What to watch when former President Donald Trump returns to testify in New York civil fraud trial
Former President Donald Trump is returning Monday to testify at his New York civil fraud trial, this time under questioning from his own attorneys in an effort to bolster his defense against allegations he fraudulently inflated the value of his properties.
CNN
‘If this was about money, we’d still be teaching’: inside the longest adjunct strike in US history
The longest strike of adjuncts in US labor history is still ongoing, with academics at Columbia College in Chicago remaining in a fierce dispute over cuts to college courses and a host of complaints over poor working conditions.
The Guardian
State Sen. John Whitmire elected Houston mayor, AP reports
Whitmire ran on a platform of increasing public safety, fixing streets and reducing cronyism at City Hall. He also promised to improve the relationship between Houston and the Republican-led Legislature in Austin. In his victory speech Saturday, Whitmire promised to expand the city’s police force and tackle infrastructure issues with roads and water systems.
The Texas Tribune
Biden’s focus on bashing Trump takes a page from the winning Obama and Bush reelection playbooks
Biden is trying to focus the campaign on former President Donald Trump’s comments and policy proposals, sometimes more than his own. It’s a time-worn strategy of White House incumbents to try to negatively define their rivals in the public’s eyes. In 2012, Obama and his allies did it with Republican Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and current Utah senator. In 2004, President George W. Bush was successful against Democratic nominee John Kerry, then a Massachusetts senator.
AP News
Dems Call Out Attempts to Silence Black and Brown Members of Congress
Representative Rashida Tlaib was quick to point out that it seemed as if Republicans were intentionally targeting people of color.“This censure of Representative Bowman is yet another attempt to silence a person of color in this chamber,” said Tlaib. “They are obsessed with attacking Black and brown members of Congress, but do nothing to help our families thrive. They need to get a grip.”
The Root
How Anti-Zionist American Jews Are Organizing For a Ceasefire in Gaza
Over the past two months, a progressive wing of American Judaism has gained prominence, one defined by mass mobilization against the Israeli government’s unrelenting bombing in Gaza. That intergenerational community – nearly always youth-led, but with those old enough to be Holocaust survivors regularly involved – has faced police pepper spray at the DNC, sat on hunger-strike with Palestinian organizers outside the White House, interrupted politicians at dinner, and shut down transit centers across the country.
Teen Vogue
Casey DeSantis asked everyone to ‘participate’ in Iowa’s caucus. Republicans in the state corrected her.
“We’re asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come, from wherever it might be — North Carolina, South Carolina — and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus. Because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus,” she said.
USA Today
‘We’re Not Going to Solve’ Entire Immigration Problem by Year’s End, Sen. Murphy Tells GOP
“If I were a cynic, I would say that Republicans have decided to tie support for Ukraine to immigration reform because they want Ukraine aid to fail but I’m not a cynic,” Murphy told Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”
The Messenger
The 4 key events that led to UPenn President Liz Magill’s resignation
When Liz Magill was hired to be the 27th leader of the nearly 300-year-old University of Pennsylvania 20 months ago, she was academic royalty. On Saturday, she resigned in disgrace.
CNN
Chinese garlic is a threat to US national security and a ‘severe public health concern,’ senator says
“There is a severe public health concern over the quality and safety of garlic grown in foreign countries—most notably, garlic grown in Communist China,” the senator said in a letter to the Department of Commerce on Wednesday.
Scott urged the department to open an investigation into the security risk posed by all forms of Chinese-imported garlic.
“Whole or separated into constituent cloves, whether or not peeled, chilled, fresh, frozen, provisionally preserved or packed in water or other neutral substance,” Scott wrote.
Business Insider
Alex Jones: Conspiracy theorist returns to X with Andrew Tate repost
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has returned to X – formerly Twitter – by reposting a message by controversial influencer Andrew Tate.
BBC
Trump Doubles Down on Dreams of Being a Dictator
“I said I want to be a dictator for one day. You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill,” the former president said
Rolling Stone
I Covered Joe Manchin for Years. He Might Not Care If He Sinks Joe Biden.
They have good cause to worry: A presidential run would be a fitting capstone for Manchin, who’s built a career around putting his own interests ahead of his party. His brand of centrism has helped him survive West Virginia’s rapid transformation from a blue to red state. But it also helped sow the seeds of the Democratic Party’s demise back home.
Politico
Local elections officials inundated with records requests by rightwing activists
Like many elections officials across the country, Cox has been inundated with Freedom of Information Act and open records requests from rightwing activists who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. That’s forced her and other local officials to spend an unusual amount of time and money providing polling documents to partisan groups – an additional burden as they scramble to prepare for the fraught 2024 presidential election.
The Guardian
DPS appeal halts release of Uvalde shooting records ordered by Texas judge
The files would shed light on the disastrous police response that day, in which officers waited more than an hour to confront the shooter after learning he had an AR-15 style rifle.
The Texas Tribune
Speech police? Supreme Court asked to enter fray on confronting bias on campus.
The complaints funneled into a group of school officials Virginia Tech brought together in 2018 to review and confront bias on campus – sexist jokes, say, or racist name-calling. Known as “bias-response teams,” the groups have proliferated at universities across the nation as schools wrestle with a series of high-profile hate incidents.
Now those efforts are facing First Amendment challenges, including a contentious case pending against Virginia Tech at the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuits have been successful in forcing schools to rewrite what critics call “speech police” policies. Conservatives say these policies intimidate students from speaking their mind.
USA Today
Their stolen land in Orange County was given back. Now they’re ready to heal
As far back as 9,000 years ago, the Acjachemen and Tongva people hunted, fished and foraged for nuts and berries at Bolsa Chica Mesa. This is where they gathered herbs for medicines and held prayer ceremonies. Here, on a raised landmass that overlooks the Pacific Ocean, is where they buried their dead.
Today, descendants of those original inhabitants can call a piece of the mesa their own once again.
Los Angeles
Biden invites Zelenskyy to the White House amid a stepped-up push for Congress to approve more aid
President Joe Biden has invited Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the White House on Tuesday as the U.S. administration steps up the pressure on Congress to provide billions more in aid to Kyiv in its war with Russia.
AP News
Nurse shortages are set to get even worse with mass US visa delays
The U.S. is in the midst of a visa retrogression, when a surge in demand collides with annual caps, jamming up the processing queue. The delays are particularly bad for the main visa category that hospitals use. Today, government officials are only just starting to work on filings made two years ago — right around the time when many hospitals began hiring foreign nurses and applying for their visas.
American Military News
I Thought Taking A Class Taught By Hillary Clinton Would Be Empowering. I Was Wrong.
Together in class and on tape, we acted much like an audience at a late-night talk show, distracted by the cameras and yet immersed in the vanity of the production. We followed an unspoken script where we were both active and passive at once — expected to laugh at certain anecdotes, but not encouraged to raise our hands.
It’s no secret that celebrity professors are thought to be great for universities. A recognizable name and an impressive pedigree like Clinton’s attract valuable attention, bringing in students, donors, funding and opportunities for new institutions, like Clinton’s recently launched Institute of Global Politics at SIPA.
But these benefits come with a cost.
Huffpost
New Hampshire’s Proposed 15-day Abortion Ban Would Effectively Outlaw the Procedure
A newly introduced bill in New Hampshire would ban abortion at 15 days of pregnancy, effectively outlawing the procedure entirely — and indicates either a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of how pregnancy and pregnancy dating work. Democrats in the state believe it could be setting up other abortion bans to look less strict.
Teen Vogue
Thousands of Migrants Overwhelm Remote Arizona Border Crossing
Even Democrats in the border state are demanding that the Biden administration do something to halt the flow of migrants.
The New York Sun
Smugglers are bringing migrants to a remote Arizona crossing, overwhelming agents
With hundreds of migrants crossing daily in the area, the U.S. government on Monday indefinitely shut down the nearby international crossing between Lukeville, Arizona, and Sonoyta, Mexico, to free Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the port of entry to help with transportation and other support. The agency also has partially closed a few other border ports of entry in recent months, including a pedestrian crossing in San Diego and a bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas.
NPR
Bernie Vs. Biden: Why The Left Is Abandoning the President on Israel
As Biden’s support for Israel remains steadfast, Sanders has called for conditioning aid on fundamental changes in Israel’s military and political positions. On Wednesday, Sanders, who is Jewish, voted with Republicans to block consideration of an emergency spending bill with more than $10 billion for Israel. His vote came after he blasted out a letter to his Senate colleagues, opposing the “inhumane military approach” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “right-wing extremist government.”
The progressive leader has been largely supportive of Biden’s legislative agenda since the two ran against each other in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, and he endorsed Biden’s reelection bid early, ruling out his own third bid. But Israel’s war against Hamas has created a schism between the two rivals-turned-allies while upsetting the cohesion Biden has enjoyed within the Democratic Party.
The Messenger
Closed-door meeting thwarts bid to let Atlanta residents vote on Cop City
A back-room meeting between local power brokers in Atlanta, including a top aide to the city’s mayor, led to the last-minute scuttling of an ordinance that could have helped people get to vote on whether to build a controversial police and fire department training center known as “Cop City”.
The Guardian
At a pivotal moment for Chicago’s left, North Side alderman tries to bridge socialism and pragmatism
A self-styled democratic socialist in his sophomore term, Vasquez knocked out a 36-year incumbentto win the seat representing the neighborhoods of Andersonville, Lincoln Square and Edgewater, an election that was as much about dissatisfaction with the status quo as it was about the former battle rapper’s candidacy. His North Side ward is marked by progressive voters but also wealthy homeowners who are upset over violence and property taxes.
Vasquez’s endeavors to straddle those two constituencies have at times put him at odds with both ends of the spectrum, with some surmising he is more politically expedient than he lets on. He has been painted as an anti-law enforcement extremist by his social media critics on the right, yet the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America renounced him in 2020 for a budget vote that maintained Police Department funding.
Chicago Tribune
FDA Approves Sickle Cell Treatment, But Will Things Actually Change For Black Patients?
For the first time, the FDA approved the use of CRISPR, a gene editing tool, in human beings. The agency simultaneously approved a secondary treatment that uses cell-based gene therapy to help patients suffering from the disease.
The Root
UPenn President Liz Magill has resigned, but antisemitism remains a problem on college campuses
After facing mounting pressure for months, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill announced that she was stepping down on Saturday. But her resignation alone won’t combat rising incidents of antisemitism at some of the nation’s most prestigious universities.
CNN
An End to Wisconsin’s Higher Ed Budget Standoff
The UW system and Republican legislators have been at a budget impasse over DEI for six months. Leaders reached a deal to free up funding, but the Board of Regents voted it down, putting negotiations back at square one.
Inside Higher Ed
State Economies Suffer When Lawmakers Pass Anti-LGBTQ+, Anti-Abortion Laws: Study
States that pass anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion laws may be undermining their economies, according to a new study from the University of Houston.
Advocate
Trump’s Plan to Police Gender
His campaign is promising a more repressive and dangerous America.
The Atlantic
Kenya in search of harmony 60 years after independence
The history of Kenya and its struggle for independence from its British colonizers are woven into the fabric of Nairobi. The statue of Kimathi gazes down Kenyatta Avenue, named for Jomo Kenyatta, who led Kenya toward independence and was its first president.
The country was given a new start when Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, formally handed over power on December 12, 1963, thereafter known as Jamhuri Day — “Jamhuri” being the Swahili word for “Republic.”
Deutsche Welle
China and Philippines exchange blame after boats collide in contested South China Sea
A Philippine boat and a Chinese Coast Guard ship collided near a contested reef in the South China Sea on Sunday, and both countries are placing the blame on each other.
USA Today
Teenage children of jailed Narges Mohammadi accept her Nobel Peace Prize
The teenage twins of jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi have accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.
BBC
Jordan’s foreign minister says Israel aiming ‘to empty Gaza of its people’
Addressing the Doha Forum, Ayman Safadi says Israel’s operation in Gaza meets the ‘legal definition of genocide’.
AlJazeera
Thousands demonstrate against antisemitism in Berlin as Germany grapples with a rise in incidents
Several thousand people demonstrated against antisemitism in Berlin on
AP News
Sunday as Germany grapples with a large increase in anti-Jewish
incidents following Hamas’ attack on Israel two months ago.
Venezuela’s Thatcher-loving opposition leader denounces aggression to oil-rich neighbour Guyana
Venezuela’s referendum laying claim to an oil-rich swathe of neighbouring Guyana was a sham, the country’s main opposition leader has said.
María Corina Machado, who counts Margaret Thatcher among her heroes and who will take on Nicolas Maduro in next year’s presidential election, accused the Venezuelan leader of using the territorial dispute as “propaganda”.
Telegraph
Javier Milei hails ‘new era’ as right-wing outsider is sworn in as Argentina’s new president
Javier Milei pledged a “new era” for Argentina as he was sworn in as the country’s new president on Sunday, sealing the ascent of a political newcomer who garnered popularity by advocating shock economic reforms.
CNN
French immigration bill causes uproar
Thousands of people were marching in the streets near Montparnasse train station in southern Paris on a recent Sunday afternoon. They were holding signs proclaiming their opposition to the “Darmanin law,” named after France’s interior minister. Other placards said “Immigration is not a problem ― racism is.”
Deutsche Welle
Captive in a chicken coop: The plight of debt bondage workers
The couple say they were were among a dozen farm workers from the neighboring state of Maharashtra who were being held in what’s called “debt bondage” by the contractor who had brought them to work in the farms during the sugarcane harvest season. That phrase means they owed money to the contractor and would not be released until they (or their relatives) repaid the debt.
NPR
France’s Emmanuel Macron buffeted from all sides in row over secularism
Emmanuel Macron has been accused of betraying the French Republic after he took part in a Jewish ceremony inside his official residence, the Elysée Palace.
BBC
Swede faces charges in Iran of spying for Israel
A Swedish national employed by the European Union faces charges in Iran of spying for Israel and ‘corruption on earth’, a capital offense under the country’s Islamic laws, Iranian news agency ISNA said on Sunday.
Johan Floderus was detained in April 2022 while on holiday in Iran. Sweden’s foreign minister said on Saturday that his trial had begun.
Floderus’ family has said he was detained “without any justifiable cause or due process.”
Jerusalem Post
Egypt’s presidential elections kick off amid public discontent
The elections are taking place amid public discontent triggered by decade-long socioeconomic decline.
They are, however, not expected to be free or fair and are most likely to be won by incumbent president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew his predecessor in a military coup and has been in power since 2014.
The New Arab
German city opens new synagogue, replacing building destroyed in 1938
A new synagogue has opened in Magdeburg in eastern Germany on Sunday, some 85 years after it was destroyed in a pogrom.
dpa
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