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'Huge Win': Abortion Rights Amendment Will Be on Arizona Ballot in November
Reproductive rights advocates in Arizona celebrated a key victory late Monday after the state formally certified their proposed ballot measure, which aims to establish "a fundamental right to abortion" in Arizona's constitution.The office of Arizona's secretary of state said it verified 577,971 signatures in support of placing the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot. That's well above the required 383,923 signatures, and organizers said the total number of verified signatures surpassed the state record for ballot initiatives—an indication that the effort has generated widespread enthusiasm amid right-wing attacks on reproductive rights across the country."Today marks an important and exciting...
After Billions More for Israeli Military, Biden Joins Call for Cease-Fire
Just days after releasing $3.5 billion for Israel to spend on weapons while waging war on the Gaza Strip, U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday joined leaders of France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom in expressing support for "ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions and reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal." Biden put out a Thursday statement with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim al-Thani, acknowledging their months of meditation and declaring that "the time has come" for an agreement. On Monday, the U.S. and European leaders endorsed that call "to renew talks later this week with...
Rights Group Sues US for Placing Palestinian American on 'Illegal, Racist Watchlist'
The largest U.S. Muslim civil rights group on Monday announced it is suing Attorney General Merrick Garland and other federal officials for placing one Palestinian American on its "no-fly" list and for seizing another's electronic device and interrogating him about his constitutionally protected organizing for a free Palestine. The Council on American-Islamic Relations and its Los Angeles office (CAIR-LA) are suing Garland, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, Terrorism Screening Center Director Michael Glasheen, and other national security officials on behalf of Mustafa Zeidan and Osama Abu Irshaid. According to the lawsuit, the men "are both United States citizens of...
To Protect Consumers, Biden Cracks Down on 'Corporate Tricks' Like Hard-To-Cancel Services
The Biden administration on Monday launched a wide-ranging consumer protection campaign called "Time Is Money" aimed at cracking down on hard-to-cancel services, deliberately poor customer service, and other "corporate tricks" that involve overly complicated or burdensome processes, such as in the filling out of insurance claims. The effort involves a number of agencies and initiatives, some already underway, like a proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule, first announced in March 2023 and currently under public review, that would require companies to make it as easy to cancel a subscription or service as it is to sign up. At least one...
Shot Putter Paralyzed by Israeli Sniper Is Palestine's Lone Paralympian
Following an Olympic Games that activists said was tainted by the participation Israeli athletes including a flag-bearer who signed bombs bound for Gaza, a shot putter who was disabled by an Israeli sniper and who lost at least 17 relatives to Israel's onslaught is set to be the sole Palestinian competitor at the upcoming Paralympics in Paris. "I want to raise my country flag here in Paris and to show the people we are still here," 39-year-old Fadi Deeb said during a Monday interview with Democracy Now! ahead of the August 28 Paralympic Opening Ceremony. "We're still alive—we have hopes, we...
Ecuador Fails to Eliminate Gas Flaring Despite Court Order: Amnesty
More than three years after a court ruling that left a group of young women hopeful that their legal action had helped "restore nature" for future generations in Ecuador, a report by Amnesty International on Monday found that gas flaring that the Provincial Court of Justice of Sucumbíos had ordered to be eliminated has actually continued—threatening public health and a just energy transition.In its report, titled The Amazon Is Burning! The Future Is Burning!, Amnesty found the Ecuadorian government and public and private oil companies have avoided "any concrete and ambitious steps to remove the flares," instead taking measures that...
Air Force Dodges PFAS Water Cleanup in Arizona, Citing Supreme Court Chevron Ruling
The United States Air Force has so far refused to comply with an Environmental Protection Agency order to develop a cleanup plan for drinking water in Tucson, Arizona, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that overturned the Chevron doctrine, The Guardian reported Monday. Air Force bases contributed to the contamination of the drinking water with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often known as "forever chemicals" because they accumulate in the body, breaking down only very slowly. The compounds, which were introduced by chemical companies in the mid-20th century, are associated with a wide range of serious health conditions,...
'Trump Did This': 100+ Pregnant Women Neglected, Denied ER Care Since 2022
Monday reporting from The Associated Press and newly filed federal complaints highlight how abortion restrictions enacted in U.S. states since the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade endanger the health and lives of pregnant people nationwide. Building on a report published earlier this year ahead of oral arguments in a relevant U.S. Supreme Court case, the AP's Amanda Seitz revealed that "more than 100 pregnant women in medical distress who sought help from emergency rooms were turned away or negligently treated since 2022," according to an analysis of federal hospital investigations. Legal experts and medical providers argue that "nursing and doctor shortages...
Climate Crisis Fueled Surge in UK Property Insurance Payouts, Says Industry Group
A trade group for the British insurance industry said Monday that extreme weather helped drive property insurance payouts to a record quarterly high over the past three months, underscoring the growing threat that the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency poses to homes, businesses, and the broader economy. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said Monday that insurance firms in the United Kingdom paid out £1.4 billion—$1.79 billion—in claims during the second quarter of 2024, a 5% increase compared to the previous quarter and the highest quarterly sum since the organization started gathering data in 2017. "The average payout per home insurance claim was...
Hundreds of Legal Experts Push Biden to Drop 'Punitive and Deadly' Sanctions
As human rights defenders marked the 75th anniversary of the Fourth Geneva Convention and its prohibition on collective punishment, hundreds of legal experts and groups on Monday urged the global community—and the United States government in particular—"to comply with international law by ending the use of broad, unilateral coercive measures that extensively harm civilian populations." In a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, the jurists and legal groups wrote that "75 years ago, in the aftermath of one of the most destructive conflicts in human history, nations of the world came together in Geneva, Switzerland to establish clear legal limits...
Harris Urged to End Subminimum Wage, Not Just Taxes on Tips
Economic justice advocates expressed appreciation for U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' elevation of working class issues in her campaign at a rally in Las Vegas over the weekend, but called on the vice president to go beyond promises her Republican opponent has made and instead counter them with a plan to eliminate subminimum wages across the economy. On Saturday, Harris expressed support for eliminating taxes for tips. The median tipped worker earns just $15,198 per year."It is my promise to everyone here when I am president, we will continue our fighting for working families of America including to...
'Shameful': Omar Rips Late Effort by Pro-Israel Donors to Boost Her Primary Opponent
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar on Sunday condemned a last-minute effort by pro-Israel donors to boost her Democratic primary opponent in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District following the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's successful campaigns against two other progressive Squad members. "It is shameful that my opponent is actively courting Republican votes and desperately seeking funding from AIPAC," Omar wrote on social media in response to reporting by Jacqueline Sweet in The Intercept. "MN05 deserves someone who will champion their values, not seek support from vile MAGA Republicans like Laura Loomer and Royce White." Sweet reported Sunday that "members of a WhatsApp group...
Leading Senate Democrat Calls JD Vance 'A Phony' on Child Tax Credit
The Democratic chair of the Senate Finance Committee on Sunday called Sen. JD Vance "a phony" after the Republican vice presidential candidate proposed more than doubling the Child Tax Credit—less than two weeks after skipping a vote on legislation that would have expanded the benefit. "If JD Vance sincerely gave a whit about working families in America, he would have shown up in the Senate a week and a half ago and voted for my proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit and help 16 million low-income kids get ahead," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who helped craft the compromise bill...
Palestinians Say US Responsible for Latest 'Massacre' of Children in Gaza
The office of the Palestinian Authority's president is holding the U.S. government responsible for a weekend bombing in Gaza that killed an estimated 100 people, including at least 11 children. The victims of the attack on the al-Tabin school were blown to 'pieces,' according to video evidence and on-the-ground reporting, when U.S.-provided missiles were fired on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City.In the wake of the attack that stirred global outrage and condemnation Saturday, the Palestinian presidency's spokesperson Nabih Abu Rudeineh condemned the massacre and said the PA held the Biden administration "responsible for the massacre due to its financial, military,...
'Crime Minister!': Israeli Families of Hostages March Against Netanyahu
Thousands marched in the streets of Israeli cities on Saturday to demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu end his sabotage of negotiations that would see an end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas for over nine months. As human rights defenders and world leaders condemned the Israeli government throughout the day over the latest "heinous" massacre of innocent civilians in Gaza—this time at another school-turned-shelter in Gaza where an estimate 100 people or more were killed by IDF missiles overnight—family members of hostages were among those who accused Netanyahu of keeping the carnage...
Sanders to Headline 'Progressive Central 2024' on Sidelines of Democratic Convention
Organizers behind the "Progressive Central 2024" event scheduled to take place just ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month announced Friday that Sen. Bernie Sanders will be the keynote speaker alongside a roster of lawmakers and movement leaders determined to keep the left's working-class agenda moving forward ahead of November's election—and beyond. Nearby in downtown Chicago and just before the DNC kicks off, the two-day sideline event is being orchestrated by Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), The Nation magazine, The Arab American Institute, and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Alan Minsky, executive director of PDA, explained to Common Dreams that...
'Holy Sh*t This Ad Is Powerful': UAW Says It Knows How to Defeat Trump and the Billionaire Class
"There is only one answer to the threat we face as a nation. The answer is solidarity."That is the core message directed at the American working class from the United Auto Workers (UAW) in a new ad that frames the nation's current political battle as one between organized workers and the billionaire and corporate classes."We stand at a historic crossroads in this country right now," says UAW president Shawn Fain to begin the 2-minute video. "And it's clear Donald Trump represents the billionaire class—that's his base.""We let working-class people lead the fight."Calling Trump a "scab" who will "ruthlessly fight...
'Heinous': Children Among 100 Killed by Israel Bombing of Gaza School Just Hours After US Weapons Approval
Just hours after the Biden administration Friday announced approval of $3.5 billion in military funds for Israel and shipments for new weaponry, an Israeli bombing of a school-turned-shelter in Gaza has killed 100 people or more, including scores of civilian men, women, and children in what was described as a "bloody massacre" that struck during morning prayers, leaving body parts scattered "in pieces" and healthcare workers overwhelmed with the dead and wounded. The Palestinian Authority's Fatah government in the Occupied West Bank released a statement Saturday describing the attack on the al-Tabin school in Gaza City as a "heinous bloody massacre"...
US Rights Group Urges Media to Condemn Israel's Killing of Journalists in Gaza
The largest U.S. Muslim advocacy group on Friday implored American and international media outlets to speak out against Israel's killing of more than 100 journalists, almost all of them Palestinians, during the ongoing assault on Gaza. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) renewed its plea following Israeli airstrikes on the homes of Palestine TV journalist Tamim Ma'mmar and Al-Aqsa TV's Abdullah Al-Sousi. Ma'mmar was killed along with his wife and two of their children, while the other attack killed Al-Sousi and two of his nephews, according to Quds News Network. "The only thing that can explain the shocking silence of American and...
Newsom Threatens to Defund California Counties That Don't Clear Homeless Encampments
After personally participating in the forced displacement of homeless people in a Los Angeles encampment, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday threatened to withhold funding from counties that don't sufficiently crack down on the unhoused. Buoyed by the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court's recent City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson ruling—which was welcomed by Newsom and other Democratic leaders like San Francisco Mayor London Breed who filed amicus briefs in the case—the governor issued an executive order last month directing officials to clear out homeless encampments, which have proliferated amid rampant economic inequality and stratospheric housing prices in the nation's...
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