Young workers, community members rally for workers' rights in Florida
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-05-07
Tampa, FL – Over 30 young workers, trade unionists and community members rallied May 3 to demand an end to attacks on public school employees in Hillsborough County and the state of Florida. The rally was organized by West Central Florida Future Labor Leaders. | Hillsborough County School Board (HCSB) is currently accepting bids to contract out all custodial services at Hillsborough County Public Schools in an attempt to 'cut costs.' Custodians in Hillsborough County are already only paid $24,000 a year. The only savings HCSB will find by contracting out custodial services is through cutting custodian's wages, l…
www.fightbacknews.org/2019/5/6/young-wor…

Mayor Watkins Blocks Food Not Bombs Proclamation
Santa Cruz News | indybay.org | 2019-05-07
Mayor Martine Watkins has blocked a city proclamation proposed to honor the work of Food Not Bombs in Santa Cruz. In a letter to Councilmember Chris Krohn, Watkins stated it would not be "appropriate" to issue a proclamation honoring Food Not Bombs because the organization is "suing the city". Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs has provided information in support of the plaintiffs in Quntero v. the City of Santa Cruz, a civil right lawsuit filed on April 9 by a group of homeless residents of the Ross Camp, which maintained the closure of the encampment by the city would violate their constitutional rights.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/05/06/18823248.php

Getting It Right on Immigration
Andrew Moss | counterpunch.org | 2019-05-07
As the 2020 presidential campaign intensifies in the coming weeks and months, we'll see candidates and pundits airing a wide variety of proposals on immigration policy. We'll get recommendations on border security, asylum, detention, the status of the Dreamers, the status of the 11 million people living in the U.S. without documentation, and the role…
counterpunch.org/2019/05/07/getting-it-right-on-immigration/

After nearly two months in jail, Chelsea Manning submits powerful appeal for release
wsws.org | 2019-05-07
Manning has been detained for contempt of court after she refused to testify before a grand jury impaneled to bring frame-up charges against WikiLeaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/05/07/chel…

Number of US tourists to Cuba almost DOUBLES amid Trump's sanctions & threats
rt.com | 2019-05-07
Despite the Trump administration's pressure on Cuba and threats to impose a "full and complete embargo", US tourists have been flocking to the country in record numbers, according to data provided by Cuban authorities. | …
rt.com/usa/458530-cuba-tourists-us-surge/

Monday's Daily Brief: biodiversity and forests, labour and road safety, women's rights, and fallen UN staff remembered
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-06
This Monday, we cover: how one million species face extinction; the importance of safeguarding forests; a look at labour inequalities worldwide; efforts to tackle road safety; a new intergenerational campaign for the realization of women's rights; and a memorial service honouring fallen UN staff.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037971

Six Dem hopefuls push workers' rights at Las Vegas forum
Mark Gruenberg | peoplesworld.org | 2019-05-06
LAS VEGAS –Six Democratic presidential hopefuls, vying for workers' support in the 2020 primaries, pushed hard for workers' rights at an all-day forum in Las Vegas April 27. For five of them — Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.), former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (Texas) and former Gov. John Hickenlooper (Colo.) …
peoplesworld.org/article/six-dem-hopefuls-push-workers-rights-at-las-vegas-forum/

Critics Condemn 'Double Dehumanization' of Palestinians by Corporate Media as Headlines Focus on Israeli Casualties
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-05-06
Human rights advocates and progressives in Congress on Monday slammed the corporate media for perpetuating anti-Palestinian sentiments in their reporting on the violence in Gaza and Israel over the weekend—barely mentioning Palestinians who were killed by Israeli missiles and providing no context for how the violence began. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files……
commondreams.org/news/2019/05/06/critics-condemn-double-dehumanization-palestinians-corporate-media-headlines-focus?cd-origin=rss

US Carrier Strike Group Sent to Middle East in "Clear and Unmistakable Message" to Iran
Tyler Durden | theantimedia.com | 2019-05-06
(ZH) — After weeks of heated rhetoric and the exchange of threats related to US oil export sanctions on Iran, and with both sides eyeing the enforcement of its rights over the vital Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the White House has just announced what will be looked on by Tehran as a major and …

US Carrier Strike Group Sent to Middle East in "Clear and Unmistakable Message" to Iran

Around 70 Airstrikes within 12 Hours… Israel Violates the Gaza Strip: Pregnant Woman and Her Baby Girl Killed, Residential Buildings Targeted and Israeli Attacks Continue
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights | globalresearch.ca | 2019-05-06
The Israeli forces escalated their attacks against the Gaza Strip and continued to carry out intense airstrikes and shelling throughout the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the Israeli warplanes continue until the moment to target residential buildings in central Gaza neighborhoods in …
globalresearch.ca/airstrikes-israel-gaza-strip-pregnant-woman-baby-girl-killed-residential-buildings-targeted-israeli-attacks-continue/5676675

Cameroon: Clear 'window of opportunity' to solve crises rooted in violence – Bachelet
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-06
The UN human rights chief on Monday welcomed Cameroon's willingness to cooperate over finding workable solutions to "major human rights and humanitarian crises", caused by months of serious unrest and violence across the west and north of the country.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037991

The Use of Solitary Confinement in Virginia is Inhumane and Unlawful
aclu.org | 2019-05-06
Instead of keeping its word to courts and reforming its use of solitary, the VA Dept. of Corrections built two massive super maximum-security prisons. | William Thorpe has spent nearly 24 straight years in solitary confinement in Virginia prisons stuck in a cell about half of the size of a parking space for more than 22 hours a day, every day, with no outside light and almost no human contact. | In his nearly two and a half decades in solitary, Thorpe has seen changes in leadership at the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) and attempts to reform how solitary confinement is used in our state prisons. | The…
aclu.org/blog/prisoners-rights/solitary-confinement/use-solitary-confinement-virginia-inhumane-and-unlawful

SPLC Action Fund: Florida Legislature passes unnecessary bill that would preserve vestige of shameful Jim Crow-era voting restrictions
Scott McCoy, Senior Policy Counsel for the SPLC Action Fund | splcenter.org | 2019-05-06
The Florida Legislature on Friday passed Senate Bill 7066, a piece of legislation that is not only unnecessary but that actually contradicts the will of voters who last year approved Amendment 4, a measure that restored voting rights to people with past felony convictions who have served their sentences.
splcenter.org/news/2019/05/06/splc-action-fund-florida-legislature-passes-unnecessary-bill-would-preserve-vestige

Asylum Officers Are Being Replaced By CBP Agents
aclu.org | 2019-05-06
Having a CBP officer conduct a credible fear interview is like having an arresting police officer also sit as the judge. | Last week, President Trump issued a memorandum outlining his latest wishlist of ways to undermine the integrity of our nation's asylum system. Among them was a direction to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to change how it conducts credible fear interviews, the threshold screening interview given to thousands of asylum…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses/asylum-officers-are-being-replaced-cbp-agents

Defiant Turkey Vows to Not Bow to US Sanctions Over S-400 Deal
telesurenglish.net | 2019-05-06
Turkey will never bow to U.S. sanctions over its agreement to purchase Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense systems, Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Sunday regarding a deal that has strained ties between the NATO allies. | RELATED: | UAE Spy Suspect Committed Suicide in Istanbul Prison: Turkey | The U.S. fears over the Russian-Turkish deal has to do with its Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, which are not compatible with the S-400 system. It has warned of possible U.S.
telesurenglish.net/news/Defiant-Turkey-Vows-to-Not-Bow-to-US-Sanctions-Over-S-400-Deal-20190506-0005.html

Ban Russians from US, sanction sports teams & target Putin, says ex-NATO commander
rt.com | 2019-05-06
The US is too "weak" on Russia in the wake of Mueller's report, a TIME article by former NATO commander James Stavridis claims, suggesting Washington go beyond sanctions to target Russian civilians, even President Putin himself. | …
rt.com/usa/458527-sanction-russians-putin-stavridis/

The Atlantic Illustrates Everything That's Wrong With Media Coverage of Venezuela Sanctions
Joshua Cho | fair.org | 2019-05-06
by Joshua Cho The Atlantic ( 4/17/19) wonders "whether slow suffocation will prove a match for the myriad international actors that have shored up support for Maduro." | "Trump's Venezuela Policy: Slow Suffocation," an Atlantic report ( 4/17/19) by Uri Friedman and Kathy Gilsinan, passed up a rich opportunity to expose the humanitarian pretexts for economic interv…
fair.org/home/the-atlantic-illustrates-everything-thats-wrong-with-media-coverage-of-venezuela-sanctions/

Guilt by Association? Arrest of Assange Friend Has No Basis
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-05-04
Cyber-security and privacy expert Ola Bini was arrested in Ecuador the same day that Ecuador revoked Julian Assange's asylum. A court now affirmed his pre-trial detention, while his parents and his lawyers say it has no basis…
therealnews.com/stories/guilt-by-association-arrest-of-assange-friend-has-no-basis

Mass. Judge Refuses to Halt Pro-Palestinian Event at UMass Featuring Roger Waters & Linda Sarsour
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-03
"Not Backing Down: Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights." That's the title of an event set to take place Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After three anonymous UMass students filed a lawsuit to stop the event, a judge ruled Thursday the event can proceed, saying, "There's nothing that comes even close to a threat of harm or incitement to violence or lawlessness." We get an update from Sut Jhally, event organizer and professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts, and Rachel Weber, attorney and member Jewish Voice for Peace, Western Massachusetts chapt…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/3/mass_judge…

Migrants, asylum seekers detained in Hungary 'deliberately deprived of food': UN human rights office
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-03
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday it was alarmed by reports that migrants and asylum seekers who are being held in Hungarian detention centres are being "deliberately deprived of food in contravention of international laws and standards".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037811

NAACP Files Suit Challenging Restrictive Tennessee Voter Registration Law
Aba Blankson | naacp.org | 2019-05-03
NASHVILLE, TN — The NAACP, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, pro bono firm Hogan Lovells US LLP, Memphis-based firm Burch, Porter, & Johnson PLLC, Bromberg Law LLC, and community practitioner Daniel Ayoade Yoon filed suit today challenging Tennessee's new third-party registration law. The complaint alleges that the law, which imposes burdensome requirements …
naacp.org/latest/naacp-files-suit-challenging-restrictive-tennessee-voter-registration-law/

Friday's Daily Brief: hunger in North Korea, human rights in Iran, updates on DR Congo and Benin
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-03
This Friday, we cover: a worrying food crisis in the Democratic Republic of North Korea; attacks against civilians in DR Congo; outrage after the execution of child offenders in Iran; concerns over a super cereal distributed by the World Food Programme; and post-electoral violence in Benin.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037851

We Can't Back People Who Hate Our Kids: Kentucky & Minnesota Teachers of Year Boycott Trump Meeting
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-03
We speak with two award-winning teachers who are trying to teach Trump a lesson. On Monday, Jessica Dueñas, the 2019 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, and Kelly Holstine, the 2018 Minnesota Teacher of the Year, boycotted a White House ceremony honoring them and other state winners of the award in protest of the Trump administration's education policies. But Dueñas and Holstine skipped the event to register their opposition to Trump's policies on immigration, education and LGBTQ rights, saying many of the White House policies directly impact their immigrant and refugee students.
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/3/we_can_t_b…

Roger Waters on Palestine: "You Have to Stand Up for People's Human Rights All Over the World"
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-03
After a judge ruled a panel can move forward Saturday at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on "Israel, Free Speech, and the Battle for Palestinian Human Rights," we speak with one of the event's scheduled participants: Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, one of the most popular rock bands of all time. He says he welcomes the lawsuit that challenged the event, because "what it does is it serves to shine a light on the predicament of the Palestinian people."
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/3/roger_wate…

"We Shall Overcome": Remembering Folk Icon Pete Seeger on What Would Have Been His 100th Birthday
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-03
It was 100 years ago today that the late folk singer and activist Pete Seeger was born. In 2004, Seeger came into our Firehouse studio for an in-depth interview. We play an excerpt to mark his centennial celebration, in which he recalls how he learned about the classic civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," that he helped to popularize. Watch the "full interview": www.democracynow.org/2006/7/3/we_shall_o… and our "full archive of interviews": www.democracynow.org/appearances/pete_se… with Seeger.
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/3/we_shall_o…

Chinese Fund Backed by Hunter Biden Invested in Technology Used to Surveil Muslims
Lee Fang | theintercept.com | 2019-05-03
On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch released a troubling report about a phone application made by the Chinese government. The app provides law enforcement with easy, daily access to data detailing the religious activity, blood type, and even the amount of electricity used by ethnic minority Muslims living in the western province of Xinjiang. | The app relies heavily on facial recognition software supplied by Face++, a division of the Chinese startup Megvii, a relationship that sparke…
theintercept.com/2019/05/03/biden-son-china-business/

US sanctions have killed more than 40,000 people in Venezuela
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-05-03
US sanctions imposed on Venezuela in 2017 contributed to the deaths of more than 40,000 people last year, according to a new report — and this figure is set to rise due to the latest round of sanctions. | According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research report co-authored by economists Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot, the 2017 sanctions deprived Venezuela of billions of dollars it needed to pay for essential food and medicine, leading to a rise in disease and mortality and the displacement of millions seeking to flee the worsening situation. | The report states: "The sanctions exacerbated Venezuela'…
greenleft.org.au/content/us-sanctions-killed-more-40000-venezuela

Venezuelan economist: 'Hyperinflation is a powerful imperialist weapon'
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-05-03
Much is made in the media of Venezuela's deep economic crisis. But why does Venezuela have the world's highest inflation rate and what impacts have the sanctions really had on the country? Green Left Weekly's Federico Fuentes spoke to Venezuelan economist Pascualina Curcio, from the Simón Bolívar University, to find out more. | Hyperinflation is a grave problem in Venezuela, but its causes are less clear. How do you explain it?: | The determinant cause of hyperinflation in Venezuela is the political manipulation by third parties of the exchange rate between the bolívar [Bs, Venezuela's local currency] and…
greenleft.org.au/content/venezuela-economist-hyperinflation-powerful-imperialist-weapon

SPLC Action Fund: Florida immigration enforcement bill dangerous, unnecessary and unconstitutional
Scott McCoy, Senior Policy Counsel, SPLC Action Fund | splcenter.org | 2019-05-03
The Florida Legislature this week passed Senate Bill 168, which would ban so-called "sanctuary cities."
splcenter.org/news/2019/05/03/splc-action-fund-florida-immigration-enforcement-bill-dangerous-unnecessary-and

Attorney General Barr Says ICE Has Power to Lock Up Asylum Seekers Without Hearings
aclu.org | 2019-05-02
The Constitution does not allow the government to lock people up without due process of law. | Today the ACLU, the ACLU of Washington, the American Immigration Council, and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project launched a legal challenge to the Trump administration's latest assault on people who have come to the United States to seek refuge from persecution: jailing asylum seekers without even allowing a judge to decide if there's any reaso…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/attorney-general-barr-says-ice-has-power-lock

A free press is 'cornerstone' for accountability and 'speaking truth to power': Guterres
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-02
At a time when disinformation and mistrust of the news media is growing, a free press is "essential for peace, justice, sustainable development and human rights", said the UN Secretary-General, in his message for World Press Freedom Day, marked on Friday.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037741

Beyond Prisons: Voting Rights feat. Maya Schenwar
Beyond Prisons | shadowproof.com | 2019-05-02
Maya Schenwar returns to Beyond Prisons to discuss voting rights, the current political landscape, and her forthcoming book. | Maya is the Editor-in-Chief of Truthout. She is also the author of "Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn't Work and How We Can Do Better" and the co-editor of the Truthout anthology "Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States." She has written about the prison-industrial complex for Truthout, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Nation, Salon, Ms. Magazine, and others. Maya lives in Chicago and organizes with the abolitionist collective…
shadowproof.com/2019/05/02/beyond-prisons-voting-rights-feat-maya-schenwar/

Struggle to protect the Venezuelan Embassy in D.C.: coup-makers blocked on May Day
ANSWER Coalition | liberationnews.org | 2019-05-02
The illegal seizure of the Embassy has been stopped by a combination of disciplined activists who held their ground and a legal strategy that asserted their rights.
liberationnews.org/struggle-to-protect-the-venezuelan-embassy-in-d-c-coup-makers-blocked-on-may-day/

SPLC: Facebook and Instagram ban far-right and extremist figures, but still have more work to do against hateful content
Keegan Hankes, Researcher, Intelligence Project | splcenter.org | 2019-05-02
Facebook and Instagram announced today that they have banned several far-right, antisemitic and extremist figures and organizations for being "dangerous," a sign that they are more aggressively enforcing their hate speech policies under pressure from civil rights organizations, including the SPLC.
splcenter.org/news/2019/05/02/splc-facebook-and-instagram-ban-far-right-and-extremist-figures-still-have-more-work-do

'These Sanctions Amount to Collective Punishment Against the Entire Iranian Population'
Janine Jackson | fair.org | 2019-05-02
Janine Jackson interviewed Sina Toosi about the Trump administration's anti-Iran campaign for the April 26, 2019, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. | Media…
fair.org/home/these-sanctions-amount-to-collective-punishment-against-the-entire-iranian-population/

New House Bill Would Bar Israel From Using U.S. Military Aid to Detain Palestinian Children
Robert Mackey | theintercept.com | 2019-05-01
Rep. Betty McCollum's bill seeks to ban Israel from using U.S. funds to detain, interrogate, or torture Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
theintercept.com/2019/05/01/betty-mccollum-israel-palestine-children-bill/

Ilhan Omar Speaks Out Against U.S. Sanctions & Bipartisan Support for Regime Change in Venezuela
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-01
Amid an ongoing coup attempt in Venezuela, we speak with Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who questioned U.S. special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams on Capitol Hill in February about his record. Abrams is a right-wing hawk who was linked to the 2002 coup attempt in Venezuela that tried to topple Hugo Chávez. In the 1980s, Abrams defended Guatemalan dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people. Ríos Montt was later convicted of genocide. Rep. Ilhan Omar says that there is a direct correlation between this type of detrimental U.S. foreign policy in Lati…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/1/ilhan_omar…

Venezuela: UN human rights office calls for 'maximum restraint' by authorities in face of new demonstrations
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-01
With another day of mass protests taking place across Venezuela, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday it was "extremely worried by reports of the excessive use of force" by security forces, loyal to President Nicolás Maduro, a day after an opposition-led uprising appeared to stall.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037701

NAACP Statement on William Barr Testimony
Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet | naacp.org | 2019-05-01
The NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization, released the following statement in response to Attorney General William Barr's testimony today: "Attorney General William Barr is unfit to serve. We opposed his confirmation because we believed he could not serve independently and would protect Donald Trump at all costs. Since taking office, Mr. Barr has demonstrated …
naacp.org/latest/naacp-statement-william-barr-testimony/

Hands Off Ilhan Omar: Angela Davis & Black Women Leaders Defend Congresswoman from Right-Wing Attacks
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-01
African-American women leaders gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday in defense of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim congresswomen in history and the first member of Congress to wear a hijab. Omar has been the target of numerous right-wing attacks since taking office, including by President Donald Trump himself. Omar says death threats against her have spiked in number since President Trump tweeted a video juxtaposing her image with footage of the 9/11 attacks. Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, civil rights icon Angela Davis and others addressed the crowd Tuesday to urge Congress to…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/1/hands_off_…

Wednesday's Daily brief: Day 3 of anti-hatred summit, UNFPA turns 50, Ben Stiller #WithRefugees, updates on Abyei and Venezuela
United Nations | un.org | 2019-05-01
This Wednesday, our top stories cover: leaders gathered in Geneva to tackle hate speech; the 50th birthday of the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA); Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller advocating for Syrian refugees in the USA; human rights issues in the Philippines and in Venezuela; and an update on the UN peacekeeping misson in Abyei.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/05/1037671

Trump admin. behaves 'like thugs in a barrio': Interview with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza
Anya Parampil | thegrayzone.com | 2019-05-01
Exclusive interview: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza comments on new US sanctions, the Trump administration's coup efforts, the OAS, and…
thegrayzone.com/2019/04/30/interview-venezuelan-foreign-minister-jorge-arreaza/

Economist Jeffrey Sachs: U.S. Sanctions Have Devastated Venezuela & Killed Over 40,000 Since 2017
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-05-01
More than 40,000 people have died in Venezuela since 2017 as a result of U.S. sanctions, according to a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research co-authored by economists Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot. The report examines how U.S. sanctions have reduced the availability of food and medicine in Venezuela and increased disease and mortality. We speak with Jeffrey Sachs in our New York studio. In the report, he writes, "American sanctions are deliberately aiming to wreck Venezuela's economy and thereby lead to regime change. It's a fruitless, heartless, illegal, and failed policy, causing grave ha…
www.democracynow.org/2019/5/1/economist_…

Angela Davis: I Would Like to Accept Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Award After BDS Controversy
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-04-30
In February, Angela Davis returned to her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. She originally planned the visit to receive the Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, but the institute withdrew the award in January, soon after the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center sent a letter urging the board to reconsider honoring Davis due to her support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Israeli government and Israeli institutions. Facing swift and widespread outcry, the institute then reversed its decision and reinstated the award. While Angela Davis…
www.democracynow.org/2019/4/30/angela_da…

Court certifies class action in lawsuit on behalf of children detained by Trump administration
splcenter.org | 2019-04-30
A federal court certified as a class action an SPLC lawsuit challenging the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR) policies and practices regarding the release of unaccompanied minors and the reunification of immigrant families — a ruling with the potential to help end the prolonged detention of immigrant children across the United States.
splcenter.org/news/2019/04/30/court-certifies-class-action-lawsuit-behalf-children-detained-trump-administration

Student "lunch debt" skyrockets across the country. Here's how it works
Patrick Ostiguy | liberationnews.org | 2019-04-29
Under a socialist system, food and education would no longer be luxuries or sources of debt, but guaranteed social rights…
liberationnews.org/student-lunch-debt-skyrockets-across-the-country-heres-how-it-works/

The Shameful Moralizing On Prisoner Voting Rights
shadowproof.com | 2019-04-27
Editor's Note: We're pleased to publish this preview of our member newsletter, "Keeping The Issues Alive," which provides a closer look at the stories we're following at Shadowproof. | Subscribe for $9/month and receive this weekly newsletter: SUBSCRIBE NOW | For this week's newsletter, Shadowproof publishing editor Brian Sonenstein responds to the backlash against the notion of allowing prisoners to vote, including those convicted of "violent offenses." | Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sander…
shadowproof.com/2019/04/27/the-shameful-moralizing-on-prisoner-voting-rights/

Appeals Court Decision Upholds First Amendment Rights Of Undocumented Immigrants
Kevin Gosztola | shadowproof.com | 2019-04-26
In a victory for undocumented immigrants who engage in activism, a federal appeals court found activist Ravi Ragbir had a valid claim against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which attempted to deport him in retaliation for his political speech.
shadowproof.com/2019/04/26/appeals-court-decision-first-amendment-ravi-ragbir-undocumented-immigrants/

Palestinians call on Iceland's Eurovision contestant Hatari to withdraw
SAMIR | bdsmovement.net | 2019-04-26
Palestinians call on Iceland's Eurovision contestant Hatari to withdraw: PACBI StatementCancelling performance in apartheid Tel Aviv would be a meaningful expression of solidarity for the band, who are on record supporting Palestinian rights. | Cultural Boycott Boycott Eurovision 2019April 26, 2019…
bdsmovement.net/news/hatari

Filipina Journalist Maria Ressa Helped Expose Duterte's Deadly Drug War; He's Now Trying to Jail Her
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-04-26
The award-winning Filipina journalist Maria Ressa has been arrested twice in recent months by the Philippines government as President Rodrigo Duterte cracks down on critics and the media. In February, she was detained in a cyber libel case that's widely seen as politically motivated. She was arrested again in late March for allegedly violating a ban on foreign media ownership. Duterte has long attempted to shut down Rappler, which has published groundbreaking work on Duterte's deadly war on drugs that has killed thousands. Duterte has repeatedly described the site as fake news outlet. We speak with Maria Ressa, t…
www.democracynow.org/2019/4/26/filipina_…