TAKE ACTION: Stop Selling U.S. Arms to Mexico

The Stop Arming Cartels Act would prohibit the sale and purchase of .50 caliber rifles. These weapons have fist-sized bullets that can fire accurately at targets over a mile away and can be purchased easily by ordinary people in 47 states. Hundreds of .50 caliber rifles have been trafficked from the United States into Mexico and used by criminal organizations to shoot down a helicopter and paralyze whole cities. Global Exchange urges us to tell our Senators to co-sponsor the Stop Arming Cartels Act. TAKE ACTION

There Are Easier Ways to Talk About War and Peace

War and peace could be a very simple issue. We make it very complicated. The phrase “support Ukraine” is shorthand for fueling a war that is destroying Ukraine, damaging the world, and threatening a nuclear apocalypse. “Support Ukraine” usually means keeping the weapons flowing. But some of the money goes to things other than weapons, and — rather bizarrely — people find this particularly offensive. World Beyond War says it’s one thing to fund senseless mass murder and quite another to fund human needs.  MORE

How Sharing a Meal Cuts Through the Violence in Prison

Tony Vick has served almost three decades in prison, on a life with parole sentence in Tennessee. He has chosen a path of nonviolence to navigate relationships with his fellow prisoners. “Once I decided that violence was not an option,” he writes, “I found the humanity in my fellow prisoners through the simple act of sharing food.” MORE

Russia May Be Testing Nuclear-Powered Missile

Russia may be preparing to test an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile with a range of up to 14,000 miles, according to The New York Times. The missile, known as the Burevestnik, has failed in its previous trials and once caused an accident that resulted in several deaths. But the Burevestnik, also known in the West as the RS-SSC-X-09 Skyfall, would give Russia an extremely long-range intercontinental ballistic missile if future tests are successful and the weapon enters Moscow’s arsenal. MORE

UK May Host U.S. Nuclear Weapons Again

The United Kingdom may host U.S. nuclear weapons on its territory for the first time since their complete withdrawal 15 years ago, a move that Russia stated would escalate already high nuclear tensions in Europe. U.S. Air Force budget documents for fiscal year 2024 revealed plans for the construction of a dormitory at Royal Air Force Lakenheath that will be needed to handle “the influx of airmen due to the arrival of the potential Surety mission.” The United States often employs the term “surety” when referring to the safety and security of U.S. nuclear weapons. MORE

Saudi Crown Prince on Iran Acquiring Nuclear Weapons: ‘If They Get One, We Have To Get One’

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon, his country would seek to do the same. “If they get one, we have to get one,” the crown prince said, adding that it would be necessary “for security reasons, and for balancing power in the Middle East, but we don’t want to see that.” Iran has expressed interest in returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, which former President Trump withdrew from in 2018. The United States has not indicated an interest in reengaging in discussions. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Support a Pathway to Citizenship for DACA Recipients and All Immigrants

Recently, a federal court again ruled that DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is unlawful. The decision dealt another blow to hundreds of thousands of people who came to the United States as children. It’s also a reminder that only legislation—not litigation—will provide permanent protections for DACA recipients and millions of other immigrants in the U.S. The American Friends Service Committee invites us to tell Congress to support a path to citizenship for all immigrants. TAKE ACTION

More Than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Population Flees as Future Uncertain for Those Who Remain

Authorities in Armenia say more than 80% of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh -- a predominantly ethnic Armenian self-declared independent state within Azerbaijani borders -- have fled the region amid fears of abuse and ethnic cleansing after a 24-hour military blitz by Azerbaijan last week forced separatist forces to surrender. The region's government announced plans to dissolve and say the unrecognized republic, which has sought independence for 30 years, will cease to exist by the end of the year. MORE

More Than 2,500 Migrants Dead or Missing in Mediterranean in 2023, UN Says

More than 2,500 migrants died or went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far in 2023, a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees official said last week. That number marked a large increase over the 1,680 dead or missing migrants in the same period in 2022. The land journey from sub-Saharan African countries, where many of the migrants hail from, to departure points on the Tunisian and Libyan coasts "remains one of the world's most dangerous. MORE

New Climate Corps Will Put Young People to Work to Address Global Warming

President Joe Biden last month signed an executive order creating the American Climate Corps, and in the process fulfilled a key campaign promise two years after Congress refused to launch a New Deal–style jobs program to address global warming. The initiative will provide job opportunities for young people in a variety of climate-focused fields including installing solar panels, building trails, and performing ecological restoration work. The administration says the program will create about 20,000 career-path jobs in its first year. MORE

California Sues Giant Oil Companies, Citing Decades of Deception

The state of California announced it is suing several of the world’s biggest oil companies, claiming their actions have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage and that they deceived the public by downplaying the risks posed by fossil fuels. According to the Union for Concerned Scientists this “marks the most significant climate suit brought against the industry so far.” MORE

As Climate-Fueled Weather Disasters Hit More U.S. Farms, the Costs of Insuring Agriculture Have Skyrocketed

The country’s farmers took in a record $19 billion in insurance payments in 2022, many because of weather-related disasters, according to a new analysis that suggests climate change could stoke the cost of insuring the nation’s farmers and ranchers to unsustainable levels. The Environmental Working Group, which has for decades critically scrutinized the Federal Crop Insurance Program, published new research finding that the cost of the program has soared from just under $3 billion in 2002 to just over $19 billion last year. MORE  

Judge Allows Sex Trafficking Claim Against Northwestern University Cheer to Proceed

A former Northwestern cheerleader’s lawsuit alleging forced labor and sex trafficking against the University can proceed, a federal judge has ruled. Filed in January 2021 by former NU cheerleader Hayden Richardson, the lawsuit alleges that University employees repeatedly put Richardson and her peers in situations where they were groped, harassed, and assaulted by fans and alumni for the purpose of soliciting donations to the school. MORE

U.S. Restricts Imports from Three More Chinese Companies Tied to Forced Labor

The United States restricted imports from three more Chinese companies as part of an effort to eliminate goods made with the forced labor of Uyghur minorities from the U.S. supply chain. The three companies were designated for working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit and transport, harbor or use the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the region. MORE

Migrants Face Rising Sexual Violence at Mexico-US Border

A new U.S. system that requires migrants to secure an appointment to appear at the border is contributing to a rise in sexual violence against migrants, who are spending longer in areas controlled by criminal groups as they compete for highly sought-after appointment slots, Mexican authorities and humanitarian organizations warn. The U.S. system has helped decrease migrants' dependence on smugglers to get them to the border, but many still fall victim to gangs that rape, abuse, and extort migrants who enter their territory. MORE

Kidnapped and Forced to Marry Their Rapist: Ending ‘Courtship Rape’ in Uganda

Ugandan laws prohibiting child marriage have not stopped men in poor regions from abducting girls on their way to school, raping them, and holding them prisoner until they are left with no choice but to marry their captors. Staff at a girls' boarding school in the country have spent 60 years working to protect girls from "courtship rape," but local rights advocates say ensuring girls are in school is not enough. MORE  

TAKE ACTION: Support Striking Autoworkers

In the past, UAW contracts have set the standard for manufacturing wages and benefits for blue-collar workers nationwide. But, today, even as the Big Three raked in a combined $20 billion in profits in just the first six months of this year, workers are making $10 an hour LESS than they did in 2007, when adjusting for inflation. They’re demanding wage increases in line with CEOs as well as Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs). More Perfect Union urges us to tell the CEOs of Ford, Stellantis, and GM to meet workers’ demands now. TAKE ACTION

Billionaires Have Gotten $2.2 Trillion Richer Since Trump-GOP Tax Cuts: Analysis

U.S. billionaires have seen their collective fortunes surge by more than $2 trillion since the enactment of the 2017 Trump-GOP tax cuts. The combined wealth of the nation's 748 billionaires exceeded $5 trillion this month—up 77%, or $2.2 trillion, since the tax cuts took effect. Americans for Tax Fairness say the staggering runup of billionaire wealth since the passage of the Trump-GOP tax law is a sure indicator of who that law was meant to serve—and who it would go on serving if the provisions are made permanent. MORE

Jedidiah Murphy is scheduled to be executed on October 10 by the state of Texas for the murder of Bertie Cunningham. Please hold Jedidiah, Bertie, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Will Speer is scheduled to be executed on October 26 by the state of Texas for the murder of Gary Dickerson. Please hold Will, Gary, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION