ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE AND PEACEMAKING |
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TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Ban Israel from Abusing Human Rights with U.S. Dollars
H.R.2590 is a bill that would prohibit Israel from using U.S. taxpayer dollars in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for the military detention, abuse, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention; the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property and homes; or Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territory. RootsAction encourages us to ask Congress to support and pass this important legislation. TAKE ACTION
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New York Will Reassign 5,000 School Police Officers
New York City’s school system is beginning to remove the police from its corridors and classrooms in a move welcomed by advocates as a de-escalation of a system that is often seen as imposing harsh punishments that disproportionately target students of color. In all, about 5,000 New York City school safety agents will be transferred from the supervision of the New York police department to the Department of Education in June 2022. MORE
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Why Biden Is Taking the Rare Step of Sharing Nuclear Submarine Tech with Australia
In a rare step, President Biden announced last week that the United States plans to share its nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia as part of a new defense partnership with that country and the United Kingdom. The announcement comes as Biden tries to refocus U.S. national security and economic policy on the threat posed by China. MORE
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Pentagon Removes Top Nuclear Policy Official from Post
The Department of Defense has removed a top political appointee in charge of nuclear policy from her position, prompting concern among disarmament advocates that the Pentagon is sidelining those with less hawkish views as the Biden administration develops its official policy on nuclear weapons. MORE
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TAKE ACTION: Stop Deportations to Haiti
Over 10,000 Haitian migrants seeking safety from political turmoil and the aftermath of a devastating earthquake are trapped in makeshift encampments in Del Rio, Texas as they wait to claim asylum. At the same time, the Biden administration completed its 37th deportation flight back to Haiti and plans to up the ante to deter others from entering the country. Families Belong Together asks us to tell the Biden Administration to halt deportations to Haiti. TAKE ACTION
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Mexican Officials Cut Off New Migrant Caravan, Breaking Up Main Group
Another migrant caravan consisting of Central American, Haitian, and Venezuelan migrants was violently dispersed in southern Mexico this week. In the process, some families were separated as they were pushed south. The US government has increasingly leaned on Mexico to deter migrants through the use of force. MORE
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Democrats Cannot Grant Legal Status to Millions of Immigrants as Part of Budget Bill, Senate Parliamentarian Rules
Democrats cannot provide a path to citizenship for about 8 million undocumented immigrants as part of their sprawling budget bill, a Senate official ruled this week. The party hoped the immigration changes would cover Dreamers brought to the U.S. as children, people affected by conflicts or natural disasters in their home countries, farmworkers, and other essential workers. MORE
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TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress the Build Back Better Budget Bill Must Include Bold and Ambitious Climate Investments
The climate justice-related parts of the Build Back Better Reconciliation Bill infrastructure are currently being negotiated in Congress. Currently, about $1 trillion of the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill addresses climate change. It is imperative that those provisions to advance clean energy, clean transportation, environmental justice, and climate resilience remain strong. Interfaith Power and Light ask us to tell Congress to support a robust climate budget. TAKE ACTION
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This Powerful Democrat Linked to Fossil Fuels Will Craft the U.S. Climate Plan
Joe Manchin, the powerful West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate energy panel and earned half a million dollars last year from coal production, is preparing to remake President Biden’s climate legislation in a way that tosses a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry. Manchin is crucial to passing the Democrats’ reconciliation package, which cannot lose a single party vote. MORE
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Killings of Environmental Advocates Around the World Hit a Record High in 2020
A record number of environmental activists were killed in 2020, according to the latest accounting by a U.K.-based advocacy group that puts the blame squarely on extractive industries, including agribusiness and logging. The number of documented killings—227—occurred across the world, but in especially high numbers throughout Latin America and the Amazon. MORE
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Climate Crisis Leaving ‘Millions at Risk of Trafficking and Slavery’
Millions of people forced to leave their homes because of severe drought and powerful cyclones are at risk of modern slavery and human trafficking over the coming decades, a new report warns. The climate crisis and the increasing frequency of extreme weather disasters including floods, droughts, and megafires are having a devastating effect on the livelihoods of people already living in poverty and making them more vulnerable to slavery. MORE
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Teens Released from U.S. Care to Hands of Labor Traffickers
New investigations show that dozens of teenage migrants released from federal care were sent to the same government-approved sponsor. This is a red flag that the sponsor may in fact be trafficking those children into exploitation. Federal law enforcement officials are investigating whether unaccompanied migrant teenagers, aged between 13 and 17, have been released from government custody to labor traffickers who sent them to work in agricultural processing facilities across the country. MORE
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Garment Workers in Los Angeles Describe the "Modern-Day Slavery" of Sweatshops
Sweatshops are known for producing clothing items in unsafe working conditions where workers toil for pennies. They are commonly found overseas, but some exist in the United States — including in Los Angeles, California. A 2016 U.S. Department of Labor investigation found pay violations in 85% of the L.A. garment shops it looked into. MORE
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT |
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Everyone's Talking About Gabby Petito. But They're Having the Wrong Conversation, Experts Say.
Petito's disappearance and death have captivated a public consumed by anguish for her family in what has become a highly-publicized case. The 22-year-old vanished while on a cross-country expedition with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, 23. Her family last heard from her on August 30th, two days before Laundrie returned home without her. Experts in gendered violence say coverage and conversation have lacked context on the broader dynamics that make violence against women a pervasive social problem. MORE
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Sexual Assault Linked to Later Brain Damage in Women, Study Finds
Women who have been sexually assaulted have a higher risk of developing a type of brain damage that has been linked to cognitive decline, dementia and stroke, a new study found. It could be either childhood sexual abuse or adult sexual assault. Based upon population data, most survivors were assaulted in early adolescence or early adulthood, but assault leaves footprints of the trauma in both the brain and body. MORE
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HUMAN RIGHTS AND INCOME INEQUALITY |
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TAKE ACTION: Protect the Most Vulnerable in the Budget
The budget reconciliation bill will have an impact on everything from Medicare and immigration to climate change and childhood poverty. Lobbyists for billionaires, big corporations, and even the religious right are fighting for big cuts -- and some swing legislators are going along. Loving our neighbor means building communities where no one is left behind, period. Faithful America urges us to tell Congress to enact a just and equitable budget. TAKE ACTION
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The Federal Government Sells Flood-Prone Homes to Often Unsuspecting Buyers
Affordable homes sold by the Department of Housing and Urban Development are disproportionately located in flood zones, an NPR investigation found, often without fully disclosing risks to buyers, even as climate change is increasing the hazard. These buyers are also less likely to be informed about flood insurance than if they were to buy from a private seller. MORE
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Rick Rhoades is scheduled to be executed on September 28 by the state of Texas for the murders of Charles Allen and Bradley Allen. Please hold Rick, Charles, Bradley, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION
Ernest Johnson is scheduled to be executed on October 5th by the state of Missouri for the murders of Mary Bratcher, Fred Jones, and Mabel Scruggs. Please hold Ernest, Mary, Fred, Mabel, their families, and the people of Missouri in prayer. TAKE ACTION
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