'Time to Play Hardball': Progressives Pressure Senate Democrats on Trump Shutdown | News & Views

A daily roundup of progressive headlines, opinion, and analysis [Click here](1f9d0/ct0_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) to view this message in a browser window. [Common Dreams](1f9d0/ct1_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [] [] News & Views | 1/7/19 [] Feature... [] ['Time to Play Hardball': Progressives Pressure Senate Democrats to Stonewall All Bills That Don't End Trump Shutdown](1f9d0/ct2_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) 1f9d0/ct3_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8 by Jake Johnson, staff writer With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refusing to allow a floor vote on government funding bills that passed the Democratic House last week, progressive organizations are attempting to force the GOP leader's hand by pressuring Democrats to stonewall all Senate business and legislation... [] [] News... [] [With Nationwide Tour Targeting Untapped Youth Power, Sunrise Movement Aims to 'Make Green New Deal an Inevitability'](1f9d0/ct4_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) 1f9d0/ct5_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8 by Julia Conley, staff writer The millennial-led Sunrise Movement has succeeded in convincing 45 House Democrats and several senators to support the Green New Deal, and now the grassroots group is planning to focus on young voters across the country to gather as much support as possible for the bold climate action and jobs proposal. --------------------------------------------------------------- [With Mueller Report Expected Soon, Trump Team May Claim Executive Privilege to Block Public Release](1f9d0/ct6_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Special Counsel Robert Mueller](1f9d0/ct7_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Jessica Corbett, staff writer With Special Counsel Robert Mueller expected to put out a report detailing his findings from the ongoing probe into alleged Russian election interference and any collusion or obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump's campaign or administration as early as next month, the president's legal team may move to block parts of it from Congress and the public on the grounds of executive privilege. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Supreme Court Blocks ExxonMobil's Effort to Conceal Decades of Documents in Probe of Oil Giant's Climate Deception](1f9d0/ct8_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [protesters against ExxonMobil](1f9d0/ct9_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Jessica Corbett, staff writer In a win for climate campaigners and Massachusetts' Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected ExxonMobil's attempt to block Healey's demand for documents related to her state's ongoing investigation into allegations that one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations deceived the public and investors for decades about how fossil fuels drive global warming. --------------------------------------------------------------- [After Promising More Jobs From Trump Tax Cuts, Report Shows AT&T Has 'Done Just the Opposite' by Slashing Over 10,000 Jobs in 2018](1f9d0/ct10_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) 1f9d0/ct11_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8 by Jake Johnson, staff writer Adding to the list of corporate giants that have slashed jobs after pocketing massive windfalls from the GOP's $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) released a report on Monday detailing how the telecom behemoth AT&T cut over 10,000 jobs and announced the closure of three call centers in 2018 despite receiving a $20 billion boost from the deeply unpopular tax law. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Celebrating Cyntoia Brown's Clemency, Rights Advocates Vow to Continue Fighting for Human Trafficking Survivors Behind Bars](1f9d0/ct12_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) 1f9d0/ct13_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8 by Julia Conley, staff writer A decade-long campaign which garnered national headlines in recent months came to fruition on Monday, as Gov. Bill Haslam (R-Tenn.) granted clemency to Cyntoia Brown, a sex-trafficking survivor who has been behind bars for 15 years for murder. --------------------------------------------------------------- ['Let's Get Our Priorities Right': Outrage as Bipartisan Group of Senators Pushes Bill to Punish Boycotts of Israel Amid Shutdown](1f9d0/ct14_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) 1f9d0/ct15_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8 by Jake Johnson, staff writer "It's absurd that the first bill during the shutdown is legislation which punishes Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political activity," declared Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) --------------------------------------------------------------- [] [] [More News](1f9d0/ct16_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [] [] Views... [] [The Miraculous Hope of Climate Realists](1f9d0/ct17_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Scientists in the Arctic observe the Aurora Borealis. (Photo: US Department of Defense)](1f9d0/ct18_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Erika Spanger-Siegfried Today, the only thing we need to ask of ourselves is, whether it’s defeating the fossil fuel industry, winning pro-climate elections, defending climate science, or getting out in the streets in demonstration, that we’re still in --------------------------------------------------------------- [Do We Really Need Billionaires?](1f9d0/ct19_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Three billionaire families--the Kochs, the Mercers, and the Adelsons--played a central role in bankrolling the Republican Party’s shift to the far Right and its takeover of federal and state offices. (Photo: Screenshot) ](1f9d0/ct20_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Lawrence Wittner According to numerous reports, the world’s billionaires keep increasing in number and, especially, in wealth --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why You Couldn’t Find Big Media Coverage of Haaland and Davids](1f9d0/ct21_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) stands during the 116th Congress swearing-in ceremony on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on January 3, 2019, in Washington. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)](1f9d0/ct22_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Jenni Monet Time has run out to convince colonized newsrooms that Indigenous issues and perspectives are necessary to the national narrative --------------------------------------------------------------- [Senator Warren's Push for Climate Risk Disclosure](1f9d0/ct23_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [While most of the focus on climate risk disclosure has been on the fossil fuel industry, few sectors face as much risk as food and agriculture—in particular, companies with long supply chains increasingly vulnerable to disruption.(Photo: shutterstock)](1f9d0/ct24_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Ben Lilliston Warren's new bill shines a light on how agribusiness and food companies will have to adapt to new conditions to reduce their risk and transition toward a more resilient, climate-friendly economy --------------------------------------------------------------- [Is Donald Trump an Asteroid?](1f9d0/ct25_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Jim “Mad Dog” Mattis and the 1st Marine Division he commanded had just such an impact on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, leaving more than 75% of it in rubble. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)](1f9d0/ct26_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) by Tom Engelhardt Honestly, this could get a lot uglier --------------------------------------------------------------- [By the Best Definition, the Poverty Rate Should Be Tripled](1f9d0/ct27_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) 1f9d0/ct28_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8 by Paul Buchheit Depressing news doesn't sell on our news shows. So the struggles of the bottom half of America are downplayed, while the "booming" economy for the upper-middle class is highlighted. --------------------------------------------------------------- [] [More Views](1f9d0/ct29_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [] [] Newswire... [] [CIEL Response to US Supreme Court’s Rejection of ExxonMobil’s Appeal to Block MA Attorney General Consumer Protection Probe](1f9d0/ct30_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [350.org on U.S. Supreme Court Rejecting Exxon’s Appeal in Mass. Investigation](1f9d0/ct31_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Opening Statements Begin Today in Federal Trial Challenging Trump Administration’s 2020 Census Citizenship Question](1f9d0/ct32_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Legal Petition Urges Feds to Severely Restrict Pesticides in Endangered Species Critical Habitat](1f9d0/ct33_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Issues Statement Following Supreme Court’s Decision to Rehear Gerrymandering Cases](1f9d0/ct34_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [] [] [More Newswire](1f9d0/ct35_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [] [] [Share this newsletter with a friend](1f9d0/ct36_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) [] [Donate](1f9d0/ct37_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) --------------------------------------------------------------- [Rate us on Google](1f9d0/ct38_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) | [Follow us on Facebook](1f9d0/ct39_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) | [Follow us on Twitter](1f9d0/ct40_0/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8) Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community. An independent, non-profit newscenter since 1997. Our Mission: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. [Common Dreams](1f9d0/ct1_1/1?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8), PO Box 443, Portland, ME 04112, USA | 207.775.0488 Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contribution is tax deductible. EIN: 20-3368194 | [Unsubscribe](1f9d0/q-003a/zout?sid=TV2%3AmkFWipVC8)