Progressive search for action

7+ min ago (1008+ words) The inquiry was spearheaded by FDA official Vinay Prisad, an anti-vaxxer who has cited little evidence for his claims. Independent journalism at Truthout faces unprecedented authoritarian censorship. If you value progressive media, please make a year-end donation today. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week that it will investigate whether there is a link between vaccinations for coronavirus and deaths in the United States, despite mountains of evidence that COVID-19 shots are both safe and effective. "FDA is doing a thorough investigation, across multiple age groups, of deaths potentially related to coronavirus vaccines," a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson said on Tuesday. The announcement " which comes nearly five years after COVID-19 vaccines became available within the U.S. " has sparked major concerns among medical experts, who have repeatedly warned that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is peddling…...

7+ min ago (1199+ words) The only thing more romantic than meeting on a train is saying goodbye at a train station. Let's pay homage to the most romantic train scenes in film and television, starting with three that came out in 2025. Trains are also a little old-fashioned, in a romantic way, whether a story is set in modern times or a hundred years ago. What can I say? Ground transportation makes things feel grounded. There are some great books with this theme too, like Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop for example. But let's focus on the imagery in film and television first. She's allowing herself to follow her heart. She has a navigational mastery of Paris that she did not have a year prior. She willingly boards an international train without a passport or a ticket. So she's clearly also confident enough to handle…...

8+ min ago (234+ words) For the first time, a close European ally of the US has called it a "security risk" in response to President Donald Trump's insistence that Greenland should become an American territory, according to Bloomberg. Trump first began expressing his desire to take control of Greenland during his first term, but his rhetoric escalated from the start of his second, falsely claiming that Greenland's residents were in favor of the idea and refusing to rule out the use of economic or military means to accomplish it. In the security report itself, Danish authorities said "the United States uses economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to enforce its will, and no longer rules out the use of military force, even against allies." Despite this historic shift in concern over threats from the US, the report nonetheless said that China and Russia…...

10+ min ago (538+ words) Tuesday night was the first stop on President Donald Trump's new affordability messaging tour, but it was a "train wreck," U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. Trump may have read all his lines at his Pennsylvania rally, but he also ad-libbed a lot, mocking the affordability crisis in America as a "hoax." Leader Schumer on Wednesday told his Senate colleagues that Trump "simply doesn't get what people are struggling through," because he's "trapped in his billionaire bubble." "It takes a special kind of delusion to tell parents to buy their kids fewer toys and pencils while bragging about new ballrooms and gold in the Oval Office," the New York Democratic lawmaker explained. "In his speech, that was supposed to be about affordability, Donald Trump kept making fun of the word "affordability,'" Schumer noted. "Does he have to go shop for…...

11+ min ago (101+ words) President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military had seized the "largest" oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. "As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela," Trump said during a Wednesday meeting in the White House's Roosevelt Room. "A large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually." "And other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later," he added. Trump has previously said that he would not rule out a ground invasion in Venezuela. ALSO READ: 'We get blamed for everything': GOP senators know party is running over health-care cliff...

12+ min ago (189+ words) Real America's Voice White House correspondent Brian Glenn has opened up about his view on the feud between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), his girlfriend, and President Donald Trump. In an interview with The Washington Post, Glenn detailed the awkward position he's been in lately. Although he's established himself as one of the most pro-Trump faces in the White House press corps, that relationship has been complicated by the president's vicious feud with Greene. As all of this was going on, Glenn decided to dial back his presence at White House events. The Washington Post report continued: "Like, what are you talking about, man? She's one of your biggest supporters," he told me that day. It was a tougher line of questioning than I'd ever seen him pose to the president. "She differs on a couple of issues, but she's…...

17+ min ago (691+ words) A new narrative is taking hold in Washington: that America simply isn't ready to elect a woman as president. Michelle Obama suggested it last month. Rep. Jim Clyburn said much the same this week. And suddenly, what was once an observation has hardened into political gospel. Filed Under: 2028 Campaign, Members 20% Off Any New Membership Join Political Wire today and enjoy all the perks of membership " exclusive analysis, a trending news page, bonus newsletters, the Trial Balloon podcast and no ads " with 20% off an Annual Plan. President Trump just launched the Trump Card, a direct path to citizenship if you can pay at least $1 million. Save to Favorites Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is declaring war on New Jersey's Democratic bosses, announcing in a video Wednesday that he plans to recruit challengers to elected officials who protect "machine politics," Playbook: "It's looking…...

19+ min ago (221+ words) House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) complained Wednesday after he was asked his thoughts on President Donald Trump's profane and racist attacks on what he called "s---hole countries," while Republicans try to advance their defense spending bill. "Right now, eight Republicans are voting no. The Speaker can only afford to lose a couple along party lines, which is why he is in a bit of a bind," Raju said, adding that the House could use the Capitol Hill under suspension of the rules, which would force a two-thirds majority vote to pass the bill. "We do expect that to eventually happen because Democrats want this bill to pass. So that will be approved eventually. Despite this drama we're seeing right now play out in the Capitol," Raju added. Raju asked Johnson his response to Trump's comments at a rally in Pennsylvania…...

24+ min ago (275+ words) It was a move that was considered a long shot just a few days ago, that now has a real chance of breaking Mike Johnson and getting an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies through the House. Punchbowl News reported on who the bipartisan group in the House that is supporting the bill: A bipartisan group of House members is introducing a bill to extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies for two years with new income limits and anti-fraud measures. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) is leading the effort, along with GOP Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.), Rob Bresnahan (Pa.) and Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.), plus Democratic Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Tom Suozzi (N.Y.), Don Davis (N.C.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.). The legislation would also crack down on pharmacy benefit managers and expand health savings accounts. At their conference meeting, House Republicans admitted that a bipartisan…...

25+ min ago (252+ words) U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is no stranger to losing grand jury cases, but now that federal agents have moved into Chicago, prosecutors there are being blocked from prosecutions, too. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that a federal grand jury has turned down another case connected to the so-called "Midway Blitz." The first time it happened in November, a magistrate judge said that until recently, he'd only ever heard of a grand jury rejecting a prosecution once in the "early part of this century." Now it's happened three times in the past few months. Nathan Griffin, who is a manager of the Lake View comedy club, the Laugh Factory, was accused of assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was involved in the operation. He was accused of trying to shut a car door when the agent was getting out of the car....