and allies party down at Mar-a-Lago as polls plummet

7 hrs ago - Wednesday 31 December 2025 21:35 EST President Donald Trump will celebrate the new year alongside allies and MAGA celebrities at a fancy New Year’s Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago while the first year of his presidency comes to a close – and with 20 ... (The Independent)

USDA details $12 billion farm aid package favoring rice, cotton; soy farmers warn of strain

8 hrs ago - December 31, 2025 6:54 PM EST Updated 11 hours ago CHICAGO, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture released details on Wednesday about how much row crop farmers will receive next year from a $12 billion aid program, but soybean growers ... (Reuters)

Judge voids decision to end legal status of 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua

9 hrs ago - December 31, 2025 / 6:43 PM EST / CBS News A federal judge in California on Wednesday voided the Trump administration's move to terminate the Temporary Protected Status of roughly 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, calling it a "pr ... (CBS News)

Court allows Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding cuts in multiple states

10 hrs ago - 12/31/25 5:55 PM ET A panel of federal judges on Tuesday lifted a ruling blocking Medicaid funding cuts for Planned Parenthood in multiple states. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a hold on an order from District Judge Indira Talwani that ... (The Hill)

Hackers replaced Silicon Valley crosswalks messages with Elon Musk's voice after exposing 'weak password,' report says

10 hrs ago - Wednesday 31 December 2025 17:31 EST More details have emerged about how anonymous hackers in Silicon Valley were able to reprogram crosswalk signals in various locations to say prank messages in the voices of tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuc ... (The Independent)

Zohran Mamdani Is Sworn In as Mayor of New York City

11 hrs ago - Zohran Mamdani Is Sworn In as Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani was officially sworn in as mayor of New York City at the old City Hall subway station early Thursday. Amir Hamja for The New York Times Zohran Mamdani officially took office as mayor ... (New York Times)

Several' people killed after explosion in Swiss ski resort bar, police say

13 hrs ago - snip-Several" people have been killed after an explosion and fire in a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, police say The explosion happened at around 01:30 (00:30 GMT) in a bar called Le Constellation. The cause of the explosion is not kno ... (BBC)

'She has no expertise': the US medical community girds for Tracy Beth Heg's tenure at the FDA

15 hrs ago - Wed 31 Dec 2025 09.00 EST Last modified on Wed 31 Dec 2025 13.09 EST As the US continues making unprecedented changes to its vaccination recommendations, one figure appears unexpectedly: Tracy Beth Høeg, a Danish American sports physician and ... (The Guardian)