Trump caught in disturbing new scheme to rig midterms

Top Stories for January 2:

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Trump caught pulling disturbing new scheme to rig next election
Donald Trump’s long-running crusade to delegitimize mail-in voting just took another disturbing step forward with the latest announcement coming from the US Postal Service, which has unfortunately flown under the legacy media radar thus far. Couched as a long-overdue change designed to improve service and increase efficiency, the USPS rolled out a number of operational changes, including one particularly troubling new rule: postmarks on mail will no longer reflect drop-off dates. Instead, the postmark date on any given piece of mail will reflect the first automated processing date, which in many cases can happen several days after the drop-off date. For a birthday card for grandma this isn’t such a big deal, but when it comes to delivering time-sensitive items like, ya know, mail-in ballots, it most certainly is a huge effing deal. Brian Tyler Cohen and Marc Elias discuss the ramifications of Trump’s latest scheme to disenfranchise voters and delegitimize our electoral system on the latest episode of “Democracy Watch.”

Take Action: Demand Congress investigate Trump’s sketchy TikTok deal!

Trump defends his energy and health in new interview, tries to explain his aspirin habit
The 79-year-old president with chronically bruised hands and visibly swollen ankles spoke with The Wall Street Journal in an effort assure Americans that he, the oldest person ever sworn into the office, is actually the epitome of perfect health. Trump said he regretted telling reporters about the MRI (or was it a CT scan?) he had at Walter Reed last fall, admitting he gave his critics “ammunition” to poke holes in his hyperbolic claims of impeccable good health. Trump’s team continues to insist his second “annual” physical in six months and “preventative” advanced imaging were routine, a claim rebutted by literally any medical professional willing to actually go on the record. Never one to not make things exceptionally weird, Trump also tried to explain his long-standing aspirin regimen, which his own doctors have repeatedly advised him to reduce, to no avail: “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?” Not really! But, honestly, why start now?

Take Action: Take action to protect our Social Security offices!

Proven winner Mallory McMorrow launches bid to protect VITAL battleground Senate seat
Mallory McMorrow for Senate: Progressive champion Mallory McMorrow gained national attention with her viral speech defending LGBTQ rights in the Michigan state Senate, and now she’s running to pick up the torch from retiring Senator Gary Peters. McMorrow has a proven history-making track record, having helped flip the Michigan Senate for the first time since the 80s and winning a blue trifecta. Now she’s ready to defeat MAGA extremist Mike Rogers and flip the US Senate blue. Will you chip in to jump-start her campaign?

Trump and top Iranian officials exchange threats over protests roiling Iran
Donald Trump and top Iranian officials exchanged dueling threats Friday as widening economic protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic, further escalating tensions between the countries after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June. Trump initially wrote on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran that if it “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.” At least seven people have been killed so far in violence surrounding the demonstrations, sparked in part by the collapse of Iran’s rial currency. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote, without elaborating. Cool, cool, cool. Definitely the kind of rhetoric that will lower geopolitical temperatures and land Donald his coveted Nobel Peace Prize! Shortly after, Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accused Israel and the US of deliberately stoking the demonstrations. He offered no evidence to support the allegation, which Iranian officials have repeatedly made during years of protests sweeping the country. 2026 is off and running, folks.

Drugmakers raise US prices on 350 medicines despite pressure from Trump
Hey, remember when the MAGA cult leader emphatically proclaimed at pep rally after pep rally last year that the era of Big Pharma gouging Americans was officially over, and vowed to usher in a golden age of affordable drug prices in line with the rest of the developed world? Yeah, no. Despite ongoing pressure from the Trump administration, drugmakers announced plans to raise prices in the United States on at least 350 branded medications, including vaccines against COVID, RSV, and shingles, as well the blockbuster cancer treatment, Ibrance. The number of price increases for 2026 is up from the same point last year, when drugmakers unveiled ‌plans for raises on more than 250 drugs. The median of this year’s price hikes is around 4% — in line with 2025. US patients currently pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations. See, we actually are #1. Keep up the good work, Donnie!

Mamdani pledges “new era” for New York and vows to govern “audaciously”
Zohran Mamdani vowed to “reinvent” New York City in a speech on his first day as mayor, promising “a new era” for America’s largest city and an ambitious start to his term of office. The 34-year-old political star and Democratic Socialist, who a year ago was a virtually unknown state assemblyman, is the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of south Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. He is also the first to be sworn in using the Quran. Mamdani said a “moment like this comes rarely and rarer still is it that the people themselves whose hands are upon the levers of change.” Though he was advised to lower expectations among voters, Mamdani did not shy away from his socialist politics or his ambitious agenda: “I was elected as a Democratic Socialist and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being called radical,” he said to loud cheers from the gathered crowd.

Billionaire-bought CBS News announces they’re becoming Fox News 2
In another dark day for American journalism, the once-highly respected CBS News has announced they’re all but adopting the incredibly problematic Fox News style of bias-confirmation coverage. Veteran journalist Tony Dokoupil published an op-ed saying that “people don’t trust us like they used to” about issues like “Hillary Clinton’s emails,” “Russiagate,” “COVID lockdowns,” and “Hunter Biden’s laptop.” Dokoupil writes, “The point is that on too many stories the press missed the story. Because we’ve taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you.” Translation: we’re putting the “BS” back in “CBS.”

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Senator Tommy Tuberville says “the enemy is inside the gates” after Mamdani opts to be sworn in using the Quran
Oh, good. The world’s dumbest American senator™ is back on his Islamophobic bullshit. Don’t you have some football games to watch, Tommy?

Sickening photo trend on Twitter sees women’s clothing being removed by Grok
Ah, for fuck’s sake. Grok’s shiny new trick, the latest abomination from the ketamine-addled, teenage id of Elon, involves the digital undressing of women from photos on Twitter. Just great. Musk has once again managed to combine creepy, incel basement-forum energy with billion-dollar tech hubris, proving once again just how badly the world needs robust AI regulation now. This will not end well otherwise.