ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEMAKING |
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Gun Laws In Other Countries: Why Don’t Mass Shootings Happen Outside of the U.S.?
The latest shooting atrocity in Uvalde, Texas marks yet another horrifying example of gun violence in a country where mass shootings are disproportionately common when compared to similar countries around the world. Some blame mass shootings on mental illness, but mental illness is no more prevalent in the U.S. than in other countries. What the U.S. does have is more guns. MORE
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Which Senators Have Taken the Most NRA Money?
The majority of Americans support stronger gun laws — laws that would reduce deaths. But during the first half of 2019 alone, the NRA spent $1.6 million lobbying Congress against passing gun safety legislation. Even after a summer filled with back-to-back mass shootings, these senators refuse to support common-sense gun reform, like expanding background checks or banning assault weapons. A chart from the Brady Campaign lists the 50 senators who have taken the most money from the NRA, along with the average number of gun deaths per year in their state. MORE
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Two Years After George Floyd Murder, Biden to Issue Executive Order on Police Reform
Exactly two years after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, President Joe Biden is expected to unveil an executive order on Wednesday aimed at reforming federal policing standards and pushing state and local law enforcement agencies to improve their policies as well. MORE
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TAKE ACTION: Advocate for Disarmament Efforts in Iran
Earlier this month, the Senate signaled opposition to a new Iran deal. A particular sticking point has been Trump's terrorist designation on the IRGC. Iran has made many concessions during the negotiations and insists that the terrorist designation be removed. Should negotiations fail, Iran will likely become a nuclear power in short order. Women’s Action for New Directions urges us to tell legislators to support a return to the Iran deal. TAKE ACTION
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First Meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Set for June
The first meeting of the States Parties of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will take place in Vienna, Austria June 21-23. The Ukraine war, with Russia invading a country backed by the NATO alliance, brings four nuclear-armed countries into the most dangerous confrontation of the post-Cold War era, highlighting once more the imperative to eliminate the most dangerous of weapons. MORE
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Title 42 Won’t Keep Migrants Out, Will Put Their Lives at Risk, Advocates Say
A federal judge's ruling to temporarily keep Title 42 in place won't stop migrants from coming to the United States, immigrant advocates and border experts say. The May 20 ruling continues to block legitimate asylum seekers from due process and forces them to risk their lives, hire smugglers or take hazardous routes, they say. MORE
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Immigration Advocates Say Biden Must End Detention-First Immigration Policies
Since announcing that the U.S. will be accepting 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, President Biden has been under fire from immigration advocates. Advocates are pushing back against Biden’s show of good faith while emphasizing the President’s shortcomings with Black and brown refugees, who are being loaded into detention centers almost instantaneously. MORE
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12,212 Migrant Children Reentered U.S. Border Custody Alone In 2021 After Being Expelled
More than 12,000 migrant children reentered the U.S. — from October 2020 to October 2021 — after being expelled with their parents under Title 42. The statistics show an unintended consequence of Title 42: parents opting to separate from their children so they can enter the U.S. as unaccompanied minors. MORE
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TAKE ACTION: Put an End to Fast-Tracking Pipeline Permits
New fossil fuel expansion is indefensible in the face of a worsening climate emergency and extinction crisis. Yet the Army Corps of Engineers continues to greenlight new fossil fuel pipelines that threaten our rivers and wetlands using an expedited shortcut called “nationwide permitting.” Food and Water Watch invites us to tell the Army Corps to stop fast-track authorization of dangerous fossil fuel pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure projects. TAKE ACTION
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Qantas Says Synthetic Fuel Could Power Long Flights by Mid-2030s
Synthetic fuel could start replacing traditional petroleum and plant-based biofuels by as early as the mid-2030s, helping to decarbonize long-distance air travel, Australian airline Qantas has said. The Sydney-based group said the technology—which manufactures synthetic hydrocarbon fuel by extracting carbon from the air and hydrogen from water via renewable energy—could prove the “nirvana” of sustainable aviation fuel. MORE
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‘Flash Droughts’ Are Midwest’s Next Big Climate Threat
September in Oklahoma is typically a rainy season when farmers take advantage of the wet month to plant winter wheat. But last year, many were caught off guard by abnormally dry weather that came without warning. In just three weeks, nearly three-quarters of the state began experiencing drought conditions. Fast-moving droughts like this one are developing more and more quickly as climate change pushes temperatures to new extremes. MORE
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Pope Condemns Human Trafficking at Conference Involving Church Leaders, Police
Human trafficking has long been at the top of Pope Francis’s agenda, as shown at a recent meeting with the Santa Marta Group, a coalition of police forces and the Catholic Church created to address the problem. The pontiff called on the international community to increase work against human trafficking, taking into consideration “the need for a renewed ethical vision of our political, economic and social life, one centered not on profit but on persons.” MORE
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FIFA Must Compensate Workers Behind the 2022 World Cup
Human rights advocates are calling on the global soccer organization, FIFA, to implement a reparations plan for the hundreds of migrant workers whose human rights have been violated during construction projects in Qatar in preparation for the World Cup this fall. According to these organizations, FIFA should plan to spend a minimum of $440 million to support reparations. FIFA is expected to earn $6 billion in revenue by the end of the World Cup. MORE
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Human-Trafficking Lawsuit Against Iowa College Survives Legal Challenge
A human-trafficking lawsuit brought by international students from Chile against Western Iowa Tech Community College has survived a round of legal challenges and is proceeding in federal court. The school and other defendants are accused of working in concert to entice impoverished students to leave their home in Chile and come to Iowa, where they were placed in “debt bondage” working at a food-processing plant and dog-food factory. MORE
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT |
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Wisconsin Launches Statewide Sexual Assault Tracking System
A statewide system to track kits that contain evidence following a sexual assault has gone live. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced the online tracking system this week. It will allow sexual assault survivors to track the location of their kit through the testing process. Kaul says the tracking system will “empower survivors to learn about the status of their kit at any time." MORE
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To Help Survivors, a Domestic Violence Agency Turns the Focus
Addressing domestic violence solely through the criminal justice system often doesn’t fix the problem or promote healing, and may actually cause additional harm. More holistic, trauma-informed approaches can give people a chance to process the deeper reasons for their behavior and allow them an opportunity to change. MORE
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HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCOME INEQUALITY |
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US Child Welfare System Is Falling Short Because of Persistent Child Poverty
Although government spending on the child welfare system amounts to as much as US$33 billion, it’s still failing to meet all children’s needs because of overwhelming demand. Abuse and neglect investigations, foster care, and the other activities and services that comprise the child welfare system can harm children and the rest of their families. Communities of color are the most susceptible to this damage. MORE
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Baby Formula Crisis: Abbott Enriched Shareholders as Factory Needed Repairs, Records Show
A deadly bacteria outbreak in baby formula and an ongoing formula shortage stem from the prioritization of shareholder wealth and consolidation. The embattled baby formula producer Abbott detected bacteria eight times as its net profits soared by 94% between 2019 and 2021. And just as its tainted formula allegedly began sickening a number of babies, the company increased dividends to shareholders by over 25%. MORE
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Frank Atwood is scheduled to be executed on June 9 by the state of Arizona for the murder of Vicky Hoskinson. Please hold Frank, Vicky, their families, and the people of Arizona in prayer. TAKE ACTION
Ramiro Gonzales is scheduled to be executed on July 13 by the state of Texas for the murder of Bridget Townsend. Please hold Ramiro, Bridget, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION
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