President Donald Trump on Monday said he wanted to lower the number of U.S. troops in Germany to 25,000 in response to what he characterized as German delinquency on military spending. The reduction in troop numbers, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, is deeply unpopular among Republican lawmakers and some national security experts. “We’re…
The Senate is unlikely to take up a police reform bill until after the Independence Day recess, Republican leaders said on Monday, raising the prospect that it could be a month or longer before a measure heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. A group of GOP senators, led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), is expected…
Federal watchdogs are asking lawmakers for help after Trump administration legal rulings appeared to sharply limit their ability to monitor more than $1 trillion in coronavirus relief programs — including huge payouts to protect businesses threatened by the pandemic. In a two-page letter to several House and Senate committees last week, but disclosed for the…
The EU’s charges against Amazon will soon be out in the open. Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition and digital chief, is aiming to publish her concerns that Amazon discriminated against external sellers on its platform before the summer break, a person familiar with the matter said. The charge sheet is a next step in the…
Former Sens. Trent Lott and John Breaux are joining the Washington lobbying firm Crossroads Strategies, a week after Lott was abruptly fired by Squire Patton Boggs. Lott, a Mississippi Republican, and Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, spent a decade as two of the top lobbyists at Squire Patton Boggs, representing clients such as Nissan, SpaceX and…
Donald Trump is heading to Tulsa on Saturday for his first campaign rally in months, and not everyone in the city is happy to hear it. The editorial board of the local newspaper, for instance, which says “This is the wrong time” and “the wrong place” for Trump to rally. “We don’t know why he…
It’s another Sunday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up any time: Just visit our group or follow the Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of…
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar. Leading Off ● VA-05: Campbell County Supervisor Bob Good won the Republican nomination on Saturday by defeating freshman…
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said the president did not initially see it as disrespectful to hold his planned comeback rally on Juneteenth, a date which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. "He didn’t see it as disrespectful to be able to do it on Juneteenth," the Republican senator said Sunday on CNN’s…
Criticism of the World Trade Organization by Donald Trump has been "damaging", said the body’s chief, Roberto Azevêdo, conceding that its rules need to be updated. The U.S. president has argued that the WTO is too soft on China. In retaliation, Washington undermined the organization’s highest dispute-resolution forum, the Appellate Body, by blocking the nomination…
As the presidential campaign drew closer to the summer’s nominating convention, the liberal wing of the Democratic Party was in despair. Despite their hopes for an alternative figure to emerge, despite their efforts to force an open convention, the listless favorite looked destined to become the presidential nominee. That man was too cautious and too…
Two Black trans women — Riah Milton in Ohio and Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells in Pennsylvania — were killed earlier this week, amid an increasing outcry from activists to protect Black trans people and as the Trump administration reversed protections for transgender people in the U.S. health care system. According to local authorities, Milton was shot…
President Donald Trump has long had two cherished American institutions standing beside him as he railed against athletes taking a knee during the national anthem: NASCAR and the NFL. This week, they both started to walk away. Bending to the cultural moment, NASCAR and the NFL in recent days reversed course on their approach to…
(SEATTLE) — A U.S. judge on Friday ordered Seattle police to temporarily stop using tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang devices to break up largely peaceful protests, a victory for groups who say authorities have overreacted to recent demonstrations over police brutality and racial injustice. The liberal city with a lengthy history of massive, frequent…
Bad Bunny went silent on May 19. The Puerto Rican artist Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who has collaborated with stars like Cardi B, Drake and J Balvin, had just released two albums, set off a controversy by cross-dressing in a hit music video and graced the cover of Rolling Stone. After all that activity, it…
(ATLANTA) — First-time poll worker Kirubel Behailu thought he’d become more familiar with Georgia’s new voting machines at a quiet election site during Tuesday’s primary. Instead, he found himself scrambling to sanitize equipment, clear jams in a ballot scanner and run back voter cards during a 15-hour marathon at an Atlanta church inundated with frustrated…
Attorney General Bill Barr’s unprecedented effort to let former national security adviser Mike Flynn off scot-free hit yet another speed bump this week. Two judges on a three-judge appeals panel reviewing a request to force the dismissal of the case appeared very skeptical of the rationale for ordering a lower court judge to do so. Flynn’s lawyers,…
Right-wing media is elevating hoax after hoax and misleading report after misleading report in its ongoing effort to make antifa the big deal Donald Trump wants it to be. Antifa may be a literal footnote to an intelligence bulletin on protest-related violence, but if you follow Fox News, Blaze TV, the Daily Caller, you’re hearing constantly what a giant…
So. Much. Action. To say it’s hard to keep up with is … something of an understatement. But, of course, a lot of the current action is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overdue. Holding police departments to account and addressing the systemic racism that leads to law enforcement—and oh so many other—inequities is just the beginning, and here’s hoping this…
(BEIRUT) — In scenes not witnessed for years in government-controlled parts of Syria, dozens of men and women marched through the streets this week, protesting a sharp increase in prices and collapse of the currency, some even calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad and his ruling Baath party. “He who starves his people…