Trump is trying to distract voters from his terrible record in office with empty promises of a $5,000 bribe check he has no authority to give.

There’s no excuse for us to have an affordability crisis in a nation as wealthy as ours. It’s time for a change.

We’re in this together - we need to be focused on protecting the integrity of our elections and be loud about it.

I never thought I would see the President of the United States get a convention hall to swear allegiance to him - not to the country or some higher ideal. All of us must speak out against this unbelievably disgusting rhetoric.

As the result of Republican abortion bans, women must now jump through even more hoops to get the urgent care needed to survive an ectopic pregnancy, and it’s having deadly consequences. How is that "pro-life"?

Wishing Jews in Vermont and across world a very happy Rosh Hashanah as we come together to celebrate this evening.   May all our years be filled with health, happiness, and all things sweet! 🍎🍯

This was absolutely disgusting. It’s a dark day when threats of violence are front and center at a major party event without seemingly any push back from the elected officials in attendance.   We should all condemn this loudly and emphatically.

Shouts of ‘he should be shot’ heard during GOP midterm convention speech criticizing Democratic candidates | CNN Politics

Shouts of “he should be shot” could be heard multiple times Thursday night at the Republican midterm convention as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was criticizing prominent Democratic politicians by name.

cnn.com

It’s hard to believe that it’s now been 25 years since 9/11/01.   When I was in New York City this week, I took a moment to reflect on the thousands of lives that were lost there, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania on that very dark day and in the years after.

You know he’s lying because the GOP has the House and Senate majorities right now. They could write a bill and pass it tomorrow if they wanted to!

Congress must urgently hold hearings on frontier research. The leaders of these massive AI companies owe us transparency about what they're doing. We can’t afford to continue the Trump strategy of letting billionaires play with the safety of humanity.

Anthropic Says It Blocked Possible Efforts to Build Biological Weapons

In a new report, the A.I. start-up added that it could not determine if the research was legitimate or nefarious, leading the company to shut down the work.

nytimes.com

I was proud to sign an amicus brief in this case and am pleased to see this news. The D.C. Circuit unanimously agreed that you don't surrender your privacy when you pay taxes. The admin needs to stop punishing people who are following the law and stop breaking it themselves.

Appeals court upholds ruling barring IRS from sharing data with ICE

A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling blocking information sharing between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the immigration agency requested the …

thehill.com

For me to best represent our state in DC, I need to hear directly from Vermonters.   Last week, we had an agriculture roundtable in Addison County to hear from folks who are working the land on what they’re experiencing and what they need from us to be able to keep doing this important work.

The time for burying our heads in the sand is over. If the people working directly on these technologies are saying this, it’s time to pump the brakes.   We can’t let these massive AI companies literally gamble with the future of humanity.

The @wsj.com is reporting that Lewandowski tried to get the Qataris and Emiratis to hire him "on the side" so he could help them with issues he had insider knowledge on.   Just blatant corruption from top to bottom in this administration. We will hold them accountable.

Chasing Side Deals, Flexing Influence: Lewandowski’s Power Moves at DHS

Kristi Noem’s close adviser effectively controlled billions in spending at Homeland Security; Lewandowski denies seeking business or playing any role in agency’s contracts.

wsj.com

Federal funding will bring @benningtoncollege.bsky.social, @middlebury.bsky.social, @uvmvermont.bsky.social, @landmarkcollege.bsky.social, and state agencies together to research how forever chemicals are affecting our environment. This is exactly the type of research our government should support.

$7.9 million grant to fund PFAS research at Bennington College, other institutions

BENNINGTON — The National Science Foundation has awarded $7.9 million to Bennington College and three other Vermont colleges to establish the PFAS Environmental Research Network – "a four-year initiat...

benningtonbanner.com

So many Americans are avoiding the news right now. And I totally get it – it's rough out there!   But I do encourage you to use that time to lean into your communities 💪🏻

In case you missed it, the Pentagon was caught secretly raiding the NIH for funding.   How can the record-high DOD budget not be enough?? Secretary Hegseth, you should probably stop your war of choice in Iran if your department is so short on funds.

'Outrageous': Pentagon Secretly Working to Divert Billions From National Institutes of Health | Common Dreams

"These funds were provided for lifesaving medical research, not as extra money for the Department of Defense," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro.

commondreams.org

Today is 988 Day – a chance for us to highlight this critical, free, confidential, 24/7/365 resource that’s always there for you if you’re experiencing mental health struggles.   Today and always, you’re never alone. 💜 (1/2)

This weekend, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself trading stocks in the Oval Office. This comes as he’s sending our servicemembers into war and Americans can’t afford their daily lives. He doesn’t know the first thing about loyalty to the American people.

Today, I’m thinking about all the working people in our country who are working so hard but are still having a tough time making ends meet. I’m redoubling my efforts to keep them at the center of everything I do.

People can’t afford their health care and now prices are set to go up even more. We need Republicans in Congress to join us to take concrete action to reverse these trends.

This is what happens when we gut the agencies that are there to protect us against these things. Just because we chose to take this path before doesn’t mean we can’t choose a different one going forward. You should not have to play a game of chance every time you walk into a grocery store.

You’re Not Hallucinating: The Amount of Recalled Food Is Skyrocketing

Here’s a list of every food item that faced a recall in August.

newrepublic.com

So the White House has a new online “arcade” where you can pretend to be an ICE agent and terrorize people of color. It’s obviously disgusting but the really insidious thing is they’re trying to make this kind of discourse acceptable in our politics. We aren’t having it.

The hunger and trauma we’re inflicting on CHILDREN in our country is inexcusable.   All because Trump and Republicans in Congress wanted some tax cuts for the already ultra-wealthy.

ONE more week of session before November?! Americans need us to lower their costs and do all we can to bring this war in Iran to a halt.   Unless they can fit that all into a single week (they can't), this is GOP leadership showing they don't care about the pain so many are facing right now.

House Republicans set to cut pre-election session short

Leaders are canceling two weeks of scheduled late-September business.

politico.com

As we begin Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I’m proud to be introducing the 988 and 911 Integration Act alongside @dorismatsui.bsky.social.   This legislation will help local communities strengthen and better utilize 988 resources and bridge gaps in care all over the country.

Shadow bribery and corporate corruption? Sounds like an organized crime story…but it’s happening to independent sellers online.   We need to protect small, online retailers and stop Amazon from controlling their livelihoods.   Let’s pass @velazquez.house.gov’s and my Online Sellers Bill of Rights.

Amazon’s Monopoly Problem Is Growing - The American Prospect

Three years after Amazon caught a federal monopoly lawsuit, sellers say the company’s fees and policies are even worse.

prospect.org

Rest in power, Gloria Steinem.

When I was home in Vermont this August I heard about a lot of things - affordability, the war in Iran, the outrageous trade war with Canada, health care, and housing.   So you can imagine my surprise when I found out my first hearing back was on birthright citizenship.

If you think the cost of acting on climate is high, read an article like this and see just how high the cost of inaction is.   Vermonters know how devastating floods can be. And in the years to come, these disasters will only become more frequent and severe.

A melting glacier contributed to the deadly Nepal floods. We can expect more like this

As the climate continues to warm, scientists warn that the frequency of disasters like the floods in Nepal will increase.

npr.org