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Bernie Sanders on Trump and the resistance: 'Despair is not an option'

The senator talks about his fight to make the Democratic party more attractive to working-class people – and on taking his progressive populism to the heartland in order to topple Trump. Sanders occupies an exalted pedestal in American politics today. In 2016 he won 23 primary and caucus races to Clinton’s 34, notching up 13 million votes. Given the odds stacked against him – Clinton’s establishment firepower; the skewed weighting of the “superdelegates” that tipped the primaries in her direction by reserving 15% of the votes for the party establishment; and the cynical efforts of the party machine through the Democratic national convention to undermine Sanders’ campaign by casting aspersions on his leadership abilities and religious beliefs, as revealed in the Russian-hacked WikiLeaks emails – that was no mean achievement.

How to Jam the Trump Brand

Here's a quick-and-easy guide for doing battle with President Trump in the only language he understands — his own brand. Naomi Klein explains 3 methods for fighting Donald Trump, simply imply he is a puppet, and make him less rich by attacking his brands.

Federal judge denies Trump administration appeal in youth climate lawsuit

A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s appeal in a climate change lawsuit, paving the way for the unprecedented suit to go to trial. The case — Juliana v. United States — pits a group of youth climate plaintiffs against the federal government and the fossil fuel industry. The plaintiffs allege that the federal government, through its actions and coordination with the fossil fuel industry, have violated their constitutional right to a livable climate. It is the first climate lawsuit to rely on a version of the public trust doctrine — known as atmospheric trust — to make its case, and adds to a growing number of attempts to force climate action through the judicial branch.

Federal court blocks Trump EPA on air pollution

An appeals court Monday struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s 90-day suspension of new emission standards on oil and gas wells, a decision that could set back the Trump administration’s broad legal strategy for rolling back Obama-era rules. In a 2-to-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that the EPA had the right to reconsider a 2016 rule limiting methane and smog-forming pollutants emitted by oil and gas wells but could not delay the effective date while it sought to rewrite the regulation.

Republicans Want to Sideline This Regulator. But It May Be Too Popular.

In the weeks after the election, Richard Cordray, the Democrat who leads the agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, directed his staff to compile stories from ordinary Americans thanking it for resolving complaints. The  anecdotes, which he solicited in an email to share with the Trump transition team, could provide a counterpoint to critics who had cast the agency as a regulatory scourge on the economy. And implicit in his request to employees was the belief that some accolades would come from parts of the country that helped elect Mr. Trump — evidence that the popularity of consumer safeguards transcends party divisions.

Despite Predicted Collapse, Obamacare Will Have Almost No ‘Bare’ Counties

Dire predictions of Obamacare’s collapse appear to be premature, as  insurers have moved in to to provide coverage in almost every single “bare” county in the nation, including dozens of areas that until recently had no health insurance companies slated to sell plans on the individual market next year.

Congress Rejects Trump Proposals to Cut Health Research Funds

Congress has rejected President Trump’s plan to cut funds for biomedical research and would instead increase spending by the National Institutes of Health. The appropriations committees in both houses rejected Mr. Trump’s proposal to slash payments to universities for overhead — the “indirect costs” of research financed by the health institutes. These include the cost of utilities, internet service, data storage, the construction and upkeep of laboratories and compliance with federal rules protecting human subjects of clinical research.

Trump's consumer agency pick serves doughnuts and plea to 'disregard' acting head

A day after the official that Donald Trump wants to pass over as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) asked a federal court to block the president’s own appointment, Trump’s pick for the role offered doughnuts to agency staff and told them to “disregard” his opponent’s instructions. Barney Frank, the retired Massachusetts Democrat who was one of the  authors of the law that created the CFPB, told CNN on Monday that Trump and Republicans were seeking to weaken the agency in an administrative fashion, rather than legislative, because it was popular for its work standing up to banks, mortgage companies, loan companies and debt collectors on behalf of ordinary Americans.

New York’s Attorney General in Battle With Trump

Eric Schneiderman’s office recently took legal or administrative action against “the biggest threat” to New Yorkers: the federal government. By moving to sue the Federal Communications Commission over net neutrality this month, his office took its 100th legal or administrative action against the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. His lawyers have challenged Mr. Trump’s first, second and third travel bans and sued over such diverse matters as a rollback in birth control coverage and a weakening of pollution standards.