In 2023, nobody knows how to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2013, Anthony Bourdain did

We’re talking about “what is easily the most contentious piece of real estate in the world. And there’s no hope, none, of ever talking about it without pissing somebody, if not everybody, off.”

Slate

Killers of the Flower Moon Showcases the Power and Plight of Native American Women

One of many poignant lines in Martin Scorsese’s epic new film Killers of the Flower Moon, “This blanket is a target on our backs,” is said in a hushed conversation between Lily Gladstone’s Mollie Burkhart and JaNae Collins’ Rita Smith, who fear for their lives. The highly anticipated film focuses on the brutal murders of the Osage people after oil was discovered on their Oklahoma reservation, making them the richest community per capita in the world. These real-life events took place a century ago, but they bear a shocking similarity to the modern-day Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis.

Teen Vogue

Abortion is on the ballot in November. The outcome will shape 2024.

Republicans hope to prove the legitimacy of “consensus” bans.

Vox

‘This place wanted to be a wetland’: how a farmer turned his fields into a wildlife sanctuary

Birdsong hums over the rumble of Karl Wenner’s truck as it bounces along the dusty trails that weave through his property. For almost 100 years, this farm in southern Oregon grew barley, but now, amid the sprawling fields, there lies a wetland teeming with life.

The Guardian

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators march in downtown San Diego amid growing violence in Israel

Hundreds of people took to the streets in downtown San Diego Saturday afternoon in a show of support for Palestinians amid the growing violence in Israel where casualties continue to mount.

Chanting “Long live Palestine” as they marched up Broadway, signs held aloft while waving the tri-color flag of Palestine, the marchers were part of a protest aimed at persuading elected leaders to press for a ceasefire and an end to what they called the Israeli occupation, said Sarah Farouq, community organizer with the San Diego for Palestine Coalition.

The San Diego Union Tribune

Enough is enough: It’s well past time to fully democratize the U.S. electoral system

The principle of “one person, one vote” rings out upon the American landscape as an essential unifying element of our great democracy, but it is a principle that unfortunately resounds as an ideal rather than reality.

LGBTQ Nation

All that remains: From liquid cremation to mushroom suits, why more people are opting out of burial

Here in the U.S., fewer and fewer of us are choosing to spend our afterlife six feet under. Since 2015, cremation has surpassed traditional burial as the preferred choice for our remains, and the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) estimates that by 2035, a stunning 80% of us will be opting for cremation.

Salon

Judge temporarily blocks Tennessee city from enforcing ban on drag performances on public property

The judge’s order came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project, a nonfprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and has hosted the BoroPride Festival since 2016. The order said the city of Murfreesboro — located about 34 miles (55 kilometers) south of Nashville — and the equality project reached an agreement that the city will not enforce the ordinance during the Oct. 28 festival.

AP News

State Senator Kim Jackson on Making History as the First Openly LGBTQ+ Senator in Georgia

Senator Kim Jackson is many things: a politician, yes, but also a reverend, and the first openly LGBTQ+ state senator in Georgia’s history. Though the pieces of her identity may seem disparate to some, Sen. Jackson doesn’t see it that way. She felt a calling to ministry from a young age, she says, and then, when she was 13, decided running for office was also in her future. That happened when she visited a city council meeting. “I was listening to them make all these decisions about what streets were going to get paved and who was going to get street lights,” Jackson tells Teen Vogue. “And I was like, This is the real deal. I decided right then that I wanted to be an elected official.”

Teen Vogue

This Texas Nonprofit Helps Transgender Youth Get the Health Care They Need

In a recent interview with The Advocate, representatives from the North Texas Transportation Network (NTTN) shared how they are providing essential support to families of transgender and gender-diverse minors adversely affected by Senate Bill 14 in Texas. The legislation, which curtailed health care access for trans minors, prompted the formation of NTTN, an initiative committed to funding out-of-state travel for essential medical appointments.

Advocate

Activists turn backs on U.S. officials as UN-backed human rights review of United States concludes

Dozens of U.S. activists who champion LGBTQ, indigenous, reproductive and other rights and who campaign against discrimination turned their backs Wednesday in a silent protest against what they called insufficient U.S. government responses to their human rights concerns.

The protesters, who came from places as diverse as Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and beyond, led the demonstration before the independent Human Rights Committee as U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor wrapped up a two-day hearing on the United States. It was part of a regular human rights review for all U.N. member countries by the committee.

PBS

How Biden is continuing to cancel student loan debt despite Supreme Court ruling

Although the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness program in late June, his administration has found ways to cancel more than $48 billion in debt since then.

The cancellations have come through existing federal student loan forgiveness programs, which are limited to specific categories of borrowers, such as public-sector workers, people defrauded by for-profit colleges, and borrowers who have paid for at least 20 years.

CNN

The Hispanic Federation’s first out gay president fights for LGBTQ+ Latinx lives

Heading into the presidential election season, Hispanic and Latinx voters are likely to hear a lot about the U.S./Mexico border and LGBTQ+ policies involving minors. But the candidates won’t likely talk about the unique challenges facing Hispanic and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities — challenges like learning English as a second language, increasing ballot access, battling Spanish-language hate and misinformation online, and meeting the needs of trans and queer communities.

LGBTQ Nation

Mitch McConnell backs Biden’s $106bn aid request for Israel and Ukraine

Mitch McConnell offered a strong endorsement on Sunday of the Joe Biden White House’s $106bn aid proposal to Israel and Ukraine, saying he and the president were essentially “in the same place” on the issue.

McConnell, the powerful Republican leader in the Senate, also rebuffed some of his GOP colleagues in the Senate who have called for a package separating assistance for the two countries, saying it would be “a mistake” during an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation.

The Guardian

Venezuelans become the largest nationality for illegal U.S. border crossings

Venezuelans became the largest nationality arrested for illegally crossing the U.S. border, replacing Mexicans for the first time on record, according to figures released Saturday that show September was the second-highest month for arrests of all nationalities.

Venezuelans were arrested 54,833 times by the Border Patrol after entering from Mexico in September, more than double from 22,090 arrests in August and well above the previous monthly high of 33,749 arrests in September 2022.

NPR

Serbian-Americans Unite In DC: Strengthening Ties And Challenging Perceptions

Ambassador Marko Đurić highlighted the challenges confronted by Serbian-Americans, particularly regarding the ongoing tensions in Kosovo. He pointed out that perceptions of Serbia established during the 1990s still persist, making efforts to change the narrative demanding, arduous, and multifaceted.

The Pavlovic Today

‘Like a kidnapping ransom’: Passport scammers exploit Haitian parole applicants

The first thing you need to apply for humanitarian parole in the U.S. is a passport from your home country. That requirement is proving especially difficult if not impossible for many Haitians, as gang violence and political upheaval in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse more than two years ago has left the government in a state of chaos. In January, Haitians were allowed to apply for a Biden administration humanitarian parole program designed to stem the crisis at the southern border by offering an alternative to the dangerous journeys many migrants make by land and sea.

Miami Herald

Supreme Court Delays Redrawing State Congressional Map In Louisiana To Create Second Black District

The Supreme Court has agreed to a postponement of court proceedings that could result in the creation of a second black congressional district in Louisiana.

If implemented, this proposal would provide greater opportunities for black voters to elect their preferred candidate.

UPolitics

Biden Warns Israel Against Being “Consumed” By Rage—But Declines to Call For Ceasefire

President Joe Biden wrapped his visit to Israel on Wednesday with a show of support for the United States ally—along with a measured warning for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate as his government forces lay siege to Gaza. “Justice must be done,” the president said, calling the October 7 Hamas sneak attack “Israel’s 9/11.” “But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it.”

“You are a Jewish state, but you’re also a democracy,” Biden added. “And like the United States, you don’t live by the rules of terrorists. You live by the rule of law.”

Teen Vogue

US eases Venezuela oil sanctions after election deal

The United States is easing sanctions on Venezuela after the South American country’s government and opposition agreed to have next year’s election monitored by international observers.

BBC

An unsanctioned coterie of pro-Israel quasi-lobbyists has descended on D.C.

This past week, an unlikely pair of men sat down for breakfast at the Capitol Hill Club, a Republican gathering site just a stone’s throw from Congress, to plot ways to help Israel.

Politico

Biden walks a tightrope with his support for Israel as his party’s left urges restraint

As expectations grow that Israel will soon launch a ground offensive aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who rule the Gaza Strip, Biden finds himself facing anew the difficult balancing act of demonstrating full-throated support for America’s closest ally in the Middle East while trying to also press the Israelis to act with enough restraint to keep the war from spreading into a broader conflagration.

AP News

US worried about more ‘attacks on our troops’ in Middle East amid Israel-Hamas war: Austin

The U.S. is “concerned” that fighting between Israel and Hamas, in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, could spill over into a broader conflict throughout the Middle East that would imperil American military forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday.

ABC News

US seeks delay of Israeli ground incursion for more time for hostage talks

The Biden administration has pressed Israel to delay its imminent invasion of Gaza to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas and for aid to reach Gaza, according to two sources briefed on the discussions.

CNN

Jeremy Bowen: Joe Biden’s search for a Middle East solution just got harder

Even before the deadly blast at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, Joe Biden’s full-throated support for Israel had convinced Palestinians and millions of other Arabs that the United States was more than simply Israel’s most important supporter. They believed the Americans were also complicit in everything Israel was doing in Gaza, including killing children.

The bitter dispute over who was responsible for the attack will not change many minds. Twelve days of war have ramped up hatred and division.

BBC

‘Glimmer of hope’: Second aid convoy arrives in Gaza; Israel expands attack. Live updates

No world leader has more firmly proclaimed support for Israel in its war against Hamas than President Joe Biden, but the Biden administration is also showing deep commitment to aiding the civilian population of the war-battered Gaza Strip.

USA Today

Zimbabwe struggles to contain spread of cholera outbreak

The government has announced measures to contain the spread of the disease that has infected 5,000 people since February.

AlJazeera

Voters head to polls in Argentina amid more economic gloom

Voters in Argentina cast their ballots on Sunday to vote in a general election during the country’s worst economic crisis in two decades.

The election has shaped up to be a three-way race between candidates who have promised to bring the country back from the brink at a time when the price of basic groceries can fluctuate within hours.

Deutsche Welle

Palestinians under attack as Israeli settler violence surges in the West Bank

According to the UN’s humanitarian office, the week that followed Hamas’s murderous attack was the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since it began reporting fatalities in 2005, with at least 75 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military or settlers, and incidents of settler violence up from an average of three a day to eight.

BBC

Gaza’s War Is Coming to the West Bank, These Palestinian Militants Warn

All eyes are on Gaza as Israel continues its cataclysmic response to Hamas’ horrific attack. But in the West Bank, Palestinians fear the war is already starting to spread

Rolling Stone

Nigerian Electoral Act Changes Proposed to Increase Transparency

Nigerian lawmakers proposed changes to the country’s electoral law to improve transparency after questions were raised about this year’s elections.

Bloomberg

German leaders voice outrage and thousands rally in Berlin in reaction to rising antisemitism

Germany’s chancellor and president strongly denounced a rise in antisemitism in Germany in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in separate appearances Sunday that stressed the same idea that it is unacceptable for such hatred to flourish in the nation that perpetrated the Holocaust.

“It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today — in our country of all places,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. “Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. And every single attack fills me with shame and anger.”

AP News

Is Turkey uniquely positioned to mediate between Palestinians and Israel?

As one of few countries that have contact with both Hamas and Israel, Turkey would like to negotiate a lasting peace.

AlJazeera