ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEMAKING |
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Gun Buying Spiked During the Pandemic. It’s Still Up.
Americans have been on an unusual, prolonged gun-buying spree fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the protests last summer, and the fears they both stoked. In March last year, federal background checks topped one million in a week for the first time since the government began tracking them in 1998. And the buying continued, through the protests in the summer and the election in the fall, until this spring broke the record with 1.2 million background checks. MORE
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200 Brazilian Cities March for Bolsonaro’s Impeachment
Tens of thousands of protesters have poured onto the streets of Brazil’s largest cities to demand the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro over his catastrophic response to a coronavirus pandemic that has claimed nearly half a million Brazilian lives. Protesters are also decrying his austerity measures and failure to provide economic relief from the pandemic’s impacts. MORE
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The Power of the Cultural Boycott Against Israel
This spring as the fight to save Sheikh Jarrah, Gaza, and all of Palestine from Israeli settler-colonialism slowly became a mainstay in mainstream public discourse, thousands of artists, musicians, and other culture-makers have spoken out in support of Palestine. These statements are not only important political indicators but also essential catalysts for social change. MORE
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TAKE ACTION: Tell President Biden to Work with Putin to End Nuclear Weapons
President Biden will be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Geneva. While campaigning, Biden said, "there would be no 'winners' in a nuclear exchange." However, the first budget from the Biden administration includes funding for every nuclear weapon that the Trump administration favored. Physicians for Social Responsibility urge us to tell Biden he must work with Putin to put the world on the path to nuclear weapons abolition. TAKE ACTION
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US Spent More on Nuclear Weapons Development In 2020 Than Rest of World Combined
The United States accounted for over half of the total nuclear weapons spending in 2020. The $37.4 billion that went toward its nuclear arsenal beat the combined expenditure of the eight other nuclear powers. Nuclear-armed countries collectively spent $72.6 billion on these weapons last year – an uptick of $1.4 billion on the previous year. MORE
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U.S. Taps Groups to Pick Asylum-Seekers to Allow into Country
The Biden administration has asked six humanitarian organizations to recommend which asylum seekers waiting in Mexico should be allowed into the United States. The groups are tasked with determining who are the most vulnerable migrants. MORE
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How Do You Teach 6-Year-Olds Their Legal Rights?
Immigration lawyers are visiting a child migrant shelter in Southern California to teach minors as young as six years old their legal rights. The students are unaccompanied minors who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. During their stay at emergency shelters in Southern California, which can stretch days or weeks, the team of legal professionals wants the children — subject to deportation — to be able to defend themselves in an immigration court. MORE
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Exxon’s Board Defeat Signals the Rise of Social-Good Activists
Last week, an activist investor successfully waged a campaign to install three directors on the board of Exxon with the goal of pushing the energy giant to reduce its carbon footprint. The investor, a hedge fund called Engine No. 1, was virtually unknown before the fight. The stunning result turned the sleepy world of boardroom elections into front-page news as climate activists declared a major triumph, and a blindsided Exxon was left to ponder next steps. MORE
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The World’s Coal Producers Are Now Planning More Than 400 New Mines
New research found that the world’s coal producers are currently planning as many as 432 new mine projects with about 2.5 billion tons of annual output capacity, putting goals for slowing global climate change at risk. China, Australia, India, and Russia account for more than three-quarters of the new projects, the study says. MORE
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Why Are Fossil Fuel Pipelines Bad for Our Climate and Communities?
Over 2.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines crisscross the country. These pipelines traverse millions of acres of plains, desert, forests, and mountains. Pipelines run through lakes, rivers, aquifers, and waterways, endangering the ecosystems and communities in their paths and fueling the climate crisis. The threat from pipelines may be big, but it is solvable, and activists are using the law to approach it from multiple angles. MORE
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Biden Administration Launches Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force
The Biden administration has announced the formation of a new task force to confront human trafficking and smuggling groups operating in the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico. The Justice Department said that the new task force will involve federal prosecutors partnering with the Department of Homeland Security to dismantle and prosecute human trafficking and smuggling networks operating out of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. MORE
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT |
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Rhode Island Governor Signs Bill Banning Child Marriage
Rhode Island has passed legislation to eliminate language in state law allowing youths under the age of 18 to obtain a marriage license. Gov. Daniel McKee said it's an effort to “protect children and prevent exploitation.” Rhode Island law previously allowed 16-year-olds to marry with the permission of parents or guardians. Only four other states have passed similar laws banning all marriage before the age of 18: Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota. MORE
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Sexual Violence Along Pipeline Route Follows Indigenous Women’s Warnings
After a lull in construction due to muddy spring conditions, workers are now returning to Minnesota to complete the Line 3 oil pipeline. But for Native girls and women, the return of construction also means an increase in sexual violence along the pipeline’s route, Indigenous activists warned. Two Line 3 contract workers have already been charged in a sex trafficking sting. MORE
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HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCOME INEQUALITY |
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UN Labor Agency Finds Pandemic Pushed Over 100 Million Workers Into Poverty
Over a year after projecting that the coronavirus pandemic could have a "catastrophic" impact on the global economy and workforce, the United Nations labor agency revealed that the public health crisis pushed more than 100 million workers worldwide into poverty. The new report also warns of the "real risk that—absent comprehensive and concerted policy efforts—the Covid-19 crisis will leave behind a legacy of widened inequality across multiple dimensions." MORE
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How California Is Revolutionizing Homeless Housing
Homekey is a statewide program in California that's created nearly 6,000 new units of housing. While the majority are hotel and motel conversions, they also include tiny homes, former vacation rentals, a college dormitory, and single-family houses. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a massive $7 billion, 46,000-unit expansion of the program. Half of the funding would be dedicated to housing for people with acute behavioral and mental health needs. MORE
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Brad Sigmon is scheduled to be executed on June 18 by the state of South Carolina for the murders of David Larke and Gladys Larke. Please hold Brad, David, Gladys, their families, and the people of South Carolina in prayer. TAKE ACTION
Freddie Owens is scheduled to be executed on June 25 by the state of South Carolina for the murder of Irene Graves. Please hold Freddie, Irene, their families, and the people of South Carolina in prayer. TAKE ACTION
John Hummel is scheduled to be executed on June 30 by the state of Texas for the murders of Joy Hummel and Clyde Bedford. Please hold John, Joy, Clyde, their families and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION
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