TAKE ACTION: Ban AI Use in Weapons Systems

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology into weapons systems, like nuclear weapons, poses an unacceptable risk for one basic reason: AI will never be fool-proof. It can make mistakes and make decisions that are both morally and ethically questionable -- and without any human oversight or intervention, those mistakes could mean global disaster. Win Without War asks us to join them in telling Congress to ban AI use in weapons technology. TAKE ACTION

U.S. Is the Largest Arms Exporter in a Changing Market

The U.S. remains the world's top and growing exporter of major conventional weapons systems, with a 40% share of all arms exports from 2018 to 2022, up from 33% from 2013 to 2017, while Russia's share is 16%, according to a survey by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The report shows a shift in the global arms trade due to the war in Ukraine, resulting in increased weapon flows to Europe and a reduced role for Russia in the coming years. MORE

Police Use “Less Lethal” Weapons to Crush Social Movements Across the World

A new report finds that more than 121,000 people globally were injured or killed by crowd-control weapons since 2015. Injuries from crowd-control weapons are increasing and widespread both in authoritarian nations such as Iran and China as well as in “democratic” countries that supposedly tolerate dissent and public assemblies. MORE

Confronting the New Nuclear Peril

It is hard to imagine that any new treaty on nuclear arms can be negotiated between the United States and Russia and ratified by the U.S. Senate when trust between Washington and Moscow is at zero and dialogue is frozen. And yet one effective form of global threat reduction is both feasible and doable: preventing the unauthorized or inadvertent use of nuclear weapons. Ernest J. Moniz and Sam Nunn of the Nuclear Threat Initiative explain what nuclear-armed states can do now to prevent a possible catastrophe. MORE

Why Biden’s New Nuclear Security Agenda Might Not Work as Planned

Biden’s new nuclear security agenda is unlikely to succeed without sufficient international cooperation, writes nuclear security expert Sitara Noor. "Biden’s nuclear security agenda has little chance of recreating the international momentum achieved with the Obama summits." MORE

Countering China Requires More Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Lawmakers Say

A group of U.S. Republican lawmakers expressed concern about China's nuclear arsenal, following a notification from the US Strategic Command that China has more intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers than the US, likely due to the discovery of at least 250 new missile silos across three sites in China in 2021. The lawmakers argued that this should serve as a wake-up call for the U.S. saying, “We have no time to waste in adjusting our nuclear force posture to deter both Russia and China.” MORE

New USCIS Center Is Good News for Some of Its Worst Backlog Victims

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees – and plans to have over 300 – to staff a virtual service center, which will eventually operate fully remotely. MORE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Pushes Toughest Immigration Crackdown in the U.S.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leading a push for a package of immigration measures that would represent the strictest crackdown on illegal immigration by any state in over a decade. The proposed bills would make it a felony to shelter, hire, or transport immigrants without legal permission, require hospitals to report patients' immigration status to the state, invalidate out-of-state driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants, and direct state law enforcement to assist federal authorities in enforcing immigration laws. MORE

An Abandoned Building That Became Waiting Room to U.S. for Migrants

The immigrant shelter network in the border town of Juárez, Mexico is strained, with hundreds of migrants arriving or being expelled to the city each day. The Mexican federal government is working to expand the largest shelter in the city, which has reached its maximum of roughly 800 people. A burned-out two-story building has become an anteroom for dozens of migrants trying daily — most without success — to use the CBP One digital application to seek asylum at the Southwest border. MORE

Methane’s Moment: It’s the Short-term Make-or-break Greenhouse Gas in the Fight Against Climate Change

The second-most abundant greenhouse gas, long-ignored methane is finally being seen for its potential and danger. Likened to “carbon dioxide on steroids,” methane absorbs over 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over 20 years, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Lowering methane levels in the atmosphere is “the single fastest way to tackle climate change,” says the UNEP. And one increasingly popular way to cut methane levels is to change dairy farm practices. MORE

Iowa Turns Down $3M Federal Grant for Climate Change Planning 

Iowa was one of only four states to turn down $3 million in federal money for planning to prevent climate change after a state official advised against it because there were “strings attached.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offered each state $3 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to come up with a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create green energy jobs, lower energy costs for families, and reduce air pollution, among other objectives. Florida, Kentucky, and South Dakota also declined to participate. MORE

For the First Time in Nearly Two Decades, the EPA Announces New Rules to Limit Toxic Air Pollutants from Chemical and Plastics Plants

The EPA has announced new rules aimed at reducing harmful, toxic emissions from chemical and plastics plants, most of which are concentrated along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas. They often emit chemical byproducts that have been linked to cancer and other health risks and disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income white neighborhoods. The new rules will require additional pollution control measures to counter continuing health risks those communities face despite existing pollution controls. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Increase Funding for Worker Protection Agencies

In 1978, the U.S. government employed one labor inspector for every 69,000 workers. By 2018, the responsibility for each investigator had more than doubled to one inspector for every 175,000 workers. This is the result of chronic underfunding of the agency charged with protecting workers and it means labor traffickers are able to operate with impunity because they are pretty sure no one is watching. The Polaris Project urges us to tell Congress to fund the enforcement of existing labor laws and prevent labor trafficking. TAKE ACTION

Trafficked, Imprisoned, and Forced to Scam

Three people were recently convicted in Indonesia for a trafficking scheme in which they sent workers abroad illegally where they were held captive in a call center, forced to scam foreigners out of thousands of dollars. One survivor recounts that when he was recruited, he was told the job was to market cryptocurrency over platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok, build a relationship with the buyer, and encourage them to buy as much as possible. When he failed to meet sales targets, he was beaten with a belt or computer keyboard. MORE

Failed Oversight, Lax Punishments: How the Coast Guard Has Allowed Sexual Assault at Sea to Go Unchecked

Hundreds of pages of the Coast Guard’s own records, as well as interviews with shipping companies and union officials, current and former government employees, and dozens of mariners, show that the Coast Guard has failed to use its power to prevent and punish sexual assault and misconduct for decades — despite growing evidence that this kind of behavior is a longstanding problem at sea. MORE

Two Wives Turned a Man in to Police Over Child Sex Abuse Images, but a Glitch Kept Him from Being Charged Until Now

A 34-year-old California man was recently arrested after police found over 900 images of child sex abuse on his computer. The man had also been accused of possessing "several hundred" similar images in 2018, but he was not prosecuted due to an alleged computer glitch. He now faces felony charges of possession of child pornography and surreptitious recording after his current wife reported finding a hidden camera in their home to police. In 2018, his previous wife had reported to authorities that he had images of prepubescent juveniles on his computer. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Let Medicare Negotiate Lower Drug Prices

The Biden administration made history when it ended the Bush-era giveaway to Big Pharma, preventing Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices. Now, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is finalizing its rules around negotiating those drug prices―and pharmaceutical industry lobbyists are trying to water it down as much as possible. Progress America urges us to tell the CMS to let Medicare negotiate truly lower prescription drug prices. TAKE ACTION

Employers Spend More Than $400 Million Per Year On ‘Union-Avoidance’ Consultants to Bolster Their Union-Busting Efforts

High-profile union organizing campaigns and attacks on those campaigns at companies such as Amazon, Starbucks, and Google have shined a spotlight on workers seeking better pay and working conditions. However, attempts to derail those efforts by corporations are on the rise, costing more than $400 million a year. Anti-union consultants report being paid $350-plus hourly rates or $2,500-plus daily rates for their work to defeat union organizing efforts.  MORE

Ivan Cantu is scheduled to be executed on April 26 by the state of Texas for the murders of James Mosqueda and Amy Kitchen. Please hold Ivan, James, Amy, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Darryl Barwick is scheduled to be executed on May 3 by the state of Florida for the murder of Rebecca Wendt. Please hold Darryl, Rebecca, their families, and the people of Florida in prayer. TAKE ACTION