Democratic Underground

Shohei Ohtani to join Dodgers on 10-year, $700M contract

Shohei Ohtani signed a historic 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Ohtani posted to Instagram on Saturday saying he would play for his former team's crosstown rival starting next season after spending six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. "I pledge to always do what's best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself. Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not on ...

muriel_volestrangler

Israel-Gaza war: Half of Gaza's population is starving, warns UN

A senior UN aid official has warned that half of Gaza's population is starving, as fighting there continues. Carl Skau, deputy director of the UN World Food Programme, said only a fraction of supplies needed have been able to enter the Strip - and nine out of 10 people cannot eat everyday. ... Israel says it must continue air strikes on Gaza to eliminate Hamas and bring Israeli hostages home. Israel Defence Forces spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht told the BBC on Saturday that "any death and ...

andym

Penn President Liz Magill resigns after testimony on antisemitism drew bipartisan criticism

University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has resigned amid growing bipartisan backlash against her congressional committee testimony on antisemitism earlier this week and a semester marked by near-weekly protests, deep-pocketed donor complaints and widespread accusations of mismanagement since a controversial festival on campus this fall. "It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution," Magill said in a statement shared by board chair Scott L. Bo ...

BumRushDaShow

Wisconsin university regents reject deal with Republicans to reduce diversity positions

Updated 2:37 PM EST, December 9, 2023 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Universities of Wisconsin regents narrowly rejected a deal Saturday reached with Republicans that would have given employees a pay raise and paid for construction of a new engineering building in exchange for reductions in staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. The regents voted 9-8 during an emergency meeting to reject the deal reached Friday after being brokered by Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. “I don’ ...

BumRushDaShow

The secretive X-37B space plane is headed back into orbit with a boost from SpaceX

Dec. 9, 2023, 5:00 PM EST The United States military is preparing to launch its secretive X-37B space plane on a seventh mission in orbit. The uncrewed vehicle, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, is slated to lift off Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a 10-minute launch window that opens at 8:14 p.m. ET. For the first time, the X-37B will ride into orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Since its debut more than a decade ago, the X-37B has been a source of in ...

In It to Win It

Texas Supreme Court pauses lower court's order allowing pregnant woman to have an abortion

(AP) The Texas Supreme Court on Friday night put on hold a judge's ruling that approved an abortion for a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis, throwing into limbo an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. The order by the all-Republican court came more than 30 hours after Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, received a temporary restraining order from a lower court judge that prevents Texas from enforcing the state's ban in her case.

RandySF

GOP seeking to head off ballot initiatives on abortion access, Florida's included

(Florida Phoenix) Gov. Ron DeSantis was blunt following a GOP presidential primary debate on Nov. 8: Abortion-rights referenda are becoming a problem for leaders like himself who want to come as close as possible to outlawing the procedure. “Pro-lifers in particular have a big problem on these referenda,” DeSantis said during an interview with NBC News, referring in particular to Ohio voters’ decision that very week to enact a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights, even though, as he noted, many of the voters support Republican candidates.

TheFerret

Keville Chamberlain's Last Surrender

(The Ferret) I’m willing to admit I may’ve overstated the dangers of a second Trump term. He’ll only be a dictator on “day one?” Shoot, that’s not so bad. We should all get twenty-four hours of tyranny, don’tcha think? On mine, we’re gonna round up everybody who holds up the line at the grocery store trying to use expired coupons.

marmar

In the Wake of a Sex Scandal, a Moms for Liberty Co-Founder's Career Is Crumbling

(Mother Jones) It’s been just a week since Christian Ziegler, chair of the Florida GOP, was accused of raping a woman who was involved in a sexual encounter with him and his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder and Sarasota school board member Bridget Ziegler. Prominent Florida Republicans wasted no time in calling for Christan Ziegler to resign, which he has so far refused to do. Now, his wife is suffering from the consequences as well.

applegrove

French prosecutors order far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen to stand trial

(France 24) French prosecutors on Friday ordered far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen to stand trial over claims she used EU funds to finance party activities in France. In March, Le Pen will be joined by 26 other members of the National Rally (RN) party in the dock, all accused of setting up a system for embezzling EU money to hire staff in France

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Multiple long-track tornadoes tear through northwest Tennessee

32 min ago - December 9, 2023, 7:54 PM Multiple long-track tornadoes were reported in northwest Tennessee Saturday afternoon, as the twister threat in the region continues into the evening. "Extensive" damage has been reported in the city of Clarksville, located ... (ABC News)

Greyhound bus service returns to Mississippi's capital city

49 min ago - Updated 11:50 AM EST, December 9, 2023 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Customers seeking bus transportation out of Mississippi’s capital city can again look to Greyhound as a provider. The company resumed its services Wednesday out of Jackson, with t ... (AP)

White House reups Biden's pledge not to pardon son if convicted: 'Nothing has changed'

1 hr ago - 12/09/23 12:48 PM ET The White House reiterated President Biden’s pledge that he would not pardon his son, Hunter Biden, if he is convicted amid his ongoing legal battles. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president had not ... (The Hill)

Elon Musk signals he will restore the X account of notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones

1 hr ago - Updated 6:36 PM EST, Sat December 9, 2023 New York CNN — Elon Musk signaled Saturday that he would restore the account of right-wing extremist Alex Jones on X, formerly known as Twitter, reversing a 2018 decision by the company’s previous ... (CNN Business)

Democrats, Biden campaign condemn blocking of emergency abortion for Texas woman

1 hr ago - December 9, 2023 4:44 PM EST WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Top Democratic leaders and advocacy groups on Saturday condemned the Texas Supreme Court's decision to temporarily block a pregnant woman from obtaining an emergency abortion. The Texas cour ... (Reuters)

The secretive X-37B space plane is headed back into orbit with a boost from SpaceX

1 hr ago - Dec. 9, 2023, 5:00 PM EST The United States military is preparing to launch its secretive X-37B space plane on a seventh mission in orbit. The uncrewed vehicle, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, is slated to lift off Sunday from NASA’s ... (NBC News)

Israel-Gaza war: Half of Gaza's population is starving, warns UN

1 hr ago - A senior UN aid official has warned that half of Gaza's population is starving, as fighting there continues. Carl Skau, deputy director of the UN World Food Programme, said only a fraction of supplies needed have been able to enter the Strip - and ni ... (BBC)

Penn President Liz Magill resigns after testimony on antisemitism drew bipartisan criticism

3 hrs ago - University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has resigned amid growing bipartisan backlash against her congressional committee testimony on antisemitism earlier this week and a semester marked by near-weekly protests, deep-pocketed donor complaint ... (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Shohei Ohtani to join Dodgers on 10-year, $700M contract

4 hrs ago - Shohei Ohtani signed a historic 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Ohtani posted to Instagram on Saturday saying he would play for his former team's crosstown rival starting next season after spending six seasons ... (ESPN)

Wisconsin university regents reject deal with Republicans to reduce diversity positions

4 hrs ago - Updated 2:37 PM EST, December 9, 2023 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Universities of Wisconsin regents narrowly rejected a deal Saturday reached with Republicans that would have given employees a pay raise and paid for construction of a new engineering bu ... (AP)

State Department bypasses Congress to send thousands of munitions to Israel

8 hrs ago - Updated 2:00 PM EST, Sat December 9, 2023 CNN -- The US State Department transmitted an emergency declaration to lawmakers late Friday night for the sale of thousands of munitions to Israel, the agency announced, bypassing the standard 20-day perio ... (CNN Politics)

'Neo-Nazi group' harassed drag queens and hotels sheltering migrants, Mass. AG alleges

12 hrs ago - December 8, 2023 at 10:15 p.m. EST The Massachusetts attorney general is suing a white nationalist group active in New England after she said they repeatedly attempted to disrupt and harass drag queen story events and hotels that shelter migrants, in ... (Washington Post)

US and Philippines condemn the Chinese coast guard's water cannon blasts on fisheries vessels

12 hrs ago - By JIM GOMEZ Updated 6:21 AM CST, December 9, 2023 MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines and its treaty ally, the United States, separately condemned a high-seas assault Saturday by the Chinese coast guard together with suspected militia sh ... (AP)

U.S., South Korea, Japan to step up actions on North Korea cyber threats

15 hrs ago - December 9, 2023 3:30 AM EST SEOUL, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The United States, South Korea and Japan agreed new initiatives on Saturday to respond to North Korea's threats in cyberspace, including cryptocurrency abuses and space launches, White House Natio ... (Reuters)

Pregnant woman in Kentucky sues for the right to get an abortion

15 hrs ago - Dec 8, 2023 5:59 PM EST LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A pregnant woman in Kentucky filed a lawsuit Friday demanding the right to an abortion, the second legal challenge in days to sweeping abortion bans that have taken hold in more than a dozen U.S. s ... (PBS News Hour/AP)

Senate introduces legislation addressing fan frustration over ticket sales

15 hrs ago - Dec. 8, 2023, 5:14 PM EST A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation Friday aimed at correcting flaws in the ticketing industry and increasing transparency for patrons of live events. The bill, called the Fans First Act, seeks to add ... (NBC News)

Expert witnesses for Trump's defense billed almost $900,000 each for testifying on his behalf at fraud trial

15 hrs ago - December 8, 2023 / 10:02 PM EST New York City -- Former President Donald Trump sat attentively in the courtroom of his New York civil fraud trial on Thursday, watching as the defense's final expert witness, Eli Bartov, proclaimed that there was "no e ... (CBS News)

Texas Supreme Court Temporarily Halts Court-Approved Abortion

20 hrs ago - (gift link) By J. David Goodman Reporting from Houston. Dec. 8, 2023 Updated 11:14 p.m. ET The Texas Supreme Court late Friday temporarily halted a lower court order allowing a Dallas woman to obtain an abortion in spite of the state’s strict ba ... (New York Times)

Tens of thousands of B.C. residents received free contraception in eight months, Eby says

22 hrs ago - About 188,000 people have received free prescription contraception since British Columbia became the first province to offer them in April. The province says in the first eight months of the program, about 123,000 people have received free pill contr ... (Global News)

FedEx faces US racketeering lawsuit by former delivery contractor

Yesterday - December 8, 2023 11:38 AM EST LOS ANGELES, Dec 8 (Reuters) - A company that FedEx once contracted to deliver packages on the California-Oregon border has sued the shipper, alleging it engages in a systemic pattern of illegal and wrongful business pra ... (Reuters)