Mother Jones
The Hidden History of Trans Health Care
- Title
- The Hidden History of Trans Health Care
- Runtime
- 0:58
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
As of Saturday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has scrubbed all mention of LGBTQ folks. The State Department has removed the “TQ” in LGBTQ from its guidance page for LGBTQ international travelers. The White House removed pages honoring Nex Benedict and Matthew Shepard. The CDC also issued an order to rescind and rewrite unpublished research papers by their scientists that include the word “transgender.” (Not to mention curtailing information on climate and vaccines.)
The scrubbing effort has been equated by journalists and internet commentators to a virtual book-burning reminiscent of the Nazi era, specifically the world’s first trans clinic, The Institute for Sexual Research. “A generation of knowledge is being trashed at lightning speed,” wrote Dan Samorodnitsky for Sequencer.
That lightning-speed flurry of executive orders evokes history even a...
- Title
- Like most tech-bro schemes, DOGE is a rip-off of something older and better. #DOGE #elonmusk
- Runtime
- 3:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Like most things Elon Musk brags are new and revolutionary, DOGE is neither new nor revolutionary—in fact, a similar agency has existed for more than 100 years.
“All of these people acting like, ‘Oh, we're going to set up an agency to identify waste,’” highlighted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez on a recent Instagram livestream. “As though that's never been an idea before. Like, you know, take a number, people.”
This is precisely what stuck out to me: We live in a world where billionaires like Elon Musk slap a new name like “DOGE” on an old idea and then go on and on, bragging about changing the status quo. So, inspired by AOC’s stream, I wanted to demystify, and try my best to cut through, a narrative that is quite actively harming the American people.
Some of you may already be familiar with this, but if not, let me introduce you to the US Government ...
- Title
- It’s a War. Do Democrats Get That?
- Runtime
- 2:38
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
It’s a war.
In the first two weeks of his presidency, Donald Trump and his billionaire sidekick Elon Musk have initiated an all-out battle against the US government, the rule of law, and decency. They have mounted a blitzkrieg, a coup, an assault on the Constitution. It’s a mad power grab designed to steer the nation toward autocracy and full-fledged oligarchy. What’s under way is not merely the implementation of far-right policies but an attack on the American system and a hostile takeover of the nation.
Trump and his minions have rooted out civil servants they deem insufficiently loyal to Dear Leader and taken draconian steps to depopulate federal agencies that do the people’s business, such as safeguarding our food supply, researching cures for diseases, protecting workers and the environment, overseeing our transportation systems, and keeping the financial system secure a...
- Title
- The American Oligarchy: Kelly Loeffler
- Runtime
- 0:19
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Our next billionaire is Sen. Kelly Loeffler—wife of New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher—for small business administrator.
She famously lost a special election to Sen. Raphael Warnock, give the Democrats the senate.
Watch the full video on our channel, and read more about the billionaires in Trump's orbit on our website: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trumps-billionaire-cabinet-is-unprecedented/
#billionaire #trump #france
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- Title
- Republicans just went out of their way to shield Elon Musk from accountability.
- Runtime
- 2:16
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Republicans scrambled on Wednesday to thwart a democratic effort to subpoena Elon Musk, literally rushing into a hearing to prevent the world’s richest man from providing answers about his dismantling of the federal bureaucracy.
After House Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer lauded the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its frontman, calling Musk “one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever,” Democrats tried to subpoena Musk to come and explain his government overhaul for himself. Due to Republican committee member absences, the Democrats nearly pulled it off.
#elonmusk #accountability #committee
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Inst...
- Title
- The American Oligarchy: Charles Kushner
- Runtime
- 0:24
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
We haven't heard from this billionaire much... because he's been in prison.
It’s a bit more commonplace to hand out ambassadorships to ultra-wealthy allies, but even by that measure, it is rare to send someone overseas who is barred from practicing law in New Jersey. Charles Kushner, Trump’s pick for ambassador to France, is family, though, and it’s hard to say at this point that the crimes of the father—which included hiring a prostitute to help blackmail his brother-in-law to avoid a conviction for tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions—do not, on some deeper level, represent the United States with some accuracy.
Watch the full video on our channel, and read more about the billionaires in Trump's orbit on our website: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trumps-billionaire-cabinet-is-unprecedented/
#billionaire #trump #france
-...
- Title
- Did Kash Patel lie under oath? #kashpatel #confirmationhearing
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Title
- Congressional Democrats Step Up Fight Against Elon’s Shadow Presidency
- Runtime
- 0:48
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Gathered outside the headquarters of the US Agency for International Development in downtown Washington, DC, on Monday, a fiery group of congressional Democrats debuted what felt like a new—and potent—message: Elon Musk is acting as an unqualified shadow president, and he’s breaking the law along the way.
The unelected South African tech billionaire announced Monday that he and Trump were shutting down USAID, which distributes billions of dollars annually in international humanitarian aid to approximately 130 countries—the top recipient in fiscal year 2023 was Ukraine—and employs more than 10,0o0 people, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Established by an executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the agency “provides assistance to strategically important countries and countries in conflict; leads U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and hu...
- Title
- The American Oligarchy: Elon Musk
- Runtime
- 0:22
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Let's get to know our billionaire overlords, starting with the one we're all unfortunately too familiar with: Elon Musk.
After Elon Musk spent a quarter-billion dollars to get him elected—$40.25 billion, if you count the in-kind acquisition of Twitter—Trump made the world’s richest head of the newly created and non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency. There, one of the government’s largest contractors will be tasked with trimming about $2 trillion from the federal budget. Or maybe they’ll just harass civil servants until they quit; it’s not really clear what DOGE will be, beyond a dead joke about an internet meme from 2013.
As the billionaires continue to wreak havoc on our government and the rule of law, we're dropping some special video cards for you to get to know a little more about the people stripping our country for parts.
If you're interested in learn...
- Title
- Trump Responds to Washington Plane Crash With Racist, Ableist Diatribe
- Runtime
- 1:12
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
On Wednesday, an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into a commercial American Airlines flight as it was in the process of landing at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington, DC. Officials believe that there were no survivors among the 67 people on both craft.
After tragedies like these, it’s typical for American presidents to address the grieving public. What’s not typical of presidents is to blame issues with, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration on disabled people and people of color. Prior to diving into a bigoted speech at a next-day press conference on the crash, Trump claimed to have “pretty good ideas of what happened,” suggesting disabled people, people of color, Barack Obama, and ex-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were to blame for the tragedy.
In his speech, Trump rattled off a long list of the disabilities he said the Biden FAA had al...
- Title
- Elon Musk Tells Extremist AfD Party Rally That Germans Need to “Move On” from “Past Guilt”
- Runtime
- 1:27
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Because Elon Musk apparently did not create enough controversy for his liking this week, the tech billionaire also made a virtual appearance on Saturday at a rally for the extremist, right-wing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party ahead of the country’s snap elections next month.
Musk told the crowd that he considers the party to be the “best hope” for Germany. The rally reportedly consisted of about 4,500 people, including the party leader, Alice Weidel, in the city of Halle.
“It’s okay to be proud to be German,” Musk said. “This is a very important principle. It’s okay, it’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.”
Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/elon-musk-extremist-afd-party-rally-germany-past-guilt-holocaust-remigration/<...
- Title
- Are Trump's mass deportation promises based on a lie?
- Runtime
- 2:23
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
"While a lot of Trump supporters see this stuff as a good thing, I can't help but wonder if that support is based on a lie."
Mother Jones Video Correspondent @GarrisonHayes dissects a challenging question in his new video: How did people vote for this? Over the last few months, Hayes has spent hours and hours talking to Trump supporters about their support of one of Trump's more draconian policies, mass deportations. Despite all evidence pointing to the sheer destruction of our economy and labor force if followed through and data showing that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes statistically than US-born citizens, supporters are evangelistic about it.
#massdeportations #trump #garrisonhayes
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For more award-winning independent reporting, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
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- Title
- “Pure Ignorance”: Veterans Slam Trump’s Trans Military Ban
- Runtime
- 1:46
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Donald Trump has signed an executive order targeting transgender members of the armed services.
In 2017, President Trump banned transgender Americans from the military, though with an exception for those already serving. His new order, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” goes much further—it bans all transgender service members, stating that the “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”
The order also asserts that Pentagon “standards for troop readiness” are not compatible “with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria” and “shifting pronoun usage.”
Alaina Kupec, president and founder of the transgender advocacy group GRACE, served as ...
- Title
- Donald Trump is declaring war on trans people.
- Runtime
- 2:12
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Title
- New Wildfires Are Breaking Out in LA
- Runtime
- 0:39
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
It’s been two weeks since the outbreak of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires that have burned more than 40,000 acres and killed at least 28 people.
While significant progress has been made in containing the Palisades and Eaton fires, the two most destructive wildfires to ever hit LA—72 and 95 percent contained, respectively, compared to 17 and 35 percent a week ago, with far less damage since—there has been little time to celebrate the win. On January 22, two other fires around Los Angeles took off, bringing the total burned acreage above 50,000.
North of LA, near the city of Santa Clarita, the Hughes Fire burned 10,000 acres in less than 24 hours, expanding 50 times in size—from 100 to 5,000 acres—and putting more than 30,000 people under mandatory evacuation orders. It’s still just 24 percent contained, although county firefighters have managed to keep any structures...
- Title
- Meet Pam, the Insurrectionist Rejecting Trump’s Pardon
- Runtime
- 3:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Before Pamela Hemphill stormed the Capitol with thousands of other insurrectionists on January 6, 2021, she posted a photo of herself on Facebook in her living room holding a giant, plastic firearm. “Happy New Year!” the post read. “On my way to Washington DC January 6th!”
Once there, Hemphill wandered the halls of the Capitol armed with a selfie stick, according to a court filing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that included stills from surveillance footage.
Eight months later, law enforcement officials arrested Hemphill in Boise, Idaho. In January 2022, she pleaded guilty to a charge of violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds, and was soon after sentenced to two months in prison—which she served at the now-shuttered FCI Dublin in California—three years probation, and a $500 fine.
Today, 71-year-old Hemphill does not recognize her i...
- Title
- "It's the billionaires protecting the billionaires."
- Runtime
- 1:10
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Elon Musk has been talking a big game on the campaign trail about cutting trillions in wasteful government spending. So on Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released her latest plan: 30 ways to help him do exactly that.
"If he really wants to cut money and make a more efficient government," the Massachusetts Senator tells Mother Jones Creator @katmabu. "Don't tell me it's because the only way we can cut government spending is to take away health care from little kids and not let them have a good meal."
"No. Then, what it's really about is the oligarchy. It's the billionaires protecting the billionaires."
Se. Warren dropped by Kat's livestream Thursday to discuss her plan and what Democrats need to do when Musk and company break their promises. ("Our job is to call out the betrayal.")
You can watch her entire segment on Kat's YouTube!
#ol...
- Title
- Meet The American Oligarchy: Trump's Ultra-Rich Cabinet and Advisors
- Runtime
- 1:10
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmX8LrCCBzA
Let’s just get it out of the way upfront: Donald Trump is assembling a government of billionaires, the likes of which the United States has never seen. The president-elect has tapped five reported billionaires for cabinet posts: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for interior secretary, hedge funder Scott Bessent for treasury secretary, Cantor Fitzgerald chief Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary, wrestling magnate Linda McMahon for education secretary (I know, just roll with it), and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler—wife of New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher—for small business administrator.
But those appointments are almost normal compared to the billionaires Trump’s installing everywhere else. After Elon Musk spent a quarter-billion dollars to get him elected—$40.25 billion, if you count the in-k...
- Title
- Meet The American Oligarchy: Trump's Ultra-Rich Cabinet and Advisors
- Runtime
- 13:31
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Let’s just get it out of the way upfront: Donald Trump is assembling a government of billionaires, the likes of which the United States has never seen. The president-elect has tapped five reported billionaires for cabinet posts: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for interior secretary, hedge funder Scott Bessent for treasury secretary, Cantor Fitzgerald chief Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary, wrestling magnate Linda McMahon for education secretary (I know, just roll with it), and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler—wife of New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher—for small business administrator.
But those appointments are almost normal compared to the billionaires Trump’s installing everywhere else. After Elon Musk spent a quarter-billion dollars to get him elected—$40.25 billion, if you count the in-kind acquisition of Twitter—Trump made the world’s richest man co-chair (with may...
- Title
- Trump: If you break the law for me, I will protect you
- Runtime
- 2:42
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com
- Title
- The Anti-Trump Resistance Is Alive at This Historic Black DC Church
- Runtime
- 2:30
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
When Donald Trump first took office, the streets of Washington, DC, and cities around the country erupted in protest and resistance. The 2017 Women’s March, held the day after his inauguration, was heralded at the time as the biggest protest in U.S. history. This year, the crowds only measured in the thousands. Other day-of gatherings appeared similarly small, perhaps due to the blisteringly cold temperatures that had driven the pageantry inside. The spontaneous panic that once gripped the mobilized masses seemed gone.
Instead, Mother Jones video correspondent @GarrisonHayes found vocal resistance in a historic place of protest that has endured many disappointing election results across decades: inside a Black church.
Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, which coincided with the inauguration, and used it as an opportunity to challenge Trump ...
- Title
- Did Donald Trump already break his first promise in office?
- Runtime
- 0:50
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
For years Donald Trump has said over and over again that if he were to win the presidency again, he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Well, it's been 27 hours since he took office. Is the war over?
#Ukraine #Trump #campaignpromises
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- Title
- Who is Rev. Lorenzo Sewell?
- Runtime
- 1:19
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
“We’re so grateful that you gave our 45th and now our 47th president, a millimeter miracle,” preached Rev. Lorenzo Sewell for the benediction of Donald Trump during Monday’s inauguration ceremony. He was referring, of course, to assassination attempt on Trump’s life in July 2024. That bullet struck his ear, barely sparing his life.
But who exactly is the Black preacher who keeps appearing with Trump at events?
Video correspondent Garrison Hayes interviewed Sewell, the pastor at a Black church in Detroit, as part of his 20 minute documentary on the rise of Black Republicans in the MAGA era. Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUgW_wkQ9rg
#trump #inaguration #news
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- Title
- “I would vote for him to be king.”
- Runtime
- 2:57
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Mother Jones video correspondent @GarrisonHayes walked the streets of Washington D.C., talking to supporters of President Trump ahead of Monday’s inauguration. Even though these supporters couldn’t attend the big event due to inclement weather, many MAGA voters still showed up to celebrate.
Their hopes for Trump’s second term range from so-called “unity,” to the death of DEI initiatives, and for at least one supporter, dreams of “King” Trump holding power for a third term and beyond. Was she joking? Watch for yourself.
Watch our full inauguration video coverage here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/video-heres-what-trumps-most-faithful-fans-want-to-see-next/
#trump #inauguration #onthestreet #inauguration2025
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For more award-winning independent reporting, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
- Title
- Opening with Christian nationalism and closing with a gay anthem—that's just another Trump rally
- Runtime
- 1:59
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
An evangelist group of women, Girls Gone Bible, opened Trump's victory rally the day before his inauguration. They not only called for heaven to be remade in America and Trump as a vessel to make that happen, but they also claimed Trump was there to lead God's people and God's nation.
Our Washington, DC, Bureau Chief David Corn was inside the arena with our producer, and they got a front-row seat to it all.
#trumprally #christiannationalism #inaguration
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- Title
- What Trump fans want most now
- Runtime
- 2:58
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
–"Should he cut off aid to Ukraine?"
–"Absolutely."
–"Tomorrow?"
–"Tomorrow."
Our DC bureau boss David Corn talks to Trump voters on the eve of Trump 2.0 about what they want most dearly, now that he's won—while they wait in a long, cold line to get into his rally.
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- Title
- MAGA diehards brave freezing DC
- Runtime
- 0:29
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Our DC bureau boss David Corn has been braving the chaos and the slushy weather in DC with thousands of the MAGA faithful to get into the Capital One Arena for Trump's inauguration eve "victory rally". We'll keep updating Shorts with his dispatches as he speaks to rally-goers.
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- Title
- If a Republican says "woke," and there isn't a Senate to hear it, does it make a sound? #hegseth
- Runtime
- 1:26
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- Find breakdowns of this week's Senate confirmation hearings at MotherJones.com! 💪🫡
- Title
- How America became the center of untraceable wealth
- Runtime
- 2:54
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/oligarchy
Today, there’s no need to stash your money in the Bahamas, Malta, or the Caymans when you can keep it in places like Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Thanks to favorable laws that make it an ideal refuge for the world’s wealth, America now sits at the center of the global offshore economy—an international pot of riches even larger than the GDP of China, by some estimates.
Journalistic investigations like the Panama Papers and Pandora Papers have helped expose the scourge of shell companies that are the linchpins of these offshore networks. Such corporate formations—which provide anonymity to the people behind them and are largely impenetrable to authorities trying to track the money—are not unique to the US. But the US has gone far beyond most other countries in the level of secrecy that it provides, and it has done so at a far greater clip than any of its peers.
<...
- Title
- Trump’s Energy Pick Concedes Climate Change is a “Real Issue”
- Runtime
- 2:16
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Chris Wright, the fracking company CEO who Trump has nominated to lead the Department of Energy and who had previously claimed “there is no climate crisis,” admitted that climate change is a “real issue” during his confirmation hearings on Wednesday.
Wright, who runs Liberty Energy and is worth $171 million, was tapped in mid-November by Trump, who heralded him as someone who would help lead his administration’s efforts to cut regulations and remove government subsidies for renewable energy.
However, Wright’s recognition that climate change is “real” and requires the US “to evolve our energy system” rubs against previous climate denying statements from Trump, like calling climate change a hoax and denying the scientific consensus in support of the issue.
Given his background, it’s unclear if or how Wright’s comments, made to the Senate’s Energy ...
- Title
- How DOGE and Elon Musk Could Actually Cut Trillions in Federal Waste
- Runtime
- 4:04
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/doge-elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-department-government-inefficiency-waste-federal-spending-deficit-reduction/
As you may know, our felonious president-elect put mega-billionaire Elon Musk and mere billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of a commission—though not an actual government department, because only Congress can create those—named for the same silly dog meme as Musk’s favorite “shitcoin.” But even in an advisory role, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency could cause significant upheaval if Congress and agency chiefs follow its lead, or if Donald Trump launches a flurry of executive orders—and then lawsuits are filed and everything is messy and chaotic and journalists are all in a tizzy, just as Trump likes it.
DOGE’s supposed goal is to identify $2 trillion in savings and reduce the size of government—and the deficit—by slashing federal waste an...
- Title
- Pam Bondi plays dumb for Trump
- Runtime
- 0:38
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/pam-bondi-trump-senate-confirmation-hearing/
At her confirmation hearing Wednesday, Pam Bondi probably assured she will become attorney general. She did that, however, by pretending to be an idiot.
The former Florida attorney general and lobbyist refused to confirm that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, declined to oppose pardons for violent January 6 attackers, would not say if she would carry out an illegal order from Trump, and professed ignorance of a wide array of controversial statements by the incoming president.
Such answers reflect the reality that Bondi depends on Trump’s continued support; already has the backing of GOP senators; and simply doesn’t need any Democratic votes to secure the job.
Bondi acknowledged Wednesday that Biden is, in fact, president. But she wouldn’t challenge Trump’s continued false claims that the 2020 election...
- Title
- LA Fire Update: One week out
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Los Angeles’ worst-ever wildfires have now burned an area nearly the size of Washington, DC.
It has been a week since Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires began, driven by powerful winds that have made the blazes highly difficult to fight.
More than 40,000 acres have already burned, with at least 24 deaths; by comparison, the entirety of Washington, DC, is 43,000 acres. More than 12,300 structures have been destroyed, and at least 90,000 people are without power. Disinformation is skyrocketing as influencers peddle questionable products, right-wing commentators blame the devastation on ‘wokeness,’ and landlords look to profit. AccuWeather estimates the total damages and economic losses at more than $250 billion.
Biden has promised six months of full federal funding for California’s efforts to combat the fires, while top-level Republicans continue to discuss placi...
- Title
- Hegseth's Lack of Answers Says A Lot
- Runtime
- 1:34
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
It took nearly two hours into Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday for Democrats to effectively underscore the deeply alarming allegations surrounding the former Fox News host as he attempts to get confirmed as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense. But when they finally did, Democrats came out swinging.
As for Hegseth, it was his refusal to answer key questions related to those accusations—whether domestic abuse is a disqualifying factor for the job or if he’d resign if he reneged on a drinking pledge— that proved equally damning.
“Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) asked, alluding to allegations of sexual assault against Hegseth. “Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement related to ...
- Title
- Meet the Mayor of GreenSky
- Runtime
- 1:48
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Ketan Joshi did not mean to become the manager of all things climate on Bluesky, the fast-growing social media platform that’s trying to compete directly with Twitter.
The 39-year-old Australian expat who now lives in Oslo, Norway has spent his career writing about green energy as a communications specialist for renewable energy companies and author of Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil-Free Future, but found it especially hard to share climate information on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Those sites seemed built toward sowing discord and had secret rules about what posts would do well. Immediately, he noticed that Bluesky was different.
Joshi created a feed that congregated all the posts climate users. It, like many other early Bluesky feeds, like Blacksky and BookSky, combined a keyword with sky—"GreenSky"—each varying in capitalization. The result was a unique space where ...
- Title
- Here's what you need to know about Tyre Nichols two years after his death.
- Runtime
- 2:00
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
January 10, 2025, marks the second anniversary of the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who was restrained and fatally beaten by five now-former Memphis police officers during a traffic stop. After countless marches, talks with politicians, and pending court cases, his family are still fighting for justice for their loved one.
“This year has been unbearable,” said his mother, RowVaughn Wells, at a vigil on Tuesday. “I had to listen to a cop tell people that they just stopped my son for nothing, that he was not a threat. We had to hear all of this. But what made it so difficult is the fact that it finally sank in that I would never see my son again.”
Released three weeks after his death, the video of Nichols’ brutal beating shook the nation, with then-President Biden calling Wells to express his condolences. Attorney Anthony Romanucci described Nichols as “a hu...
- Title
- Wildfires Have Engulfed Los Angeles
- Runtime
- 0:54
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/pacific-palisades-fires-california/
Four large fires have burned over 15,000 acres in 24 hours in Los Angeles County, with wind gusts reaching hurricane-level strength in one of the region’s most destructive fires in history.
Authorities warn that the severe winds are likely to intensify in the hours ahead. But as of this writing, 80,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders, and over 300,000 residents remain without power. Officials on Wednesday confirmed two reported fatalities and a “high number of significant injuries.” According to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, over 1100 structures have been destroyed. While fire officials investigate the causes of the fires, they have undeniably been fueled by the Santa Ana winds which have surpassed 100 mph.
Meanwhile, high-profile conservatives and President-elect Donald Trump have wasted no time bl...
- Title
- Meta announces a new, Trump-friendly fact-checking policy
- Runtime
- 0:31
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Mark Zuckerberg has a plan—a plan to please President-elect Donald Trump.
As Big Tech scrambles to placate Donald Trump before he reassumes office, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that his company would replace their fact-checkers with user-generated Community Notes, beginning in the United States and then rolling out globally. Zuckerberg said in a video and in an announcement on Threads that the shift—largely the same system that Twitter/X uses—represented a return to the company’s roots and way of “restoring free speech.” He acknowledged, however, that the change “means that we’re going to catch less bad stuff,” adding, “but we’ll also reduce the number of innocent people’s posts and accounts that we accidentally take down.”
Zuckerberg also gave Trump a specific shoutout in his Threads announcement, writing that the company will “work with Pre...
- Title
- Trump Wages War on Science
- Runtime
- 1:06
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trump-war-on-science-researchers-jobs-scientists/
Donald Trump isn’t exactly a champion of science. His actions as president and on the campaign trail prove as much.
Ahead of his next stint in the Oval Office, he has nominated a vaccine skeptic to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, promised to rid federal agencies of potentially tens of thousands of career staffers, and said he intends to shutter the Department of Education.
“Trump has basically said he is waging war on science and scientists.” said Jennifer Jones, the director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a nonprofit science advocacy group.
And that “war” likely won’t be limited to researchers within the federal government.
To get a better sense of how scientists are feeling about their work under Trump 2.0...
- Title
- The label that turns healthcare workers into criminals.
- Runtime
- 1:30
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
A deceptive marketing campaign has been going on for over a century. And it's turned health care providers into criminals.
Until the late 1800s, abortion and reproductive health were primarily handled by women—midwives, many of whom were Black, Indigenous, or immigrants. As medicine professionalized, male doctors viewed this skilled group as threatening their business. Birth, they argued, ought to take place in a hospital. “The midwife is a relic of barbarism,” Dr. Joseph DeLee, a prominent 20th-century obstetrician, proclaimed, “a drag on the progress of the science and art of obstetrics.”
The restructuring of gynecological medicine went hand in hand with a budding movement to criminalize abortion. In 1860, governors of every state received a letter from the president of a young organization, the American Medical Association. Ghostwritten by Horatio Storer, a Harvard-educat...
- Title
- How Superyachts Explain the World
- Runtime
- 1:57
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- This is how superyachts explain the world.
For the last 18 months, one of the most opulent and unnecessary vessels ever constructed has been floating in a narrow channel next to a jungle gym and a fleet of industrial cranes at the Port of San Diego. Built in Germany, the superyacht Amadea is 348 feet long, with a helipad, a swimming pool, two baby grand pianos, and a 5-ton stainless steel art-deco albatross. And costs $1 million a month to maintain. Who has been picking up that tab in the past is a matter of some dispute, tangled up in a web of trusts and LLCs, code names and NDAs, and legal proceedings in two countries.
But the ship’s current owner is a bit less ambiguous: Congratulations—it’s you.
The capture of the Amadea was perhaps the most spectacular piece of a larger international reckoning. In the nearly two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US and its allies have blocked, seized, or frozen more than $280 billion in a...
- Title
- Luigi Mangione Is Revealing the Right's Double Standard
- Runtime
- 5:11
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
For once, it feels like many Americans, regardless of their politics, are united against a single enemy: our health care system.
We still don't know much about the suspect, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, beyond his Goodreads reading list. And not much else has been reported on what led him to take such drastic action.
But after Mangione allegedly assassinated health insurance titan UnitedHealth’s Brian Thompson, many Americans saved their pity for the CEO of the $22 billion company. Folks online living paycheck to paycheck half-jokingly asked, “Who’s next?” After Mangione’s arrest, the hype only intensified, with both the right and left online meme machines kicking into full gear.
“In this country, we call Ubers instead of ambulances, take fish antibiotics instead of the real thing, and ignore obvious medical issues because we fear bankruptcy more,” highlights M...
- Title
- Where’s Pedro Moreno’s Pardon? #massincarceration #documentary #politics
- Runtime
- 0:42
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Pedro Moreno is serving life in prison for marijuana and money laundering charges—less than five miles from a legal marijuana dispensary.
On November 19, 1996, Pedro Moreno’s life was upended when federal officials burst into his Texas home, arresting him and his wife, Melba, on charges related to marijuana distribution and taking them away from their three children. Melba was released after 13 years, but her time with her children was cut short: she passed away the following year. Pedro Moreno pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and commit money laundering, bracing for a 20-year sentence, but ended up getting life without parole—for a plant sold legally less than five miles from his California federal prison cell. Although his four brothers had their life sentences commuted in 2017 by President Obama for the same case, Pedro has not been granted clemency; it’s still not cl...
- Title
- Trans Activists Occupied Bathrooms in the US Capitol
- Runtime
- 0:44
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/activists-occupy-capitol-bathrooms-trans-ban/
On Thursday, December 5th, protesters took to the US Capitol bathrooms across from House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office on Thursday to protest the recently enacted policy banning trans people from accessing bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
Just a day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that may upend gender-affirming care for children and adults across the United States, dozens of trans people and their allies raised banners demanding Congress “stop pissing on our rights” and urging supporters to “flush bathroom bigotry.”
Organizers said about 15 people were arrested for crowding and obstructing, including Chelsea Manning, the whistleblower who leaked troves of classified government records about Iraq and Afghanistan to WikiLeaks. According to The 19th, Capitol police threatened p...
- Title
- What I saw outside the SCOTUS Skrmetti hearing
- Runtime
- 1:33
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com
On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark lawsuit challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors, brought by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, a physician, and three trans minors and their families.
Mother Jones editorial fellow Sophie Hurwitz was outside SCOTUS to speak with those who showed up in support of trans people, and those who aren't. They reflect: "For the trans young people I spoke with, this isn’t about Satan or brainwashing or ideology—it’s about survival."
United States v. Skrmetti is one of the biggest cases of the term and the first major trans-rights case to be heard by the court since far-right lawmakers and policy groups launched a coordinated campaign inundating statehouses with hundreds of anti-trans bills a few years ago. Legal experts say the Skrmetti case could shape the landscape for trans rig...
- Title
- Donald Trump’s Pick for FBI Is Maybe His Most Ridiculous Yet
- Runtime
- 2:12
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
In the middle of the Thanksgiving holiday stretch, Donald Trump announced what might be his most extreme and controversial appointment yet: Kash Patel for FBI director. There are many reasons why this decision is outrageous. Patel is a MAGA combatant who has fiercely advocated Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and who has championed January 6 rioters as patriots and unfairly persecuted political prisoners. (The still ongoing January 6 case, including scores of prosecutions for assaults on police, is one of the FBI’s largest and most successful criminal investigations ever.) Patel is also a fervent promoter of conspiracy theories. At the end of Trump’s first presidency, when he was a Pentagon official, he spread the bonkers idea that Italian military satellites had been employed to turn Trump votes to Joe Biden votes in the 2020 election. And he has falsely claimed that the Trump-R...
- Title
- Athletes Have Embraced the Soft Power of a Trump Dance
- Runtime
- 2:02
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/trump-dance-sports-nick-bosa-christian-pulisic/
Athletes are embracing the soft power of the Trump dance—solidifying him as a global right-wing figure.
When Christian Pulisic, the US men’s national soccer team star, scored against Jamaica, he promptly jogged to the corner flag. After a jumping fist pump, the red, white, and blue bedecked central midfielder did what’s become known as the “Trump Dance,” laughing as he wiggled his arms and hips.
In a post-game interview, Pulisic—a multi-millionaire who is a registered Republican—was questioned about his celebration and disavowed that it carried any deeper meaning: “It’s not a political dance. It was just for fun.”
No matter what Pulisic intended, there’s no denying he’s part of a larger wave of athletes, from the NFL to the collegiate level, who in the wake of Trump’s 2024 win have b...
- Title
- Building an Alternative to Billionaire-Backed Media
- Runtime
- 0:52
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/givingtuesday
Big investigations into the powers that be, reporting that doesn't soften the news, and lifting up voices you're not hearing anywhere else.
This is what nonprofit journalism looks like. So we hope you join us this season in building an alternative to billionaire-backed media.
All your donations will be matched right now, so you can double your impact!
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- Title
- Nancy Mace Is Obsessed With Trans People
- Runtime
- 1:23
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
You would think a sitting Congressperson would have better things to do than tweet all day.
Well, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is proving us all wrong, says Digital Fellow Henry Carnell. According to Newsweek, Mace tweeted about trans people over 300 times in just 24 hours. (Obsessed much?) But among all that bigoted noise was one tweet that got Carnell's attention: "Wore pink tonight, to celebrate my real womanhood."
Looking at the history of the color pink reveals something that Mace and her conservative colleagues fundamentally misunderstand: Biology and gender are not the same. So Carnell takes us on a quick history lesson that demonstrates just how wrong Mace is about... all of this.
For more on Mace's descent into a sad obsession with what bathroom people use: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/sarah-mcbride-nancy-mace-congress-transgender-women-bathroom-transp...
- Title
- Five Things Christian Nationalists Want for the Trump Presidency
- Runtime
- 5:38
- Date posted
- 2 years ago
- Description
- ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/five-christian-nationalist-action-items-for-trumps-next-term/
Over the last few months leading up to the election, Mother Jones' Kiera Butler has been writing about an ascendant fundamentalist religious movement whose leaders believe that the United States is a Christian nation, that the Constitution is based on the Bible, and that Christians are called to take over the government. These figures have found a powerful ally in President-elect Donald Trump. Just last week, days before the election, Kiera attended one of his campaign events at a church in Georgia, where Trump promised the assembled crowd that he intended to put Christian leaders “directly in the Oval Office.”
He didn’t elaborate on what exactly that would look like, but Kiera's past few months of reporting on the Christian right have given her some ideas. Here are a few things Kiera will be tracking as Trump’...
