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'Unusual and possibly unprecedented': Judge calls out Chicago feds as Midway Blitz cases fall apart

(Chicago Sun Times) These “are not ordinary times at the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse” in Chicago’s Loop. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Fuentes made that point Thursday, as he closed the book on the last of five now-dismissed prosecutions tied to September protests outside a federal immigration holding facility in the western suburbs. Fuentes used a nine-page opinion not only to dismiss, with prejudice, a misdemeanor charge against Dana Briggs, but to highlight how each of those five cases, all tied to Operation Midway Blitz, “were highly unusual in this district for several reasons.”

BumRushDaShow

U.S. pushing Ukraine to sign peace deal by Thanksgiving or lose support

(Washington Post) The White House is pressuring Ukraine to sign on to its new peace proposal by Thanksgiving or lose U.S. support to the country, according to two officials familiar with the talks, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic discussions. U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday with a version of the 28-point plan President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff recently drafted with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

BumRushDaShow

Gun Violence Victim Gabby Giffords Denounces Trump Threatening to Execute Her Husband: 'Dangerous'

(Mediaite) Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot in the head in 2011, decried President Donald Trump’s threat to execute her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), on Thursday. Giffords condemned Trump’s violent rhetoric and called it “dangerous.” “My husband @CaptMarkKelly is a 25-year Navy combat pilot veteran. He served our country with strength, courage, and integrity, dedicating his career to protecting us and upholding our constitution,” wrote Giffords on X.

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Top House Dem Says Trump Should 'Keep His Reckless Mouth Shut': He's Gonna Get 'Someone Killed'

12h House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), alongside the Democratic whip and conference chair, put out a statement Thursday blasting President Donald Trump's threat to execute six Congressional Democrats. Trump posted on social media a screed aimed at Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA). Trump's posts accused the lawmakers of "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punis ...

TexasTowelie

Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell announces bid for governor on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

LOS ANGELES — Rep. Eric Swalwell, a longtime nemesis of President Donald Trump, announced Thursday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that he will run for governor in 2026, promising to be a “protector and fighter” for California. Swalwell told me backstage before his announcement that the state’s next governor has two missions: “One, keep Trump out of our homes, streets and lives.” The second, he said, is to “write the story of a new California on lower prices, on business growth and modernizing the st ...

muriel_volestrangler

New US rules say countries with diversity policies are infringing human rights

The State Department is issuing the new rules to all US embassies and consulates involved in compiling its annual report on global human rights abuses. The new instructions also deem countries that subsidise abortion or facilitate mass migration as infringing on human rights. ... "Attempting to label DEI as a human rights violation sets a new low in the Trump administration's weaponization of international human rights," she said. She added that the new instructions excluded the righ ...

riversedge

Ukraine banned from Nato, Russia readmitted to the G8 and territory ceded: what's in Trump's draft plan

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he expects to discuss the plan – which was reportedly drafted by Russian and US officials – with Trump Guardian staff and agencies Thu 20 Nov 2025 22.11 EST Donald Trump’s latest plan for ending the war in Ukraine would see territory ceded to Russia, Russia readmitted to the G8 and Ukraine banned from joining Nato, according to drafts of the proposal seen by Axios, AFP and the Associated Press. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expected to discuss ...

BumRushDaShow

Liz Cheney Takes A Swipe At Trump And MAGA During Father's Funeral

Nov 20, 2025, 04:05 PM EST In what appeared to be an indirect swipe at MAGA politicians within the Republican Party, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) stressed at her father’s funeral Thursday that while he himself was a member of the GOP, he would never prioritize the party over country. The ex-lawmaker and eldest daughter of the late Dick Cheney delivered a powerful eulogy before a packed audience at Washington National Cathedral, which included, among other influential figures, two former pre ...

Zorro

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols

The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and that more than 400,000 U.S. troops died fighting against in World War II, as a hate symbol, according to a new policy that takes effect next month. Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi-era insignia as “potentially divisive” under its new guidelines. The new policy, set to take effect Dec. 15, similarly downgrades the definition ...

BumRushDaShow

Democrats Trump Called to Execute Hit Back, Urge 'Every American to Condemn' His 'Calls for Our Murder'

Nov 20th, 2025, 1:40 pm The congressional Democrats that President Donald Trump called seditious traitors hit back on Thursday and urged “every American” to “unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence.” The joint statement put out by Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Representatives Jason Crow (D-CO), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) followed a shocking series of posts from Trump on social medi ...

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Top FDA drug regulator raises alarms about expediting approvals

13 min ago - WP Exclusive Top FDA drug regulator raises alarms about expediting approvals Richard Pazdur, who assumed his new role this month, has warned that new Trump administration initiatives could be illegal and pose a risk to public health. November 21, 202 ... (Washington Post)

The White House has asked for the resignation of a top aide to FDA chief

19 min ago - 11/21/2025 01:18 PM EST Updated: 11/21/2025 02:25 PM EST The White House on Thursday emailed HHS leadership asking for the resignation of a top aide to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary whom he had sought to promote, according to two administration offic ... (Politico)

4 guards sentenced in brutal beating death of an incarcerated Black man at New York prison

25 min ago - Updated 2:58 PM CST, November 21, 2025 UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — Four prison guards involved in the death of an incarcerated Black man whose brutal beating at an upstate New York prison last year was captured on body-cam videos were each sentenced Frid ... (AP)

Transportation Department urges "dressing with respect" on flights. Will it improve air travel?

56 min ago - November 21, 2025 / 1:15 PM EST The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday unveiled a campaign aimed at bringing more civility to air travel, urging Americans to dress "with respect" and remember simple courtesies like saying "please" and "th ... (CBS News)

Mike Johnson plots revenge for Epstein files humiliation with 'higher threshold' rules change in Congress : report

1 hr ago - Friday 21 November 2025 13:01 EST Speaker Mike Johnson is reportedly plotting a change in the rules for the House of Representatives after Democrats — joined by just a few rogue Republicans — forced his hand on a vote to release the governm ... (The Independent)

Trump and Mamdani take questions from reporters after 'great meeting' at White House

1 hr ago - Summary Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani are taking questions from reporters inside the Oval Office after a "great meeting" - watch live above The US president congratulates the New York mayor-elect on his win earlier this month, as the pair s ... (BBC)

Supreme Court Weighs Decision on Birthright Citizenship: What To Know

2 hrs ago - Nov 21, 2025 at 02:27 PM EST The U.S. Supreme Court is meeting in private on Friday to consider taking on President Donald Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to noncitizen parents, according to the ... (Newsweek)

Vindman: Republicans lack 'bravery' to demand release of Trump-Mohammed bin Salman call transcript

2 hrs ago - 11/21/25 1:31 PM ET Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) on Friday said a bipartisan push would be required to force President Trump to release a transcript of a 2019 call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the wake of the murder of The Washington ... (The Hill)

Drug boats from Venezuela are mainly moving cocaine to Europe -- not fentanyl to the U.S., experts say

3 hrs ago - Nov. 21, 2025, 5:00 AM EST President Donald Trump and his Pentagon chief say U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats in waters off Latin America are saving lives by preventing narcotics from reaching America’s shores. But drug cartels oper ... (NBC News)

US Consumer Sentiment Falls to Near Lowest on Record

4 hrs ago - November 21, 2025 at 10:00 AM EST Updated on November 21, 2025 at 10:22 AM EST US consumer sentiment fell in November to one of the lowest levels on record as Americans' views of their personal finances soured. The final November sentiment index drop ... (Bloomberg)

Nations and environmental groups slam proposals at UN climate talks, calling them too weak

4 hrs ago - By SETH BORENSTEIN, MELINA WALLING and ANTON L. DELGADO Updated 12:24 PM EST, November 21, 2025 BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Several nations and environmental groups on Friday slammed proposals in the final stages of this year’s U.N. climate talks ... (Associated Press)

Zelenskiy vows not to betray Ukraine after US presents plan demanding concessions

5 hrs ago - Zelenskiy vows not to betray Ukraine after US presents plan demanding concessions By Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash November 21, 2025 10:55 AM EST Updated 1 hour ago Summary * Two sources say US gives Kyiv one-week deadline to accept framework * Was ... (Reuters)

Fed won't get key inflation data before next rate decision as BLS cancels October CPI release

6 hrs ago - Published Fri, Nov 21 2025 11:25 AM EST Updated 3 Hours Ago The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it was canceling the release of the October consumer price index, leaving the Federal Reserve without a key piece of inflation data to ponder when it next ... (CNBC)

US factory activity slows in November, inventory piling up amid softening demand

6 hrs ago - U.S. factory activity slowed to a four-month low in November as higher prices because of tariffs on imports restrained demand, leading to a piling up of unsold goods that could hinder growth in the overall economy. S&P Global said on Friday its f ... (Reuters)

Trump has assembled least diverse US government this century, study shows

6 hrs ago - Fri 21 Nov 2025 08.00 EST Last modified on Fri 21 Nov 2025 08.02 EST Donald Trump has assembled the least diverse US government of the 21st century, filling the corridors of power with white men at the expense of women and people of colour, research ... (The Guardian)

This weekend, artists are speaking out across the country

8 hrs ago - November 21, 2025 6:00 AM ET On Friday and Saturday, artists across the country are participating in Fall of Freedom — an undertaking which they say represents creative resistance to authoritarianism. More than 600 events of all sizes have been ... (NPR)

US Transportation Department endorses a female crash test dummy that more closely resembles women

8 hrs ago - A THOR-5F female crash test dummy is shown in a driver's seat at Humanetics in Farmington Hills, Mich., June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) Updated 10:57 PM EST, November 20, 2025 The U.S. government on Thursday released a new crash test dumm ... (AP)

'He Is Out of Control': MAGA Demands Answers After Trump Ambassador Mike Huckabee Covertly Meets With Spy

9 hrs ago - Nov 20th, 2025, 9:39 pm Prominent supporters of President Donald Trump demanded answers on Thursday after it was revealed that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had held a secret meeting in Jerusalem with Jonathan Pollard, a convicted spy who ... (MEDIAite)

Hundreds of English-language websites link to pro-Kremlin propaganda

9 hrs ago - Hundreds of English-language websites – from mainstream news outlets to fringe blogs – are linking to articles from a pro-Kremlin network flooding the internet with disinformation, according to a study released by a London-based thinktank. ... (The Guardian)

U.S. pushing Ukraine to sign peace deal by Thanksgiving or lose support

9 hrs ago - November 21, 2025 at 7:52 a.m. EST KYIV -- The White House is pressuring Ukraine to sign on to its new peace proposal by Thanksgiving or lose U.S. support to the country, according to two officials familiar with the talks, speaking on the condition o ... (Washington Post)