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Progressives Must Reckon with U.S. Senate Primary Losses
After U.S. Senate candidates backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee defeated progressive insurgents Charles Booker and Andrew Romanoff on Tuesday, Sunrise Movement Political Director Evan Weber issued the following statement:
"I'm not going to say these races are important moral victories that mean we need to work harder next time; the truth is, these races were ours for the taking and progressives blew it. These were not races that progressives could afford to sit out, but too many organizations did.
LOUISVILLE, KY
After U.S. Senate candidates backed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee defeated progressive insurgents Charles Booker and Andrew Romanoff on Tuesday, Sunrise Movement Political Director Evan Weber issued the following statement:
"I'm not going to say these races are important moral victories that mean we need to work harder next time; the truth is, these races were ours for the taking and progressives blew it. These were not races that progressives could afford to sit out, but too many organizations did.
"I hope the progressive movement reflects on that, and gets serious about matching the establishment's discipline. The DSCC is not an easy beast to take on: when Chuck Schumer decides to anoint somebody, he pulls out all the stops, and puts so much money in their bank account that they don't even know what to do with it. We've proven in these races that we don't need to match their spending dollar for dollar if we run candidates who better speak to the electorate, but we will keep losing these races if we don't come in early enough to make a difference, if we refuse to support movement candidates together when they make the brave, difficult choice to step up and run for office without bank accounts full of cash.
"The final results show we could have won. Despite being outspent by almost $20 million in Kentucky, and 7-to-1 in Colorado, we fell only just short. These were winnable races if more organizations decided to prioritize them. Voters are tired of cookie cutter Democrats who pretend they're Republicans and who listen to consultants and donors, instead of working people. When voters learn they have a choice and hear about our candidates, they want to vote for people like Charles and Andrew. These candidates need us to have their backs and help them get the resources they need to spread their message.
"That didn't happen in time for Charles and Andrew, and because of that, Democrats' chances of flipping the Senate seats in Colorado and Kentucky just went way down. That makes everything else we're fighting for a lot harder, from a Green New Deal to Medicare for All. We hope these results are a moment of reckoning for the progressive movement, and that all of us reflect on what we can do to build power and take advantage of these races going forward."
Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.
LATEST NEWS
US Inflation Rose 'Sharply' in March as Trump's Iran War Drove Up Gas Prices
“The toll of Trump’s war in Iran won’t stop at the pump,” warned one expert. “Price hikes on summer vacations, groceries, and electronics are coming."
Apr 10, 2026
New data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that inflation soared in March thanks in large part to increased energy costs stemming from President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran.
According to the BLS, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) posted a month-over-month gain of 0.9% in March, led by a 10.9% increase in energy prices including a massive 21.2% increase in gasoline.
On a yearly basis, total prices rose by 3.3% from where they were in March 2025—the highest annual inflation rate since April 2024.
University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers commented in a social media post that inflation in March was "up sharply, and there's more to come," while describing the data as "the first numbers showing economic effects of the war in Iran."
New York Times economics reporter Ben Casselman observed that the 3.3% rise in inflation was "the fastest inflation rate of Trump's second term," and that "the jump was driven almost entirely by higher energy prices, the direct result of the war with Iran."
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, flagged a particularly worrying aspect of the BLS report, which is that "wage growth is almost entirely eaten up by inflation now."
"Wage growth was +3.5% in March for the past 12 months. Inflation was +3.3% in March for the past 12 months," Long explained. "This is the squeeze many households are feeling. Their pay won't be able to keep up with this level of inflation. (And yes it was the same situtation in 2022)."
Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director for policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, said that the spike in inflation "comes as no shock to anyone who has filled up their gas tank in the past month," and predicted the damage wouldn't be limited to fuel prices.
"The toll of Trump’s war in Iran won’t stop at the pump," Pancotti said. "Price hikes on summer vacations, groceries, and electronics are coming down the pike as his war stokes chaos in supply chains around the world. By pursuing this illegal war, the president has made it clear that he’s putting American families last."
The Republican Party tried to put its best spin on the numbers by boasting that core inflation, which excludes the prices of food and energy, did not rise as much as anticipated.
"Core inflation just came in LOWER than expected for the month of March!" the GOP wrote in a social media post. "President Trump continues defying the 'experts' and beating expectations."
However, the GOP's post got several angry replies from followers who argued that core inflation mattered little when energy prices are spiking and gas prices are averaging $4.15 per gallon.
As Vox senior editor Benji Sarlin noted, former President Joe Biden's White House regularly pointed to core inflation numbers while trying to ease voters' anxiety about rising prices, but with little success.
"Congrats to all the Trump White House folks explaining the difference between topline inflation and core inflation during an oil shock today, I’m sure the Biden WH alums will be very sympathetic," Sarlin wrote. "People on social media also love it when you say inflation is actually pretty good if you just exclude gas, try it out."
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UNICEF Says Children 'Being Pulled From Under Rubble' in Lebanon After Israeli Bombardment
The United Nations Children's Fund warned that Israel's continued assault on Lebanon "poses a grave risk to the ceasefire and the efforts toward a lasting and comprehensive peace."
Apr 10, 2026
A United Nations agency said late Thursday that Israel's massive bombardment of Lebanon earlier this week killed or wounded more than 180 children, a statement issued as the Israeli military vowed to continue assailing the war-ravaged country—potentially derailing ceasefire efforts in Iran and across the region.
The UN Children's Fund, widely known as UNICEF, said the toll from Israel's assault on Wednesday brought the total number of children killed or wounded in Lebanon since March 2 to at least 600. The agency said it is "receiving reports of children being pulled from under the rubble, while others remain missing and separated from their families."
"Many are experiencing trauma, having lost loved ones, their homes, and any sense of safety," UNICEF said. "Across the country, more than one million people have been uprooted, including an estimated 390,000 children, many for the second, third, or even fourth time."
UNICEF went on to echo growing concerns in the region, and around the world, that Israel's continued bombing and invasion of Lebanon "poses a grave risk to the ceasefire and the efforts toward a lasting and comprehensive peace."
"The children in Lebanon cannot be left behind," the UN agency said.
UNICEF's statement came as the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces said Lebanon is the Israeli military's "primary combat" zone and that the IDF is "in a state of war, we are not in a ceasefire."
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both insisted that Lebanon was not included in the Iran ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday—a claim that Iranian leaders and Pakistan's prime minister, who is mediating peace talks, have said is false.
On Thursday, Trump said Netanyahu agreed during a phone call to "low-key it" in Lebanon. But in a recorded statement addressed to residents of northern Israel on Thursday, Netanyahu declared: “There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We continue to strike Hezbollah with force, and we will not stop until we restore your security.”
Netanyahu's decision to escalate Israel's attacks on Lebanon—killing hundreds of people and leveling entire neighborhoods—just hours after Trump announced the ceasefire deal with Iran fit with a longstanding pattern of the Israeli government undercutting diplomacy.
Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, wrote for The Intercept on Thursday that Israel "has worked ceaselessly to prevent any off-ramp from confrontation between the US and Iran," noting that "in 1995, when Iran and the US flirted with economic rapprochement by opening the Iran oil industry to American investment and development, Israel and AIPAC lobbied Congress and President Bill Clinton to block it."
"Netanyahu is widely thought to benefit from wars—from Gaza to Iran and now, most critically, in Lebanon—to shore up his political fortunes. He faces an election in October, and losing could lead to the revival of corruption charges that might land him in prison," Abdi noted. "The question now may unfortunately not be whether Iran and the US can find a compromise. Instead, the fate of the global economy and, not least, Iranians themselves, could rest between Netanyahu and Trump, who faces his own political challenges in midterm elections this year."
US Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wrote Thursday that "Netanyahu urged Trump to start this war, now Trump must demand he help end it."
"Who's calling the shots here?" Van Hollen asked.
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In Yet Another Industry Handout, Trump EPA 'Just Took a Sledgehammer' to Coal Ash Rules
"Ultimately, if this rule is finalized, human health will suffer, and taxpayers will be left with the cost of cleaning up their rivers and drinking water."
Apr 09, 2026
Amid mounting calls for the removal of US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, the EPA chief on Thursday announced proposed changes to coal ash rules, which critics blasted as another gift to polluters at the expense of public health.
Officially called coal combustion residuals (CCR), "coal ash—the toxic byproduct of burning coal—contains hazardous pollutants, including arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead, radium, and selenium, which are linked to serious health harms such as cancer, heart disease, and brain damage, among other lasting impacts," noted the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Specifically, as The Associated Press reported, the EPA "proposed easing standards for monitoring and protecting groundwater near some coal ash sites, rolling back rules forcing the cleanup of entire coal properties instead of just places where ash was dumped. The revisions would also make it easier to reuse coal ash for other purposes."
While Zeldin claimed the "commonsense changes to the CCR regulations reflect EPA's commitment to restoring American energy dominance, strengthening cooperative federalism, and accommodating unique circumstances at certain CCR facilities," Environmental Protection Network's Marc Boom responded that "letting companies avoid cleaning up waste sites that may be leaching toxic metals into groundwater and nearby waterways, while weakening protections and accountability, is not common sense."
"EPA's top priority should be protecting people's health, not sacrificing it for corporate expediency," argued Boom, senior director of public affairs at the group, which is made up of former agency staff. "EPA may call these safeguards 'impractical,' but anyone living downstream of coal ash sites holding thousands of tons of waste knows that requiring cleanup and monitoring is a necessary and basic standard."
NRDC senior attorney Becky Hammer called the pending rollback just "the latest in a long, long, line of Trump administration giveaways to fossil fuels industries," which have also included repealing EPA rules that targeted chemical pollution from coal-fired power plants, declaring a national energy emergency, and scrapping the 2009 "endangerment finding" that underpins all federal climate regulations.
Other advocacy organizations were similarly critical of Thursday's announcement. Daniel Estrin, Waterkeeper Alliance's general counsel and legal director, pointed out that "coal ash is contaminating water at nearly every active and retired coal plant in the US."
"By gutting these safeguards, EPA is abandoning its duty to protect impacted communities by allowing preventable contamination of our rivers, lakes, streams, and groundwater," he said. "The longer the coal industry is allowed to delay closing and cleaning up its toxic waste sites, the more difficult and costly it becomes to fix the damage. By failing to enforce the law, EPA is letting polluters continue harming people and wildlife without accountability."
Like Estrin and Hammer, Earthjustice senior counsel Lisa Evans framed that proposal as "yet another handout to the coal power industry at the expense of our health, water, and wallets," and warned of the dangers of delaying closure and cleanup. She said that "ultimately, if this rule is finalized, human health will suffer, and taxpayers will be left with the cost of cleaning up their rivers and drinking water."
Although "the Trump administration just took a sledgehammer to the health protections in place for toxic coal pollution," Evans added, "Earthjustice has successfully defended these safeguards in court and will do so again."
Nick Torrey, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has secured commitments to clean up over 270 million tons of coal ash in US communities, similarly said that "doing the bidding of industrial polluters instead of protecting ordinary families and clean water is shameful, but we are ready to keep fighting against coal ash pollution."
"Letting coal-burning utilities set the agenda has been a disaster for communities across the South, resulting in coal ash spills and hundreds of families forced to live on bottled water for years under the threat of coal ash pollution," Torrey highlighted. "The Trump administration and coal ash polluters want to take us back to the bad old days of arsenic, lead, and mercury from coal ash contaminating our water."
In addition to facing a flurry of lawsuits over policies prioritizing the climate-wrecking fossil fuel industry—whose campaign cash helped President Donald Trump return to the White House last year—the administration has recently been hit with demands to remove Zeldin from more than 160 advocacy groups and nearly 300 health experts.
"This EPA's actions to put polluters first, at the expense of our health, are dangerous and will be deadly," states the health experts' open letter, organized and released Thursday by the Climate Action Campaign. "Administrator Zeldin has abandoned his sworn duty and must be held accountable for his agenda."
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