ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE & PEACEMAKING

TAKE ACTION: Oppose Increase in Military Spending

The 2019 Pentagon budget is already $716 billion and now Trump is proposing a five percent increase, bringing the total "national security” budget to $750 billion. Meanwhile, communities in the U.S. struggle to meet basic human needs and maintain infrastructure. CodePink suggests we tell Congress to reject Trump's 2020 Pentagon budget and put the "savings” into these critical programs that would truly make our nation more secure. TAKE ACTION

Senate Votes to End American Aid to Saudi War in Yemen

The Senate voted last week to end American aid to the Saudi war in Yemen. The vote served as a rebuke to President Trump, who has continued to support Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and American resident, despite Salman's suspected involvement in the murder. MORE

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

More States Are Turning Their Back on Nuclear Weapons
Last month, South Africa became the 22nd country to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It is the only country that went from developing its own nuclear arsenal to dismantling it and is an outspoken advocate against these weapons of mass destruction. As a continent, Africa has historically taken a strong position against nuclear weapons. MORE

US Plans Tests This Year of Long-Banned Types of Missiles

The Pentagon plans to begin flight tests this year of two types of missiles that have been banned for more than 30 years by a treaty from which both the United States and Russia are expected to withdraw in August. By moving forward with these missile projects, the Pentagon is not excluding the possibility that the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty could still survive, although it likely will be terminated in August. The INF treaty has been in effect since 1987. MORE

IMMIGRATION

TAKE ACTION: Support Solution for Dreamers and TPS Recipients

H.R. 6, theDream and Promise Act, includes a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS (Temporary Protected Status) recipients, and DED (Deferred Enforced Departure – a special category for several hundred refugees from Liberia) holders. Currently, these persons face the possibility of deportation to countries they hardly know or where they face persecution and even death. The Sisters of Mercy urge us to ask our legislators to support H.R. 6. TAKE ACTION

Most Americans Want Congress to Override Trump’s Veto and End "Emergency” Declaration

Americans support an override of President Donald Trump's veto of the resolution to terminate the national-emergency declaration, which allows the White House to divert funds from military projects to build walls and physical barriers along the US-Mexico border, by two to one. According to a new poll, nearly twice as many Americans favor a congressional override of Trump's veto than oppose such a move. MORE

U.S. Continues to Separate Migrant Families Despite Rollback of Policy

Nearly nine months after the Trump administration officially rescinded its policy of separating migrant families who have illegally crossed the border, more than 200 migrant children have been taken from parents and other relatives and placed in institutional care, with some spending months in shelters and foster homes thousands of miles away from their parents. MORE

ENVIRONMENT

US Official Reveals Atlantic Drilling Plan, Admits Trump Distracted Public

A top US official told a group of fossil fuel industry leaders that the Trump administration will soon issue a proposal making large portions of the Atlantic available for oil and gas development, and said that it is easier to work on such priorities because Donald Trump is skilled at sowing "absolutely thrilling” distractions, according to records of a meeting obtained by the Guardian. MORE

Global Climate Strikes by Students to Save the Planet

Hundreds of thousands of students in more than 2,000 cities from Australia and Uganda to Germany and Italy left their classrooms on Friday, March 15, to take to the streets in peaceful marches protesting governments’ climate inaction.The young generations in 123 countries are demanding attention from politicians, international institutions and their elders literally to save the planet. MORE

Evangelicals for Climate Action

Globally, there is widespread support for climate action among evangelicals. But in the United States, evangelicals are much less likely than other Americans to agree that the planet is warming because of human activities and that this merits government action. Nevertheless, evangelical support for climate action appears to be growing within the National Association of Evangelicals, which represents more than 45,000 churches.MORE

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Illegally Parked Car Leads Authorities to Des Moines Sex Trafficking Ring

An illegally parked car at the Des Moines International Airport led authorities to a sex trafficking ring, according to the Des Moines Police Department. Nine people were involved in the sex trafficking case -- seven of which were Des Moines residents. Prosecutors say that nine convictions is a lot for a city the size of Des Moines. They say the trend isn’t because more people are committing the crime, but rather more people are getting caught. MORE 

Anti-Human Trafficking Activists Want Robert Kraft Banished From NFL

Robert K. Kraft should be banished from the National Football League if the professional league and Florida authorities demonstrate the owner of the New England Patriots participated in a pay-for-sex operation in Florida, anti-human-trafficking activists insisted this week. In a letter sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, 84 individuals and organizations from across the country urged the NFL to conduct its own investigation into the matter. MORE

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT 

U.S. Men Less Concerned Now Than in 2017 About Sexual Harassment

According to a new Gallup poll, seventeen months after the #Metoo movement exploded, U.S. men are less convinced now than they were at the start of the movement that sexual harassment in the workplace is a major problem. They are also more likely to believe that people in the workplace are too sensitive to the problem of sexual harassment. Still, on both measures, men show more concern for the issue today than they did in 1998. MORE

House to Take Up Gender Pay Gap, Violence Against Women Act

During the week of April 1, Democrats will plan to vote on reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which has been in limbo since the government shut down in December. The spending bill to reopen the government in late January did not include a VAWA extension. MORE

POVERTY & SOCIAL JUSTICE

Americans Want the Wealthy and Corporations to Pay Fair Share of Taxes

Several proposals have been suggested to curb inequality by taxing those at the very top. Most Americans support increasing taxes on the rich. Recent data from the American National Election Study show that, in 2016, 67 percent of Americans favored a "tax on millionaires.” But recent work suggests that elected officials are more responsive to economic elites and business interest groups compared to mass-based interest groups and the average citizen. MORE

World's Most Vulnerable and Poor Paying More Than Rich for Clean Water

Globally, those who are poor or marginalized pay far more than the rich to acquire clean water. A new report indicates that "billions are being left behind" in their access to both, often due to factors such as gender, age, poverty, ethnicity, disabilities, religion, and socio-economic class. With the world's population currently around 7.7 billion people, 2.1 billion lack consistent access to safe drinking water at home while 4.5 billion lack proper sanitation services. MORE

One-Third of Uninsured Can't Afford to Take Drugs as Prescribed

The U.S. has the highest drug prices in the world. Despite enormous expenses in research and marketing, pharmaceutical companies have the tenth highest profit levels among all industries. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control looked at strategies people used to lower their costs, including asking their doctors for cheaper medicine, not taking the medicine as prescribed or using alternative therapies. MORE

DEATH PENALTY

TAKE ACTION: Don't Let Iowa Reinstate the Death Penalty

The Iowa State Senate is considering a bill that would reinstate the death penalty in Iowa. This is the most progress a bill to bring back Iowa's death penalty has made since the 1990s. It would reverse Iowa's 54-year ban on capital punishment. Catholic Mobilizing Network provides a form for calling on Iowa lawmakers to halt this death penalty legislation in its tracks. TAKE ACTION

Patrick Murphy is scheduled to be executed on March 28 by the state of Texas for the murder of Aubrey Hawkins. Please hold Patrick, Aubrey, their families and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION