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The 69th Legislative Assembly has come to an end! Please help us improve our newsletter with your feedback! If you would like to have something added to the newsletter, email us at laura.dronen@demnpl.com. Spread the word about our newsletter by sharing our sign-up link today: https://demnpl.com/join-our-newsletter/.
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Looking for a way to help those affected by the devastating flooding in Texas? The Texas Democratic Party has assembled a list of organizations and individuals who are working on the ground in Kerrville, Hunt, Center Point and the surrounding areas impacted by flooding to deliver badly-needed resources to flood victims. Please consider donating to support the efforts of these groups!
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District 12 Monthly Meeting
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Tues, Jul 15, 5:30pm-6:30pm CDT
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Shady's in Gladstone Inn & Suites
111 2nd St NE, Jamestown
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Come learn about our organizing goals and plans!
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District 22 Summer Supper Club/ Monthly Meeting
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Tues, Jul 15, 6:00pm-7:30pm CDT
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Davenport Supper Club & Lounge
45 1st Ave, Davenport
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Join us in Davenport to chat, commiserate, and come up with some dang good ideas!
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Drinks and Discussion with Dems
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Wed, Jul 16, 5:00pm-6:30pm CDT
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El Zagal Shrine Fargo
1429 3rd Street North, Fargo
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Our informal get-together to talk about current events, brainstorm on activities we can do together as a two district partnership, and just enjoy each others’ company in general.
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How to Democrat in the Age of Trump Book Study – hosted by District 44 & 45 Dems
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Wed, Jul 16, 7:00pm-8:00pm CDT
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The District 44 & 45 Dems are hosting a book study and all are welcome to join! We’ll be reading How to Democrat in the Age of Trump by Mike Lux. It’s a short but impactful book to guide where we go from here.
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GOOD TROUBLE LIVES ON: Thursday, July 17
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Bismarck - 4 – 6:30pm CDT
State Capitol Building
600 East Boulevard Avenue
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Bottineau - 7 – 8pm CDT
Bottineau
314 5th St W
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Devils Lake - 4 – 6pm CDT
Lake Region Heritage Center
502 4th St NE
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Dickinson - 5:30 – 7pm MDT
3rd Ave West/Hwy 22
(Prairie Hills Mall east entrance)
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Grand Forks - 6 – 8pm CDT
Town Square Grand Forks
1 S 3rd St
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Minot - 6 – 8pm CDT
Minot City Hall
10 3rd Ave SW
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Valley City - noon – 1 CDT
Main St. and Central Ave.
Valley City
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Community Movie Night, featuring “Join or Die”
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Thur, Jul 17, 7:00pm-8:00pm CDT
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Across the country, everyone is asking, “What happened to America?” Have we lost touch with our neighbors and shared destiny? Is our nation unraveling? If so, what is the culprit? And most urgently, what can we do to come together?
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This is a film about why you should join a club, and why the fate of America may depend on it.
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“Join or Die” is a documentary based on the best-selling book “Bowling Alone” by Robert Putman about America’s civic decline, and the link between ordinary community connections and the fate of American democracy.
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This event is free to attend, with a $10 suggested donation. Popcorn will be provided.
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District 21 Summer Connection Series - July Coffee and Connect
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Sat, Jul 19, 9:00am-10:30am CDT
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Sweet Dreams Confections
4101 13th Ave S 1000, Fargo
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Join us at Sweet Confections for D21's July Summer Connection!
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Enjoy coffee and conversation with our local representatives! We will be there from 9:00-10:30am
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Century Club Appreciation Event 4e Winery 2025
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Sun, Jul 20, 3:00pm-5:00pm CDT
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4e Winery
3766 156th Ave SE, Mapleton
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Join us for a lovely afternoon at 4e Winery!
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District 25 Summer Picnic
Bagg Bonanza Farm
8025 169th Ave SE, Mooreton
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Join us for our Summer Picnic with special guests Joel Heitkamp and Rep. Alisa Mitskog along with a pie auction and taco bar. Everyone Welcome!
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RSVP appreciated but not required, call 701-899-1463
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People's Townhall with Trygve Hammer - Minot
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Thu, Jul 31, 7:00pm-8:30pm CDT
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Carnegie Center
105 2nd Ave SE, Minot, ND 58701
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Real change starts with real conversations. Trygve Hammer, 2024 Democratic-NPL Congressional Candidate, is a retired Marine Corps officer and a veteran of the Global War on Terror. In his civilian life, he's taught 7-12 grade science in a rural school, worked as a roughneck on oil rigs in the Bakken, as a freight rail conductor, and as a counselor for Job Corps in Minot, aiming to give young people a hand up in starting their lives. On Thursday, July 31, 7 pm at Carnegie Center in Minot, he'll answer your questions about the issues our nation faces today.
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People’s Town Halls are happening in all 50 states and 7 territories! They are your chance to connect with neighbors, community leaders, and organizers to discuss the issues that matter most. These events are open, inclusive, and built to amplify your voice! Check out more here: https://democrats.org/peoples-town-halls/
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Cass County Dem-NPL Softball Tournament
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Sat, Aug 16, 9:00am-5:00pm CDT
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Mickelson Field Area
901 Oak St N
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Cass County Dem-NPL's 2nd Summerfest Softball Tournament will take place on August 16th 2025! Let’s see which Democratic District has the best softball team! Please join us on Saturday, August 16th at Mickelson Fields in Fargo to find out!
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This multi-round tournament will likely take place from 9am to 5pm, with exact times and schedules to follow, depending on the number of enrolled teams. If there is enough interest we can extend the tournament to two days to cover the weekend. The suggested donation to participate is $30 per player. All donations are appreciated and go towards electing Democrats in upcoming competitive elections.
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We’ll also be holding a free-will donation cook-out with burgers and ice cream during lunch time (1130am-130pm) (“Free will” means pay what you can.)
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In addition to food and games, there will be a bouncy house for kids and there is a playground on site. We intend to set some time aside for speakers to announce their candidacies for 2026 and share news, or perspective on current events, so there will be plenty of reasons to show up even if you are not into softball!
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You can sign up as a team or as an individual and we will place you on a team!
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Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
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ND after-school providers, school districts in ‘limbo’ due to frozen federal grants
About $6.5 million that has been withheld for North Dakota was for 21st Century Community Learning, which supports programs held before and after school.
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“We are all in limbo,” said Robin Nelson, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Red River Valley.
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About 109 after-school programs that serve nearly 7,000 North Dakota students and employ more than 565 staff could be affected if the funding isn’t restored soon, said Nelson, also a member of the North Dakota Afterschool Network leadership team.
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“Everybody is kind of on pins and needles just waiting for what happens next, and we’re kind of at the mercy of what is determined by our federal administration,” she said.
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Finley-DeVille: Big Beautiful Bill will hurt tribal communities
This bill is a betrayal of our values. It gives away trillions in tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy while gutting the basic lifelines that keep our elders, caregivers and working families afloat -- especially in tribal and rural communities.
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This law will have major consequences for our rural communities by making massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Independent projections, including from the Congressional Budget Office and nonpartisan health policy experts, estimate that 7.8 million people could lose Medicaid under this law’s eligibility restrictions and punitive work requirements. As a result, up to 10.9 million Americans could become uninsured by 2034, increasing avoidable deaths due to delayed or inaccessible care. Research shows that for every 830 people who lose coverage, one preventable death occurs, translating into more than 51,000 preventable deaths annually.
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North Dakota Schools Facing Budget Issues with Loss of Federal Funds
Nick Archuleta, President of North Dakota United, is on Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss the challenges facing North Dakota schools as federal funds are cut.
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Health care officials say 'big, beautiful bill' threatens rural hospitals in Minnesota, North Dakota
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Warnings from national health organizations are now becoming a reality.
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With the passing of the Trump administration's "big, beautiful bill," rural hospitals could stand to lose 20% of their Medicaid funding.
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The latest report from the Minnesota Department of Human Services projects federal funding cuts in the recently signed bill will cost the state $500 million a year and put costs back onto counties, hospitals and Medicaid enrollees.
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Some Impacts to Local Farmers in New Federal Budget
Matt Perdue is on Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss some of the farm related components of President Trumps newly sighed budget.
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North Dakota tribes want US Supreme Court to hear voting rights case
“That decision is plainly wrong, and it will have a huge impact on Native voters,” Lenny Powell, a Native American Rights Fund attorney representing the plaintiffs, said in a Tuesday statement.
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The ruling came in a case involving the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal members, who took North Dakota to court over a 2021 redistricting map the tribes say illegally diluted the power of Native voters.
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Letter: Trump administration is withholding Congressionally-approved education funds
Have you heard about the $7 billion in congressionally approved K–12 funding that the Trump administration’s Department of Education is withholding? You might have missed it—after all, headlines have been dominated by sweeping bills, devastating floods in Texas, and international emergencies. But this is no minor story. This single act threatens the foundation of public education in North Dakota and nationwide.
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North Dakota’s Feather Alert to roll out in August
“My commitment is to keep working alongside families, tribal nations, law enforcement and community partners to ensure we not only respond effectively when someone goes missing but also build safer communities where this crisis no longer exists,” Davis said.
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What President Trump's Budget Means for Rural Hospitals
Brad Gibbens, Board member and chair of the North Dakota Rural Health Association's policy committee, is on Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss the potential ramifications to rural healthcare facing cuts in the new federal budget.
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Big, Ugly Bill
The first thing this law does is change America’s deficit in an evil way. They voted to add $20+ trillion to the national debt. A number so big that our grandkids won’t even be able to pay it off. All that from a party that claims to be fiscally conservative. A term they themselves admit they no longer can use!
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They grew the debt in the easiest of ways and gave the richest among us a huge tax break. The percent they pay is no longer close to what the middle and lower classes pay. All because the rich want to be richer. In fairness, Harold Hamm is barely squeaking by, he needs a tax break!
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Letter: I wouldn't call that a 'win'
I wouldn’t call that a win. This bill is touted as a tax-relief measure, but kicking our most vulnerable citizens off their insurance doesn’t sound like relief to me, and endangering the livelihoods of the people who care for them will create more uncertainty for families. Everyday North Dakotans care about their family and their neighbors, but it seems our Congressional delegation was more concerned about falling in line with their party and filling the pockets of their wealthy donors with unnecessary tax cuts.
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North Dakota law to make hearings for domestic violence, sexual assault protection orders private
It tells victims that seeking a protection order is a protected process, said Assistant Senate Minority Leader Josh Boschee, R-Fargo.
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“We just wanted to give people those assurances,” he said.
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Boschee sponsored Senate Bill 2326, which also called for North Dakota courts to make private hearings for sexual assault and domestic violence protection orders. The Senate unanimously passed that bill, but the House killed the bill 94-0 after finding out that language was put into House Bill 1489.
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Federal Funding Pulled from After School Programs
Robin Nelson, Boys and Girls Club, joins Afternoons Live with Tyler Axness to discuss how these cuts will effect after school programs in our state.
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Millions in federal money frozen for after-school programs in North Dakota
If the funding doesn’t arrive for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program alone, nearly 7,000 students would be without access to after-school care, over 100 sites could be forced to shut down and 565 people could lose their jobs, according to the release.
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Letter: Rep. Fedorchak lacks intelligence and integrity
In her fake barnstorming across North Dakota to sell the "big, beautiful bill" consisting of video clips she posted of sycophant supporters, she completely ignored, as did they, all the cuts that will cost North Dakota tends of millions and will cause the most vulnerable folks to lose Medicaid and food assistance just to fund tax cuts for the uber wealthy like President Trump and Secretary of Interior Burgum.
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Hogue and Ista: Legislature crafting bicameral, bipartisan response to veto error
That is why we are grateful for the exceptional work our Legislative Council has done to help us navigate these largely uncharted waters. We find their rebuttal to the attorney general’s opinion to be thorough and persuasive, including the legitimate questions they raise about how it leaves unaddressed recent state Supreme Court precedent interpreting governors' veto power and the concerning risk of construing crossed out legislative text merely to be a legally insignificant visual aid.
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Shaw: ‘I have a pain in my heart’
“They put their lives in danger by working for the U.S. government,” Shahin said. “There was a promise from the U.S. government that those families could come here. That promise was not kept. The government should keep its promises.”
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Check out these messages from national Democrats
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Annoying People to Death
Johnson’s explanation is no less galling than Donald Trump’s lies. The Medicaid work requirement will not strengthen the program, improve the labor market, or kick lazy cheaters off government benefits. Rather, it will saddle taxpayers with billions of dollars of new costs and low-income Americans with hundreds of millions of hours of busywork. Red tape will cause millions of people to lose health coverage, some of whom will perish because they cannot access care. Republicans are not protecting Medicaid. They are voting to annoy their own constituents to death.
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Why does Medicaid need a work requirement in the first place? To prevent the safety net from becoming a hammock, Republicans love to say. But most people on Medicaid are already working if they can work. And Medicaid doesn’t provide its enrollees with cash or a cash-like payment, as the country’s unemployment-insurance, welfare, Social Security, and SNAP programs do. You can’t eat an insurance card. You can’t pay your rent with the guarantee of low co-pays for ambulatory care. Because insurance does not help recipients make ends meet, it does not shrink the labor market, as proved by a randomized controlled trial.
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Jeffries Calls ‘Big, Ugly, Immoral Budget,’ Reckless Immoral Document
“The eligibility for the children’s health insurance program will also be diminished,” said Jeffries. He stressed that the legislation negatively impacts nutritional assistance programs and the nation’s farmers and is “an all-out assault on the healthcare of the American people.”
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Americans have made a U-turn on immigration since 2024 election
But as Trump’s crackdown has intensified, Americans’ negative views on immigration have reversed.
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According to Gallup, the record-high approval of immigration is largely due to an upswing in Republicans’ views — 64 percent of Republicans said immigration was beneficial to the country, jumping from 39 percent last year.
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US hospitals see stark decline of obstetric services, study shows
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Using data from the American Hospital Association and federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the researchers analyzed obstetric services at short-term acute care hospitals between 2010 and 2022.
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The study included 4,964 hospitals.
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Rural states saw the most profound losses. The states with the highest percentage of all hospitals lacking obstetrics by 2022 were: North Dakota (73%), Oklahoma (63%), West Virginia (62%), Louisiana (60%), South Dakota (60%) and Mississippi (60%).
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As Democrats spoil for a fight, a new face in the House is leading them on oversight
The new top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform committee is ready for a fight.
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"I think I got elected because I am aggressive," Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said in an interview. "I think that we've got to be fighters in this moment."
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In June, House Democrats picked Garcia, a sophomore congressman, over several more senior colleagues to lead their party on the committee. At 47, the California native is the youngest ranking member in Congress.
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“Truly Repulsive and Disgusting": It Sure Sounds Like the Texas Attorney General Did Something Really Bad
In related news, Paxton has spent much of his time as attorney general trying to take away women’s rights. He has supported extreme abortion bans, made June 24, the day Roe v. Wade was overturned, an annual holiday for the attorney general’s office, and sued the Biden administration after it said hospitals must perform life-saving abortions even in states that ban the practice.
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Deputy FBI Director Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid Epstein files fallout
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid a major clash between the FBI and Justice Department over the continued fallout from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein memo, several sources familiar with the matter told CNN. This comes after a heated confrontation with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the case earlier this week. CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Evan Perez report.
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FEMA’s response to Texas flood slowed by Noem’s cost controls
In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams, which are specifically trained for situations including catastrophic floods, closer to a disaster zone in anticipation of urgent requests, multiple agency sources told CNN.
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But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN.
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Homeland Security officials have defended the federal response in Texas and President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle FEMA and shift more responsibility for disaster response to states.
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Ousted FBI agent speaks out on Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino
Former Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Michael Feinberg joins Nicolle Wallace to discuss his ouster from the FBI after he says that his friendship with a Trump critic put a target on his back for Deputy Director Dan Bongino.
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Musk’s Chatbot Started Spouting Nazi Propaganda. That’s Not the Scariest Part.
The fact is, we don’t have a solution to these problems. L.L.M.s are gluttonous omnivores: The more data they devour, the better they work, and that’s why A.I. companies are grabbing all the data they can get their hands on. But even if an L.L.M. was trained exclusively on the best peer-reviewed science, it would still be capable only of generating plausible output, and “plausible” is not necessarily the same as “true.”
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Trump just ramped up his tariff threats: Here’s what could get more expensive
Many economists already believe it’s a matter of time before Americans start to see sticker shock from the tariffs President Donald Trump has enacted. That timeline could speed up even more if Trump follows through with his latest package of tariff threats slated to take effect in three weeks.
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Detainees describe worms in food, sewage near beds inside 'Alligator Alcatraz'
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“They have no way to bathe, no way to wash their mouths, the toilet overflows and the floor is flooded with pee and poop,” the woman told the AP. “They eat once a day and have two minutes to eat. The meals have worms,” she added.
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The woman said the detainees “all went on a hunger strike” on Thursday night to protest the conditions.
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“There are days when I don’t know anything about him until the evening,” she said, describing waiting for his calls, interrupted every three minutes by an announcement that the conversation is being recorded.
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The ‘big, beautiful bill’ could get ugly for Republicans
When told that funding for local hospitals would decrease under the bill, almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Republicans and a majority (55 percent) of MAGA Republicans view the bill “unfavorably.”
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A similar effect occurs when respondents learned that roughly 10 million people will lose health coverage. After hearing that, nearly 6 in 10 (59 percent) of Republicans and 52 percent of MAGA Republicans have an unfavorable view of the legislation.
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Trump Held Talks on Pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell: Biographer
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President Donald Trump weighed pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell for fear that she would spill secrets about his decade-long friendship with convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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After Maxwell, now 63, was arrested by the FBI in July 2020 for allegedly helping Epstein run his sex-trafficking ring—luring and grooming young girls into a web of abuse—Trump grew “very wary” and began asking, “What could she say—what would she say?”
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The DOJ’s Epstein Memo Is Tearing the Trump Administration Apart
Many of these influencers now feel betrayed by the DOJ’s memo, which noted that after an “exhaustive” investigation, the administration found “no incriminating ‘client list,’” nor any “credible evidence … that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.” The DOJ also released a video of Epstein’s cell the night he died. The video skips a minute before midnight, however, which led to more speculation about a potential cover-up.
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The Century Club supports our year-round work to build party infrastructure supporting candidate recruitment, local district and regional leadership, issue-based education, and tools for Dem-NPL success.
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Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
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The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new grassroots program called “Neighbor to Neighbor” where volunteers will connect with voters in your community to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for connecting with voters in 25 homes in your neighborhood or friends and family to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot about 3-4 times this year.
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Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
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