With Cases Soaring, Guns Are Now Leading Cause of Death for U.S. Kids

Gun deaths among children in the United States rose to a record high of 4,752 in 2021 and remained the leading cause of mortality among the nation's kids, according to a study published last month in the journal Pediatrics. Of those 2021 deaths, 64.3% were homicides; nearly 30% were suicides; and 3.5% resulted from unintentional injury. In all, 84.8% of the 2021 victims were male; about half were Black; 82.6% were between 15 and 19 years of age, and 64.3% died by homicide, the study showed. MORE

The Criminal Justice System Is Broken. Restorative Justice Can Help Fill the Gap.

Over the last decades, many communities have been shifting to the promise of restorative justice as a way to respond to conflict and violence. A prominent restorative justice thinker, the criminologist Howard Zehr, describes the approach as moving away from looking at which law is broken and toward an inquiry into who was harmed, what that person needs to heal, and whose obligation it is to meet those needs. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Congress Member to Support Nuclear Disarmament

In January 2023, Representative James McGovern of Massachusetts introduced House Resolution 77, which seeks to embrace the aspirations and provisions outlined in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  The resolution calls upon President Biden to give his complete endorsement of the objectives and mandates delineated in the Treaty. Roots Action invites us to ask our Representatives to co-sponsor this legislation as an important step toward nuclear abolition. TAKE ACTION

Defending the De Facto Nuclear Test Ban

Although it has not yet formally entered into force, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is one of the most successful agreements in the long history of nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. Without the option to conduct nuclear tests, it is more difficult, although not impossible, for states to develop, prove, and field new warhead designs. But as with other critical nuclear risk reduction, nonproliferation, and arms control agreements, the CTBT is under threat due to inattention and worsening relations between nuclear-armed adversaries. MORE

Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Why the U.S. Fails to Deter North Korea, Despite Nuclear Superiority

Although North Korea continues to build up its nuclear capabilities, its arsenal of just dozens of weapons is minuscule compared to the US arsenal of thousands. So, why has the United States proven unable to deter North Korea from testing? The answer to this question is two-fold involving both a lack of economic leverage and North Korea’s unbending resolve to appear immune to attack. MORE

There's a Labor Shortage in the U.S. Why Is It So Hard for Migrants to Legally Work?

Many migrants want jobs, but despite the labor shortage, they cannot get work because they lack work permits. Lawmakers and business leaders across the country are pressing the federal government to expedite work authorization for asylum seekers. However, there are obstacles, such as the highly confusing application process. MORE

Revealed: How U.S. Immigration Uses Fake Social Media Profiles Across Investigations

U.S. immigration agencies allowed officials to use fake social media profiles to covertly research people searching online for immigrant benefits, documents show. The documents show a vast surveillance network using facial recognition, location data, and information purchased from data brokers. MORE

Wisconsin’s Catch-22: State Dairy Industry Depends on Undocumented Immigrants Who Cannot Legally Drive

To milk cows and clean the manure, Wisconsin dairy farmers rely on a largely undocumented labor force. However, the state makes it almost impossible for these workers to have lives outside the farm. They can own and register vehicles but are prohibited from getting driver's licenses. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Support the Food Labeling Modernization Act

Labels like “natural,” “organic,” and “local” appear on lots of different food products, but how do we know if these labels are telling the full story? The Food Labeling Modernization Act would make it easier for consumers to determine the right food choices at the grocery store by bringing transparency and simplicity to our nation’s food labeling requirements. Food and Water Action urges us to tell Congress to support the Food Labeling Modernization Act. TAKE ACTION

Texas Fracking Billionaire Brothers Fuel Rightwing Media with Millions of Dollars

Two billionaire Texas brothers whose fortunes derive from oil and gas fracking have pumped millions of dollars into rightwing media outfits that have promoted climate-crisis denialism. The fracking billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks have provided significant financial backing that has enabled rightwing media outlets such as  PragerU and the Daily Wire to promote wide-ranging conservative agendas, including climate crisis denialism to school-age kids and adults via short videos, articles, and other materials. MORE

Home Insurers Cut Natural Disasters from Policies as Climate Risks Grow

In the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most. At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group, and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles. MORE

Disability and Modern Slavery: Lack of Attention as Harmful as Deliberate Malice

People with disabilities are more likely to experience human trafficking than their peers. Because people with disabilities are more exposed to vulnerabilities such as poverty, it drives risk-taking that traffickers are ready to exploit. In addition, traffickers deliberately target those they think they can isolate and control. Law enforcement, emergency responders, and the public are often not aware of these increased risks that result in nothing being done, even when exploitation is clear. MORE

Hundreds of Thousands Forced to Scam in SE Asia

A new UN report details how hundreds of thousands of people from around the world are lured to Southeast Asia through false promises and then trafficked to run online scams under severe threat.  At least 120,000 people in Myanmar, and another 100,000 in Cambodia, have been forced into working these scams. Most victims are men from Asia, but some have come from further afield such as Africa and Latin America. The UN estimates that these scam centers generate billions of U.S. dollars in revenue per year. MORE

Turkmenistan Cotton Harvest Tainted by State-Sponsored Forced Labor

Right now, it’s cotton-picking season in Turkmenistan and the authoritarian government is using the forced labor of thousands of teachers, healthcare workers, and other state employees to collect the harvest. State agencies have reportedly been ordered to send 50 percent of their staff to pick cotton during weekdays and all employees must head to the fields over the weekends. The only way out of the grueling manual labor in 100-degree weather is with bribes or hiring a replacement, which most cannot afford.  MORE

Jenni Hermoso Accuses Spanish Soccer Chief of Sexual Assault for Non-Consensual Kiss

Spanish soccer player Jenni Hermoso filed a complaint this week accusing Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales of sexual assault after Hermoso said Rubiales kissed her “without any consent” following Spain’s World Cup win last month. Hormoso said in a statement last month that she felt “vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out-of-place act without any consent on my part.” MORE

‘He Took Every Penny’: The Women Left with a Debt Mountain by Coercive Partners

Financial abuse is a hidden ordeal faced by women trapped in coercive relationships, where partners exploit financial control as a tool of manipulation. Victims end up burdened with crippling debts, and their independence is systematically eroded.  A recent report on women in England and Wales, exposes the need for society to recognize and address this form of abuse, amplifying the voices of those who have triumphed over adversity and escaped these destructive relationships. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Prevent Utility Shut-Offs During Extreme Heatwaves

About 130 million people are experiencing record-breaking dangerous levels of heat this summer. People are being forced to choose between spending their money on food and essentials or paying for escalating energy costs to keep their homes habitable. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is intended to help, but the program is woefully underfunded. Win Without War urges us to tell Congress to increase funding to LIHEAP and help millions of families stay cool without having to worry about their utilities being shut off. TAKE ACTION

Poor Families Could See Cuts to Food Aid as Congress Battles Over Budget

A federal program that helps poor families afford healthy food could see substantial benefit cuts starting in October, raising the prospect that roughly 6 million low-income Americans could become some of the earliest victims of an unresolved Washington budget battle. The looming cliff adds to the political pressure on Congress, which now has mere weeks to shore up the program’s finances, fund the federal government, and avert a potentially catastrophic shutdown. MORE

Anthony Sanchez is scheduled to be executed on September 21 by the state of Oklahoma for the murder of Juli Busken. Please hold Anthony, Juli, their families, and the people of Oklahoma in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Michael Zack is scheduled to be executed on October 3 by the state of Florida for the murders of Laurie Russillo and Ravonne Smith. Please hold Michael, Laurie, Ravonne, their families, and the people of Florida in prayer. TAKE ACTION