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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  2. <rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"><channel><title>Common Dreams</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/</link><description>Common Dreams</description><atom:link href="https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/news.rss" rel="self"></atom:link><language>en-us</language><lastBuildDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:17:22 -0000</lastBuildDate><image><url>https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8zMjEwMDM4OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTgxMjIyMDI1N30.ErOfRE5hvYF7nWXKN4iUp2dOTKR2-o5weET2FxMgj9A/image.png?width=210</url><link>https://www.commondreams.org/</link><title>Common Dreams</title></image><item><title>Nearly 100 (and Counting) Dead as Israel Launches Large-Scale Ground Invasion of Gaza City</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-city-israel</link><description><![CDATA[
  3. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/relatives-of-palestinians-mourn.jpg?id=61608342&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C80%2C0%2C262"/><br/><br/><p>The Jewish-led rights group IfNotNow was among those condemning Israel's ground invasion of Gaza City on Tuesday, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DOrBmamEaZy/?hl=en&img_index=2" target="_blank">warning</a> that the Israel Defense Forces have left more than 1 million people in the northern city and its surrounding towns with an "impossible choice": "flee once more without anywhere safe to go or face indiscriminate bombs and bullets from Israeli forces."</p><p><a href="https://aje.io/bdkjml?update=3954776" target="_blank">At least 91 people</a> in Gaza City were killed by the latter on Tuesday as two divisions of the IDF launch ground attacks across the city, with a third expected to join them in the coming days.</p><p>Israeli forces have ordered people in the city to leave for the so-called "humanitarian zone" of al-Mawasi in the south, but the area has also been bombarded repeatedly—<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165858" target="_blank">including an attack</a> two weeks ago, when eight children as young as 3 years old were killed while lining up for water, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).</p><p>The Israeli government last month <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-takeover-gaza-city" target="_blank">approved</a> the takeover of Gaza City, with the aim of taking control of all of Gaza and ethnically cleansing the entire exclave, and since then about 150,000 people have been <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165858" target="_blank">forced</a> to flee south while the IDF has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gideon-s-chariots-2-begins" target="_blank">stepped up</a> aerial and artillery attacks, destroying whole neighborhoods.</p><p>At<em> Al Jazeera </em>on Tuesday, Tareq Abu Azzoum <a href="https://aje.io/bdkjml?update=3953619" target="_blank">described</a> "relentless bombardment from military operations that are leaving the landscape completely uninhabitable" in Gaza City.</p><p>"The Israeli military has deployed different military tactics to force people to leave Gaza City to the south—most notably excessive firepower, seen in the deliberate destruction of high-rise buildings," said Abu Azzoum.</p><p class="pull-quote">“It is inhumane to expect nearly half a million children battered and traumatized by over 700 days of unrelenting conflict to flee one hellscape to end up in another."</p><p>Israeli human rights groups including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Physicians for Human Rights <a href="https://aje.io/bdkjml?update=3953374" target="_blank">called on</a> officials to lift the mass evacuation order and said it constitutes ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.</p><p>Tess Ingram, a spokesperson for UNICEF, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/1165858" target="_blank">said</a> the mass displacement of families is a "deadly threat for the most vulnerable."</p><p>“It is inhumane to expect nearly half a million children battered and traumatized by over 700 days of unrelenting conflict to flee one hellscape to end up in another,” she said, adding that the IDF's escalation in Gaza City forced nutrition centers in the city to shut down this week, "cutting off children from a third of the remaining treatment sites that can save their lives."</p><p>Abu Azzoum <a href="https://aje.io/bdkjml?update=3953692" target="_blank">described</a> "tragically consistent" scenes of Palestinians—almost 70,000 in the past few days—loading whatever belongings they have left into vehicles and donkey carts to flee their homes:</p><blockquote>Many people said in the initial days of the ground operation that they would not leave Gaza City. But, right now, Israel is burning the ground. They’re destroying every kind of civilian infrastructure and have cut off aid deliveries to the city, all for one clear purpose—to relocate them into the southern part of Gaza.<br/><br/>Some people are unable to afford the cost of transportation. We see exhausted faces, mothers carrying their babies, elderly people on foot.<br/><br/>What is so devastating to see is the vulnerability of children who have lost their parents and found themselves on the move again. They’re struggling to find any patch of land where they can stay in the absence of their parents and are completely reliant on strangers to survive.</blockquote><p>At IfNotNow, executive director Morriah Kaplan <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DOrBmamEaZy/?hl=en&img_index=2" target="_blank">called</a> the ground assault on Gaza City "a chillul hashem, a desecration of God's name."</p><p>"With just days until Rosh Hashanah, we watch in horror as the Israeli military bombs and invades Gaza City, putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in mortal danger," said Kaplan, adding that the invasion "spells almost certain death for the remaining hostages" who were kidnapped by Hamas from Israel on October 7, 2023.</p><p><a href="https://aje.io/bdkjml?update=3953619" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u><strong></strong></u></a>"The Israeli government’s willingness to sacrifice their own citizens to continue its campaign of destruction is devastatingly clear," said Kaplan. "It is critical that we say loudly and unequivocally: This invasion won’t make a single Jew anywhere in the world safer."</p><p>She called on international funders of the Israeli military—including the largest, the United States—to take immediate action to stop Israel's assault on Gaza, which a United Nations commission <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/united-nations-report-on-gaza" target="_blank">said</a> Tuesday is a genocide.</p><p>"The only way to halt this devastation," said Kaplan, "is to end the flow of weapons that Israel relies on to fuel its genocide."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:17:14 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-city-israel</guid><category>Gaza city</category><category>Genocide</category><category>Ifnotnow</category><category>Israel</category><category>Israel defense forces</category><category>Gaza</category><dc:creator>Julia Conley</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/relatives-of-palestinians-mourn.jpg?id=61608342&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Ilhan Omar Slams Latest Trump Attack on Venezuelan Boat as 'Egregious Violation'</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/ilhan-omar-condemns-trump-boat-attack</link><description><![CDATA[
  4. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-politics-government-education.jpg?id=56525169&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C363%2C0%2C464"/><br/><br/><p>US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Tuesday condemned the Trump administration's attack the previous day on a second boat allegedly transporting drugs off the coast of Venezuela as blatantly illegal, highlighting her introduction last week of a war powers resolution in a bid to stop the aggression.</p><p>President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115210075167747572" target="_blank">announced</a> <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115210075167747572"></a>Monday that the US destroyed what he said was a boat used by Venezuelan drug gangs, killing three people in what one Amnesty International campaigner <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/second-us-strike-on-venezuela-boat" target="_blank">called</a> "an extrajudicial execution."</p><p>The strike followed a September 2 US attack on another alleged drug-running boat that killed 11 people, which Omar (D-Minn.) <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/ilhan-omar-venezuela" target="_blank">called</a> a "lawless and reckless" action.</p><p>Responding to Monday's attack, Omar <a href="https://x.com/Ilhan/status/1967949056912556521" target="_blank">said</a> on the social media site X that the Trump administration "is once again using the failed War on Drugs to justify their egregious violation of international law."<br/></p><p>"There is NO legal justification," she said of the attack. "It risks spiraling into the exact type of endless, pointless conflict that Trump supposedly opposes. I have a war powers resolution to fight back."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967949056912556521">
  5. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
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  8. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/omar-venezuela-war-powers" target="_blank">Introduced</a> last Thursday, the measure aims to stop the US attacks, which coincide with Trump's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-warships-venezuela" target="_blank">deployment</a> of a small armada of warships off the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, a country that has endured to <a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14263/" target="_blank">more than a century of US meddling</a> in its affairs.</p><p>"All of us should agree that the separation of powers is crucial to our democracy, and that only Congress has the power to declare war," Omar said at the time.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47603" target="_blank">War Powers Act of 1973</a>—enacted during the Nixon administration at the tail end of the US war on Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos—empowers Congress to check the president’s war-making authority. The law requires the president to report any military action to Congress within 48 hours and mandates that lawmakers must approve troop deployments after 60 days.</p><p>Also last week, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) led a <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senators_letter_to_potus_-_us_military_strike_in_caribbean_sea.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">letter</a> signed by two dozen Democratic colleagues and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asserting that the Trump administration offered “no legitimate justification” for the first boat strike.</p><p>Omar's condemnation of the US attacks followed Monday's announcement by US Reps. <a href="https://x.com/RepNancyMace/status/1967702450355499215" target="_blank">Nancy Mace</a> (R-SC) and <a href="https://buddycarter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=15918" target="_blank">Buddy Carter</a> (R-Ga.) of separate resolutions to strip Omar of her committee assignments and, in the case of Mace's measure, censure the congresswoman after she reportedly shared a video highlighting assassinated far-right firebrand Charlie Kirk's prolific bigotry.</p><p>Trump also <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/1967702899787542924" target="_blank">attacked</a> Omar on Monday, calling her a "disgraceful person," a "loser," and "disgusting."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967702899787542924">
  9. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
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  12. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Omar is no stranger to censure efforts, which critics say are largely fueled by Islamophobia—and haven't just come from Republicans. In 2019, she was falsely accused of antisemitism by leaders of her own party and was the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/07/sparked-ilhan-omars-valid-criticism-israel-house-overwhelmingly-passes-broad-anti" target="_blank">subject</a> of an anti-hate speech resolution passed by House lawmakers after she remarked about the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/aipac-100-million" target="_blank">indisputable financial ties</a> the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and members of Congress.</p><p>In February 2023, Omar was <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/ilhan-omar-house-gop" target="_blank">ousted</a> from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for years-old comments that allegedly referenced antisemitic tropes.</p><p>Last year, Congressman Don Bacon (R-Neb.) <a href="https://bacon.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1451" target="_blank">introduced</a> a censure resolution after Omar said of Jewish students at Columbia University, "We should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they're pro-genocide or anti-genocide."</p><p>The measure failed to pass, as did <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/02/01/congress/omar-vs-mtg-00139043" target="_blank">another</a> put forth earlier last year by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after she mistranslated remarks Omar made in Somali. <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:54:08 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/ilhan-omar-condemns-trump-boat-attack</guid><category>Buddy carter</category><category>Charlie kirk</category><category>Don bacon</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Islamophobia</category><category>Marjorie taylor greene</category><category>Nancy mace</category><category>Tim kaine</category><category>Trump administration</category><category>Us house of representatives</category><category>Venezuela</category><category>War on drugs</category><category>War powers act</category><category>War powers resolution</category><category>Ilhan omar</category><dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-politics-government-education.jpg?id=56525169&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Trump Is Making Your Life More Expensive': Tariff Chaos Engulfs US Economy</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-tariffs-inflation-2673999248</link><description><![CDATA[
  13. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-politics-tariff-trade-diplomacy.jpg?id=59800245&width=1024&height=685&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>US consumers are increasingly feeling the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs, and the head of the Congressional Budget Office said on Monday that they are fueling inflation.</p><p>During an appearance on <em>CNBC</em>, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) director Phillip Swagel <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/15/trump-trade-inflation-tariffs-cbo.html" target="_blank">said</a> that the president's tariffs have pushed up inflation more than the agency initially anticipated, although he emphasized that their impact on inflation so far was "not by a lot, but by enough to show" in the numbers.</p><p>Swagel also said that the higher-than-expected inflation was a surprise because there are signs that the US economy has slowed significantly since January.</p><p><em>CNN</em> on Tuesday <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/tariffs-tax-cuts-trump-households-deficit-analysis" target="_blank">published</a> an analysis using numbers from the Yale Budget Lab estimating that Trump's tariffs will cost US households an average of $2,300 extra per year, which is nearly three times as much as the $800 US households are projected to receive on average from new tax provisions contained in the Republicans' "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that passed earlier this year.<br/></p><p>The combined distributional impacts of the Trump tariffs and the GOP tax law are also highly regressive. According to <em>CNN</em>'s analysis, a household with annual earnings of $38,840 would be $2,560 worse off thanks to the tariffs and the tax law, while households earning $517,700 would be $8,180 better off.</p><p><em>The Washington Post</em> on Tuesday reported that Trump's tariffs aren't just hurting Americans in the US, but those living abroad as well. </p><p>As explained by the <em>Post</em>, Americans living abroad have been unable to send mail to the US without paying hefty fines thanks to the chaos being caused by Trump's tariffs. The reason for this, writes the paper, is that Trump earlier this year canceled a policy known as the de minimis exemption, effective August 29, that "allowed the tariff-free flow of goods under $800 into the United States."</p><p>This has led not just to increased shipping costs for Americans living abroad, but has also resulted in foreign nations slowing or even outright halting shipments to the US because they are unsure about how to calculate the costs.</p><p>"Confusion about the rules have led to issues since the exemption was lifted on August 29," the <em>Post</em> wrote. "At first, national postal services in more than 30 countries temporarily suspended sending some or most US-bound packages. Since then, restrictions have eased, and the Universal Postal Union deployed a tool this week to help operators calculate duties and resume services."</p><p>Reacting to fresh revelations about the impact of the tariffs, many progressive Democrats hammered Trump for increasing the cost of living for working-class families.</p><p>"Under Donald Trump’s economy: coffee is up 26%, beef is up 14%, oranges are up 17%, bananas are up 6%, chicken is up 6%,  chocolate chip cookies are up 5%, potato chips are up 4%, milk is up 4%," <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/warren.senate.gov/post/3lyxkkyjbas2a" target="_blank">wrote</a> Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). "But average worker pay is only up 2%. Trumpflation is eating up your paycheck."</p><p>Rep. <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/pramila-jayapal" target="_self">Pramila Jayapal</a> (D-Wash.) added that “from school supplies to gas to groceries, Trump is making your life more expensive."</p><p>"Poor and working people are paying the price of his reckless policies," said the congresswoman.</p><p>Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, took to the Senate floor on Monday to single out a different Trump policy that he said was also raising prices for US consumers—namely, his attacks on green energy projects.</p><p>"This administration is shamelessly working to block one of our best defenses against rising energy bills: renewable energy," Padilla <a href="https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/watch-padilla-blasts-trump-administration-for-rising-energy-costs-cuts-to-renewable-projects/" target="_blank">said</a>. "And I say so because renewable energy is absolutely affordable, renewable energy is abundant, and whether you want to admit it or not, renewable energy sources are our future."</p><p>The senator also pointed to his home state of California as an example of what can happen when the government encourages the development of green energy projects.</p><p>"[California is] harnessing the power of solar and wind and hydroelectric power and nuclear, geothermal, even hydrogen power to our state," he said. "And it’s exactly because of those investments that even in a year like 2024, just last year, when we experienced record heatwaves that we also saw record renewable energy generation, and we kept the lights on."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 17:45:35 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-tariffs-inflation-2673999248</guid><category>Alex padilla</category><category>Congressional budget office</category><category>Cost of living</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Elizabeth warren</category><category>Inflation</category><category>Pramila jayapal</category><category>Tariffs</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-politics-tariff-trade-diplomacy.jpg?id=59800245&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>1,000+ Experts Rip EPA for 'Reckless Dismissal of Established Climate Science'</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/endangerment-finding</link><description><![CDATA[
  14. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/lee-zeldin.jpg?id=56546272&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C1318%2C0%2C1318"/><br/><br/><p>More than 1,000 scientists and other experts on Tuesday sent a <a href="https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/Sep%2016%202025%20-%20UCS%20Endangerment%20Finding%20Letter.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> to US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin explaining why they "strenuously object" to his effort to repeal the EPA's 2009 "endangerment finding," which has enabled federal climate regulations over the past 15 years.</p><p>Amid mounting <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/epa-endangerment-finding" target="_self">fears</a> that he would take such action, Zeldin in late July <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/exceptionally-dangerous-trump-epa-targets-endangerment-finding-that-enables-climate-rules" target="_blank">unveiled</a> the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/proposed-rule-reconsideration-2009-endangerment-finding" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rule</a> to rescind the landmark legal opinion that greenhouse gases endanger public health and the welfare of the American people—part of Republican President Donald Trump's broader pro-polluter agenda.</p><p>"As climate scientists, public health experts, and economists, we can attest to the indisputable scientific evidence of human-caused climate change, its harmful impacts on people’s health and well-being, and the devastating costs it is imposing on communities across the nation and around the world," states the new letter, organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists. "This explicit attempt to undermine or weaken these findings, as well as the critical regulations linked to them, is contrary to science and the public interest."</p><p>"We also strongly oppose the EPA’s reckless dismissal of established climate science as part of its proposal to repeal the endangerment finding, including the agency’s heavy reliance on an unscientific study commissioned by the Department of Energy. This report is rife with inaccuracies, deliberately cherry-picks and mischaracterizes data, and has not undergone a rigorous scientific review process," the letter continues, echoing an expert <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-climate-report-expert-response" target="_blank">review</a> of the government report from earlier this month. </p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreicq5e4ktgypcuimpgo7eh5pmokouoc2m5kksouqqn7bj3q7hziq2u" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyxmj6ewds2i">🚨NEW: Scientists from nearly every state, DC, and Puerto Rico are calling out Trump's Environmental Protection Agency for failing to fulfill their core duties: protect the environment and public health.<br/><br/><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed/post/3lyxmj6ewds2i?ref_src=embed">[image or embed]</a><br/>— Union of Concerned Scientists (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed?ref_src=embed">@ucs.org</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed/post/3lyxmj6ewds2i?ref_src=embed">September 16, 2025 at 11:17 AM</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js"></script></div><p>Citing major US and global analyses, along with thousands of independent, peer-reviewed scientific studies, the letter stresses that "the scientific evidence on human-caused climate change and its consequences was unequivocal in 2009 and, since that time, has become even more dire and compelling."</p><p>It says that "based on the best available science," scientists know: </p><ul><li>Climate change poses severe harms to human health and well-being;</li><li>Climate change is clearly increasing the likelihood of extreme events; and </li><li>The economic toll of climate change is rising.</li></ul><p>Harms to human health and well-being include higher rates of heat-related deaths, increased spread of some infectious diseases, and decreased food and water safety due to climate-fueled extreme weather events, the letter says. It also highlights that, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "billion-dollar disasters in the United States are on the rise, driven by a combination of climate factors and increased development in disaster-prone areas."</p><p>Despite such findings, the Trump administration is making various moves to boost the planet-wrecking fossil fuel industry and the president withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement—again—when he returned to office in January. Parties to the 2015 climate agreement aim to limit global temperature rise this century to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreifcbgsireeej2u6kxpitdgwefew66e3pe6wvswtyeuol5fjkpszsa" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyxmjceaks2i">🌎🧪Over 1,000+ scientists joined together to defend the EPA's Endangerment Finding, and you have SIX DAYS to make your voice heard too.<br/><br/><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed/post/3lyxmjceaks2i?ref_src=embed">[image or embed]</a><br/>— Union of Concerned Scientists (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed?ref_src=embed">@ucs.org</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:rvuee746th6j5qacfrfc7jed/post/3lyxmjceaks2i?ref_src=embed">September 16, 2025 at 11:17 AM</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js"></script></div><p>"The world stands on the cusp of breaching the 1.5°C (2.7°F) mark on a long-term basis, the global average temperature increase above preindustrial levels that scientists have long warned about," the experts noted Tuesday. "Communities across the nation are already dealing with devastating and costly climate impacts, that are set to worsen as global warming accelerates. Humanity's window to act to stave off some of the worst impacts of climate change is fast closing; any further delay is harmful and costly."</p><p>"We urge you to stop dismantling critical climate regulations and evading EPA's responsibility by pushing disinformation about climate science and impacts," they concluded. "Instead, we call on you to act with urgency to help address this pressing challenge by limiting heat-trapping emissions. People across the nation are relying on the EPA to fulfill its mission to protect public health and the environment."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:42:44 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/endangerment-finding</guid><category>Climate regulations</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Endangerment finding</category><category>Lee zeldin</category><category>Paris agreement</category><category>Union of concerned scientists</category><category>Us environmental protection agency</category><category>Climate emergency</category><dc:creator>Jessica Corbett</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/lee-zeldin.jpg?id=56546272&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Trump Threatens to Jail CodePink Protesters Who Disrupted His Dinner With Chants for Gaza</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-jail-codepink</link><description><![CDATA[
  15. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-side-by-side-photo-shows-a-codepink-activist-l-as-she-and-her-fellow-activists-chant-against-president-donald-trump-at-joes.png?id=61607943&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C53%2C0%2C177"/><br/><br/><p>President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to jail the peace activists who disrupted his dinner with pro-Palestinian chants last week, referring to their behavior as "subversive."</p><p>Last Tuesday, members of CodePink, a women-led antiwar group, verbally <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-hitler-of-our-time" target="_blank">confronted</a> the president and several top members of his administration—including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—as they dined on steak and seafood at a swanky DC eatery.</p><p>The small group of activists castigated the president for his support for Israel's genocidal war in Gaza and its blockade on humanitarian aid, which has caused <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/architecture-of-genocidal-starvation" target="_blank">mass starvation</a> throughout the strip.</p><p>The activists chanted, "They feast while Gaza starves," and called Trump "the Hitler of our time" for supporting the military campaign, which an Israeli general recently <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/ex-idf-chief-admits-gaza-casualties" target="_blank">admitted</a> has resulted in over 220,000 people being killed or wounded.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1965578462355222948">
  16. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  17.        <a href="https://twitter.com/medeabenjamin/status/1965578462355222948"></a>
  18. </blockquote>
  19. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>On Monday, as Trump and his administration <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/exploiting-kirk-s-killing-as-terrorism" target="_blank">continued</a> to map out a sweeping crackdown against left-wing speech following the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, the president suggested that the women of CodePink should also be punished for their peaceful display of dissent, referring to them as "professional agitators" and "total phonies."</p><p>"They started to scream when I got into the restaurant," he said, "'Ohhh'...Something with Palestine. And I said, 'Well, I'm doing a great job for peace in the Middle East, I should get lots of awards for that, right, with the Abraham Accords and everything else.' But the woman just stood up and started screaming. And she got booed out of the place."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967700236387889407">
  20. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  21.        <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1967700236387889407"></a>
  22. </blockquote>
  23. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Trump called the protester a "mouthpiece" and a "paid agitator," before saying that he'd "asked [Attorney General Pam Bondi] to look into that in terms of RICO, bringing RICO cases against them. Criminal RICO. Because they should be put in jail, what they're doing to this country is really subversive."</p><p>RICO refers to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which the government has traditionally used to prosecute organized crime groups. But following Kirk's shooting, Trump has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/stephen-miller-dismantle-the-left" target="_blank">suggested</a> it be used to carry out what his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said on Friday would be an effort to "dismantle" left-wing organizations in the United States.</p><p>Trump has <a href="https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/vance-miller-announce-crackdowns" target="_blank">threatened</a> to use RICO charges against liberal nonprofits, including the Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation, which Vance referred to on Monday as "terrorist networks." The vice president <a href="https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/vance-miller-announce-crackdowns" target="_blank">claimed</a> that these groups push "messaging designed to trigger and incite violence," with his leading example being an <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/charlie-kirk-assassination-maga/" target="_blank">article</a> published in <i>The Nation</i> that harshly criticized Kirk's political views following his assassination.</p><p>Melissa Garriga, a spokesperson for CodePink, told <em>Common Dreams </em>that Trump's allegations against her antiwar group are untrue.<span></span></p><p>"CodePink has a very small staff," Garriga said. "A majority of our work is done by CodePink volunteers, who are not paid. They represent the majority of the American public and are not 'mouthpieces' of any foreign government or political party. They are workers, veterans, artists, and peace activists from across the country. We are committed to peaceful, nonviolent means of protest when executing our actions."</p><p>"This is not new for us," Garriga added. "Over the past few years, elected officials, more often Republican elected officials, have constantly called for investigations into progressive organizations such as ours. They've launched baseless congressional investigations over CodePink's funding sources that their Democrat colleagues often parrot."</p><p>Earlier this year, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/senate-lies-codepink" target="_blank">claimed</a> that the group was funded by "Communist China" after a retired Army colonel working with the group <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3ZOeqXcaNfo" target="_blank">disrupted</a> a committee hearing with chants of "Stop funding Israel!" CodePink filed an ethics complaint against Cotton in response, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/senate-lies-codepink" target="_blank">calling</a> his accusation "untrue and libelous."</p><p>In 2024, when CodePink was castigating the Biden administration's unwavering support for Israel, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made a similar <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/28/1227487571/pelosi-gaza-fbi-ceasefire-protesters-russia" target="_blank">suggestion</a> that the group should be investigated by the FBI because, "when they advocate for a ceasefire, it's Putin's agenda at play." Prior to that, when a member of the group confronted Pelosi, the congresswoman <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/30/nancy-pelosi-go-back-to-china-protest-code-pink/" target="_blank">responded</a>, "Go back to China."</p><p>CodePink <a href="https://www.codepink.org/fundedbyccp#:~:text=Response%3A%20We%20do%20not%20receive,we%20have%20been%20anti%2Dwar.&text=We%20are%20funded%20primarily%20by,Venezuela%E2%80%A6%20the%20list%20goes%20on." target="_blank">strenuously denied</a> having received any funding from the Chinese government or any other foreign governments following calls from several Republicans for the group to be investigated over its campaign against military escalation with China.</p><p>"Our financial records are transparent and audited, and any suggestion that external governments or political entities influence us is ludicrous," Garriga reiterated to <em>Common Dreams</em>. "As we have officially stated multiple times, CodePink receives no money from any foreign government, and we are funded by thousands of individual donors and US-based foundations."</p><p>"President Trump is trying to intimidate people who speak up for peace and justice, and we won’t be intimidated," she continued. "We represent the popular opinion in the United States: the majority who are against war and genocide."</p><p>According to a Quinnipiac poll <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/majority-oppose-israel-weapons" target="_self">released</a> at the end of August, 60% of voters across all parties said they opposed sending more military aid to Israel, compared to just 32% who said they supported it. Half of the respondents said they agreed with the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/united-nations-report-on-gaza" target="_self">international</a> <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/" target="_blank">community's</a> <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/un-special-committee-finds-israels-warfare-methods-gaza-consistent-genocide" target="_blank">growing</a> <a href="https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide" target="_blank">consensus</a> that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.</p><p>"It is all very reminiscent of McCarthyism," Garriga said of Trump's threats to crack down on left-wing speech. "It's a critical moment for other organizations to stand in solidarity, loud and clear solidarity with organizations facing repression."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:29:25 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-jail-codepink</guid><category>Charlie kirk</category><category>Codepink</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Gaza</category><category>Israel</category><category>Jd vance</category><category>Pam bondi</category><category>Protest</category><category>Rico</category><category>Stephen miller</category><category>Trump</category><category>Free speech</category><dc:creator>Stephen Prager</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-side-by-side-photo-shows-a-codepink-activist-l-as-she-and-her-fellow-activists-chant-against-president-donald-trump-at-joes.png?id=61607943&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Corporate Greed Is Out of Control': Tlaib-Sanders Bill Would Tax Companies for Excessive CEO Pay</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/google-ceo-pay</link><description><![CDATA[
  24. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/elon-musk-meets-with-republican-lawmakers-on-capitol-hill.jpg?id=59802816&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C18%2C0%2C372"/><br/><br/><p>With the world's richest person, Tesla CEO and Republican megadonor Elon Musk, on the cusp of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/elon-musk-trillionaire" target="_blank">becoming</a><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/elon-musk-trillionaire"></a> the first trillionaire on the planet, two leading progressive lawmakers are calling on Congress to pass a bill to "rein in the obscene salaries of America's top executives."</p><p>Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Monday <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-tlaib-introduce-bill-to-end-outrageous-ceo-pay-and-combat-corporate-greed/" target="_blank">introduced</a> the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act with the aim of raising taxes on companies that pay their executives more than 50 times their workers' wages. </p><p>The legislation would impose penalties starting at 0.5 percentage points for companies with CEO-to-worker pay ratios between 50-to-1 and 100-to-1. Firms where executives make more than 500 times their workers' pay would be forced to pay the highest rate.</p><p>The bill would also require the US Treasury Department to crack down on tax avoidance, including schemes that disguise pay disparities by outsourcing jobs to contractors. </p><p>Sanders said that exorbitant CEO pay and massive pay gaps at corporations are intolerable "while 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and millions work longer hours for lower wages."</p><p>"It is unacceptable that the CEOs of the largest low-wage corporations make more than 630 times what their average workers make," said the senator, who has been criss-crossing the country this year with his <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/fighting-oligarchy" target="_blank">Fighting Oligarchy Tour</a>, galvanizing people in red and blue districts against wealth inequality, political corruption, and corporate power. </p><p>"This is not only morally obscene, but also insane economic policy," said Sanders. "At a time of record-breaking income and wealth inequality, we must demand that the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in America finally pay their fair share of taxes and treat all employees with the respect and dignity they deserve. That’s precisely what this legislation begins to do."</p><p>The proposal would raise an estimated $150 billion over a decade if tech giants, Wall Street firms, and other large corporations continue their current compensation patterns, and Sanders and Tlaib noted that the largest companies in the US would have paid billions of dollars more in taxes last year had the legislation been in effect. </p><p>JPMorgan Chase would have paid $2.38 billion in taxes, while Google would have paid $2.16 billion and Walmart would have paid $929 million. </p><p>With 62% of Republican voters and 75% of Democrats supporting a cap on CEO pay relative to worker salaries, the legislation would likely be well received by Americans across the political spectrum—but Republican lawmakers have shown little to no interest in confronting the pay gap, ensuring fair wages for workers, or reining in excessive executive compensation. </p><p>With the current CEO-employee pay gap, CEOs at the 350 largest publicly owned firms make 290 times more than the average pay of a typical worker at their companies, with the gap much larger at some corporations. </p><p>The median Walmart worker made $29,469 in 2024, while CEO Doug McMillon took home $27.4 million—a 930-to-1 gap. </p><p>The median Starbucks worker would have to work for more than 6,000 years to earn the pay CEO Brian Niccol took home in 2024.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967736040564887686">
  25. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  26.        <a href="https://twitter.com/RashidaTlaib/status/1967736040564887686"></a>
  27. </blockquote>
  28. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <p>"Working people are sick and tired of corporate greed," said Tlaib. “It’s disgraceful that corporations continue to rake in record profits by exploiting the labor of their workers. Every worker deserves a living wage and human dignity on the job."</p><p>"It’s time," she added, "to make the rich pay their fair share.”</p><p>Tlaib and Sanders introduced the legislation as Pope Leo <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pope-leo-warns-world-big-151657581.html" target="_blank">spoke out</a> against exorbitant CEO pay in his first interview since taking the helm of the Catholic Church, reserving particular condemnation for Musk, for whom the Tesla board <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/elon-musk-trillionaire" target="_blank">proposed</a> a $1 trillion pay package if he grows the company by eightfold over the next decade. </p><p>“CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving... it’s [now] 600 times more than the average workers are receiving,” the pope told the Catholic outlet <em>Crux</em>. </p><p>“Yesterday, the news that Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world: What does that mean and what’s that about?" he added. "If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble.”</p><p>Sanders <a href="https://x.com/SenSanders/status/1967614466511802699" target="_blank">said</a> Monday that the pope "is exactly right."</p><p>"No society can survive when one man becomes a trillionaire while the vast majority struggle to just survive—trying to put food on the table, pay rent, and afford healthcare," said Sanders. "We can and must do better."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 16:01:49 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/google-ceo-pay</guid><category>Bernie sanders</category><category>Ceo pay</category><category>Elon musk</category><category>Pope leo</category><category>Rashida tlaib</category><category>Taxation</category><category>Tesla</category><category>Workers</category><category>Corporate greed</category><dc:creator>Julia Conley</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/elon-musk-meets-with-republican-lawmakers-on-capitol-hill.jpg?id=59802816&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Trump's 'Psychotic' NYT Defamation Lawsuit Elicits Ridicule From Legal Experts</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-nyt-defamation-lawsuit</link><description><![CDATA[
  29. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/president-trump-holds-press-conference-at-the-white-house.jpg?id=61455965&width=1024&height=683&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>US President Donald Trump on Monday evening filed a defamation <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.447437/gov.uscourts.flmd.447437.1.0.pdf" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> against <em>The New York Times</em> that was quickly ridiculed by legal experts for entirely lacking merit.</p><p>In the lawsuit, Trump accused the <em>Times</em> of conspiring to prevent his victory in the 2024 election through a campaign of "election interference" that included, among other things, its editorial board's decision to endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris.</p><p>"It came as no surprise when, shortly before the election, the newspaper published, on the front page, highlighted in a location never seen before, its deranged endorsement of Kamala Harris with the hyperbolic opening line '[i]t is hard to imagine a candidate more unworthy to serve as president of the United States than Donald Trump,'" the lawsuit states.</p><p>Pointing to what it claimed was defamatory material published by the <em>Times</em>, the lawsuit singled out "a malicious, defamatory, and disparaging book written by two of its reporters and three false, malicious, defamatory, and disparaging articles, all carefully crafted by Defendants, with actual malice, calculated to inflict maximum damage upon President Trump."</p><p>The book in question is "<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672076/lucky-loser-by-russ-buettner-and-susanne-craig/" target="_blank">Lucky Loser</a>," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning <em>Times</em> reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig, which did a deep examination of the president's finances and contrasted it with what it described as his false claims of unprecedented success in business.</p><p>The three articles cited by the lawsuit include one that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html" target="_blank">quotes</a> Trump's own former chief of staff, John Kelly, warning that he would rule "like a dictator" in his second term; a news analysis <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/20/us/politics/trump-scandals.html" target="_blank">piece</a> that described Trump as facing a well documented "lifetime of scandals"; and an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/14/business/donald-trump-apprentice.html" target="_blank">article</a> by Buettner and Craig that is an adapted excerpt from their book.</p><p>"The book and articles are part of a decades-long pattern by <em>The New York Times </em>of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump," the complaint stated. "Defendants maliciously published the book and the articles knowing that these publications were filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications about President Trump."</p><p>The lawsuit then demanded the <em>Times</em> pay $15 billion in compensatory damages.</p><p>The <em>Times</em> issued a brief response to the lawsuit in which it defended its reporting and labeled Trump's defamation allegations as baseless.</p><p>"This lawsuit has no merit," said the paper. "It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. <em>The New York Times</em> will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists' First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people."</p><p>Some experts who examined the lawsuit were quick to side with the <em>Times</em> in this dispute, and many of them flat-out ridiculed Trump for filing the suit in the first place.</p><p>Holger Hestermeyer,<strong> </strong>chair of international and EU law at the Vienna School of International Studies, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/hhesterm.bsky.social/post/3lywnhi5knk2h" target="_blank">wrote</a> on Bluesky that the lawsuit was "a full frontal attack on free speech" that also "almost reads like a parody."</p><p>In addition to lampooning the suit's specific defamation claims, Hestermeyer also mocked the suit for being loaded with hyperbolic statements, including one that said "The Apprentice" reality TV series "represented the cultural magnitude of President Trump's singular brilliance, which captured the zeitgeist of our time."</p><p>Attorney George Conway delivered an even pithier dismissal of the suit.</p><p>"Is it possible for a legal pleading to be psychotic?" he <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social/post/3lywkg24lek2y" target="_blank">asked</a> rhetorically. "I think we have an answer."</p><p>Chris Geidner, a journalist who publishes the "Law Dork" newsletter, similarly expressed astonishment at the contents of Trump's lawsuit.</p><p>"I honestly thought there was a chance that I'd fallen asleep and was dreaming the most absurd, childlike, ego-maniac lawsuit when I tried to read this Trump defamation complaint against the <em>Times</em>, Penguin Random House, and individual journalists," he <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/chrisgeidner.bsky.social/post/3lywjg7lvkc2d" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "Like, seriously. What are we even doing here, folks?"</p><p><em>Bloomberg</em> columnist Tim O'Brien, who was unsuccessfully <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=8100467&page=1" target="_blank">sued</a> by Trump for defamation over his 2005 book "TrumpNation," predicted that Trump's lawsuit against the <em>Times</em> would similarly end poorly for him.<br/></p><p>"Trump says he plans to sue the <em>Times</em> for $15 billion," O'Brien <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/timobrien.bsky.social/post/3lyx3ou6ekk2g" target="_blank">wrote</a> on Bluesky. "Been there, done that. He sued me for less—$5 billion. Discovery will be invasive and grueling—and involve Trump’s finances, family history and political machinations. And that’s just for starters."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:06:55 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-nyt-defamation-lawsuit</guid><category>Authoritarianism</category><category>First amendment</category><category>Free speech</category><category>New york times</category><category>Donald trump</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/president-trump-holds-press-conference-at-the-white-house.jpg?id=61455965&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>NY State Judge Throws Out Terrorism Charges Against Luigi Mangione</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/luigi-mangione-terrorism-charges</link><description><![CDATA[
  30. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/luigi-mangione.jpg?id=61607573&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C27%2C0%2C171"/><br/><br/><p>A judge in New York City on Tuesday threw out a pair of charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December of last year while he walked down a street in Manhattan.</p><p>Judge Gregory Carro did not throw out the entirety of the murder charges against Mangione, but said two of the most serious charges—murder in the first degree as a crime of terrorism and a second-degree charge related to terrorism—were not proven by the prosecution's case presented to a grand jury.</p><p>The judge indicated that just because Mangione may have been motivated by ideological opposition to the for-profit industry, that does not de facto make it terrorism under New York statute.</p><p>"While the defendant was clearly expressing an animus toward UHC, and the health care industry generally, it does not follow that his goal was to ‘intimidate and coerce a civilian population,’ and indeed, there was no evidence presented of such a goal,” Carro wrote in his decision. </p><p>In addition to state charges in New York, Mangione is also facing a federal murder case over the killing of Thompson, with the federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty. The accused has pleaded not guilty to all charges.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:18:13 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/luigi-mangione-terrorism-charges</guid><category>Healthcare</category><category>Unitedhealth</category><category>Luigi mangione</category><dc:creator>Jon Queally</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/luigi-mangione.jpg?id=61607573&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'It Is Clear': UN Commission Finding Confirms Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/united-nations-report-on-gaza</link><description><![CDATA[
  31. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/israeli-attacks-on-gaza-continue.jpg?id=61605934&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C108%2C0%2C234"/><br/><br/><p>A commission of independent experts at the United Nations on Tuesday <a href="https://x.com/prem_thakker/status/1967908045557809605" target="_blank">said</a> Western countries must stop providing military aid to Israel as it released an extensive <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session60/advance-version/a-hrc-60-crp-3.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> confirming that the Israeli government is carrying out a genocide in Gaza—joining <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/amnesty-international-israel-genocide" target="_blank">international</a> and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israeli-human-rights-groups-gaza-genocide" target="_blank">Israeli</a> human rights groups and numerous genocide <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-is-committing-genocide-in-gaza" target="_blank">experts</a> that have come to the same conclusion in recent months. </p><p>"The commission concludes on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit the following<em> actus reus </em>of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," said the UN Commission of Inquiry, citing four of the five "genocidal acts" defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention. <br/></p><p>In its bombardment of Gaza, the three-member panel found, Israel has killed members of a group, caused serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicted conditions to destroy the group, and acted to prevent births.</p><p>The only genocidal act classified under the Genocide Convention that the commission did not find evidence of in Gaza was the forcible transfer of children from one group to another.</p><p>Under the Convention, committing just one or more genocidal act constitutes a genocide. </p><p>The report cited an Israeli attack on Gaza's largest fertility clinic in December 2023, which reportedly destroyed 4,000 embryos and 1,000 sperm samples and fertilized eggs, as evidence that Israel has acted to prevent Palestinian births in Gaza. More than 18,000 Palestinian children have also been killed in Israel's assault. </p><p>Navi Pillay, the commission chair and former UN high commissioner for human rights, emphasized the key finding that Israeli officials have demonstrated their "intent" to commit genocide.</p><p>"It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention," <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/israel/israel-committing-genocide-gaza-un-commission-inquiry-rcna231565" target="_blank">said</a> Pillay in a statement. </p><p>The commission report cited comments by former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in October 2023, when he said Israel would impose "a complete siege" on Gaza with "no electricity, no water, no food, no fuel" entering the exclave in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.</p><p>"We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly," said Gallant at the time. The near-total blockade on humanitarian aid that resulted from his order has killed more than 400 people including at least 145 children so far, with many dying in recent months.</p><p>Gallant's comments were just one example of Israeli officials' intent to hold Gaza's entire population of 2.2 million Palestinians  accountable for the actions of Hamas in October 2023. Israeli President Isaac Herzog explicitly said that the entire group was "responsible" and said there were no "civilians who were not aware and not involved" in the attack on southern Israel. </p><p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/netanyahu-genocide" target="_blank">called on</a> Israeli soldiers to "remember what Amalek did to you," a reference to the Amalekites in the Hebrew Bible, whom God commanded the Israelites to exterminate. </p><p>"The responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies with Israeli authorities at the highest echelons who have orchestrated a genocidal campaign for almost two years now with the specific intent to destroy the Palestinian group in Gaza,” Pillay said in a statement.</p><p>The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since beginning the assault on Gaza—attacking hospitals, schools, and refugee camps while claiming that Hamas operates out of civilian infrastructure. Doctors have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/doctors-describe-gaza-children-shot-in-head" target="_blank">reported</a> operating on many children who have gunshot wounds to the head and chest—suggesting they were deliberately targeted. Israeli soldiers have also described being ordered to shoot civilians. </p><p>Pillay said in an interview with <em>Zeteo</em> that, under the Genocide Convention, countries are legally obligated to step in and take action to stop Israel from continuing the genocide.</p><p>"It's not a choice," said Pillay. "It's an obligation that states have under the Genocide Convention, and they are all parties to that."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967891460709290078">
  32. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  33.        <a href="https://twitter.com/zeteo_news/status/1967891460709290078"></a>
  34. </blockquote>
  35. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <p>In an op-ed at <em>The New York Times</em>, Pillay <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/opinion/un-palestinians-israel-gaza-genocide.html" target="_blank">wrote</a>: "Every state has an obligation to prevent genocide wherever it occurs. That obligation requires action: halting the transfer of weapons and military support used in genocidal acts, ensuring unimpeded humanitarian assistance, stopping the mass displacement and destruction, and using all available diplomatic and legal means to stop the killing."</p><p>"To do nothing is not neutrality," she said. "It is complicity."</p><p>The report was released as the IDF launched a ground offensive to take control of Gaza City, killing <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/9/16/live-israel-pounds-gaza-city-muslim-leaders-condemn-strike-on-qatar" target="_blank">at least 68 Palestinians</a> in the city on Tuesday. </p><p>Forty percent of the city's residents have been forced to flee south to a coastal encampment in al-Mawasi, which has repeatedly been struck by Israeli forces despite being declared a "safe zone." Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are living in the tent encampment without access to sanitation, safe water, or basic services.</p><p>"They have to run out of their homes in the middle of the night with nothing other than the clothes that they’re wearing, seeking shelter towards the coast of Gaza City," <a href="https://aje.io/bdkjml?update=3952848" target="_blank">reported</a> <em>Al Jazeera</em>'s Hani Mahmoud in a dispatch from Gaza City on Tuesday. "Fighter jets are hovering at a very dangerously low level in the past hour or two. The sky remains filled with the constant hum of drones, leaving residents unable to rest."</p><p>"What we are witnessing is a systematic, unfolding terror inflicted on this population," said Mahmoud. "They live in constant fear that their building will be next and they will lose everything and find themselves on the road again to displacement."</p><p>The offensive in Gaza City comes weeks after Netanyahu <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/netanyahu-says-gaza-fighting-nearing-end" target="_blank">confirmed</a> that his government is planning a full takeover of the Gaza Strip, defying international law. </p><p>The UN commission's findings on Tuesday could be used by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, which has a warrant out for the arrests of Netanyahu and Gallant and has accused them of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the International Court of Justice, which is hearing a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel. </p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:03:38 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/united-nations-report-on-gaza</guid><category>Gaza city</category><category>Genocide</category><category>Israel</category><category>Palestine</category><category>United nations</category><category>Gaza</category><dc:creator>Julia Conley</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/israeli-attacks-on-gaza-continue.jpg?id=61605934&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>White House Working to Criminalize Left-Wing Dissent as 'Domestic Terror' in Wake of Kirk Murder</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/exploiting-kirk-s-killing-as-terrorism</link><description><![CDATA[
  36. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/stephen-miller-speaks.jpg?id=55091595&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C104%2C0%2C238"/><br/><br/><p>Senior Trump administration officials on Monday made fresh threats to crack down on a nonexistent left-wing "domestic terror movement" following last week's assassination of Charlie Kirk—a move that critics called an attempt to exploit the far-right firebrand's murder to advance an authoritarian agenda targeting nonviolent opposition.</p><p>Even as investigators work to determine the motive of Kirk's killer, members of Trump's inner circle and supporters have amplified an unfounded narrative of a coordinated leftist movement targeting conservatives.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/jd-vance-charlie-kirk-show.html" target="_blank">According to</a> <em>The New York Times</em>:</p><blockquote>On Monday, two senior administration officials, who spoke anonymously to describe the internal planning, said that Cabinet secretaries and federal department heads were working to identify organizations that funded or supported violence against conservatives. The goal, they said, was to categorize left-wing activity that led to violence as domestic terrorism, an escalation that critics said could lay the groundwork for crushing anti-conservative dissent more broadly.</blockquote><p>Appearing on the latest episode of "The Charlie Kirk Show" podcast—which was <a href="https://thecharliekirkshow.com/podcasts/the-charlie-kirk-show/vice-president-jd-vance-remembers-charlie-kirk" target="_blank">guest hosted</a> by US Vice President JD Vance—White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said that "we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people."</p><p>"It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie’s name," Miller vowed.</p><p>Vance said during the podcast that he wanted to explore “all of the ways that we’re trying to figure out how to prevent this festering violence that you see on the far left from becoming even more and more mainstream."</p><p>“You have the crazies on the far left who are saying, ‘Oh, Stephen Miller and JD Vance, they’re going to go after constitutionally protected speech,'” the vice president said. “We’re going to go after the network that foments, facilitates, and engages in violence."</p><p>Vance, who like Trump and numerous supporters claim to champion free speech, also took aim at "people who are celebrating" Kirk's killing.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967659982507372822">
  37. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  38.        <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1967659982507372822"></a>
  39. </blockquote>
  40. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Another unnamed administration official <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/jd-vance-charlie-kirk-show.html" target="_blank">told</a> the <em></em><em>Times</em> Monday that government agencies would be investigating people, including those accused of vandalizing Tesla electric vehicles and dealerships and allegedly assaulting federal immigration agents, in an effort to implicate US leftists in political violence.</p><p>Vance and Miller's threats ignored right-wing violence—which <a href="https://www.start.umd.edu/publication/comparison-political-violence-left-wing-right-wing-and-islamist-extremists-united" target="_blank">statistically outpaces</a> left-wing attacks—including the recent assassinations of Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, who were <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/democratic-state-rep-assassinated-in-minnesota" target="_blank">murdered</a> in June by  a right-wing masked gunman disguised as a police officer.</p><p>Investigative reporter Jason Paladino <a href="https://jpaladino.substack.com/p/kash-patels-doj-scrubbed-study-showing" target="_blank">reported</a> last week that the US Department of Justice apparently removed an academic study <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250911012550/https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-nij-research-tells-us-about-domestic-terrorism" target="_blank">previously published</a><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250911012550/https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-nij-research-tells-us-about-domestic-terrorism"></a> on the National Institute for Justice's online library showing that "since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives" versus "42 ideologically motivated attacks that took 78 lives" committed by "far-left extremists."</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreihhgzoe2fdbckpx7utdmjriqendvfuroddmdlncxl73rmx37vt5yq" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:j53tav4pdcpfxyx2gcfr5fhb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyonn246522f">“Militant, nationalistic, white supremacist violent extremism has increased in the United States. In fact, the number of far-right attacks continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism.”The Trump DOJ scrubbed this study from their website.<br/><br/><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:j53tav4pdcpfxyx2gcfr5fhb/post/3lyonn246522f?ref_src=embed">[image or embed]</a><br/>— Mehdi Hasan (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:j53tav4pdcpfxyx2gcfr5fhb?ref_src=embed">@mehdirhasan.bsky.social</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:j53tav4pdcpfxyx2gcfr5fhb/post/3lyonn246522f?ref_src=embed">September 12, 2025 at 6:43 PM</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js"></script></div><p>Responding to Miller's remarks, <em>New Republic</em> staff writer Greg Sargent <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social/post/3lyvljstm4c2c" target="_blank">noted</a> on social media that "Stephen Miller was directly involved in one of the largest acts of organized domestic political violence the United States has seen in modern times, the January 6 [2021] insurrection."</p><p>Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) weighed in Monday on Miller's attempt to exploit Kirk's murder, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/degette.house.gov/post/3lyvofdn4yg2w" target="_blank">writing</a> on the social media site Bluesky that "it's never acceptable to kill someone for their political beliefs. But the Trump [administration] exploiting the shooting of Charlie Kirk to follow their authoritarian instincts and crack down on the left is incredibly disturbing."</p><p>"We must end any form of political violence—and reject those who try to exploit it," she added.</p><p>Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom <a href="https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/1967689247085015268" target="_blank">noted</a> Monday on social media that Miller "has already publicly labeled the Democratic Party as a terrorist organization."</p><p>"This isn’t about crime and safety," Newsom added. "It’s about dismantling our democratic institutions. We cannot allow acts of political violence to be weaponized and used to threaten tens of millions of Americans." <br/></p><p>The progressive Working Families Party (WFP) <a href="https://x.com/WorkingFamilies/status/1967719676374597935" target="_blank">said</a> Monday on social media that "JD Vance and Stephen Miller want to use the horrifying murder of Charlie Kirk to target and dismantle pro-democracy groups." <br/></p><p>"Their comments call to mind some of the darkest periods in US history," WFP continued. "They're dividing people based on what box we ticked on our voter registration."</p><p>Vance and Miller "want to stoke fear and resentment to justify their un-American crackdowns on free speech, mass abductions of working people, and military takeovers of our cities," WFP added. "This isn't going to fly. We’ve survived crises like this before as a country, and we can choose to live in a place where our political freedoms are protected, where we settle disagreements with words not weapons, and where no one has to fear losing a loved one to gun violence." <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 16 Sep 2025 02:05:22 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/exploiting-kirk-s-killing-as-terrorism</guid><category>Authoritarianism</category><category>Charlie kirk</category><category>Diana degette</category><category>Gavin newsom</category><category>Jason paladino</category><category>Jd vance</category><category>Melissa hortman</category><category>Stephen miller</category><category>Us department of justice</category><category>Working families party</category><category>Trump administration</category><dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/stephen-miller-speaks.jpg?id=55091595&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Another 'Extrajudicial Execution' as US Bombs Second Alleged Venezuelan Drug Boat</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/second-us-strike-on-venezuela-boat</link><description><![CDATA[
  41. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/grainy-us-footage-of-alleged-drug-boat.png?id=61553653&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C110%2C0%2C53"/><br/><br/><p>President Donald Trump said Monday that the US carried out a fresh strike on what he said was a boat used by Venezuelan drug gangs, killing three people in what one human rights campaigner called another "extrajudicial execution." </p><p>"This morning, on my Orders, US Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the [US Southern Command] area of responsibility," Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115210075167747572" target="_blank">said</a> on his Truth Social network. "The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the US."</p><p>"These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to US National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital US Interests," the Republican president continued. "The Strike resulted in three male terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this Strike."</p><p>"BE WARNED—IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!" Trump added. "The illicit activities by these cartels have wrought DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens. NO LONGER. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!"</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">US President Trump just announced that a second drug smuggling boat from Venezuela was hit by a US airstrike in the Caribbean, killing 3 people on board the boat.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Venezuela?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Venezuela</a> <a href="https://t.co/dO34gYr9GZ">pic.twitter.com/dO34gYr9GZ</a><br/>— CNW (@ConflictsW) <a href="https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1967681576529199590?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>Responding to arguments by <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-attack-off-venezuela-illegal" target="_blank">legal experts</a> and Venezuelan officials that the September 2 strike was illegal, Trump said Sunday that "what's illegal are the drugs that were on the boat... and the fact that 300 million people died last year from drugs."</p><p>Only 62 million people <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/births-and-deaths" target="_blank">died</a> in the entire world of all causes last year, making Trump's claim impossibly false.</p><p>Monday's attack followed the September 2 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-strikes-boat-off-venezuela" target="_blank">bombing</a> of a vessel allegedly transporting cocaine off the Venezuelan coast, a strike that killed 11 people. Venezuelan officials <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-09-11/venezuela-military-militias-deploy-to-battlefronts-maduro-says" target="_blank">say</a> none of the 11 men were members of the Tren de Aragua gang, as <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115136798909755892" target="_blank">claimed</a> by Trump.</p><p>On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/designating-cartels-and-other-organizations-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations-and-specially-designated-global-terrorists/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">executive order</a> designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Last month, the president <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-drug-cartel-war" target="_self">reportedly signed a secret order</a> directing the Pentagon to use military force to combat drug cartels abroad, sparking fears of renewed US aggression in a region that has <a href="https://www.veteransforpeace.org/files/7815/5130/4069/US_Acts_of_Aggression_in_Latin_America_Timeline.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">endured</a> well over 100 US attacks, invasions, occupations, and other interventions since the issuance of the dubious Monroe Doctrine in 1823.</p><p><em>The Intercept</em>'s Nick Turse <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/15/venezuela-boat-attack-trump-legality/" target="_blank">reported</a> Monday that the Trump administration's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-department-of-war" target="_blank">recently rebranded</a> Department of War "is thwarting congressional oversight" of the September 2 attack.</p><p>“I’m incredibly disturbed by this new reporting that the Trump administration launched multiple strikes on the boat off Venezuela,” Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said in response to Turse's reporting. “They didn’t even bother to seek congressional authorization, bragged about these killings—and teased more to come.”</p><p><em>Common Dreams</em> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/omar-venezuela-war-powers" target="_blank">reported</a> last week that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) introduced a war powers resolution seeking to restrain Trump from conducting attacks in the Caribbean.</p><p>Also last week, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) led a <a href="https://www.kaine.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senators_letter_to_potus_-_us_military_strike_in_caribbean_sea.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> signed by two dozen Democratic colleagues and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asserting that the Trump administration offered "no legitimate justification" for the first boat strike.</p><p>It's not just congressional Democrats who have decried Trump's September 2 attack. Last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/rand-paul-jd-vance-venezuelan-cartel-strike-2125943" target="_blank">said</a> that "the recent drone attack on a small speedboat over 2,000 miles from our shore without identification of the occupants or the content of the boat is in no way part of a declared war, and defies our longstanding Coast Guard rules of engagement."</p><p>“What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial," Paul later <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/15/trump-orders-second-strike-on-alleged-venezuelan-drug-traffickers/86169869007/" target="_blank">added</a>.</p><p>Paul also mirrored Democratic lawmakers' <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trafficking-fentanyl" target="_blank">questioning</a> of Trump's narrative that the boat bombed on September 2 was heading to the United States. </p><p>Echoing congressional critics, Daphne Eviatar, director of Amnesty International's Security With Human Rights program, <a href="https://x.com/deviatar/status/1967713918794731953" target="_blank">said</a> of Monday's attack, "Today, President Trump claimed his administration carried out another lethal strike against a boat in the Caribbean."<br/></p><p>"This is an extrajudicial execution, which is murder," Eviatar added. "There is no legal justification for this military strike. The US must be held accountable." <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 22:42:31 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/second-us-strike-on-venezuela-boat</guid><category>Amnesty international</category><category>Daphne eviatar</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Drug trafficking</category><category>Ilhan omar</category><category>Monroe doctrine</category><category>Nick turse</category><category>Rand paul</category><category>Sara jacobs</category><category>Tim kaine</category><category>Tren de aragua</category><category>Trump administration</category><category>Us department of war</category><category>Us imperialism</category><category>Us military</category><category>War on drugs</category><category>War powers act</category><category>Venezuela</category><dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/grainy-us-footage-of-alleged-drug-boat.png?id=61553653&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>100% of Cluster Bomb Victims Last Year Were Civilians—Nearly Half of Them Children</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/cluster-bombing</link><description><![CDATA[
  42. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/man-mourns-victim-of-cluster-bomb.jpg?id=56531698&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C899%2C0%2C101"/><br/><br/><p>Human rights leaders on Monday called on the 112 countries that are party to a treaty banning cluster munitions to reinforce the ban and demand that other governments sign on to the agreement, as they released an annual report showing that the bombs only serve to cause civilian suffering—sometimes long after conflicts have ended. </p><p>The governance board of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) released the 16th annual <a href="https://backend.icblcmc.org/assets/reports/Cluster-Munition-Monitors/CMM2025/Cluster-Munition-Monitor-2025-Web.pdf" target="_blank">Cluster Munition Monitor</a> on Monday, compiling data on the impact of cluster munitions for 2024 and revealing that all reported cluster bomb casualties last year were civilians—and close to half, 42%, were children. </p><p><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/cluster-bombs" target="_blank">Cluster bombs</a> are particularly dangerous to civilians because after being dropped from aircraft or fired by rockets or other weapon, they open in the air and send multiple submunitions over wide areas—often leaving unexploded bomblets that are sometimes mistaken by children for harmless toys, and can kill and injure people in populated areas for years or even decades after the initial bombing. </p><p>The report, which was released as officials prepare to convene in Geneva for the Cluster Munitions Conference, says at least 314 global casualties from cluster munitions were recorded in 202, with 193 civilians killed in attacks in Ukraine—plus 15 who were killed by unexploded munitions. </p><p>Since the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted in 2008, none of the 112 signatories have used cluster bombs—but countries that are not party to the convention, including Russia and Ukraine, used the munitions throughout 2024 and into this year, and the US has said it transferred cluster bombs to Ukraine at least seven times between July 2023-October 2024. </p><p>The report details recent uses of cluster bombs, the impact of which may not be known for years as civilians remain at risk from the unexploded bombs, including by <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/15/cluster-munitions-states-should-uphold-ban-treaty" target="_blank">Thailand</a>—by its own apparent admission—in its border conflict with Cambodia and allegedly by Iran, which Israel claimed used cluster munitions in its attack in June. Cluster munitions have also reportedly been used in recent years in Myanmar—including at schools—and Syria. </p><p class="pull-quote">"Governments should now act to reinforce the stigma against these indiscriminate weapons and condemn their continued use."</p><p>This year, the withdrawal of Lithuania from the Convention on Cluster Munitions—an unprecedented step—garnered condemnation from at least 47 countries. While it had never previously used or stockpiled cluster bombs, the country said it was necessary to have the option of using the munitions "to face increased regional security threats."</p><p>The casualties that continued throughout 2024 and into 2025 "demonstrate the need to clear more contaminated land and to provide more assistance to victims," <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/15/cluster-munitions-states-should-uphold-ban-treaty" target="_blank">said</a> Human Rights Watch, a co-founder of CMC. </p><p>"The Convention on Cluster Munitions has over many years made significant progress in reducing the human suffering caused by cluster munitions," said Mark Hiznay, associate crisis, conflict, and arms director for HRW. "Governments should now act to reinforce the stigma against these indiscriminate weapons and condemn their continued use."</p><p>The report notes that funding cuts by donor states including the US, which under the second term of President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/world/asia/trump-mines-vietnam-cambodia-laos.html" target="_blank">cut funding</a> for landmine and cluster bomb clearance and aid, have left many affected countries struggling to provide services to survivors. </p><p>Children, the report notes, are often particularly in need of aid after suffering the effects of cluster munitions, as they are "more vulnerable to injury and frequently require repeated surgeries, regular prosthetic replacements as they grow, and long-term opportunities to access physical rehabilitation and psychological support."</p><p>"Without adequate care for children, complications can worsen, affecting their schooling, social interactions, mental health, and overall well-being," explained IBCL and CMC. </p><p>At the Cluster Munitions Conference taking place from September 16-19, <a href="https://www.hi-us.org/en/cluster-munitions-monitor-2025--all-victims-in-2024-were-civilians" target="_blank">said</a> Anne Héry, advocacy director for the group Humanity and Inclusion, states must "reaffirm their commitment to this vital treaty."</p><p>"Cluster munitions are banned for a reason: Civilians, including children, account for the vast majority of casualties," said Héry. "Questioning the convention is unacceptable. States convening at the annual Cluster Munition Conference must reaffirm their strong attachment to the treaty and their condemnation of any use by any party."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:15:34 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/cluster-bombing</guid><category>Children</category><category>Human rights watch</category><category>Humanity and inclusion</category><category>Cluster munitions</category><dc:creator>Julia Conley</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/man-mourns-victim-of-cluster-bomb.jpg?id=56531698&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Washington Post Union Speaks Out Against Columnist's Firing Over Charlie Kirk Comments</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/karen-attiah-washington-post</link><description><![CDATA[
  43. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/topshot-us-media-press-newspaper-washington-post.jpg?id=56523046&width=5250&height=3500&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>The union representing employees at <em>The Washington Post</em> on Monday condemned the paper for firing columnist Karen Attiah for comments she made about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.</p><p>In a statement, the Washington Post Guild <a href="https://x.com/PostGuild/status/1967663126268232152" target="_blank">said</a> that firing Attiah betrayed the paper's mission to defend free speech in the United States.</p><p>"The <em>Post</em> not only flagrantly disregarded standard disciplinary processes, it also undermined its own mandate to be a champion of free speech," the union said. "The right to speak freely is the ultimate personal liberty and the foundation of Karen’s 11-year career at the <em>Post</em>."</p><p>The union also said it was "proud to call Karen a colleague and a longtime union sibling" and that it "stands with her and will continue to support her and defend her rights."</p><p><span></span>Attiah <a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-173531760" target="_blank">announced</a> on Monday morning that she had been fired from the<em> Post</em> over social media posts in the wake of Kirk's murder that were critical of his legacy but in no way endorsed or celebrated any form of political violence.</p><p>"The <em>Post</em> accused my measured Bluesky posts of being 'unacceptable,' 'gross misconduct,' and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues—charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false," she explained. "They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the <em>Post</em> claims to uphold."</p><p>Attiah only directly referenced Kirk once in her posts and said she had condemned the deadly attack on him “without engaging in excessive, false mourning for a man who routinely<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs" target="_blank"> attacked Black women</a> as a group, put academics in danger by<a href="https://www.thebanner.com/education/higher-education/charlie-kirk-maryland-professors-watchlist-RBDSLYUHUJHHDMED6XHDXHOSGY/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> putting them on watch lists</a>, claimed falsely that Black people were<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3BDazCa_Xg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> better off in the era of Jim Crow</a>, said that the<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/charlie-kirk-tpusa-mlk-civil-rights-act/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Civil Rights Act was a mistake</a>, and favorably reviewed a book that called <a href="https://thecharliekirkshow.com/podcasts/the-charlie-kirk-show/the-secret-history-of-communist-revolutions-ft-jac" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">liberals 'Unhumans</a>.'"</p><p>Independent progressive news site <em>Drop Site News</em> has <a href="https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/1967471697465893297" target="_blank">published</a> a running list on X documenting dozens of people who so far have been fired, suspended, or placed under investigation for their social media posts related to Kirk in the wake of his death. So far, says <em>Drop Site News</em>, over half of those targeted have been educators.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:08:25 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/karen-attiah-washington-post</guid><category>Authoritarianism</category><category>Charlie kirk</category><category>Unions</category><category>Washington post</category><category>Washington post guild</category><category>Karen attiah</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/topshot-us-media-press-newspaper-washington-post.jpg?id=56523046&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Incredible Corruption': Blockbuster Report on Trump Crypto Grift Leaves Observers Stunned</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-uae-crypto-deal</link><description><![CDATA[
  44. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/america-is-not-for-sale-rally-against-trump-s-crypto-dealings.jpg?id=61235249&width=1024&height=683&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p><em>The New York Times</em> on Monday <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/trump-uae-chips-witkoff-world-liberty.html" target="_blank">published</a> a blockbuster report detailing how US President Donald Trump's administration gave the United Arab Emirates access to high-powered artificial intelligence chips just days after receiving a massive investment in Trump's cryptocurrency startup.<br/></p><p>As the <em>Times</em> report documented, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ruling family, had one of his investment firms deposit $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, the startup founded by members of the Trump family and the family of Trump Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.</p><p>Just two weeks later, wrote the <em>Times</em>, "the White House agreed to allow the UAE access to hundreds of thousands of the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips, a crucial tool in the high-stakes race to dominate artificial intelligence," despite national security concerns about these chips being shared with China.</p><p>The <em>Times</em>, which interviewed more than 75 people in its investigation of the deals, did not present direct evidence that the two deals were explicitly linked, and the White House denied any connection between the massive investment in the Trump family's crypto firm and the decision to grant UAE access to the chips.</p><p>However, the paper interviewed three ethics lawyers who said that "the back-to-back deals violate longstanding norms in the United States for political, diplomatic, and private dealmaking among senior officials and their children."</p><p>Other political observers were stunned by the <em>Times</em>' report.</p><p>"If this is true, this is the largest public corruption scandal in the history of the United States and it's not even close," <a href="https://x.com/weakinstrument/status/1967625062015721701" target="_blank">commented</a> Ryan Cummings, chief of staff at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.</p><p>US foreign policy journalist Laura Rozen <a href="https://x.com/lrozen/status/1967652727095451785" target="_blank">questioned</a> whether Witkoff's dealings with the UAE and other countries were impacting his ability to do his job in other areas.</p><p>"Maybe Witkoff is too busy pushing deals to enrich his and Trump’s families to focus on getting an Israel-<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" target="_blank">Gaza</a> hostage deal over the line, recognizing the Russians are not interested in ending the war on Ukraine, etc.," she speculated.</p><p>Alasdair Phillips-Robins, a fellow in the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, marveled at the reporting that Trump's negotiation team appeared to be willing to grant UAE access to the chips without forcing any major geopolitical tradeoffs. </p><p>"This sounds like the world's weakest negotiation: telling the UAE they'll get unlimited chips before they've agreed to a single concession in return," he <a href="https://x.com/alasdairpr/status/1967643232990531806" target="_blank">wrote</a>. </p><p>Independent journalist Jacob Silverman, who has written extensively on the politics of the US tech industry, <a href="https://x.com/SilvermanJacob/status/1967630631296532954" target="_blank">remarked</a> that the Trump administration's actions exposed in the <em>Times</em> report  were "impeachable" and smacked of "incredible corruption."</p><p>In addition to his cryptocurrency-related dealings with UAE, Trump has also come under scrutiny for accepting a luxury <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-air-force-one" target="_blank">jet</a> from the government of Qatar that he plans to use for the remainder of his term in office and that will be given to his official presidential library after he leaves the White House.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 19:41:32 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-uae-crypto-deal</guid><category>Artificial intelligence</category><category>Big tech</category><category>Cryptocurrency</category><category>Steve witkoff</category><category>United arab emirates</category><category>World liberty financial</category><category>Donald trump</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/america-is-not-for-sale-rally-against-trump-s-crypto-dealings.jpg?id=61235249&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Volunteer Doctors Describe How Israeli Troops 'Deliberately Targeted' Gaza Children</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/doctors-describe-gaza-children-shot-in-head</link><description><![CDATA[
  45. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/palestinian-israel-conflict-gaza.jpg?id=58622571&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C151%2C0%2C191"/><br/><br/><p>International medical professionals who volunteered in Gaza hospitals said they treated more than 100 Palestinian children who were shot in the head or chest by Israeli forces in what appears to be a pattern of deliberate targeting, according to an investigation <a href="https://www.volkskrant.nl/kijkverder/v/2025/gunshot-palestine-children-israel-war~v1819649/" target="_blank">published</a> Saturday by a Dutch newspaper.</p><p><em>De Volkskrant</em> interviewed 17 doctors and a nurse from the Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States who worked in six hospitals and four clinics in Gaza since October 2023. Fifteen of the 17 doctors described treating 114 children under the age of 15 who had a single bullet wound to the head or chest.</p><p>Former Royal Netherlands Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mart de Kruif told <em>de Volkskrant'</em>s Maud Effting and Willem Feenstra that such wounds mean that the victims were all but certainly shot on purpose.</p><p>"Just think about how small the head is compared to the rest of the body," he said. "If you’re seeing a high number of gunshot wounds to the chest area and the head, that’s not collateral damage—that’s deliberate targeting.”</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967235062103224523">
  46. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  47.        <a href="https://twitter.com/FerozeSidhwa/status/1967235062103224523"></a>
  48. </blockquote>
  49. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Dr. Mimi Syed, a US emergency physician who volunteered for two four-week rotations at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and al-Aqsa Martyrs Government Hospital in Deir al-Balah, described one 4-year-old victim, a girl named Mira.</p><p>“They said she’d been shot by a quadcopter [drone] while walking around in the humanitarian zone declared by Israel," Syed told <em>de Volkskrant</em>. "I was told to just let her die by my colleagues. The assessment was, unfortunately, that there wasn’t much we could do. But she was still moving a little bit. She was very young. A little girl. I just couldn’t look away. There was something in her face that struck me. So I took a chance.”</p><p>Working with colleagues, Syed saved Mira. Seeing so many similar injuries, she thought: "I have to document this. I realized—these are war crimes.”</p><p>Syed documented 18 children with single-shot wounds to the head or chest.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="A Palestinian girl shot by an Israeli soldier, and another X-ray photo showing the bullet in her head" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9379ce58bf9378bf4acec0ef1a801204" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="d1b9f" loading="lazy" src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-palestinian-girl-shot-by-an-israeli-soldier-and-another-x-ray-photo-showing-the-bullet-in-her-head.png?id=61603755&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Mira, a Palestinian girl from Gaza, survived a single gunshot wound to her head. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">(Photo: Dr. Mimi Syed via de Volkskrant) </small></p><p>Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a 43-year-old California trauma surgeon, described his first day volunteering at European Hospital in Gaza in March 2024. Sidhwa—who has <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-children-2668731254" target="_blank">previously described</a> seeing children as young as 3 years old being deliberately targeted in numerous interviews and his <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/surgeons-cruelty-israel-gaza" target="_blank">own writing</a>—told <em>de Volkskrant</em> that he saw four boys under age 10 with identical head wounds within 48 hours of his arrival.</p><p>"I thought: What the hell?" he said. "How is it possible that, in this small hospital, four children are lying here with gunshot wounds to the head—all admitted within the past 48 hours?"</p><p>Over the following 13 days, Sidhwa saw nine more children with similar single gunshot wounds to the head and chest by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, who pride themselves on being some of the world's <a href="https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/training-and-preparation/putting-sharpshooting-skills-to-the-test/" target="_blank">best-trained marksmen.</a> <strong></strong>Israel and the US have frequently described the IDF as the "most moral army" in the world.</p><p>"I started to wonder if my hospital was near some crazy sniper," he said. "Or a drone team killing children just for fun."</p><p>Numerous previous investigations have documented IDF soldiers deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in Gaza. In July, the <em>BBC</em> <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/l0057c0y" target="_blank">examined</a> the cases of more than 160 Palestinian children who were shot by IDF troops in Gaza and found that in 95 cases, the child was shot in the head or chest.</p><p>"Some of the cases we looked at like children were allegedly shot while fleeing battle zones, but many others were shot while playing outside their tents in humanitarian zones and some in areas the IDF themselves had marked as evacuation corridors," <em>BBC</em> noted.</p><p>IDF officials deny that Israeli troops deliberately target children and have even claimed that Hamas may be shooting them in a <a href="https://www.fcas.org/command-center-insights/modern-evolution-of-blood-libel/" target="_blank">new iteration</a> of the age-old blood libel against Jews. Israeli and US officials have also claimed that hundreds of Palestinians have starved to death in Gaza not because of Israel's near-total blockade on humanitarian relief but because Hamas is stealing the aid—even as IDF officers have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/world/middleeast/hamas-un-aid-theft.html" target="_blank">refuted</a> the theft allegations. </p><p>Israeli troops have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/haaretz-israel-war-crimes" target="_blank">admitted</a> to being ordered to shoot to kill "anyone who enters" a so-called "kill zone" in central Gaza, including children.</p><p>Other IDF whistleblowers have <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/idf-gaza-aid-killings" target="_blank">described</a> orders to open fire on Gazan civilians including children with live bullets and artillery at aid distribution centers.</p><p>“We’re killing their wives, their children, their cats, their dogs," one IDF officer said earlier this year. "We’re destroying their houses and pissing on their graves.”</p><p>One IDF soldier even <a href="https://x.com/trackingisrael/status/1847621006292025593" target="_blank">boasted</a> online about how "fun" it is to kill Palestinian children, while <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2433646/%7B%7B" target="_blank">another</a> is heard saying in a video uploaded to social media that “we are looking for babies, but there are no babies left"—so instead "I killed a girl that was 12."</p><p>Yet another IDF soldier proudly <a href="https://x.com/khaberni/status/1740393930439708693" target="_blank">claimed</a>: “I just went to Gaza, and there were two little girls playing football. So, what did I do? I took my weapon and shot them in the head.”</p><p>Operating under <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-bombing.html" target="_blank">loosened rules of engagement</a> that effectively permit the killing of an unlimited number of civilians when targeting even a single low-ranking Hamas member, Israeli troops have <a href="https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-20000-children-killed-23-months-war-more-one-child-killed-every-hour" target="_blank">killed</a> more than 20,000 Palestinian children and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/3/israeli-attacks-disabled-21000-palestinian-children-in-gaza-war-un-says" target="_blank">disabled</a> over 21,000 others in Gaza since October 2023, according to Gaza officials, United Nations agencies, and international humanitarian groups.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-civilian-casualties-2666414736" target="_blank">use of artificial intelligence</a> to rapidly select targets, as well as dropping <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-children-2668731254" target="_blank">fragmentation</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2025/9/3/israel-accused-of-using-drones-to-drop-incendiary-bombs-in-gaza" target="_blank">incendiary</a>, and 1,000- and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-united-nations" target="_blank">2,000-pound bombs</a>—many <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2000-pound-bombs-nasrallah" target="_blank">supplied</a> by the US—has exacerbated the civilian casualty crisis and contributed to an <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-children-malnutrition-amputation" target="_blank">unprecedented surge</a> in amputations, often performed without anesthesia.</p><p>So many wounded Gazan children have also been orphaned that medical professionals have <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231107-gaza-coins-a-new-acronym-wcnsf-wounded-child-no-surviving-family/" target="_blank">coined</a> a grim new acronym to describe them: WCNSF—wounded child, no surviving family.</p><p><a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ohchr-press-release-16jul25/" target="_blank">According to</a> Gaza and United Nations officials, more than 1,500 medical professionals have also been killed in Gaza since October 2023, many of them while working, including the paramedics who were <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/hind-rajab" target="_blank">killed</a> while trying to rescue Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl massacred along with six relatives while trying to flee to safety last year.</p><p>Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children are also being <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/amnesty-gaza-starvation" target="_self">deliberately starved</a> in a US-backed Israeli war of <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/netanyahu-approves-gaza-city-conquest" target="_self">conquest and occupation</a> that is <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-gaza-genocide-2673945281" target="_self">increasingly viewed</a> by the world as genocidal, and that has left at least 238,500 Gazans dead, maimed, or missing. Last week, former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/ex-idf-chief-admits-gaza-casualties" target="_blank">acknowledged</a> that Israel has killed or wounded 10% of Gaza's pre-war population of approximately 2.2 million.</p><p>Early in the war, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-geneva-palais-briefing-note-gaza-worlds-most-dangerous-place-be-child" target="_blank">called</a> Gaza “the world’s most dangerous place to be a child.” Last year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for the first time <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-killing-children-2668478068" target="_self">added Israel</a> to his so-called “List of Shame” of countries that kill and injure children during wars and other armed conflicts. <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:36:03 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/doctors-describe-gaza-children-shot-in-head</guid><category>Children</category><category>Feroze sidhwa</category><category>Genocide</category><category>Herzi halevi</category><category>Hind rajab</category><category>Israel</category><category>Israel defense forces</category><category>Mimi syed</category><category>Palestine</category><category>United nations</category><category>Gaza</category><dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/palestinian-israel-conflict-gaza.jpg?id=58622571&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>After Hochul’s Mamdani Endorsement, Trump Threatens New York Federal Funding</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/hochul-mamdani</link><description><![CDATA[
  50. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/democratic-nominee-for-mayor-zohran-mamdani-addresses-media.jpg?id=61470057&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C50%2C0%2C292"/><br/><br/><p>"Threatening voters and cities over their elections is what authoritarians do," <a href="https://x.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1967573230287560749" target="_blank">said</a> one progressive organizer Monday after US President Donald Trump did just that—suggesting he would rip federal funding away from New York City, and possibly the state, if democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the November election. </p><p>The president's threat came after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/opinion/hochul-endorsement-mamdani.html" target="_blank">announced</a> her endorsement of Mamdani in an op-ed in <em>The New York Times</em>, after months of pressure from progressives. </p><p>Trump said Hochul had "Endorsed the 'Liddle Communist'" and called the governor's support "a rather shocking development."</p><p>"How can such a thing happen?" Trump asked of Hochul's endorsement of her own party's popular and charismatic nominee. "Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!"</p><p>The comments appeared to be a threat to state or city funding, said critics including Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health. </p><p>"Donald Trump is threatening to withhold money from NYC if they elect Zohran Mamdani, who [is] standing up to his billionaire donor buddies, instead of his friend [former Gov.] Andrew Cuomo who will roll over for them," said D'Arrigo, referring to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/zohran-mamdani-andrew-cuomo-2673958359" target="_blank">reports</a> that Trump has considered helping Cuomo, who lost the primary to Mamdani in June but is running as an independent in the general election, and to Cuomo's own <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/andrew-cuomo-leaked-recording" target="_blank">comments</a> about the positive relationship he would have with the president if elected mayor. </p><p>Another observer accused Trump of "using taxpayer money as a gun to voters' heads."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967552368792453348">
  51. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  52.        <a href="https://twitter.com/AnatoliUkraine/status/1967552368792453348"></a>
  53. </blockquote>
  54. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <p>Mamdani, a Democratic member of the state Assembly, won the primary in June, decisively beating Cuomo—who had rapidly plummeted in the polls leading up to the primary vote as Mamdani promoted a policy agenda laser-focused on making the city more affordable and engaged directly with New Yorkers across the five boroughs.</p><p>Despite Mamdani's victory, Hochul has been among a number of powerful Democratic politicians who refused to endorse the party's nominee to lead the nation's largest city following the primary, leading to condemnation from progressive organizers and lawmakers including <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/aoc-zohran-mamdani" target="_blank">Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)</a> and S<a href="https://x.com/brhodes/status/1967398375164432450" target="_blank">en. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)</a>. </p><p>New York Democrats House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand have all declined to endorse Mamdani thus far, with Jeffries <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/dems-still-wont-back-mamdani" target="_blank">falsely claiming</a> Mamdani has not won over voters in the House leader's district and Gillibrand <a href="https://forward.com/fast-forward/767590/gillibrand-mamdani-nyc-mayor-intifada-israel/" target="_blank">suggesting</a> as recently as last week that Mamdani has fueled antisemitism by not condemning phrases associated with Palestinian resistance. </p><p>Hochul relented on Sunday, writing that she has had "disagreements" with Mamdani in conversations they've had in recent weeks, but that in their talks she has "heard a leader who shares my commitment to a New York where children can grow up safe in their neighborhoods and where opportunity is within reach for every family."</p><p>"I heard a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable—a goal I enthusiastically support," she added.</p><p>Trump also ran his reelection campaign last year on promises of lowering the cost of living for Americans—but while Mamdani has backed up his pledge of improving affordability with policy proposals like fare-free buses, a network of city-owned grocery stores, and no-cost universal childcare, the president has pushed a spending bill that's expected to increase the number of uninsured people by <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/big-beautiful-bill-healthcare" target="_blank">14.2 million</a> and has restarted student debt collection, ending a Biden-era program to make payments more affordable and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/student-loan-wage-garnishment" target="_blank">threatening</a> to garnish the wages of struggling borrowers.</p><p>The president previously <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-and-mamdani-spar-over-a-federal-takeover-of-nyc.html" target="_blank">threatened</a> New York City's funding in June and said in July that his administration could take over the city's government if Mamdani wins the November election and enacts policies Trump doesn't support. </p><p>"If he does get in, I’m gonna be president and he’s gonna have to do the right thing or they’re not getting any money. He’s gotta do the right thing,” Trump <a href="https://x.com/FoxNews/status/1939366587061973322" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> on <em>Fox News</em>. “If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same... We have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to."</p><p>At <em>The New Republic </em>last week, Alex Shephard <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/200091/democrats-refuse-endorse-zohran-mamdani-scary-message?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SF_TNR" target="_blank">wrote</a> that by refusing to throw their considerable influence behind Mamdani, Schumer, Jeffries, and Gillibrand are "suggesting that they will throw him—and the city he represents—to the wolves come 2026."</p><p>"Trump has made it clear that he hopes to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-crime-rates-down" target="_blank">target</a> New York City just as he's done to Los Angeles and Washington, DC—with deployed National Guard troops and ICE agents running rampant," wrote Shephard.</p><p>Democrats including Schumer and Jeffries, he added, "are shooting their party in the foot... Predominantly renters, Mamdani’s voters were also disproportionately young, Asian, and Hispanic—all groups that moved toward Trump in last year’s election, and that Democrats will need if they want to take back Congress and the White House."<br/></p><p>"Democrats say they are determined to be a big-tent party," Shephard continued. "But somehow there’s no room in it for the politicians who can actually help fill it?"</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 16:08:11 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/hochul-mamdani</guid><category>Chuck schumer</category><category>Democratic party</category><category>Democratic socialism</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Hakeem jeffries</category><category>Kathy hochul</category><category>New york</category><category>New york city</category><category>Zohran mamdani</category><dc:creator>Julia Conley</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/democratic-nominee-for-mayor-zohran-mamdani-addresses-media.jpg?id=61470057&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>New Boycott Campaign Targets Companies Profiting From Illegal Israeli Settlements in West Bank</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-settlement-boycott-campaign</link><description><![CDATA[
  55. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/israel-palestinian-conflict-settlement-politics.jpg?id=61464496&width=1024&height=683&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>Oxfam International on Monday announced a new boycott campaign aimed at companies that do business with illegal Israeli <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/smotrich-west-bank" target="_blank">settlements</a> in the occupied West Bank.</p><p>The campaign, called "<a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/stop-trade-with-settlements" target="_blank">Stop Trade With Settlements</a>," is being sponsored by more than 80 civil society organizations and it names multiple companies including Barclays Bank, Siemens, and Carrefour as firms that are benefiting from selling goods and services to the settlements.</p><p>In a statement announcing the boycott campaign, Oxfam explained why "ending trade with settlements is a necessary step to uphold human rights, protect Palestinian livelihoods, stop Israel’s settlement expansion, and end the unlawful occupation" of the West Bank.</p><p>"Over the last four years, Israel has significantly accelerated its settlement activities in the West Bank," the organization said. "Most of these approvals were granted for settlements located 'deep into the West Bank,' further fragmenting Palestinian territory and imposing new movement restrictions on Palestinians."</p><p>"The revival of the ‘E1’ plan... is effectively cutting off Palestinian movement between the northern and southern West Bank," the group added, referring to the E1 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/netanyahu-west-bank" target="_blank">settlement</a> that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed off on last week. The plan will "bury" the possibility of a Palestinian state by cutting East Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank.<br/></p><p>Oxfam then walked through how these firms are profiting from doing business in the West Bank.</p><p>German travel conglomerate TUI, for example, offers a bus tour through the West Bank for tourists to meet with settlers who are illegally living on Palestinians' land.</p><p>Siemens, meanwhile, was found to have provided "equipment and services for settlement-linked transportation infrastructure including a rail deal worth over €1 billion."</p><p>The report singled out Barclays for providing $18.1 billion in loans to settlement-linked firms over a three-and-a-half-year period, which the report said made it "the third largest creditor of corporations complicit in settlement trade."</p><p>Anne-Marie Clements, engagement officer at the Catholic charity Justice and Peace Scotland, <a href="https://www.justiceandpeacescotland.org.uk/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">spoke</a> of her recent trip to the occupied West Bank, where she met Palestinians who "told me of land confiscation, settler violence, home demolitions, military checkpoints and the denial of water: all daily realities of the occupation that make life unbearable."</p><p>Clements said the reality on the ground in the West Bank made it imperative for her organization to support the boycott campaign.</p><p>"The Stop Trade With Settlements campaign shines a light on how the illegal settlements, an integral part of the occupation, are sustained through trade," she said. "Ending this trade is not just a political necessity but a moral imperative. We cannot allow international companies and governments to profit from occupation, dispossession, and human suffering."<br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 15:44:36 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-settlement-boycott-campaign</guid><category>Barclays</category><category>Israeli settlements</category><category>Oxfam</category><category>Palestine</category><category>Siemens</category><category>West bank</category><category>Israel</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/israel-palestinian-conflict-settlement-politics.jpg?id=61464496&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Something Dark Might Be Coming': Senator Rebukes Right's Weaponization of Kirk Murder to 'Destroy Dissent'</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/chris-murphy-charlie-kirk</link><description><![CDATA[
  56. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/rally-to-say-no-to-tax-breaks-for-billionaires-corporations.jpg?id=61090912&width=1024&height=683&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>A Democratic US senator over the weekend issued an ominous warning about Republicans using the murder of Charlie Kirk as a pretense to clamp down on political speech.<br/></p><p>In a lengthy social media post on Sunday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/chrismurphyct.bsky.social/post/3lyswocxuwc2p" target="_blank">outlined</a> how President Donald Trump and his allies look set to wage a campaign of retribution against political adversaries by framing them as accomplices in Kirk's murder.</p><p>"Pay attention," he began. "Something dark might be coming. The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent."</p><p>Murphy then contrasted the recent statements by Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who accurately stated that political violence is not confined to a single political ideology, with those of Trump and his allies, who have said such violence is only a problem on the left.</p><p>Murphy highlighted a statement from Trump ally and informal <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/loomer-gaza-children" target="_blank">adviser</a> Laura Loomer, who <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/chrismurphyct.bsky.social/post/3lyswof6aus2p" target="_blank">said</a> that she wanted "Trump to be the 'dictator' the left thinks he is" and that she wanted "the right to be as devoted to locking up and silencing our violent political enemies as they pretend we are."</p><p>He then pointed to Trump saying that progressive billionaire financier George Soros should face racketeering charges even though there is no evidence linking Soros to Kirk's murder or any other kind of political violence.</p><p>"The Trump/Loomer/Miller narrative that Dems are cheering Kirk's murder or that left groups are fomenting violence is also made up," he added. "There are always going to be online trolls, but Dem leaders are united (as opposed to Trump who continues to cheer the January 6 violence)."</p><p>Murphy claimed that the president and his allies have long been seeking a "pretext to destroy their opposition" and that Kirk's murder gave them an opening.</p><p>"That's why it was so important for Trump sycophants to take over the DoJ and FBI, so that if a pretext arose, Trump could orchestrate a dizzying campaign to shut down political opposition groups and lock up or harass its leaders," he said. "This is what could be coming—now."</p><p>Early in his second term, the president <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-doj-fbi-firings" target="_blank">fired</a> FBI prosecutors who were involved in an earlier political violence case—the prosecution of people involved in the violent attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by Trump supporters who aimed to stop the certification of the 2020 election.</p><p>A top ethics official and a lawyer who spoke out against the president’s anti-immigration policy are among those who have been <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/pam-bondi-doj" target="_blank">fired</a> from the DOJ.</p><p>Murphy ended his post with a call for action from supporters.</p><p>"I hope I'm wrong. But we need to be prepared if I'm right," he said. "That means everyone who cares about democracy has to join the fight—right now. Join a mobilization or protest group. Start showing up to actions more. Write a check to a progressive media operation."</p><p>One day after Murphy's warning, columnist Karen Attiah <a href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-173531760" target="_blank">announced</a> that she had been fired from the <em>Washington Post</em> over social media posts in the wake of Kirk's death that were critical of his legacy but in no way endorsed or celebrated any form of political violence.<em></em></p><p>"The <em>Post</em> accused my measured Bluesky posts of being 'unacceptable,' 'gross misconduct,' and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues—charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false," she explained. "They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. This was not only a hasty overreach, but a violation of the very standards of journalistic fairness and rigor the <em>Post</em> claims to uphold."</p><p>Attiah only directly referenced Kirk once in her posts and said she had condemned the deadly attack on him “without engaging in excessive, false mourning for a man who routinely<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs" target="_blank"> attacked Black women</a> as a group, put academics in danger by<a href="https://www.thebanner.com/education/higher-education/charlie-kirk-maryland-professors-watchlist-RBDSLYUHUJHHDMED6XHDXHOSGY/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> putting them on watch lists</a>, claimed falsely that Black people were<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3BDazCa_Xg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> better off in the era of Jim Crow</a>, said that the<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/charlie-kirk-tpusa-mlk-civil-rights-act/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Civil Rights Act was a mistake</a>, and favorably reviewed a book that called <a href="https://thecharliekirkshow.com/podcasts/the-charlie-kirk-show/the-secret-history-of-communist-revolutions-ft-jac" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">liberals 'Unhumans</a>.'"</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:55:54 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/chris-murphy-charlie-kirk</guid><category>Authoritarianism</category><category>Charlie kirk</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Karen attiah</category><category>Laura loomer</category><category>Political violence</category><category>Chris murphy</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/rally-to-say-no-to-tax-breaks-for-billionaires-corporations.jpg?id=61090912&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Backing Anti-Genocide Vuelta Protest, Spanish Prime Minister Calls for Global Sports Ban on Israel</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/backing-anti-genocide-vuelta-protest-spanish-prime-minister-calls-for-global-sports-ban-for-israel</link><description><![CDATA[
  57. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/police-face-pro-palestinians-protestors-after-security-barriers-were-taken-down-during-the-21st-and-last-stage-of-the-vuelta-a-e.jpg?id=61603010&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C121%2C0%2C77"/><br/><br/><p>A day after a large-scale cycling race was halted in Madrid due to anti-genocide protests targeting the participation of an Israeli team, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday backed the demonstrators and called for Israel's total ban from international sporting competitions until the unlawful and brutal attack on the people of Gaza comes to an end.</p><p>"I think the debate that’s begun after what happened here in Madrid yesterday should widen and spread to all corners of the world,” Sanchez said, regarding the events of Monday when thousands of protesters forced the Vuelta a España, an annual race that attracts world-class cycling teams from around the globe, to screech to a halt.</p><p>As police clashed with demonstrators—100,000 or more—along the route, the chaos that ensued forced organizers to halt the final leg of the race and the award ceremony. Targeted by the demonstrators was an Israeli team, called Israel-Premier Tech.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1967337097607713235">
  58. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  59.        <a href="https://twitter.com/tparsi/status/1967337097607713235"></a>
  60. </blockquote>
  61. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> <p>Sanchez, in his remarks on Monday, compared the need for a ban on Israel for its "barbarism" in Gaza with the ban on Russian Federation sports teams and athletes due to their government's invasion of Ukraine.</p><p>“It’s already happening in some parts of the world and we’ve seen how European governments are saying that as long as the barbarism continues, Israel can’t use any international platform to whitewash its presence," said Sanchez. "And I think that sports organizations need to ask themselves whether it’s ethical for Israel to keep taking part in international competitions.”</p><p>"Our position is clear and categorical: As long as barbarity continues, neither Russia nor Israel should participate in any international competition,” Sanchez added.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 14:21:14 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/backing-anti-genocide-vuelta-protest-spanish-prime-minister-calls-for-global-sports-ban-for-israel</guid><category>Genocide</category><category>Pedro sánchez</category><category>Spain</category><category>Israel</category><dc:creator>Jon Queally</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/police-face-pro-palestinians-protestors-after-security-barriers-were-taken-down-during-the-21st-and-last-stage-of-the-vuelta-a-e.jpg?id=61603010&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Fuck ICE and Free Palestine': Hannah Einbinder's Emmy Moment</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/hannah-einbinder-fuck-ice-free-palestine</link><description><![CDATA[
  62. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/hannah-einbinder.png?id=61602474&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C35%2C0%2C365"/><br/><br/><p>Hanna Einbinder took home the Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy on Sunday night. She ended her acceptance speech with a deeply serious message, denouncing President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across the US and calling for the liberation of the Palestinian people, both in the Occupied West Bank and those suffering daily under Israel's genocidal attack in Gaza.</p><p>Einbinder, who plays the character of Ava Daniels in the hit shows <em>Hacks</em>, accepted the award in typical fashion, but before leaving the microphone, "I just want to say: Go Birds, fuck ICE, and free Palestine."</p><p>The birds refer to the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, and ICE is the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Since Trump took office in January, ICE has been conducting increasing numbers of high-profile raids and community sweeps in communities across the country.</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">"Go birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine."<br/><br/>Hannah Einbinder turned her Emmy win for best supporting actress in a comedy into a platform for activism, wearing a red Artists4Ceasefire pin and joining fellow actors on the red carpet calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.<br/><br/>In a… <a href="https://t.co/PotaFIvpS1">pic.twitter.com/PotaFIvpS1</a><br/>— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1967466919348560060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>Einbinder, who is Jewish and wore a red <a href="https://www.artists4ceasefire.org/" target="_blank">Artists4Ceasefire</a> button on her dress throughout the glitzy award show, was asked about her comments regarding Palestine backstage.</p><p>"I thought it was important to talk about Palestine,” Einbinder explained, “because it’s an issue that’s very dear to my heart. I have friends in Gaza who are working as frontline workers, as doctors, right now in the north of Gaza, to provide care for pregnant women and for school children to create schools in the refugee camps. And it’s an issue that’s really close to my heart for many reasons.”</p><p>"I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the State of Israel," she added, "because our religion and our culture are such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethno-nationalist state.”</p><p>This is not the first time Einbinder has spoken out on behalf of Gaza and Palestinian rights. Earlier this year, accepting an award from the Human Rights Campaign, she said, "As a queer person, as a Jewish person, and as an American, I am horrified by the Israeli government's massacre of well over 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza."</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">While accepting an award from the Human Rights Campaign, actor Hannah Einbinder used her speech to strongly condemn the genocide in Gaza. <a href="https://t.co/oRWXpTuUO3">pic.twitter.com/oRWXpTuUO3</a><br/>— AJ+ (@ajplus) <a href="https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1906316729250357464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>"I am ashamed and infuriated," she continued, "that this mass murder is funded by our American tax dollars. It should not be controversial to say that we should all be against murdering civilians. I know that calling for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages begs for the safety, security, and preservation of life of both Palestinians and Israelis."</p><p>"I know that my call for a liberated Palestine," Einbinder said, comes from a desire for mutual safety of all people living in the region and I know that my condemnation of Israel's bombardment of Gaza is not despite what I learned in Hebrew school, but because of it."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 15 Sep 2025 11:51:38 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/hannah-einbinder-fuck-ice-free-palestine</guid><category>Artists4ceasefire</category><category>Cease-fire</category><category>Gaza</category><category>Genocide</category><category>Hannah einbinder</category><category>Ice</category><category>Occupied west bank</category><dc:creator>Jon Queally</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/hannah-einbinder.png?id=61602474&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Just Kill Em': Fox News Host Endorses Giving Homeless People 'Involuntary Lethal Injection'</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/fox-news-kill-homeless</link><description><![CDATA[
  63. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/fox-friends-cohosts-from-right-to-left-lawrence-jones-ainsley-earhardt-and-brian-kilmeade-during-a-show-in-which-kilm.png?id=61601170&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C99%2C0%2C242"/><br/><br/><p><em>Fox News</em> host Brian Kilmeade is facing calls to resign after suggesting earlier this week that the state should execute homeless people who decline help during a live broadcast.</p><p>Kilmeade made the comments during a Wednesday episode of <em>Fox & Friends, </em>during which the panel discussed the recent shocking video of the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska aboard a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a mentally ill homeless man, which has ignited a flurry of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/us/charlotte-murder-conservatives-crime.html" target="_blank">often racist</a> vitriol on the right toward Black Americans and homeless people.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1966878449290649676">
  64. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  65.        <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1966878449290649676"></a>
  66. </blockquote>
  67. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Another of the hosts, Lawrence Jones, claimed that the government has "given billions of dollars to mental health, to the homeless population," but that "a lot of them don't want to take the programs, a lot of them don't want to get the help that is necessary."</p><p>Jones continued: "You can't give them a choice. Either you take the resources that we're going to give you, or you decide that you're going to be locked up in jail. That's the way it has to be now."</p><p>Kilmeade then interjected with his suggestion that instead of jail, they should be given "involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill 'em."</p><p>As one X user<a href="https://x.com/UrosZiv/status/1966968919513858316" target="_blank"> noted</a>, Jones and co-host Ainsley Earhardt, "[didn't] even blink an eye" in response to this call for mass murder.</p><p>While the claim that homeless people often "refuse" abundant services is a common talking point, it is not borne out by data. According to a <a href="https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NAEH_Scaling-Services-to-Meet-Peoples-Needs.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by the National Alliance to End Homelessness in 2023, more than three-fourths of direct service providers reported that they were forced to turn away homeless people due to staffing shortages.</p><p><span></span>But even in <a href="https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2023/01/11/service-refusal-not-myth-it-surrounded-them#:~:text=The%20city%20currently%20only%20offers,percent%20were%20for%20shelter%20beds." target="_blank">cases</a> where homeless people are offered services—such as temporary shelter beds—and decline them, they often do so not because they prefer to be on the street but because shelters are often overcrowded and poorly maintained, or have restrictive rules that require them to separate from their families, pets, and belongings.</p><p>When homeless people are offered permanent shelter, they are comparatively much more likely to accept it. According to one <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/09/418546/study-finds-permanent-supportive-housing-effective-highest-risk-chronically" target="_blank">2020 study</a> from UC San Francisco, 86% of "high-risk" chronically homeless people given access to permanent supportive housing were successfully housed and remained in their housing for several years, a much higher rate than those given temporary solutions.</p><p>But as Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, <a href="https://x.com/DarrigoMelanie/status/1966859688273998103" target="_blank">wrote on X</a>, "Universal healthcare, housing, and anti-poverty programs are considered more 'radical' on <em>Fox News</em> than mass murder."</p><p>Kilmeade's calls to execute the homeless were met with horror and disgust from advocates. Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, called for Kilmeade to resign.</p><p>“It is dangerous. It shows a lack of human compassion and it is really the worst possible time for that kind of language to be expressed,” Whitehead told the <em><a href="https://www.irishstar.com/news/politics/homeless-advocate-slams-fox-news-35898983?int_source=nba" target="_blank">Irish Star</a></em>.</p><p>Jesse Rabinowitz, communications and campaign manager with the National Homelessness Law Center in Washington, DC, noted  in <em>The Independent </em>that Kilmeade's comments come as the Trump administration "is proposing government-run detention camps and massive psychiatric asylums" to house the homeless.</p><p><span></span>In August, the president launched a crackdown against homeless encampments in DC that advocates say has left hundreds of people with <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/house-bill-dc-homelessness" target="_blank">nowhere to go</a> and dependent on overwhelmed city services. Meanwhile, his administration and recent Republican legislation have introduced <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-homelessness-budget" target="_blank">massive cuts</a> to housing funding for homeless people across the United States.</p><p>“America’s homeless population includes over a million children and tens of thousands of veterans, many of whom served in Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). “Nobody deserves to be murdered by the government for mental illness or poverty. These <em>Fox</em> hosts are calling for mass murder—it’s sick.”</p><p>Kilmeade <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/brian-kilmeade-apologizes-callous-remark-135758313.html" target="_blank">apologized</a> for his comment on Sunday, describing it as an "extremely callous remark.” There is no indication from <em>Fox News</em> that Kilmeade will be subject to any disciplinary action over his remarks, which critics found noteworthy given the punishments other figures in mainstream media have faced for saying far less.</p><p>Photojournalist Zach D. Roberts pointed out that earlier this week, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2025/09/11/matthew-dowd-msnbc-charlie-kirk/86088891007/" target="_blank"><em>MSNBC </em>fired</a> contributor Matthew Dowd for criticizing the "hateful" and "divisive" <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/charlie-kirk-legacy" target="_blank">rhetoric</a> of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk shortly after he'd been assassinated.</p><p>"On <em>MSNBC</em>, a contributor got fired for lightly criticizing Charlie Kirk," Roberts said. "Meanwhile, on <em>Fox News,</em> Brian Kilmeade calls for the murder of homeless people for being homeless. Nothing has happened to him. I don't know if there can be a more obvious divide in politics."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:41:44 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/fox-news-kill-homeless</guid><category>Brian kilmeade</category><category>Charlie kirk</category><category>Fox news</category><category>Housing</category><category>Mental health</category><category>Homelessness</category><dc:creator>Stephen Prager</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/fox-friends-cohosts-from-right-to-left-lawrence-jones-ainsley-earhardt-and-brian-kilmeade-during-a-show-in-which-kilm.png?id=61601170&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Panel May Restrict Covid-19 Shots for Those Under 75, Citing  Unverified Death Reports</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/kennedy-may-limit-covid-vaccine</link><description><![CDATA[
  68. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-health-food-politics.jpg?id=61342033&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C31%2C0%2C345"/><br/><br/><p>Health officials working under Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may seek to restrict access to the Covid-19 vaccine for people under 75 years old.</p><p>The <em><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/09/12/covid-vaccine-child-death-cdc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Washington Post</a></em><em> </em>reported Friday that the officials plan to justify the move by citing reports from an unverified database to make the claim that the shots caused the deaths of 25 children.</p><p>The reports come from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), a federal database that allows the public to submit reports of negative reactions to vaccines. As the <em>Post</em> explains, VAERS "contains unverified reports of side effects or bad experiences with vaccines submitted by anyone, including patients, doctors, pharmacists, or even someone who sees a report on social media."</p><p>As one publicly maintained database of <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cM7y0QMfgRDJgF7REMV3LgAoR6Bm4s-vOKkSx3T5MhE/edit?gid=0#gid=0" target="_blank">"Batshit Crazy VAERS Adverse Events"</a> found, users have reported deaths and injuries resulting from <a href="https://imgur.com/ePxduj2" target="_blank">gunshot wounds</a>, <a href="https://i.imgur.com/vQ7xNSE.jpg" target="_blank">malaria</a>, <a href="https://imgur.com/2dBquam" target="_blank">drug overdoses</a>, and countless other unrelated causes as possible cases of vaccine injury.</p><p>As Beth Mole wrote for <em><a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/09/covid-shot-access-could-tighten-rfk-jr-may-claim-they-cause-child-deaths/" target="_blank">ARS Technica</a>, </em>"The reports are completely unverified upon submission, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff follow up on serious reports to try to substantiate claims and assess if they were actually caused by a vaccine. They rarely are."</p><p>Nevertheless, HHS officials plan to use these VAERS reports on pediatric deaths in a presentation to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) next week as the panel considers revising federal vaccine guidelines.</p><p>One person familiar with the matter told the <em>Post</em> that HHS officials attempted to interview some of the families who claimed their child died from the vaccine, but it is unclear how many were consulted and what other information was used to verify their claims.</p><p>In June, Kennedy <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-rfk-jr-vaccine-panel" target="_blank">purged</a> that panel of many top vaccine experts, replacing them with prominent anti-vaccine activists, after previously promising during his confirmation hearing to keep the panel intact.</p><p>The Food and Drug Administration under Kennedy has already <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/fda-covid-vaccine" target="_blank">limited</a> access to the Covid-19 vaccine. Last month, it authorized the vaccines only for those 65 and over who are known to be at risk of serious illness from Covid-19 infections. </p><p>While the vaccine is technically available to others, the updated guidance has created <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/08/covid-surge-vaccine-restrictions" target="_blank">significant barriers</a>, such as the potential requirement of a doctor's prescription and out-of-pocket payment, making it much harder for many to receive the shot.</p><p>The <em>Post</em> reports that ACIP is considering restricting access to the vaccination further, by recommending it only for those older than 75. It is weighing multiple options for those 74 and younger—potentially requiring them to consult with their doctor first, or not recommending it at all unless they have a preexisting condition.</p><p>Prior to the wide availability of Covid-19 vaccinations beginning in 2021, the illness <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/fda-covid-vaccine" target="_blank">killed</a> over 350,000 people in the US. And while the danger of death from Covid-19 does increase with age, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/#SexAndAge" target="_blank">CDC data</a> shows that from 2020 to 2023, nearly 47% of the over 1.1 million deaths from the illness occurred in people under 75.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths" target="_blank">World Health Organization</a>, the US reported 822 deaths from Covid over a 28-day period in July and August this year, vastly more deaths than anywhere else in the world. CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/acip/downloads/slides-2025-06-25-26/04-Meyer-COVID-508.pdf" target="_blank">data</a> reported to ACIP in June shows that Covid deaths were lower among all age groups—including children—who received the mRNA vaccine.</p><p>Nicole Brewer, one of the vaccine advisers eliminated by Kennedy, lamented that Kennedy and his new appointees are ignoring the dangers of Covid-19 while amplifying the comparatively much lower risk posed by vaccines.</p><p>"They are leveraging this platform to share untruths about vaccines to scare people," she told the Post. “The U.S. government is now in the business of vaccine misinformation.”</p><p>ACIP is also reportedly mulling the rollback of guidelines for other childhood vaccines for deadly diseases like measles, Hepatitis B, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).</p><p>While ACIP's guidelines are not legally binding, the<em> Post</em> writes that its meeting next week "is critical because the recommendations determine whether insurers must pay for the immunizations, pharmacies can administer them, and doctors are willing to offer them."</p><p>"If you haven't gotten your updated Covid vaccine by now, book an appointment fast before next week's ACIP meeting," <a href="https://x.com/gorskon/status/1966858547511402949" target="_blank">warned</a> Dr. David Gorski, the editor of the blog <em>Science-Based Medicine</em>. "After that, you might not be able to get one."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 01:24:46 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/kennedy-may-limit-covid-vaccine</guid><category>Centers for disease control and prevention</category><category>Covid-19</category><category>Food and drug administration</category><category>Robert f kennedy jr</category><category>Vaccines</category><category>Vaers</category><category>World health organization</category><category>Public health</category><dc:creator>Stephen Prager</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-health-food-politics.jpg?id=61342033&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>New 'Thought Policing' Bill May Let Rubio Strip Passports from US Citizens Over Political Speech</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/rubio-thought-policing-bill</link><description><![CDATA[
  69. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-politics-vance.jpg?id=60543901&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C10%2C0%2C344"/><br/><br/><p>Free speech advocates are sounding the alarm about a bill in the US House of Representatives that they fear could allow Secretary of State Marco Rubio to strip US citizens of their passports based purely on political speech.</p><p>The bill, introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), will come up for a hearing on Wednesday. According to <em><a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/13/marco-rubio-revoke-us-passports-terrorism/" target="_blank">The Intercept</a></em>:</p><blockquote>Mast’s new bill claims to target a narrow set of people. One section grants the secretary of state the power to revoke or refuse to issue passports for people who have been convicted—or merely charged—of material support for terrorism...<br/><br/>The other section sidesteps the legal process entirely. Rather, the secretary of state would be able to deny passports to people whom they determine “has knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”</blockquote><p>Rubio has previously boasted of stripping the visas and green cards from several immigrants based purely on their peaceful expression of pro-Palestine views, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/03/10/mahmoud-khalil-palestine-columbia-immigration-deport/" target="_blank">describing</a> them as "Hamas supporters."</p><p>These include Columbia protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after Rubio voided his green card; and Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts student whose visa Rubio revoked after she co-wrote an op-ed calling for her school to divest from Israel.</p><p>Mast—a former soldier for the Israel Defense Forces who once <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/our-leaders-and-media-have-totally-normalized-anti-palestinian-racism" target="_blank">stated</a> that babies were "not innocent Palestinian civilians"—has previously called for "kicking terrorist sympathizers out of our country," speaking about the Trump administration's attempts to deport Khalil, who was never convicted or even charged with support for a terrorist group.</p><p>Critics have argued that the bill has little reason to exist other than to allow the Secretary of State to unilaterally strip passports from people without them actually having been convicted of a crime.</p><p>As Kia Hamadanchy, a senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, noted in <em>The Intercept</em>, there is little reason to restrict people convicted of terrorism or material support for terrorism, since—if they were guilty—they'd likely be serving a long prison sentence and incapable of traveling anyway.</p><p>“I can’t imagine that if somebody actually provided material support for terrorism, there would be an instance where it wouldn’t be prosecuted—it just doesn’t make sense,” he said.</p><p>Journalist Zaid Jilani <a href="https://x.com/ZaidJilani/status/1966884930790608967" target="_blank">noted on X</a> that "judges can already remove a passport over material support for terrorism, but the difference is you get due process. This bill would essentially make Marco Rubio judge, jury, and executioner."</p><p>The bill does contain a clause allowing those stripped of their passports to appeal to Rubio. But, as Hamadanchy notes, the decision is up to the secretary alone, "who has already made this determination." He said that for determining who is liable to have their visa stripped, "There's no standard set. There’s nothing."</p><p>As Seth Stern, the director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, noted in <em><a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/13/marco-rubio-revoke-us-passports-terrorism/" target="_blank">The Intercept</a></em>, the language in Mast's bill is strikingly similar to that found in the so-called <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/nonprofit-killer-bill-removed" target="_blank">"nonprofit killer"</a> provision that Republicans attempted to pass in July's "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act. That provision, which was ultimately struck from the bill, would have allowed the Treasury Secretary to unilaterally strip nonprofit status from anything he deemed to be a "terrorist-supporting organization."</p><p>Stern said Mast's bill would allow for "thought policing at the hands of one individual."</p><p>“Marco Rubio has claimed the power to designate people terrorist supporters based solely on what they think and say,” he said, "even if what they say doesn’t include a word about a terrorist organization or terrorism."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 13 Sep 2025 20:35:50 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/rubio-thought-policing-bill</guid><category>Brian mast</category><category>Due process</category><category>Green cards</category><category>Immigration</category><category>Israel</category><category>Marco rubio</category><category>Nonprofits</category><category>Palestine</category><category>Passports</category><category>State department</category><category>Terrorism</category><category>Us house of representatives</category><category>Visas</category><category>Free speech</category><dc:creator>Stephen Prager</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/us-politics-vance.jpg?id=60543901&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Miller Says He and Trump Will Use Law Enforcement to 'Dismantle' the Left After Kirk Shooting</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/stephen-miller-dismantle-the-left</link><description><![CDATA[
  70. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/white-house-deputy-chief-of-staff-stephen-miller-in-a-fox-news-appearance-days-after-the-assassination-of-charlie-kirk-on-septe.png?id=61600207&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C73%2C0%2C77"/><br/><br/><p><em></em>White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller vowed Friday that he and President Donald Trump would use this week's assassination of  Charlie Kirk to "dismantle" the organized left using state power.</p><p>In a <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1966703759737647439" target="_blank">rant</a> on <em>Fox News</em>, Miller—the architect of Trump's mass roundups and deportations of immigrants—shouted that the best way to honor Kirk's memory was to carry out a political purge against the left, which he called a "domestic terrorism movement in this country."</p><p>Miller provided few details on what specific left-wing figures or groups he believed were stoking this violence. He claimed the left was waging "doxxing campaigns" against right-wing figures, though he cited no specific examples.</p><p>He did, however, cite many examples of harsh, but nevertheless First Amendment-protected, speech that he considered an incitement to violence, including that "the left calls people enemies of the republic, calls them fascists, says they're Nazis, says they're evil," and claimed that many people online were "celebrating" Kirk's assassination.</p><p>"The last message that Charlie Kirk gave to me before he joined his creator in heaven," Miller said, was, "that we have to dismantle and take on the radical left organizations in this country that are fomenting violence, and we are going to do that."</p><p>"Under President Trump's leadership," Miller vowed to shut down these unspecified leftist groups.</p><p>"I don't care how," he said. "It could be a RICO charge, a conspiracy charge, conspiracy against the United States, insurrection. But we are going to do what it takes to dismantle the organizations and the entities that are fomenting riots, that are doxxing, that are trying to inspire terrorism, that are committing acts of wanton violence."</p><p>RICO refers to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which the government has traditionally used to prosecute organized crime groups. Trump <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/trump-says-liberal-philanthropist-george-soros-should-face-rico-investigation/" target="_blank">later said</a> one of his targets for these charges may be the billionaire liberal donor George Soros, the owner of the Open Society Foundations nonprofit, whom Trump accused of funding "riots," a charge Soros denied.</p><p>Miller did not limit his call to destroying those who commit crimes. He also spoke of those "spreading this evil hate," telling them, "You will live in exile. Because the power of law enforcement under President Trump's leadership will be used to find you, will be used to take away your money, to take away your power, and if you've broken the law, to take away your freedom."</p><p>An official White House account on X reposted a clip of Miller's comments calling for the "dismantling" of left-wing organizations:</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1966703759737647439">
  71. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  72.        <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1966703759737647439"></a>
  73. </blockquote>
  74. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>"Trump signaled he intended to use Kirk's shooting as a pretext for a broad crackdown on the left," <a href="https://x.com/JHWeissmann/status/1966840061338485087" target="_blank">said</a> Jordan Weissman, a journalist at <em>The Argument</em>. "Here's Stephen Miller being much more explicit. He's talking about RICO and terrorism charges, echoing right-wing influencers."</p><p>Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, meanwhile, <a href="https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1966690983443071066" target="_blank">pointed out</a> the irony of the threat coming from Miller, noting that he "routinely slanders his political opponents with vile language that treats disagreement as if it’s treason."</p><p>Little is still known about what, if any, political ideology precisely motivated Kirk's alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/charlie-kirk-murder-suspect" target="_blank">apprehended</a> in Utah on Friday. Robinson was not affiliated with any political party, and the scrawlings he left behind at the scene of the crime contain a mishmash of hyper-online but only vaguely political symbols and phrases.</p><p>But even before the suspect had been identified or apprehended, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/charlie-kirk-and-trump" target="_self">efforts had begun</a> on the right to use Kirk's murder as an excuse to crack down on their left-wing enemies. In an ominous speech Thursday night, Trump blamed the shooting on the "radical left," saying it was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now."</p><p>On <em>Fox News</em> Friday, Trump indicated that he was extending this dragnet to anyone who has expressed harsh words for figures on the right. The president said:</p><blockquote>For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country and must stop right now. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges and law enforcement officials.</blockquote><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="df7da46f115cb58763ce4dd4e52a6f9d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="f7300" loading="lazy" src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/graphic-by-the-economist-u00a0data-from-the-prosecution-project.png?id=61600108&width=980"/><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">(Graphic by <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/09/12/is-radical-left-violence-really-on-the-rise-in-america" target="_blank">The Economist</a>, data from <a href="https://theprosecutionproject.org/" target="_blank">the Prosecution Project</a>)</small></p><p>The portrayal of the left as a unique "national security threat" is not borne out by data. On Friday, <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/09/12/is-radical-left-violence-really-on-the-rise-in-america" target="_blank"><em>The Economist</em></a> published an analysis of data from the <a href="https://theprosecutionproject.org/" target="_blank">Prosecution Project,</a> an open-source database that catalogues crimes that seek "a socio-political change or to communicate."</p><p>The findings reaffirm what has been found in <a href="https://www.start.umd.edu/publication/comparison-political-violence-left-wing-right-wing-and-islamist-extremists-united" target="_blank">previous</a> <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/adl-data-shows-extremist-related-murders-set-increase-2025-despite-third" target="_blank">studies</a>: That "extremists on both left and right commit violence, although more incidents appear to come from right-leaning attackers."</p><p>During the same <em>Fox</em> interview, when a host noted the prevalence of right-wing extremism, Trump <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/200410/trump-issued-unnerving-threat-liberals" target="_blank">said</a>: "I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. They’re saying, ‘We don’t want these people coming in. We don’t want you burning our shopping centers. We don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.’”<span></span></p><p>Trump concluded: “The radicals on the left are the problem.”</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1966480377368735856">
  75. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  76.        <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1966480377368735856"></a>
  77. </blockquote>
  78. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Meanwhile, virtually all prominent figures and groups on the left—from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/progressives-condemn-kirk-assassination" target="_self">politicians</a> like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/charlie-kirk-assassination" target="_self">writers</a> for left-wing publications like <em>Jacobin</em> or <em>The Nation </em>to activist groups like Public Citizen, <a href="https://x.com/MoveOn/status/1965866210941346245" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MoveOn</a>, the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-statement-on-the-death-of-charlie-kirk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ACLU</a>, and <a href="https://indivisible.org/statements/indivisible-condemns-attack-charlie-kirk-political-violence-has-no-place-democracy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Indivisible</a>—have unequivocally condemned violence against Kirk, even while repudiating his views.</p><p>"Trump explicitly threatened to use the state to target anyone he and MAGA scapegoat for Kirk's murder," <a href="https://x.com/GregTSargent/status/1966835621949042921" target="_blank">said</a> <em>New Republic </em>writer Greg Sargeant. "We really could see Stephen Miller and Kash Patel use the FBI for 60s-style domestic persecution."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 13 Sep 2025 17:41:06 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/stephen-miller-dismantle-the-left</guid><category>Domestic terrorism</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Free speech</category><category>Political violence</category><category>Rico</category><category>Stephen miller</category><category>Charlie kirk</category><dc:creator>Stephen Prager</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/white-house-deputy-chief-of-staff-stephen-miller-in-a-fox-news-appearance-days-after-the-assassination-of-charlie-kirk-on-septe.png?id=61600207&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>In 'Latest Pro-Polluter Move,' Trump EPA to End Emissions Data Collection</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/greenhouse-gas-reporting</link><description><![CDATA[
  79. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/phillips-66-oil-refinery-from-ken-malloy-harbor-regional-park.jpg?id=56530290&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C291%2C0%2C1336"/><br/><br/><p>Citing US President Donald Trump's anti-climate executive actions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Friday unveiled a proposal to end a program that requires power plants, refineries, landfills, and more to report their emissions.</p><p>While Zeldin <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-proposal-end-burdensome-costly-greenhouse-gas-reporting-program-saving-24" target="_blank">claimed</a> that "the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality," experts and climate advocates emphasized the importance of the data collection, which began in 2010.</p><p>"President Trump promised Americans would have the cleanest air on Earth, but once again, Trump's EPA is taking actions that move us further from that goal," Joseph Goffman, who led the EPA Office of Air and Radiation during the Biden administration, said in a statement from the  Environmental Protection Network, a group for former agency staff.</p><p>"Cutting the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program blinds Americans to the facts about climate pollution. Without it, policymakers, businesses, and communities cannot make sound decisions about how to cut emissions and protect public health," he explained.<br/></p><p>As <em>The New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/climate/epa-emissions-data-collection-halt.html" target="_blank">reported</a>:</p><blockquote>For the past 15 years, the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program has collected data from about 8,000 of the country's largest industrial facilities. That information has helped guide numerous decisions on federal policy and has been shared with the United Nations, which has required developed countries to submit tallies of their emissions.<br/><br/>In addition, private companies often rely on the program's data to demonstrate to investors that their efforts to cut emissions are working. And communities often use it to determine whether local facilities are releasing air pollution that threatens public health.</blockquote><p>"By hiding this information from the public, Administrator Zeldin is denying Americans the ability to see the damaging results of his actions on climate pollution, air quality, and public health," Goffman said. "It's a further addition to the deliberate blockade against future action on climate change—and yet another example of the administration putting polluters before people's health."</p><p>Sierra Club's director of climate policy and advocacy, Patrick Drupp, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2025/09/sierra-club-statement-trump-epa-proposal-eliminate-critical-greenhouse-gas" target="_blank">stressed</a> Friday that "EPA cannot avoid the climate crisis by simply burying its head in the sand as it baselessly cuts off its main source of greenhouse gas emissions data."</p><p>"The agency has provided no defensible reason to cancel the program; this is nothing more than EPA's latest action to deny the reality of climate change and do everything it can to put the fossil fuel industry and corporate polluters before people," he added. "The Sierra Club will oppose this proposal every step of the way.”</p><p>Margie Alt, director of the Climate Action Campaign, similarly said that "the Trump administration's latest pro-polluter move to eliminate the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is just another brazen step in their Polluters First agenda."</p><p>Responding to the administration's claim that the proposal would save businesses up to $2.4 billion in regulatory costs, Alt said that "under the guise of saving Americans money, this is an attempt on the part of Trump, Lee Zeldin, and their polluter buddies to hide the ball and avoid responsibility for the deadly, dangerous, and expensive pollution they produce."</p><p>"If they succeed, the nation's biggest polluters will spew climate-wrecking pollution without accountability," she warned. "The idea that tracking pollution does 'nothing to improve air quality' is absurd," she added. "If you don't measure it, you can't manage it. Hiding information and allowing fossil fuel companies to avoid accountability are the true goals of this rule."</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreifzfqknesjirokaaqbwbbgwf7affmfrwulfgbvoe24qykx4khumbq" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode="system" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:jh7thssz4tjewyvb7hjbp32r/app.bsky.feed.post/3lyoeq3v5ik2r">The Trump admin is now proposing to kill the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which since 2010 has required 8,000+ coal plants, refineries, and factories to report their climate pollution.Without it, polluters get a free pass.No reporting = no accountability.<br/>— Climate Action Now (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jh7thssz4tjewyvb7hjbp32r?ref_src=embed">@climateactapp.bsky.social</a>) <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jh7thssz4tjewyvb7hjbp32r/post/3lyoeq3v5ik2r?ref_src=embed">September 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js"></script></div><p>BlueGreen Alliance executive director Jason Walsh declared that "the Trump administration continues to prove it does not care about the American people and their basic right to breathe clean air. This flies in the face of the EPA's core mission—to protect the environment and public health."</p><p>"The proposal is wildly unpopular with even industry groups speaking against it because they know the value of having this emissions data available," he noted. "Everybody in this country deserves to know the air quality in their community and how their lives can be affected when they live near high-emitting facilities."</p><p>“Knowledge is power and—in this case—health," he concluded. "The administration shouldn't be keeping people in the dark about the air they and their neighbors are breathing."</p><p>This proposal from Zeldin came a day after the EPA <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/epa-pfas-rollback" target="_blank">moved</a> to reverse rules protecting people from unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called "forever chemicals," in US drinking water, provoking similar criticism. Earthjustice attorney Katherine O'Brien said that his PFAS decision "prioritizes chemical industry profits and utility companies' bottom line over the health of children and families across the country."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2025 23:39:43 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/greenhouse-gas-reporting</guid><category>Air pollution</category><category>Bluegreen alliance</category><category>Climate action campaign</category><category>Greenhouse gas reporting program</category><category>Lee zeldin</category><category>Public health</category><category>Sierra club</category><category>Us environmental protection agency</category><category>Climate emergency</category><dc:creator>Jessica Corbett</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/phillips-66-oil-refinery-from-ken-malloy-harbor-regional-park.jpg?id=56530290&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'We Took the Gloves Off': Former Israeli Military Chief Admits 220,000 Gaza Casualties</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/ex-idf-chief-admits-gaza-casualties</link><description><![CDATA[
  80. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/palestinians-killed-by-israel-are-wrapped-in-shrouds.jpg?id=56527045&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C1141%2C0%2C1637"/><br/><br/><p>Belying persistent efforts by Israel and its defenders to deny the staggering number of Palestinians killed during the 23-month Gaza genocide, the general who led the Israel Defense Forces during most of the war acknowledged this week that around 220,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded.</p><p>Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi—who stepped down in March after leading the IDF since January 2023—<a href="https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/h1i4qhyjlx" target="_blank">told</a> residents of Ein Habor in southern Israel earlier this week that "over 10%" of Gaza's population of approximately 2.2 million "were killed or injured" since October 2023.</p><p>"This is not a gentle war, we took the gloves off from the first minute" Halevi said, adding that "not once" has any legal authority "limited" his wartime conduct.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1966559078676611196">
  81. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  82.        <a href="https://twitter.com/DalrympleWill/status/1966559078676611196"></a>
  83. </blockquote>
  84. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Following the October 7 attack, the IDF <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-gaza-bombing.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dramatically loosened</a> its rules of engagement, effectively allowing an unlimited number of civilians to be killed when targeting a single Hamas member, no matter how low-ranking.</p><p>The IDF’s use of massive ordnance, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/bombing-gaza" target="_self">including</a> US-supplied 1,000- and 2,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs capable of leveling entire city blocks, and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-civilian-casualties-2666414736" target="_self">utilization of artificial intelligence</a> to select targets has resulted in staggering numbers of civilian deaths, including numerous instances of dozens or more people being <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-bomb-refugee-camp" target="_blank">massacred</a> in single strikes.</p><p>Halevi insisted that "we are doing everything in accordance with international law."</p><p>The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague disagrees, having <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/icc-arrest-warrant-netanyahu" target="_blank">issued warrants for the arrest</a> of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes including <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/famine-expert-israel-s-starvation-of-gaza-most-minutely-designed-and-controlled-since-wwii" target="_blank">forced starvation</a> and murder. Israel's conduct in the war is also the subject of an International Court of Justice (ICJ) <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/south-africa-icj-genocide-israel" target="_blank">genocide case</a> filed by South Africa and supported by around two dozen nations.</p><p>Halevi's admission tracks with official Gaza Health Ministry figures showing at least 228,815 people killed or wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza. GHM also says that around 9,000 people are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath rubble. Experts—including the authors of multiple peer-reviewed studies in the prestigious British medical journal <em>The Lancet</em>—<a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/lancet-gaza-death-toll" target="_blank">assert</a> that the actual death toll in Gaza is much higher than reported.</p><p>The remarks by Halevi come less than a month after a <a href="https://www.972mag.com/israeli-intelligence-database-83-percent-civilians-militants/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">joint investigation</a> by Israeli journalist and filmmaker Yuval Abraham of <em>+972 Magazine</em> and <em>Local Call</em> and <em>Guardian</em> senior international affairs correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/civilian-deaths-in-gaza-2673907835" target="_blank">revealed</a> that, as of May, 5 in 6 Palestinians—or 83%—killed by the IDF through the first 19 months of the war were civilians. The report, which drew from classified IDF intelligence data, blew the lid off of Israeli government claims of a historically low civilian-to-combatant kill ratio.</p><p>Responding to Halevi's admission, <em>Drop Site News</em> national security and foreign affairs reporter Murtaza Hussain <a href="https://x.com/MazMHussain/status/1966576461818540199" target="_blank">said</a> on social media that he is "looking forward to the contortions of people whose paychecks are dependent on denying that any of this is the case."</p><p>Israeli officials and media, along with their supportive US counterparts during both the Biden and Trump administrations, have generally <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-death-toll" target="_blank">cast doubt</a> or <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/world/hamas-casualty-numbers-are-statistically-impossible-says-data-science-professor-rc0tzedc" target="_blank">outright denied</a> GHM figures—which have been <a href="https://www.mekomit.co.il/%d7%94%d7%a6%d7%91%d7%90-%d7%91%d7%93%d7%a7-%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%a6%d7%90-%d7%a9%d7%93%d7%99%d7%95%d7%95%d7%97%d7%99-%d7%94%d7%94%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%92%d7%99%d7%9d-%d7%91%d7%9e%d7%a9%d7%a8%d7%93-%d7%94%d7%91/" target="_blank">found</a> to be <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2024/10/13/why-the-gaza-health-ministry-s-death-count-is-considered-reliable_6729264_8.html" target="_blank">reliable</a> by the IDF, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-officials-have-growing-confidence-in-death-toll-reports-from-gaza-b3b5183a" target="_blank">US officials</a>, and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-death-toll-2668700991" target="_blank">researchers</a>—by linking them to Hamas. This comes in addition to widespread Israeli and US denials of Israel's forced famine and starvation deaths and IDF war crimes in Gaza.</p><p>However, there have been rare instances of frankness, including when Barbara Leaf, a senior State Department official during the Biden administration, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-death-toll-2666221271" target="_blank">said</a> that Gaza casualties could be "even higher than are being cited." Biden-era State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller <a href="https://x.com/upholdreality/status/1810821190484644274" target="_blank">also admitted</a> that the Gaza death toll "could very well be more" than GHM reported, even as he <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/former-top-biden-spox-admits-israel-sabotaged-ceasefire-deals-as-us-blamed-hamas/" target="_blank">lied to the public</a> about who was thwarting ceasefire efforts. <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2025 23:37:41 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/ex-idf-chief-admits-gaza-casualties</guid><category>Benjamin netanyahu</category><category>Civilian casualties</category><category>Gaza health ministry</category><category>Genocide</category><category>Herzi halevi</category><category>International court of justice</category><category>International criminal court</category><category>Israel</category><category>Israel defense forces</category><category>Matthew miller</category><category>Palestine</category><category>Yoav gallant</category><category>Gaza</category><dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/palestinians-killed-by-israel-are-wrapped-in-shrouds.jpg?id=56527045&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>'Unconstitutional Power Grab': Missouri Voters Sue After GOP Passes Rigged Map</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-map</link><description><![CDATA[
  85. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/missouri-sen-doug-beck-d-1-speaks-during-a-press-conference-about-gerrymandering.jpg?id=61597910&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C183%2C0%2C159"/><br/><br/><p>Missouri voters <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/wise-v-state-of-missouri?document=Petition-for-Injunctive-and-Declaratory-Relief" target="_blank">sued</a> on Friday after GOP state legislators sent a new congressional map, rigged for Republicans at the request of US President Donald Trump, to Gov. Mike Kehoe's desk.</p><p>Republicans' pending map for the 2026 midterm elections targets the 5th Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. Voters from the district, including Missouri Workers Center leader Terrence Wise, launched the legal challenge, represented by the Campaign Legal Center along with the state and national ACLU.</p><p>"Kansas City has been home for me my entire adult life," said Wise. "Voting is an important tool in our toolbox, so that we have the freedom to make our voices heard through a member of Congress who understands Kansas City's history of racial and economic segregation along the <a href="https://martincitytelegraph.com/2020/06/30/dissecting-the-troost-divide-and-racial-segregation-in-kansas-city/" target="_blank">Troost Divide</a>, and represents our needs. If our communities are needlessly split by these new lines, we would no longer see our strong values reflected in the priorities of our congressional representatives."</p><p>Marc Elias, the founder of <em></em><em>Democracy Docket</em> and an elections attorney for Democrats, also <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/marcelias.bsky.social/post/3lygntljcm226" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">repeatedly</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/marcelias.bsky.social/post/3lym3tg6v4c2n" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">vowed</a> this week that "if and when the GOP enacts this map, Missouri will be sued."</p><p class="pull-quote">"Missouri Republicans have ignored the demands of their constituents in order to follow the demands of a power-hungry administration in Washington."</p><p>The governor called a special session for the map after Texas Republicans successfully <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/texas-map" target="_blank">redrew</a> their congressional districts to appease Trump last month. Kehoe <a href="https://x.com/GovMikeKehoe/status/1966586963365900444" target="_blank">said</a> on social media Friday that "the Missouri FIRST Map has officially passed the Missouri Senate and is now headed to my desk, where we will review the legislation and sign it into law soon."<br/></p><p>Former US Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., who now leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, <a href="https://democraticredistricting.com/eric-holder-statement-on-missouri-senate-passage-of-republicans-extreme-gerrymander/" target="_blank">warned</a> in a statement that "Missouri is now poised to join North Carolina and Texas as among the most egregiously gerrymandered states in the nation. Missouri Republicans have ignored the demands of their constituents in order to follow the demands of a power-hungry administration in Washington."</p><p>"Missouri Republicans rejected a similar gerrymander just three years ago," Holder pointed out. "But now they have caved to anti-democracy politicians and powerful special interests in Washington who ordered them to rig the map. These same forces ripped away healthcare from millions of Americans and handed out a tax cut to the very wealthy."</p><p>"Republicans in Congress and the White House are terrified of a system where both parties can compete for the House majority, and instead seek a system that shields them from accountability at the ballot box," he added. "Missourians will not have fair and effective representation under this new, truly shameful gerrymander. It is not only legally indefensible, it is also morally wrong."</p><p>As <em>The Kansas City Star</em> <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article312066639.html#campaignName=kansascity_breaking_newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a>, Democrats, who hold just 10 of the Missouri Senate's 34 seats, "attempted to block the legislation from coming to a vote through multiple filibusters," but "Republicans deployed a series of rarely used procedural maneuvers to shut down the filibusters and force a vote," ultimately passing the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-redistricting-map" target="_blank">House-approved</a> bill 21-11 on Friday.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1966579769165725905">
  86. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  87.        <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraAnnSTL/status/1966579769165725905"></a>
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  89. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>"What we're seeing in Jefferson City isn't just a gerrymander, it's a dangerous precedent," <a href="https://x.com/RayReedMO/status/1966575647918076197" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> Missouri state Rep. Ray Reed (D-83), who <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-congressional-map" target="_self">engaged</a> in a sit-in at the House to protest the bill. "Our institutions only work when we respect the process. Skipping debate, shutting out voices, and following orders from Donald Trump undermines the very foundation of our democracy."</p><p>Cleaver <a href="https://x.com/repcleaver/status/1966598937290125724" target="_blank">said</a> in a Friday statement that he was "deeply disappointed" with the state Legislature, and he knows "the people of Missouri share in that disappointment."</p><p>"Despite tens of thousands of Missourians taking the time to call their state lawmakers and travel to Jefferson City to voice their opposition," Cleaver said, "Republicans in the Missouri Legislature followed the marching orders dictated by power brokers in DC and took the unprecedented step of enacting mid-decade redistricting without an updated census."<br/></p><p>"I want to be very clear to those who are frustrated by today's outcome: This fight is far from over," he added. "Together, in the courts and in the streets, we will continue pushing to ensure the law is upheld, justice prevails, and this unconstitutional gerrymander is defeated."</p><p>In addition to court challenges, the new congressional map is also the target of People NOT Politicians, a group behind a ballot measure that aims to overturn it.</p><p>"This is nothing less than an unconstitutional power grab—a blatant attempt to rig the 2026 elections before a single vote is cast," Elsa Rainey, a spokesperson for the group, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/12/missouri-map-redistricting-midterms-00557990" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> after the Senate vote. "It violates Missouri law, slices apart communities, and strikes at the core of our democratic system."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1966596311840362892">
  90. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  91.        <a href="https://twitter.com/RedistrictNet/status/1966596311840362892"></a>
  92. </blockquote>
  93. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>During Kehoe's special session, Missouri Republicans also passed an attack on citizen initiative petitions that, if approved by voters, will make it harder to pass future amendments to the state constitution—an effort inspired by GOP anger over progressive victories at the ballot box on abortion rights, Medicaid, and recreational marijuana.</p><p>"By calling this special session and targeting citizens' right to access the ballot measure process, Missouri's governor and his allies in the state Legislature are joining a growing national movement dedicated to silencing citizens and undermining our democracy," said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project.</p><p>The Fairness Project, which advocates for passing progressive policy via direct democracy, earlier this week <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/direct-democracy" target="_blank">published</a> a report detailing how "extremist" legislators across the United States are ramping up efforts to dismantle the ballot measure process.</p><p>"Sadly, what we are seeing in Missouri is nothing new, but we as Americans should all be horrified by what is happening in Jefferson City and condemn the attempts by this governor and his allies in the Legislature to further erode our cherished democracy," Hall said Friday. "With this special session, extremist politicians in Missouri have declared war on direct democracy and vowed to silence the very citizens they have sworn to represent."<br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:20:51 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-map</guid><category>Aclu</category><category>Campaign legal center</category><category>Democracy</category><category>Donald trump</category><category>Election 2026</category><category>Emanuel cleaver</category><category>Eric holder</category><category>Fairness project</category><category>Mike kehoe</category><category>Missouri</category><category>National democratic redistricting committee</category><category>Republican party</category><category>Gerrymandering</category><dc:creator>Jessica Corbett</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/missouri-sen-doug-beck-d-1-speaks-during-a-press-conference-about-gerrymandering.jpg?id=61597910&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Trump EPA Seeks to Reverse Rules Protecting Drinking Water From Carcinogenic 'Forever Chemicals'</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/epa-pfas-rollback</link><description><![CDATA[
  94. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-child-pours-tap-water-into-a-glass.jpg?id=56519260&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C554%2C0%2C1380"/><br/><br/><p>Public health and environment defenders on Friday condemned the Trump administration's announcement that it will no longer uphold Environmental Protection Agency rules that protect people from unsafe levels of so-called "forever chemicals" in the nation's drinking water.</p><p>In addition to no longer defending rules meant to protect people from dangerous quantities of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—called forever chemicals because they do not biodegrade and accumulate in the human body—the EPA is asking a federal court to toss out current limits that protect drinking water from four types of PFAS: PFNA, PFHxS, GenX, and PFBS.</p><p>The EPA first <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/new-epa-pfas-rules" target="_blank">announced</a> its intent to roll back limits on the four chemicals in May, while vowing to retain maximum limits for two other types of PFAS. The agency said the move is meant to “provide regulatory flexibility and holistically address these contaminants in drinking water.”</p><p>However, critics accuse the EPA and Administrator Lee Zeldin—a former Republican congressman from New York with an abysmal <a href="https://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/lee-zeldin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">14% lifetime rating</a> from the League of Conservation Voters—of trying to circumvent the Safe Drinking Water Act's robust anti-backsliding provision, which bars the EPA from rolling back any established drinking water standard.</p><p>"In essence, EPA is asking the court to do what EPA itself is not allowed to do," Earthjustice said in a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/epa-seeks-to-eliminate-critical-pfas-drinking-water-protections" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>"Administrator Zeldin promised to protect the American people from PFAS-contaminated drinking water, but he’s doing the opposite,”<strong> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/earthjustice" target="_self"></a></strong>Earthjustice attorney Katherine O'Brien alleged. “Zeldin’s plan to delay and roll back the first national limits on these forever chemicals prioritizes chemical industry profits and utility companies’ bottom line over the health of children and families across the country."</p><p><strong></strong>Jared Thompson, a senior attorney with<strong></strong> the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/epa-seeks-to-roll-back-pfas-drinking-water-rules-keeping-millions-exposed-to-toxic-forever-chemicals-in-tap-water" target="_blank">said</a> that "the EPA’s request to jettison rules intended to keep drinking water safe from toxic PFAS forever chemicals is an attempted end run around the protections that Congress placed in the Safe Drinking Water Act."</p><p>"It is also alarming, given what we know about the health harms caused by exposure to these chemicals," Thompson added. "No one wants to drink PFAS. We will continue to defend these commonsense, lawfully enacted standards in court."</p><p>PFAS have myriad uses, from nonstick cookware to waterproof clothing to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/30/egregious-pfas-firefighting-foam-spills-notorious-red-hill-naval-facility-hawaii" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_self">firefighting foam</a>. Increasing use of forever chemicals has resulted in the detection of PFAS in the blood of <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/data-research/facts-stats/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nearly every person</a> in the United States and around the world.</p><p>Approximately half of the U.S. population is drinking PFAS-contaminated water, “including as many as 105 million whose water violates the new standards,” <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/epa-to-repeal-key-protections-against-toxic-forever-chemicals-in-tap-water" target="_self">according to</a> the NRDC, which added that “the EPA has known for decades that PFAS endangers human health, including kidney and testicular cancer, liver damage, and harm to the nervous and reproductive systems.”</p><p>Betsy Southerland, a former director of the Office of Science and Technology in the EPA's Office of Water, said in a statement Friday: </p><blockquote>The impact of these chemicals is clear. We know that this is significant for pregnant women who are drinking water contaminated with <span>PFAS</span>, because it can cause low birth weight in children. We know children have developmental effects from being exposed to it. We know there’s an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer with these chemicals. <br/><br/>Two of the four chemicals targeted in this motion are the ones that we expect to be the most prevalent, and only increasing contamination in the future. With this rollback, those standards would be gone. <br/></blockquote><p>Responding to Thursday's developments, Environmental Advocates NY director of clean water Rob Hayes <a href="https://eany.org/press_release/epas-forever-chemical-rollbacks-put-millions-in-danger/" target="_blank">said</a> that "the EPA’s announcement is a big win for corporate polluters and an enormous loss for New York families."</p><p>"Administrator Zeldin wants to strip clean water protections away from millions of New Yorkers, leaving them at risk of exposure to toxic PFAS chemicals every time they turn on the tap," he added. "New Yorkers will pay the price of this disastrous plan through medical bills—and deaths—tied to kidney cancer, thyroid disease, and other harmful illnesses linked to PFAS."</p><p>While Trump administration officials including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have claimed they want to "make America healthy again" by ending PFAS use, the EPA is apparently moving in the opposite direction. Between April and June of this year, the agency sought approval of four new pesticides considered PFAS under a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.estlett.5c00478" target="_blank">definition</a> backed by experts.</p><p>“What we’re seeing right now is the new generation of pesticides, and it’s genuinely frightening,” Nathan Donley, the environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href="https://civileats.com/2025/09/08/epa-approves-four-new-pesticides-that-qualify-as-pfas/" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Civil Eats </em>earlier this week. “At a time when most industries are transitioning away from PFAS, the pesticide industry is doubling down. They’re firmly in the business of selling PFAS.” <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2025 21:56:13 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/epa-pfas-rollback</guid><category>Center for biological diversity</category><category>Earthjustice</category><category>Environment</category><category>Forever chemicals</category><category>Lee zeldin</category><category>Natural resources defense council</category><category>Pfas</category><category>Pollution</category><category>Public health</category><category>Safe drinking water act</category><category>Us environmental protection agency</category><category>Water</category><category>Trump administration</category><dc:creator>Brett Wilkins</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-child-pours-tap-water-into-a-glass.jpg?id=56519260&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>US Court Lets GOP Defunding of Planned Parenthood Take Effect</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/news/planned-parenthood-medicaid-funding</link><description><![CDATA[
  95. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/protestors-rally-against-restrictive-new-texas-abortion-law-in-austin.jpg?id=56517095&width=6048&height=4024&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>A federal appeals court on Thursday gave the Trump administration the green light to cut off Planned Parenthood from receiving funding from Medicaid. </p><p>As <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/court-allows-trump-administration-end-planned-parenthoods-medicaid-funding-2025-09-11/" target="_blank">reported</a> by <em>Reuters</em>, the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals placed a hold on a preliminary injunction granted by a lower court that had kept Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in place. Planned Parenthood was blocked from receiving Medicaid funding after US President Donald Trump signed the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" into law earlier this year.</p><p>In a statement released after the ruling, Planned Parenthood said that it would result in more than 1.1 million patients being unable to use Medicaid to access needed healthcare services at its clinics.</p><p>"Patients who rely on the essential healthcare that Planned Parenthood health centers provide, can’t plan for their futures, decide where they go for care, or control their lives, bodies, and futures," <a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/the-1st-circuit-jeopardizes-care-for-1-1-million-planned-parenthood-patients-allows-planned-parenthood-defunding-to-go-into-effect" target="_blank">said</a> Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "All because the Trump administration and its backers want to attack Planned Parenthood and shut down health centers."</p><p>Johnson added, however, that she wasn't giving up and said that Planned Parenthood "will continue to fight this unconstitutional law, even though this court has allowed it to impact patients."</p><p>Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, warned that taking away funds from Planned Parenthood would only put more strain on other hospitals and clinics that are already bracing for the negative impact of the GOP's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/medicaid-cuts-impact" target="_blank">Medicaid cuts</a>.</p><p>"When Planned Parenthood health centers are forced to close, pressure mounts on other clinics already stretched thin to provide sexual and reproductive health services," she said. "This cruel decision will disproportionately impact people of color and people living in rural communities and healthcare deserts, who will be left with even fewer options and longer wait times to get the care they need. Any additional barriers to care are both unacceptable and dangerous."</p><p>Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) took to social media to warn that up to 200 Planned Parenthood clinics could close thanks to the loss of Medicaid funding, which she said would have devastating consequences for women's healthcare.</p><p>"How many people will be denied cancer screenings, birth control, and STI testing?" she <a href="https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1966590569775255798" target="_blank">asked</a>. "Millions. It's horrific."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2025 21:25:46 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/news/planned-parenthood-medicaid-funding</guid><category>Abortion</category><category>Elizabeth warren</category><category>Healthcare</category><category>Medicaid</category><category>National abortion federation</category><category>One big beautiful bill act</category><category>Planned parenthood</category><dc:creator>Brad Reed</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/protestors-rally-against-restrictive-new-texas-abortion-law-in-austin.jpg?id=56517095&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Record Number of US Cities, Counties, and States to Raise Minimum Wage in 2023</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/minimum-wage</link><description><![CDATA[
  96. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/workers-advocate-for-20-an-hour-minimum-wage.jpg?id=32387279&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C343%2C0%2C0"/><br/><br/><p>After a decade since the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2012/11/30/166217423/n-y-fast-food-workers-strike-for-better-wages" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>launch</u></a> of the Fight for $15 movement in New York City, a record number of U.S. states and communities are set to raise the minimum wage in the new year.</p><p>From New Year's Eve to New Year's Day, the minimum wage will increase in 23 states and 41 cities and counties, according to a report released Thursday by the National Employment Law Project (NELP). In 40 of those 64 jurisdictions, it will hit or exceed $15 an hour for at least some workers.</p><p class="pull-quote">"The raises we are seeing are a true testament to the power of organizing."</p><p>By the end of 2023, additional increases are planned in five states and 22 localities—with 21 reaching or topping $15 an hour—bringing the total for next year to 86: 27 states and 59 cities and counties, says the report, <u><em>Raises From Coast to Coast in 2023</em></u><em></em>. The totals take into account that multiple increases are planned in Michigan and four local jurisdictions.</p><p>"The raises we are seeing are a true testament to the power of organizing," <a href="https://www.nelp.org/news-releases/record-number-of-cities-states-will-increase-minimum-wages-in-2023/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>said</u></a> Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, in a statement. "These raises were achieved in a variety of ways, from ballot initiatives to statehouses to workers making their demands to employers directly."</p><p>"As these wins continue and we see the real-world impact of higher pay—from <a href="https://www.nelp.org/publication/10-year-legacy-fight-for-15-union-movement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>growing unionization to narrowing racial wealth gaps</u></a>—we encourage lawmakers to go further and raise pay broadly across our economy," Lathrop added.</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1605945501219708930">
  97. <div style="margin:1em 0">\u201cA record 86 cities, counties, & states are raising wages sometime in 2023. (5 jurisdictions are raising\nwages 2x in 2023 & are only counted once in our report.)  These raises are a necessary advancement towards a sustaining #MinimumWage \u270a\u201d</div> — NELP (@NELP)
  98.        <a href="https://twitter.com/NelpNews/status/1605945501219708930">1671722150</a>
  99. </blockquote>
  100. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>As the report details: </p><blockquote>In the 10 years since fast food workers walked out of their jobs demanding a $15 minimum wage and a union, the Fight for $15 worker movement has won minimum wage increases in 28 states and nearly five dozen cities and counties. These victories have led to an estimated $150 billion in additional annual pay for 26 million workers and to the narrowing of the racial wealth gap.<br/>The movement has also put pressure on employers to raise their pay scales, leading… hundreds of businesses, large and small, to raise wages to $15 or more. Among them are corporate giants employing hundreds of thousands of workers from coast to coast, including Amalgamated Bank, Bank of America, Barclays, Best Buy, Charter Communications, Chobani, Chipotle, CVS, Ikea, JP Morgan Chase, LabCorp, Macy's, MetLife PNC, Sam's Club, Southwest Airlines, Synchrony Financial, T- Mobile, Target, Under Armour, USAA, Verizon, Walgreen's, Walmart, and Wells Fargo. </blockquote><p>"The monumental impact of the Fight for $15 is clearly visible in this year's record wage increases as well as those in years past," said NELP executive director Rebecca Dixon. "But in those same 10 years, congressional action to expand worker rights has been limited."</p><p>"While it is encouraging to see boosts to the minimum wage in cities and states across the country, we need federal policy to address the mounting crises brought about by record increases in the cost of living and pandemic recovery," she stressed. "We must pass a higher federal minimum wage—at least $15 an hour—that accounts for rising costs of living and ensures that workers have the ability to support themselves and their families."</p><p>In March 2021, eight members of the Democratic caucus, <u>joined</u> all 50 Republicans in the U.S. Senate to kill legislation that would have established a $15 federal minimum wage, <u>lifting</u> millions of people out of poverty. Among those Democrats was Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who officially <u>declared</u> herself an Independent in recent weeks.</p><p>State-wide <u>polling</u> conducted shortly before that vote last year showed a majority of Arizonans across the political spectrum in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour. In November 2021, the people of Sinema's hometown of Tucson <u>approved</u> a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in Arizona's second-largest city.</p><p>NELP's new report notes that Tucson residents are on track to see a $15 hourly wage by 2025. The city's current rate is $13, but it is set to increase to $13.85 on January 1, with a $10.85 tipped wage—both in line with the state's floor.</p><p>Worker wins from 2022 highlighted in the report include campaigns in Foster City and San Mateo County, California; Hawaii; Nebraska; Tukwila, Washington; and Washington, D.C. </p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1605946400839061504">
  101. <div style="margin:1em 0">\u201cPlus, in the South, underpaid workers are demanding higher wages & stronger labor standards. @RaiseUptheSouth is organizing workers in the service sector throughout the region #OrganizeTheSouth #UnionsForAll\u201d</div> — NELP (@NELP)
  102.        <a href="https://twitter.com/NelpNews/status/1605946400839061504">1671722150</a>
  103. </blockquote>
  104. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>"In 2023 and 2024, the campaigns to watch include an $18 ballot measure in California and possible ballot measures in Arizona, Ohio, and Michigan," the publication points out. </p><p>"On the legislative front, there may be one fair wage campaigns in Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland," the report adds, "as well as efforts to raise the minimum wage in Maryland (to speed up the state's implementation of a $15 minimum wage), Massachusetts (where the minimum will reach $15 in 2023 and there are no inflation adjustments planned for following years), and New York (where the demand is $21.25 by 2026-2027)."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2022 21:43:53 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/minimum-wage</guid><category>#raisethewage</category><category>Workers</category><category>Minimum wage</category><dc:creator>Jessica Corbett</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/workers-advocate-for-20-an-hour-minimum-wage.jpg?id=32387279&amp;width=980"></media:content></item></channel></rss>

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