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Top News | Deranged Trump Demands 'Unconditional Surrender' After Threatening to Kill Iran's Leader
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"If it involves military action, that decision belongs to Congress, which has not authorized war against Iran," said one expert.
By Julia Conley
In a lengthy post on the social media platform X, U.S. Vice President JD Vance urged Americans to "trust" President Donald Trump to make the right decision about potential war with Iran—but progressive observers noted that Vance's 374-word exposition was based on an entirely false premise: that the president has the authority to unilaterally decide to take military action against a foreign country.
"If it involves military action, that decision belongs to Congress, which has not authorized war against Iran," said Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and executive vice president at the Center for International Policy. "A former senator should know this."
Vance said he could provide a look "from the inside" amid escalating tensions over Israel's bombardment of hundreds of targets in Iran, which have killed more than 220 people since last Friday.
The airstrikes came amid U.S. talks with Iran over the Middle Eastern country's nuclear program, which Iranian officials say is used only for civilian purposes. Trump exited the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran during his first term, even though the deal effectively blocked Iran from militarizing its program.
On Tuesday, Trump suggested the U.S. and Israel could target Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and demanded the country's "unconditional surrender"—intensifying concerns that the administration intends to directly involve U.S. troops in the conflict.
Already, Air Force refueling planes have headed for Europe in recent days, and Trump demanded that Tehran's population of 10 million people evacuate the city at 2:00 am local time on Tuesday—suggesting the U.S. is already involved.
In his post on X, Vance expounded on what he said was widespread "confusion" about Iran's nuclear capabilities since the first Trump administration tore up the 2015 deal, before claiming that Trump "has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military's focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens," and that the president "may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment."
"That decision ultimately belongs to the president," claimed Vance.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) suggested the vice president was obfuscating the simple question of whether the U.S. military should become directly involved in the conflict. Despite silence from top Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), at least 25 lawmakers have faced the issue head-on by supporting legislation to stop Trump from unilaterally starting a war with Iran.
"That is a lot of words with no position. Will you stand with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and me and oppose U.S. strikes in Iran without congressional authorization?" askedRep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), naming the only congressional Republican who has backed a war powers resolution regarding Iran so far.
Vance said as recently as 2023 that he would not support unprovoked U.S. military action against Iran.
"If you're talking about an attack on the Iranian mainland," he toldCBS News at the time, "I think that would be a significant escalation."
"He understands the struggles working-class communities are facing in Detroit and across the country because he's lived those struggles himself," Sanders said.
By Stephen Prager
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday endorsed Donavan McKinney, a progressive primary challenger to a Democratic congressman who represents one of Michigan’s poorest districts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sanders (I-Vt.) released a statement announcing his support for McKinney, a state representative who seeks to oust incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar in next year’s Democratic primary for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
"He understands the struggles working-class communities are facing in Detroit and across the country because he's lived those struggles himself," Sanders said.
McKinney is the political director for Michigan's Service Employees International Union, the largest healthcare union in the state. In 2022, he was elected to the state Legislature, where he has represented a district with a median income of less than $20,000.
As a state legislator, McKinney has led efforts to address the high cost of living and poor living conditions of those in his district. In 2024, he supported Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's expansion of free pre-K for Michigan children and helped to secure funding to replace the state's lead pipe infrastructure. He has also called out utility companies, like DTE Energy, that have continuously hiked costs and reaped massive profits.
McKinney has honed his message against corporate control of politics, closely aligning himself with Sanders' message about "Fighting Oligarchy." McKinney has also received endorsements from the progressive group Justice Democrats and from Sanders' close progressive ally and fellow Michigander Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
"I know when it comes to real representation, Michigan's 13th District deserves better," Tlaib said.
McKinney has contrasted his working-class upbringing with that of Thanedar, a former pharmaceutical executive who is estimated to be worth $41 million, making him the 28th richest member of Congress.
While running for Congress, Thanedar pledged to "never take a dime" of corporate money. But according to TheDetroit News, he received at least $36,000 from political action committees (PACs) backed by some of America's largest auto manufacturers, tech firms, and energy companies, including DTE.
According to his website, McKinney "is committed to getting big money out of politics, and elevating the voices of voters over the influence of super PACs and corporations."
After the 2024 election saw unprecedented influence from billionaires like Elon Musk to help elect Donald Trump and other Republicans, McKinney co-introduced a bill to ban utility monopolies and government contractors from making political donations in Michigan.
Citing reports that Thanedar spent over $5 million of his own money to fund his campaign in 2022, McKinney has described him as "a multimillionaire who spent millions to buy his seat in Congress," one who has "more in common with Donald Trump and Elon Musk" than with residents of his district.
"We deserve a Democratic Party that leads the fight against the billionaires robbing us blind, that stands up to corporate PACs," McKinney said in the video announcing his campaign.
***DO YOU HAVE A WARRANT?
ICE GESTAPO IS POSTING ON X? WHY?
ICE GESTAPO IS MASKED IN A COURT HOUSE, ARRESTING SOMEONE WITHOUT IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES? NO WARRANT?
ICE GESTAPO HAVE BEEN MAKING LAWLESS, FALSE ACCUSATIONS ACROSS THE NATION - DON'T BELIEVE THEIR ACCOUNT!****
"This is disgusting and horrific. He must be released immediately," wrote one New York City councilmember.
By Eloise Goldsmith
Democratic mayoral candidate and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents at an immigration court in lower Manhattan on Tuesday.
"While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely," said Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Lander's mayoral campaign, not long after the episode took place on Tuesday.
Later, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put out a statement on X saying that Lander had been arrested.
"New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer. Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment. No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences."
A video shared on Lander's nongovernment X account shows him holding on to a man and asking multiple times for officials to furnish a warrant. "I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant," Lander says in the video.
Lander is then separated from the man and pushed toward a wall and handcuffed. "You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens," Lander says in the video. The video shows Lander then being escorted into an elevator.
Democratic officials, in New York and elsewhere, took to social media to condemn his arrest.
"This is disgusting and horrific. He must be released immediately," wrote New York City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán (D-22).
"NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by [President Donald] Trump's ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant," wrote state Assemblymember and fellow Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D-36). "This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now."
Last week, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was handcuffed on the ground after being forcibly removed from a news conference that was held by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.
Also, federal officials recently indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), accusing her of "forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers" in relation to her involvement in a May oversight visit at a privately run migrant detention center in Newark, New Jersey and subsequent confrontation with ICE agents outside of the facility.
"We cannot allow billionaires and powerful corporate interests to continue undermining democracy by injecting unlimited amounts of money into the political process."
By Jessica Corbett
Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and seven of his Democratic colleagues on Tuesday urged party leaders to ban super PAC and other forms of dark money from party primaries to curb outside corporate giving and the shadowy influence of the megarich.
"We cannot allow billionaires and powerful corporate interests to continue undermining democracy by injecting unlimited amounts of money into the political process," states the letter to Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "As you know, the Supreme Court's 2010 decision on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has been a disaster for our country."
Citizens United allowed corporations and outside organizations to spend unlimited amounts of money on U.S. politics, often by giving through unaccountable political action committees (super PACs), which can take donations from groups that don't have to disclose the source of their funding. Since the high court's landmark decision, "dark money groups have spent at least $4.3 billion on federal elections" alone, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Schumer has said that "overturning Citizens United is probably more important than any other single thing we could do to preserve this great and grand democracy," the senators' letter notes. Martin has promised a resolution on dark money and that he "will be pushing hard for our party to come up with solutions on this so that we actually have our candidates and campaigns realize that we have to live our values."
"We support legislation to comprehensively reform campaign finance to remove the corrosive influence of money in our elections, including by overturning the Citizens United decision," the senators wrote. "But we don't have to wait until then. There is action we can take now to get billionaire super PACs and dark money out of Democratic primaries. In recent election cycles, right-wing billionaires have spent hundreds of millions of dollars funding super PACs to dominate in our primaries."
"In addition to intervening in Democratic primaries, it is not uncommon for these same super PACs and dark money groups to fund general election campaigns where they work overtime to defeat Democrats," they pointed out. "The result: they have defeated a number of excellent members in the House and Senate. That is unacceptable."
Republican President Donald Trump was elected to a second term last year with significant support from the richest person on Earth, Elon Musk—who then spearheaded the administration's sweeping assault on the federal bureaucracy via their so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
"The American people are disgusted with a corrupt political system that allows Elon Musk to spend $270 million to elect Donald Trump. They want change. We can make change," argued Sanders (Vt.) and Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Peter Welch (Vt.), and Chris Van Hollen (Md.).
"If our opposition to Citizens United is going to be taken seriously, we must begin by cleaning our own house. Super PAC money and dark money must be banned from Democratic primaries," the coalition asserted, pointing to a recent example of state action as proof that the policy "is not some pie in the sky dream."
As the letter details, "The Arizona Democratic Party recently took steps to bar super PAC money from primaries by adopting a resolution committing to 'ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that candidates in Democratic primaries are not benefited by, dependent on, or elected due to outside or independent electioneering spending' and launching a process to develop enforcement procedures to implement this commitment."
After those moves, Sanders—who caucuses with Democrats and sought the party's presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020—had congratulated the Arizona party "for getting the ball rolling on this enormously important issue," declaring: "Billionaires must not be allowed to buy Democratic primary elections. Other states should follow suit."
Similarly, the new letter congratulates the state party and says that "the national Democratic Party must follow."
Since last November's election, when Democrats lost not only the White House but also both chambers of Congress—setting up Trump and Republican lawmakers to push their "Big Beautiful Bill"that would give tax cuts to the rich while gutting key healthcare and anti-hunger programs—Sanders has challenged Democratic Party leaders to actually prioritize working people and launched a Fighting Oligarchy Tour that's visited several states.
Meanwhile, Schumer has faced pressure to step down from leadership after leading nine other members of the Democratic caucus in helping Republicans advance a GOP stopgap funding bill to a final vote in March. That decision provoked fresh calls for progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—a frequent speaker on Sanders' tour—to launch a primary challenge against him for 2028.
"The president does not have the power to unilaterally declare war," asserted Rep. Summer Lee. "Congressional authorization isn't optional."
By Brett Wilkins
Numerous House progressives said Tuesday that they will support legislation that would force President Donald Trump to obtain congressional permission to wage war on Iran, a development that followed Monday's introduction of two Senate measures aimed at stopping Trump from dragging the United States into the widening Israel-Iran war.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Tuesday introduced legislation affirming the legal requirement under the War Powers Resolution of 1973—also known as the War Powers Act—for the president to notify lawmakers within 48 hours of committing troops to military action and limiting such action to 60 days, with a 30-day withdrawal period, unless Congress declares war or issues an authorization for the use of military force.
"The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn't attacked the United States," Massie explained in a statement. "Congress has the sole power to declare war against Iran. The ongoing war between Israel and Iran is not our war. Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution."
In a post on the social media site X, Massie thanked the resolution's co-sponsors, all of them Democrats: Don Beyer (Va.), Greg Casar (Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Jesús "Chuy" García (Ill.), Val Hoyle (Ore.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), and Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.).
More lawmakers—possibly including Republicans—are expected to sign on to the measure.
"The president does not have the power to unilaterally declare war. Congressional authorization isn't optional," Lee said on social media. "When some profit both financially and politically from endless war, the rest of us pay the price. We can't let them lie us into another conflict that will cost innocent lives."
Tlaib asserted that "the American people aren't falling for it again. We were lied to about 'weapons of mass destruction' in Iraq that killed millions [and] forever changed lives."
The progressive political action committee Justice Democrats welcomed Massie's measure: "Here's an opportunity for bipartisanship that doesn't sell out the American people. Every member of Congress should oppose U.S. involvement, funding, weapons, or troops fighting another endless war in the Middle East."
The House proposal follows Monday's introduction of a war powers resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would prevent the Trump administration from using federal funds for a military attack on Iran without congressional approval. It also echoes a 2020 resolution proposed in the then-Democrat-controlled House that would have banned Trump from waging war on Iran without lawmakers' approval.
Explaining her support for Massie's legislation, Omar said, "I support this resolution because the American people do not want another war."
Indeed, an Economist/YouGov poll published Tuesday revealed that only 16% of surveyed voters "think the U.S. should get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran." Just 10% of respondents who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris last year and 19% of 2024 Trump voters want the U.S. to wage war on Iran, as do 15% of self-described Democrats, 11% of Independents, and 23% of Republicans.
A separate survey commissioned by Demand Progress and conducted by the Bullfinch Group recently found that 53% of registered voters—including 58% of Democrats, 47% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans—want Trump to "obtain congressional authorization before striking targets in other countries."
"We applaud Rep. Massie and Sen. Kaine for introducing these resolutions to keep us out of yet another war in the Middle East," Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said Tuesday. "It should be in the interest of Republicans and Democrats to uphold the Constitution and prevent Israel from dragging us into a disastrous war with Iran."
"The American people, including a clear majority of Republican voters, believe the president must obtain congressional authorization before initiating strikes against another country," Kharrazian added. "Congress must listen to them and reassert its constitutional war powers authority by passing these resolutions."
Israel claims it attacked Iran to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons. However, successive U.S. intelligence assessments have concluded for decades—most recently in March—that Iran is not trying to build nukes. On Tuesday, Trump brushed off his own director of national intelligence's findings that Iran is not close to having a nuclear bomb.
As Trump ratcheted up his cryptic threats against Tehran amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Iran and Iranian counterstrikes, anti-war voices including the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and the peace group CodePink urged restraint and negotiation to avert escalating the Mideast crisis.
NIAC, which is circulating a petition demanding Congress act to avert U.S. intervention, is planning to hold a Tuesday afternoon No War With Iran Action Hour co-hosted with Peace Action and Action Corps.
"Trump continues to renege on his own commitments to diplomacy and an end to wars by perpetuating [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's war of aggression through his own vocal support and U.S. military equipment and personnel in the region," NIAC said Tuesday. "Israel's assaults on Tehran have killed upwards of 224 Iranians and hospitalized over 1,277 more."
"Happening at the same time, in just the last day alone, Israeli forces have also killed at least 51 Palestinians desperate for aid and food at a World Food Program site in southern Gaza," NIAC noted. "There is no telling how much more devastation for Iran, Israel, and the U.S. an expanded war on Iran would bring."
"President Trump must immediately halt military aid and support for the Israel war on Iran," the group added, "and if he will not, Congress must act within its constitutional authority to save millions of American, Iranian, Israeli, and Palestinian lives."
"If new talks take place and Trump insists on capitulation, he will get war," warned one analyst. "Iran will pay an immeasurable price. As will the region. But the U.S. will also pay a very heavy price."
By Jake Johnson
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded "unconditional surrender" from the Iranian government after threatening to order the assassination of the country's leader, an escalation of rhetoric that observers said could signal imminent American intervention in the increasingly deadly conflict that Israel, without provocation, started last week.
Trump wrote on his social media platform that "we know exactly where" Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "is hiding."
"He is an easy target, but is safe there," the U.S. president continued. "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now."
Minutes later, Trump wrote in a separate post, in all caps, "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
Trump's use of "we" in his latest messaging on the war indicates that the president sees the U.S.—Israel's top ally and arms supplier—as a party to the conflict, a departure from his insistence just days earlier that the U.S. was "not involved."
"Trump's Iran war may destroy his presidency as Bush's Iraq invasion destroyed his. Iran will lose. But so will the U.S."
Citing unnamed U.S. officials, Axios reported Tuesday that Trump "is seriously considering joining the war and launching a U.S. strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, especially its underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow."
The same outlet reported over the weekend that Israeli officials had been pressuring the Trump administration to wade into the conflict directly, claiming that Israel "lacks the bunker buster bombs and large bomber aircraft needed to destroy Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment site."
Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, warned Tuesday that Trump now appears "determined to take the country to a war of choice."
"If new talks take place and Trump insists on capitulation, he will get war," Parsi wrote. "Iran will pay an immeasurable price. As will the region. But the U.S. will also pay a very heavy price. Scores of American soldiers may be killed. Oil prices will skyrocket, and gas prices in hot summer months in the U.S. will soar. Inflation will go up."
"Trump's Iran war may destroy his presidency as Bush's Iraq invasion destroyed his," Parsi added. "Iran will lose. But so will the U.S. Israel is perhaps the only country that will benefit from this war of choice."
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With the world's eyes on the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday killed at least dozens of people waiting for food trucks in the Gaza Strip, yet another IDF massacre of starving Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid.
Eyewitnesses told journalists that while Palestinians were gathered on a route used by humanitarian assistance trucks in Khan Younis, Israeli forces conducted an airstrike on a nearby home and then targeted the crowd with gun and tank fire.
The Gaza Health Ministry and Nasser Hospital initially confirmed that more than 50 people were dead and over 200 others were wounded. Al Jazeera later reported that the ministry said the death toll had risen beyond 70.
People in the crowd were "blown to pieces, body parts were scattered all over the place," witness Saeed Abu Lebda told the outlet. "The number of victims is way more than those brought to the hospital. But no one could reach them to provide help."
At Nasser Hospital, a witness named Alaa recalled to Reuters that "all of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells."
"No one is looking at these people with mercy," Alaa added. "The people are dying, they are being torn apart, to get food for their children. Look at these people, all these people are torn to get flour to feed their children."
Yousef Nofal, an eyewitness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground after Israeli forces opened fire. "It was a massacre," he said, adding that the soldiers continued firing on people as they fled from the area.
Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. "I survived by a miracle," he said.
"A witness who spoke with Haaretz said that the Palestinians were hit in an area that the army considers an active combat zone, and they were not in the vicinity of an established distribution center nearby," according to the Israeli newspaper.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that "earlier today, a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Younis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area."
"The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd's approach. The details of the incident are under review," the Israeli military continued. "The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops."
The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, the Israeli assault on the Palestinian enclave had killed at least 55,432 people, with thousands more missing in rubble and presumed dead.
Over the past 20 months, the IDF has repeatedly slaughtered Palestinians trying to access food assistance, including at hubs recently set up by the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) following an Israeli blockade on aid.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a lengthy Tuesday statement that GHF "is directly responsible for the escalating Israeli crimes against starved Palestinian civilians near aid distribution points in central and southern Gaza."
"The foundation's operational model involves luring civilians to specific locations coordinated with the Israeli army, where they are subjected to killing, injury, and cruel and degrading treatment," Euro-Med Monitor said. "These points have effectively become death traps used as tools in Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinian population for over 20 months."
The monitor called for independent international investigations into the Tuesday killings and GHF's role "in facilitating and executing serious crimes committed against Palestinian civilians," as well as a halt on all financial or logistical support to the foundation, criminal probes against all individuals affiliated with it, and civil lawsuits for implicated entities and individuals.
"Euro-Med Monitor also calls on all states, individually and collectively, to uphold their legal obligations and take urgent action to stop the ongoing genocide in Gaza in all its forms," the group added. "Finally, Euro-Med Monitor urges the international community to impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel in response to its systematic and grave violations of international law."
It's true that the party isn’t dead... yet. But if it does not seriously reflect on its disastrous 2024 performance—and all that led up to it—the future is beyond bleak.
While the spoiled offspring of millionaires and billionaires skip out on taxes, Republicans want to take food stamp benefits away from millions of poor kids.
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