Activist Nuns, With Stake in Smith & Wesson, Sue Gun Maker Over AR-15 Rifles

A group of activist nuns filed an unusual shareholder lawsuit to pressure gun maker Smith & Wesson to drastically change the way it markets, makes, and sells its popular version of the AR-15 rifle. The so-called shareholder derivative action, which the nuns filed in Nevada state court against publicly traded Smith & Wesson, alleges that company leaders are putting shareholders at risk. They argue the leaders are exposing the company to liability by the way they have made and sold the rifle, which has been used in several mass shootings in recent years. MORE

Pro-Israel Lobby Presses for U.S. Military Support in War with Hamas

The influential lobbying group AIPAC is urging U.S. lawmakers to increase security aid to Israel after a deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7. House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, who received $71,000+ from AIPAC in 2023, introduced the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, proposing $14.3 billion in emergency military assistance. Lawmakers supporting recent Israel-related bills also received AIPAC contributions in the past year and during the 2022 election cycle. MORE

Navigating American Divisiveness: Polarized Challenges and Hopeful Solutions

Divisiveness has occurred in the United States throughout our history, but the divisions today have a host of new elements that didn’t exist even 50 years ago. Growing ideological gaps between Democrats and Republicans have grown into significant barriers that hinder collaboration and basic civility. With such a seemingly powerful trend toward increased violence and eroding democratic norms, the outcome of tyranny may be inevitable, but there are hopeful solutions for quelling polarization. MORE

New Information Tool on Nuclear Weapons Seeks to Identify the Next Arms Control Strategies

Countries' perspectives on nuclear weapons are evolving, with the U.S., Russia, and China increasing investments in their arsenals, abandoning previous constraints and raising concerns about strategic stability. The Council on Strategic Risks has developed a tool mapping every nuclear weapon type of the P5 (China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S.) under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The new resource helps users understand changes, and risks, and develop strategies to prevent security crises.  MORE

Russia Mulls U.S. Arms Control Proposal

Russia said it will consider and respond to the formal written arms control proposal from the United States, which announced the proposal in June but did not transmit it until September. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Nov. 1 that Washington sent Moscow a proposal in September. A senior Biden administration official told the newspaper that the United States awaits a response but hopes to initiate “a conversation on what a framework after New START could look like,” referring to the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expiring in 2026. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Tell the Senate to Defend Asylum

Currently, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators is negotiating a deal to pass funding for Ukraine and Israel in exchange for extreme, permanent changes to U.S. immigration and asylum systems. This tradeoff would drastically reduce asylum protections for people seeking safety and increase chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border.  The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns urges us to tell Congress to build up the U.S. asylum system, not tear it down. TAKE ACTION

Court Orders Texas to Move Floating Buoy Barrier That Drew Backlash from Mexico

A federal appeals court ordered Texas to remove a 1,000-foot floating buoy border barrier from the Rio Grande, which had caused protests from Mexico. The barrier was a state effort to deter unauthorized border crossings. The ruling upheld a lower court decision declaring the barrier illegal. MORE

As Winter Approaches, Fears Grow for Homeless Migrants

With winter coming and the migrant arrivals continuing, New York City is entering a new phase in its crisis of overwhelmed homeless shelters. Dozens of migrants from much warmer climates and without winter clothing are already sleeping on the street as they await a bed in city shelters. MORE

How Wealthy Countries Evade Responsibility for Their Fossil Fuel Exports

Developed nations have pledged to reduce emissions, but this traditional scorecard overlooks a critical factor: exported fossil fuels. Despite domestic emission cuts, major fossil fuel-exporting nations, like the U.S., contribute significantly to global emissions. While the U.S. curtails domestic use, its booming fossil fuel production, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG), amplifies emissions abroad. By 2030, U.S. LNG exports could surpass the combined emissions of the entire European Union. MORE

Record Number of Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Get Access to COP28 Climate Talks

At least 2,456 fossil fuel lobbyists have been granted access to the Cop28 climate negotiations, according to an analysis. The record number raises further questions about the fossil fuel industry’s influence over this year’s UN summit, which is being run by the president of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company. The scale of oil and gas influence in Dubai is unprecedented, with almost four times as many industry-affiliated lobbyists as last year. MORE

UN Climate Conference Sets Up Fund for Countries Hit by Disasters Like Flood and Drought

A deal to create a fund that would help vulnerable countries cope with losses and damage caused by climate change was reached -- although some details have yet to be finalized -- on the first day of the COP28 climate summit last week in Dubai. Plans to create a loss and damage fund were launched at last year's COP27 but never came to fruition. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Protect the National Human Trafficking Hotline

The National Human Trafficking Hotline Enhancement Act (H.R. 2601) would require the operator of the trafficking hotline to turn over information shared by the public to law enforcement on demand, regardless of whether or not an adult trafficking victim consents to the involvement of law enforcement, and contrary to the standard practice that confidentiality belongs to the person being victimized. This endangers the safety and security of victims and survivors. Polaris urges us to tell our Representatives to vote no on H.R. 2601. TAKE ACTION

Latest Trends in Human Trafficking Involve Targeting Older People for Benefits

"We're discovering older adults are being trafficked for their Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, labor, sex, yes, sex, and possibly body parts," said Jacke Schroeder, director of SAFE: Stop Abuse of Elders. One example of how it happens is when someone is discharged from a hospital to a licensed home, but then they're moved to a bed or basement in an unlicensed address or they're sold to a different owner. MORE

Mars, Accused of Using Child Labor in Its Supply Chain, Says It Intends to End the Practice

Candy giant Mars said it intends to end the use of child labor in its supply chain after CBS News reported that children in Ghana are harvesting the cocoa that finds its way into the company’s M&M’s and Snickers. For more than two decades, the world’s largest chocolate makers have been pledging to eliminate — or at least reduce their reliance on — child labor. But those same companies have blown past industry-imposed deadlines to clean up their supply chains. MORE

Domestic Violence: Some U.S. States' Residents at Higher Risk

In the United States, domestic violence or intimate partner abuse has increased before and after the pandemic with some states showing greater percentages. Although statistics show that we can all be at risk, the states that have higher domestic violence incidences have a responsibility to their residents. They must decrease the rate by educating the public and providing more resources. MORE

For Domestic Violence Victim-Survivors, a Data or Privacy Breach Can Be Extraordinarily Dangerous

A suite of recent cybersecurity data breaches highlights an urgent need to overhaul how companies and government agencies handle our data. However, these incidents pose particular risks to victim-survivors of domestic violence. Authorities are raising concerns about how privacy breaches have endangered these customers. The onus is on service providers – such as utilities, telcos, internet companies, and government agencies – to ensure they don’t risk the safety of their most vulnerable customers by being careless with their data. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Address CEO-to-Median-Worker Pay Disparities by Passing the CEO Act

From 1979 to 2020, net worker productivity rose 61.8%, but workers wages only rose 17.5%. Meanwhile, CEO pay skyrocketed by more than 1,209%. Now CEOs are earning 399 times the pay of the median worker -- the highest disparity in 50 years.  The Curtailing Executive Overcompensation (CEO) Act would apply an excise tax on public and private companies that have at least a 50-to-1 CEO-to-median-worker pay disparity. Patriotic Millionaires invites us to tell our members of Congress to co-sponsor the CEO Act. TAKE ACTION

Certain States Have Begun Scrapping Court Costs and Fees for People Unable to Pay – Two Experts on Legal Punishments Explain Why

In the American criminal legal system, fines and fees serve as punitive measures for legal violations. Individuals may face both jail time and financial penalties, covering charges, fees, and additional costs like interest. While collected funds support court-related expenses, these fees, often totaling thousands of dollars, lack consideration for individuals' financial capacity. Such practices fail to enhance public safety or deter crime effectively and disproportionately impact people of color and those with limited financial means. MORE

Why the Major Drop in Veteran Homelessness Offers Hope for Others

A homeless person sleeping on America’s streets in 2010 was far more likely to be a veteran than today: while the rate of homelessness has remained relatively stagnant in the U.S., it’s dropped by about 55% among veterans, from about 74,000 in 2010 to 33,129 in 2022. Even more veterans will have a home for the holidays this year: on November 29, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it had permanently housed nearly 39,000 veterans since the start of the year, surpassing its goal for the entire year. MORE

Kenneth Smith is scheduled to be executed in Alabama on January 25, 2024, by the state of Alabama for the murder of Elizabeth Sennett. Please hold Kenneth, Elizabeth, their families, and the people of Alabama in prayer. TAKE ACTION