New York City Is Considering a Laundry Pods Crackdown
Laundry and dishwasher detergent pods made with polyvinyl alcohol, or PVA, contribute to plastics pollution in US waterways.
Bloomberg
‘Fleeing under the cover of darkness’: How Idaho’s abortion ban is changing pregnancy in the state
Dr. Julie Lyons, a family medicine physician across the state in Hailey, near Sun Valley, who’s also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she now discusses “life flight insurance” with pregnant patients in their first prenatal visits, in case they have a pregnancy complication that doctors can’t treat in Idaho.
CNN
It’s spring in the Midwest. The only problem? It’s midwinter
Winter has become the fastest-warming season for nearly 75% of the US and snowfall is declining around the globe as temperatures rise because of human-caused climate change.
CNN
Mayorkas calls border ‘crisis’ a ‘broken system’
“It certainly is a crisis, and, well, we don’t bear responsibility for a broken system. And we’re doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But fundamentally, fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix it,” Mayorkas said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked if he bears responsibility for what is happening on the border.
The Hill
Mayorkas undaunted by prospect of second impeachment vote
Speaking to host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mayorkas said, “They’re baseless allegations, Kristen, and that’s why I’m really not distracted by them. I’m focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security.”
Politico
Texas GOP leaders reverse course, ban antisemites from party
The Republican Party of Texas’ executive committee voted Saturday to censure House Speaker Dade Phelan and passed a resolution stating that the party will not associate with antisemites — a reversal from December, when a similar measure was narrowly and controversially defeated following outcry over a major donor group’s ties to white supremacists.
The antisemitism resolution, which passed unanimously with two abstentions, came four months after The Texas Tribune reported that Jonathan Stickland, then the leader of Defend Texas Liberty, had hosted infamous white supremacist and Adolf Hitler admirer Nick Fuentes for nearly seven hours in early October.
Texas Tribune
Arlington, Virginia gave people $500 a month. They worked less overtime and pursued education instead, a report found.
A guaranteed basic income program in Arlington, Virginia that gave low-income residents $500 a month with no strings attached allowed them to find their footing, seek out education, and improve their job security, a final report found.
Business Insider
President Joe Biden to travel to East Palestine next week, a year after derailment
President Joe Biden will travel to East Palestine, Ohio, on Friday, about a year after a Norfolk Southern train there derailed and spilled a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that caught fire.
The White House said Saturday the president would travel there to ensure state and local officials “hold Norfolk Southern accountable.”
Associated Press
Forgotten Burial Grounds Of Enslaved People Receiving More Attention Nationwide
When Rachel Peric and Nadine Chapman discovered a plantation gravesite in Montgomery County, Maryland, that the county had largely ignored, they decided to ensure the community learned about it. Their attempts to get the site recognized led to a series of lectures from the Chevy Chase Historical Society that highlighted the history of the Chevy Chase area. The first of those lectures focused on the Rollingwood Burial Ground for Enslaved People, which is the burial ground that Peric and Chapman rediscovered. Renata Lisowski, the director of the society’s Archive and Research Center, told NPR that many cemeteries have been displaced or erased by urban development, especially cemeteries where Black people were buried.
Black Enterprise
‘Unlike 9/11, we’re fighting back’: Arab Americans in Dearborn are resilient in the face of Islamophobia
Lessons learned from anti-Arab attacks in the early 2000s help a new generation respond to hateful rhetoric and threats
The Guardian
The Black Cat Tavern raid & protest: an oft-forgotten moment in queer history that predates Stonewall
February 11th marks a prominent moment in LGBTQ+ history.
The Black Cat Tavern raid in 1967 is one such moment—a flashpoint that ignited activism and helped to pave the way for LGBTQ+ equality.
Queerty
Kansas’ Attorney General Is Trying to Compel Schools to Out Trans Students
Kansas AG Kris Kobach claims that treating trans identity as confidential student information violates the U.S. Constitution.
them
North Carolina Republican says trans people should ‘find a corner outside somewhere’ to go to the bathroom
North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson seems to want to ban transgender people from using the bathroom that most aligns with their gender identity. Yes, the same kind of “bathroom bill” that failed almost seven years ago.
Advocate
McCarthy foes face blowback as primary threats grow and GOP donors shut their wallets
Donors no longer want to contribute to their campaigns. Primary opponents are lining up to take them out. And some of them have been ex-communicated from caucuses on Capitol Hill.
The eight House Republicans who took the unprecedented step of removing Kevin McCarthy from the speakership are facing blowback, both in Washington and back home. It’s a sign that even four months after the historic move, emotions are still raw inside a GOP conference that is continuing to reel from McCarthy’s ouster.
CNN
Trump’s NATO remarks met with Biden, EU backlash
Former US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would “encourage” Russia to attack members of NATO who had not met their financial obligations, in remarks that the White House rejected as “appalling and unhinged.”
Deutsche Welle
Texas conservatives test how far they can extend abortion and gender-transition restrictions beyond state lines
In the months since Texas outlawed abortion and prohibited adolescents from receiving gender-transition care, women have flooded abortion clinics in nearby states and parents with transgender children have moved to places where puberty blockers and hormone therapy remain legal.
So now, Texas conservatives are testing the limits of their power beyond state lines.
Texas Tribune
Democrats Insist They Won’t Forget DREAMers As They Shift Right On Immigration
The party’s rightward movement reflects new realities on the border and in public opinion.
Huffpost
Teens seek Jewish-Muslim dialogue in strained New Jersey suburb
Located less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Manhattan, about 40 percent of Teaneck’s population of around 40,000 is Jewish. It also has a sizable Muslim community.
Mutual respect between religions has long been the tradition in the area, said Noam Sokolow, who has run the local Noah’s Ark delicatessen for 35 years.
AFP
Democrats move to avert embarrassing defeat in New York race for Santos’s seat
Democrats are looking to avert an embarrassing defeat in Tuesday’s high-stakes special election for former Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) House seat, a race that could have broader implications for November as the party hopes to flip the lower chamber.
The Hill
Marco Rubio Has ‘Zero Concern’ That Trump Said He’d Urge Russia to Attack NATO Allies
“You think people would’ve figured it out by now,” the senator added. “What he’s basically saying is… NATO was broke or busted until he took over because people weren’t paying their dues, and then he told a story of how he used leverage to make people step up to the plate and become more active in NATO… Virtually every American president at some point in some way has complained about other countries in NATO not doing enough. Trump’s just the first one to express it in these terms.”
“I have zero concern,” Rubio concluded.
Rolling Stone
Former DEA Informant Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Role In Assassination Of Haitian President
Former informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Joseph Vincent was sentenced to life in prison by federal courts on Feb. 9 for playing a part in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
Black Enterprise
‘Unbelievable hypocrisy’: Democrats hope to turn the tide on border security
Democrats in Congress are trying to go on offense on border security. They see the collapse of a bipartisan border deal as a rare opening to flip the script on immigration, even if they can’t fully overcome years of attacks claiming they’re weak on the issue.
Politico
Apathy Loses
If reasonable people disengage from politics, the zealots win.
The Atlantic
Nikki Haley slams Trump for questioning her husband’s military service and his whereabouts
GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley slammed former President Donald Trump after he questioned where her husband, who is currently on active duty deployment, was.
Business Insider
Mayor Johnson hasn’t acted on Lightfoot order aimed at aldermanic ward power
On her last weekday in office, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered a parting shot to Chicago’s City Council: a barrage of 11 executive orders, one of which took aim at the longtime City Council tradition of aldermen having nearly complete control over development in their wards, which she saw as a root of corruption.
Chicago Tribune
Wisconsin will accept absentee ballot envelopes with partial witness addresses ahead of 2024 election
The Wisconsin Elections Commission provided new guidance Thursday that will allow state election officials to accept absentee ballot envelopes that are missing parts of witness address information.
In a 5-1 vote, with Republican Commissioner Bob Spindell voting against it, the commission decided that clerks could accept absentee ballots with partial witness information so long as the witnesses’ addresses are identifiable, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Washington Examiner
How Biden ‘erased’ progress he made and alienated the left as election looms
Critics say president is gravitating back towards his comfort zone in the centre ground, and his refusal to call for ceasefire in Gaza has caused particular fury
The Guardian
Allies fear the US is becoming less reliable, with growing concern over a possible Trump return
Many worry that a second term for Trump would be an earthquake, but tremors already abound — and concerns are rising that the U.S. could grow less dependable regardless of who wins. With a divided electorate and gridlock in Congress, the next American president could easily become consumed by manifold challenges at home — before even beginning to address flashpoints around the world, from Ukraine to the Middle East.
AP News
Biden and Netanyahu discuss hostage release at length during call Sunday, but gaps remain
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a deal to secure the release of hostages in Gaza at length on Sunday, according to a senior administration official, who cautioned that while a framework is in place, gaps remain.
CNN
The prime minister torn between Russia and the West
Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan says he is pushing ahead with democratic reforms while trying to keep the peace with his powerful neighbours
The Telegraph
Spain’s macho world of bullfighting has its first openly LGBT+ matador — and he hopes to pave the way for others
A bullfighter revealed to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that he is Spain’s first openly LGBT+ matador
Business Insider
Maduro Makes A Mockery Of Democracy — And Latin America’s Left Goes Along For The Ride
With a sham court ruling, Venezuela’s President Maduro has paved the way for his unchallenged reelection as president this year, regardless of U.S. sanctions. This is happening as Latin America’s leftist governments, notably Brazil, watch in silence.
Worldcrunch
A Jewish voice demanding liberty, equality and fraternity — in France and in Texas — has been silenced
In 2022, a frail but fierce Frenchman threw down a gauntlet before the state of Texas. In a video produced by Ensemble contre la peine de mort, a French organization opposed to the death penalty, the man demanded that Texas authorities save the life of Melissa Lucio, who despite several glaring irregularities in her trial, had been condemned to death in 2008 by a Texas jury for the death of her two-year old child. Failure to do so, he declared, “would be a sacrilege and, I must say at the end of my own life, a revolting injustice that would dishonor the state of Texas.”
Forward
Thailand Could Soon Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. It Would Change Lives.
The dream is for about 150 people — perhaps 100 if they can be ruthless with the guest list — to gather on a beach on the Thai island of Phuket come January 2025. With the ceremony just under a year away, Nathan Fuller and fiancé Nattaphol Suksuyuth are still finalizing details, but Fuller’s folks in Minnesota are already planning their travel; Suksuyuth’s family, from Bangkok, has fewer miles to go.
Yet as the two plan their “celebration of us,” what they can’t predict is whether their marriage will actually be legal in Thailand by the time they tie the knot.
them
Yemeni-Swedish journalist defies death threats, champions Jewish-gay rights
“I had a crazy journey of awakening and enlightenment. De-radicalization is a rough process, and I’m extremely pleased that I cleansed myself of the antisemitism I grew up with,” Ahmed stated.
Jerusalem Post
France scraps birthright citizenship in Mayotte in migration clamp-down
Interior ministry makes it impossible to obtain French nationality through immigration after weeks of protests in Indian Ocean department
The Telegraph
Egypt would not object to Israel’s assault on Gaza’s Rafah: reports
Egypt has denied that it would end its 1979 peace treaty with Israel over Tel Aviv’s impending Israeli assault on Rafah, according to Israeli sources.
New Arab
Tunnel complex with rows of computer servers discovered under UN aid agency HQ in Gaza, reports say
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it discovered a Hamas complex under a UN aid agency’s headquarters in Gaza.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the IDF said its soldiers had found the entrance to a tunnel near a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Business Insider
North Korea criticizes U.S. influence in Israel and the Middle East
North Korea has criticized the influence of the United States in Israel and the Middle East as world leaders cozied up to Iran on Sunday in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza.
UPI
Protests take place across Pakistan amid election vote-rigging allegations
Protests have broken out across Pakistan amid allegations of widespread vote-rigging targeting the former prime minister Imran Khan’s political party and other nationalist groups in the country’s general election.
The Guardian
Turkey’s ‘Roma ‘groups have felt the earthquake’s impact more than others
Romani, Abdal and Domari communities have had a harder time accessing aid and support post-quake.
AlJazeera
Russia launches mass drone barrage on Ukraine as Kyiv continues war cabinet reshuffle
Russian forces launched 45 drones over Ukraine Sunday in a five-and-a-half-hour barrage, officials said, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued the reshuffle of his war cabinet as the war enters its third year.
PBS
The way to defeat Hamas: Recognition of a Palestinian state – opinion
Recognition by the international “moral majority” of a Palestinian state is a Zionist imperative if Israel is to ensure its future as the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people.
Jerusalem Post
Madagascar to surgically castrate paedophiles
Island nation’s justice minister said the new law was necessary because of an increase in rape of children
The Telegraph
Allies of ex-premier Imran Khan secure biggest share of seats in Pakistan’s final election tally
Allies of former Pakistani premier Imran Khan won more seats in national elections than the political parties who ousted him from power nearly two years ago.
New Arab
