Seven Things We Could Do If We Cut the Pentagon by $100 Billion

What would be possible if we had an extra $100 billion to spend on urgent human needs? Recently, Congress and President Biden agreed to an $858 billion Pentagon and war budget. That’s the highest the military budget has been since World War II. About half of the Pentagon budget every year goes to corporate contractors who pay their CEOs multi-million dollar salaries and engage in stock buybacks to artificially raise their own stock prices. Meanwhile, back at home, the country faces dire challenges that military spending can’t solve. MORE

Pro-Bono Ukraine Lobbyists Quietly Profit from Defense Contractor Clients

Following Russian President Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine there was an outpouring of support for the besieged nation from seemingly every industry in America. The invasion has led some of the lobbying industry’s biggest players to do the unthinkable — lobbying for free. While the influence industry may have altruistic reasons for representing Ukraine pro-bono, some lobbying firms also have financial incentives for aiding Ukraine: they’ve made millions lobbying for arms manufacturers that could profit from the war. MORE

Illinois Abolishes Life Without Parole Sentences for Children

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a new law that extends parole eligibility for people convicted of offenses when they were under 21, making Illinois the 26th state to abolish life-without-parole sentences for children. Illinois provided parole review for most young people in 2019, but that law did not apply to people sentenced to certain crimes. The new law eliminates these exceptions and finally abolishes all life-without-parole sentences for children under 18. MORE

Iran Can Produce Enough Material for a Nuclear Bomb in 12 Days: Pentagon

Iran could produce enough material to develop a nuclear bomb within 12 days, a senior Pentagon official told lawmakers this week. Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of Defense for policy, said Tehran’s nuclear development progress has been “remarkable” since the Trump administration withdrew from a nuclear pact in 2018.  The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog recently warned Iran has enriched uranium at one nuclear site up to 83 percent, close to the 90 percent enrichment level needed to produce weapons-grade material. MORE

As Putin Suspends New START Treaty, Is There Still Hope for Nuclear Disarmament?

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Moscow would suspend its participation in the New START treaty threatens to end the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia. But we have to remember that at times in the past when we have been close to nuclear conflict, as we are now, in the aftermath of those crises, rapid progress was made to improve the situation. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Tell the Biden Administration Not to Bring Back Asylum Ban

The Biden administration is taking comments from the public about its plan to bring back an asylum ban. The rule they are proposing would ban many refugees from asylum protection in the United States based on their manner of entry into the United States and transit through other countries. The National Immigration Law Center urges us to submit a comment to oppose this harmful policy. TAKE ACTION

Italy Migrant Tragedy Death Toll Over 60; Dozens Missing

The death toll rose to at least 63 in the migrant tragedy off Italy’s southern coast after rescue crews recovered several more bodies this week. Dozens more were believed to be missing. At least eight of the dead were children who perished after a wooden boat broke up in stormy seas on the shoals off the Calabrian coast Sunday. The boat, which set off from Turkey last week, was carrying about 170 people. Many of the victims were Afghans, as well as Pakistanis, Syrians, and Iraqis. MORE

Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.

Migrant children, who have been coming into the United States without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country. This shadow workforce extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century. Migrant child laborers can be found in a wide variety of situations including factories that make products for well-known brands such as Cheetos and Fruit of the Loom.   MORE  

TAKE ACTION: Strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

Coal-fired power plants are the worst of industrial polluters. Deadly fine particulate matter, also known as soot, is caused by pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks, and industrial power plants. These toxic air pollutants from power plants are linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and thousands of premature deaths each year. Earthjustice invites us to tell the EPA to force coal plants to clean up their act. TAKE ACTION

U.S. Justice Department Sues Two Companies Over Pollution in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’

The U.S. justice department has sued the two petrochemical giants behind a facility in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” responsible for the highest cancer risk rates caused by air pollution in the U.S. in a major federal lawsuit that seeks to substantially curb the plant’s emissions. Unveiled this week, the lawsuit alleges emissions at the Pontchartrain Works facility in Reserve, Louisiana, violate the Clean Air Act and “present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare”. MORE  

Train Derailments Get More Headlines, But Truck Crashes Involving Hazardous Chemicals Are More Frequent and Deadly in U.S.

Less than two weeks after train cars filled with hazardous chemicals derailed in Ohio and caught fire, a truck carrying nitric acid crashed on a major highway outside Tucson, Arizona, killing the driver and releasing toxic chemicals into the air. But the highway crash didn’t draw national attention the way the train derailment did, or trigger a flood of calls for more trucking regulation like the U.S. is seeing for train regulation. Truck crashes tend to be local and less dramatic than a pile of derailed train cars on fire, even if they’re deadlier. MORE

What Could Prevent Survivors from Being Re-trafficked in India? A Decent Income

It’s difficult to engage with survivors of human trafficking in India. Sensational media reports, an unresponsive criminal justice system, and a lack of economic opportunities are just some of the factors complicating the process. Without economic prospects, trafficking victims in India have little choice but to be exploited again. MORE

Former Child Soldiers Struggle to Be Treated as Modern Slavery Survivors

A child soldier is defined by the UN as any person below the age of 18 who has been used by an armed group in any capacity. This is by no means restricted to armed fighting and includes cooks, porters, spies, and for sexual purposes. Stigma attached to former child soldiers makes it difficult for them to reintegrate into society and receive the specialist support that comes with being recognized as a victim of modern slavery. MORE

Almost All Domestic Violence Is Preceded by Coercive Control. Proposed Massachusetts Laws Intend to Address the Crisis

Last year, there were 26 domestic violence-related homicides in Massachusetts—a more than 40 percent increase over the previous year. To address this scourge, Massachusetts lawmakers have so far filed nearly 70 bills this year. One approach is to address coercive control—the attempt to dominate an intimate partner by subjecting them to psychological, sexual, technological, or financial abuse. Experts say that coercive control is often a better predictor of domestic homicide than previous violent assaults. MORE

Federal Proposals Could Help Domestic Violence Victims Protect Phone Data

New rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission could make it easier for victims of domestic violence to keep their phone data out of the hands of their abusers and maintain connections to friends, family, and advocates who can offer help. The new set of rules includes requiring mobile service providers to separate a victim's phone line from the plan they share with an abuser within two days of receiving a request to do so. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Defend Medicaid and CHIP

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are lifelines for millions of individuals, families, and children. But now those lifelines are at great risk of being cut. Starting this April, states must resume determining eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP for 90 million beneficiaries. It’s estimated that 15 million people will be at risk of losing Medicaid coverage. The Coalition on Human Needs invites us to call on Congress to defend Medicaid and CHIP. TAKE ACTION

Drugmaker Eli Lilly Caps the Cost of Insulin At $35 A Month, Bringing Relief for Millions

Eli Lilly has announced it will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month. The move, experts say, could prompt other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit. The change, which Eli Lilly said takes effect immediately, puts the drugmaker in line with a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which in January imposed a $35 monthly cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for seniors enrolled in Medicare. President Joe Biden praised the move in a tweet, calling on other drugmakers to also lower insulin prices. MORE

U.S.-Backed Report Says Russia Has Held At Least 6,000 Ukrainian Children For 'Re-Education'

Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children - likely many more - in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education, according to a U.S.-backed report. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. MORE

Gary Green is scheduled to be executed on March 7 by the state of Texas for the murders of Lovetta Armstead and Jazzmen Montgomery. Please hold Gary, Lovetta, Jazzmen, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Arthur Brown, Jr. is scheduled to be executed on March 9 by the state of Texas for the murders of Jose Tovar, Jessica Quinones, Audrey Brown, and Frank Farias. Please hold Arthur, Jose, Jessica, Audrey, Frank, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Gerald Pizzuto is scheduled to be executed on March 23 by the state of Idaho for the murders of Berta Herndon and Del Herndon. Please hold Gerald, Berta, Del, their families, and the people of Idaho in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Anibal Canales, Jr. is scheduled to be executed on March 29 by the state of Texas for the murder of Gary Dickerson. Please hold Anibal, Gary, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION