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Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 8h

Donald Trump and JD Vance can find money to launch missiles over the I-5 during a government shutdown, but not a dime for Americans’ health care.

I-5 may be shut down due to concerns over live-fire military event at Camp Pendleton

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office is weighing whether to close parts of Interstate 5 beginning Friday amid concerns over what it says is a White House-directed plan to use live ordnance during a military ann...

www.latimes.com

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Patti Olivier EPSTEIN FILES NEVER FORGET @patti3333.bsky.social · 2d

It has been 20 DAYS since Adelita Grijalva overwhelmingly won Congressional District AZ CD7
Speaker Johnson ENOUGH
WE in Arizona are outraged that her District is not being represented
House Democrats send letter demanding she sworn in by Friday (source aolnews.com)

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▪️H▪️ @hkdevine.bsky.social · 11h

I don't think people who aren't as plugged in as some of us truly understand what could happen if the Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act.

#DefendersOfDemocracy

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 8h

Again, it is a full-blown federal felony crime for anyone in the White House or Executive Office of the President to order tax investigations into anyone.

And it's not just a crime to DO it, it's even a federal crime for an employee not to REPORT such an order to the Treasury Inspector General.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
prev | next
(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.

(b)Reporting requirement
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(c)Exceptions
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any written request made—
(1)to an applicable person by or on behalf of the taxpayer and forwarded by such applicable person to the Internal Revenue Service;
(2)by an applicable person for disclosure of return or return information under section 6103 if such request is made in accordance with the requirements of such section; or
(3)by the Secretary of the Treasury as a consequence of the implementation of a change in tax policy.
(d)Penalty
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(e)Applicable person
For purposes of this section, the term “applicable person” means—
(1)the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2)any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

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Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 9h

Can governors legally call up their own state's national guard to protect polling places on election day?

They need to keep ICE and the Feds far away from people voting.

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Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 11h

BREAKING via WSJ

The Trump administration is planning sweeping changes in criminal division at the IRS.

Full Story: on.wsj.com/3LbVFtK

The Trump administration is preparing sweeping changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would allow the agency to pursue criminal inquiries of left-leaning groups more easily, according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior IRS official involved in the effort has drawn up a list of potential targets that includes major Democratic donors, some of the people said.
The undertaking aims to install allies of President Trump at the IRS criminal-investigative division, or IRS-CI, to exert firmer control over the unit and weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations, officials said. The proposed changes could open the door to politically motivated probes and are being driven by Gary Shapley, an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

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John Pavlovitz @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social · 10h

All decent, patriotic Americans are ANTIFAscist.

The only people defending fascism are MAGAs.

johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/were-all-a...

We're all ANTIFA, Donald.

Hey Donald,

johnpavlovitz.substack.com

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Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 12h

Apropos of nothing, once the President of the United States confirms covert CIA operations in a country… say, Venezuela, those operations are no longer covert.

And it puts CIA officers at significantly more risk.

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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 8h

Shit's getting bad, man. Real bad.

Exclusive | Trump Team Plans IRS Overhaul to Enable Pursuit of Left-Leaning Groups

The effort would install a Trump ally at the IRS’s criminal unit who has drawn up a list of investigative targets.

www.wsj.com

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14h

I have a lot of respect for Zolan Kanno-Youngs and @haleaziz.bsky.social and have talked to both many times in the past. That the Times lets them be so blunt about what is happening with the U.S. refugee admissions program is a good sign of how much the Trump admin is not even trying to deny it.

Zolan Kanno-YoungsHamed Aleaziz
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Hamed Aleaziz
Reporting from Washington

Oct. 15, 2025
Updated 3:44 p.m. ET

The Trump administration is considering a radical overhaul of the U.S. refugee system that would slash the program to its bare bones while giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and Europeans who oppose migration, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.

The proposals, some of which already have gone into effect, would transform a decades-old program aimed at helping the world’s most desperate people into one that conforms to Mr. Trump’s vision of immigration — which is to help mostly white people who say they are being persecuted while keeping the vast majority of other people out.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14h

The Trump admin wants to make the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program — which has saved people from wars and persecution for generations — into a program to bring more Europeans into the United States who "oppos[e] mass migration."

The proposed changes would put new emphasis on whether applicants would be able to assimilate into the United States, directing them to take classes on “American history and values” and “respect for cultural norms.”

The proposals also advise Mr. Trump to prioritize Europeans who have been “targeted for peaceful expression of views online such as opposition to mass migration or support for ‘populist’ political parties.”

That appeared to be a reference to the European far-right political party Alternative for Germany, whose leaders have trivialized the Holocaust, revived Nazi slogans and denigrated foreigners. Vice President JD Vance has criticized Germany for trying to suppress the views of the group, which is known as the AfD.

A senior official said the Trump administration was monitoring the situation in Europe to determine whether anyone would be eligible for refugee status. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan had not been finalized.

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SayItToMyFace🚫👑 @sayittomyface.bsky.social · 9h

It is not enough that we have to deal with RFK Jr in charge of US healthcare, now they stop payments for doctors. See you on the 18th!

Medicare payments to doctors paused as government shutdown drags on

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing Medicare payments to doctors, as negotiations tied to the government shutdown drag on.

www.statnews.com

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14h

Story from January. It aligns with similar stories published recently showing how Miller is the most powerful person in the entire White House, and even has a larger role in some US military operations than the Secretary of Defense. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/u...

Stephen Miller, Channeling Trump, Has Built More Power Than Ever

www.nytimes.com

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LESams @lsam22.bsky.social · 7h

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Marie 🇨🇦 @pawbaby2.bsky.social · 9h

Listen to this nurse: when families can’t afford food or rent, doubling their health premiums will push them off insurance. Communities will suffer. People will die.

And what did Republicans do?
They shut down the government and took a vacation.

#TrumpsShutdownDragsOn
#USDemocracy
#Pinks

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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 8h

ICE has arrested a mother of a three-year-old for playing her clarinet outside an ICE facility in Portland, as reported by her husband.

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h

Kaine: "We should not be allowing the president to create a secret enemies list and make the unilateral decision about whether to kill people without sharing that information at least with the Armed Service and Intel committees. So this is very troubling."

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💫⭐️N. Jules⭐️💫 @northjules.bsky.social · 13h

JUST IN:
Pentagon confiscates badges of major media outlets. Except OAN.

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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 8h

LA Times now confirming our earlier reporting: www.latimes.com/california/s...

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Colleen Mondor @chasingray.bsky.social · 12h

This is the Western Alaska animal nonprofit working to rescue the pets in Kipnuk.

The residents of Kipnuk are under a mandatory evac order but can not bring their pets with them. Supporting this group will help with charter aircraft, etc.

www.bethelfriendsofcanines.com

Bethel Friends of Canines

Bethel Friends of Canines is a non-profit dog rescue based in the rural Alaskan village of Bethel. Not only do we rescue dogs in Bethel, but we also rescue dogs all over the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta...

www.bethelfriendsofcanines.com

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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 17h

Less than 24 hours after federal agents intentionally plowed into an SUV and tear-gassed a crowd in a residential neighborhood on the Southeast Side, community organizers presented a clear message.

Southeast Side organizers after feds ram SUV and tear-gas crowd: 'Leave our city, you are not welcome here'

Federal agents rammed an SUV, then used pepper balls, smoke grenades and deployed several rounds of tear gas in Tuesday's incident.

trib.al

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Gary Alexander @garyalexander.bsky.social · 14h

I am going to solve the "have young Republicans always been like this" discourse in one sentence: While it has long been possible to correctly identify their racism, either because you were politically educated or racially minoritized, they are now racist in a way that even white liberals can tell.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 7h

Gov. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social sounds the alarm about the Republican attack on the voting rights act

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 7h

The entire Republican Party strategy for achieving what are comprehensively & wildly unpopular policy objectives now consists entirely of bypassing Article I of the Constitution through wildly illegal abuses of both Article II and Article III.

Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 11h

Whatever you think about CFPB, it was created by Congress (as part of the Dodd-Frank Act) and can only be abolished by Congress, not by the President acting as a dictator.

Reuters @reuters.com · 17h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 7h

SF Chronicle joins the LA Times in confirming MeidasTouch’s reporting

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