ACTIVE NONVIOLENCE & PEACEMAKING

TAKE ACTION: No More Reckless War in Afghanistan

For 16 years America has been trying the same failed strategies in Afghanistan and American troops still remain there. Adding troops or removing timelines will not change the fundamental truth of the situation; we simply cannot bomb our way to peace. Win Without War urges us to tell Secretary of Defense Mattis to develop and present a clear, actionable, public plan for peace to Congress and the American people. TAKE ACTION

Have Your Representatives in Congress Received Donations From the NRA?

Since 1998, the National Rifle Association has donated $4.23 million to current members of Congress. The Washington Post has prepared a comprehensive listing of NRA contributions, organized by state. Use the pull-down menu to select a state to gain an understanding of why it has been difficult to pass effective gun legislation. MORE

Israeli, Palestinian Women Join Peace March Through Desert

Thousands of Israeli and Palestinian women trekked through a biblical desert landscape this past weekend, converging on the shores of the Jordan River in a march for peace. The march was the culmination of two weeks of events, attended by more than 30,000 women, throughout Israel and the West Bank, organized by Women Wage Peace, a grassroots organization calling for a "bilaterally acceptable political agreement." MORE

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

TAKE ACTION: Defend the Iran Nuclear Deal and Diplomacy with North Korea

As President Trump continues insulting and threatening North Korea, he also appears poised to abandon the hard-won Iran nuclear agreement. That would be a disaster in its own right, but it would also be a disaster for the prospects of ever negotiating our way out of the crisis with North Korea. Peace Action urges us to tell Congress to defend diplomacy with Iran and demand diplomacy with North Korea. TAKE ACTION

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Wins 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, a global organization seeking to "outlaw and eliminate all nuclear weapons" under international law. The committee praised ICAN for drawing attention to "the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons" and for "ground-breaking efforts" to ratify a treaty banning nuclear weapons. MORE

IMMIGRATION

Trump Demands Congress Fund Border Wall as Price for Keeping Dreamers

The Trump administration has issued a list of hardline immigration demands that includes funding for a wall along the southern border and a crackdown on Central American minors as part of a deal to allow young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers to stay in the country legally. MORE

Border Patrol Arrests Parents While Infant Awaits Serious Operation

When their two-year-old son required surgery at a hospital only two miles away in Corpus Christi, Texas, the Border Patrol presented Oscar and Irma Sanchez with a cruel arrangement: The Border Patrol would escort the family on the way to the hospital, but when they arrived, would arrest the parents. The parents had no choice but to agree. MORE

ENVIRONMENT

E.P.A. Announces Repeal of Major Obama-Era Carbon Emissions Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency announced that Scott Pruitt, the chief of the agency, had signed a measure to repeal President Barack Obama’s policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, setting up a bitter fight over the future of America’s efforts to tackle global warming. The Clean Power Plan would have pushed states to move away from coal in favor of sources of electricity that produce fewer carbon emissions. MORE

Ice Loss and the Polar Vortex: How a Warming Arctic Fuels Cold Snaps

When winter sets in, "polar vortex" becomes one of the most dreaded phrases in the Northern Hemisphere. While it may seem counterintuitive, the scientists believe these bitter cold snaps are connected to the warming of the Arctic and the effects that that warming is having on the winds of the stratospheric polar vortex, high above the Earth's surface. MORE

Renewables Now Provide a Quarter of the World’s Power

Anew report from the International Energy Agencysurveys the growth of hydropower, wind, and other forms of renewable energy and finds they’recatching up to coal(still the world’s largest source of electricity). At this rate, renewables are expected to provide 30 percent of power generation by 2022. Hydropower provides the most renewable energy, but the growth is in solar. MORE

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

TAKE ACTION: Help End Forced Labor

Last month at the United Nations in New York, 37 states signed a call to action to end forced labor, trafficking, and modern slavery. But despite these words, only five of these countries have signed the Protocol. Freedom United invites us to tell our government that signing the Protocol makes a serious commitment to ending forced labor. TAKE ACTION

Terrorists’ New Funding Source - Sexual Slavery

Terrorist groups, including ISIS and Boko Haram, are trading sex slaves as a means to generate funding according to a new report from think tank Henry Jackson Society. TheLancaster Telegraphreports that these groups are turning to "hostage-taking and ransom efforts as historical revenue streams such as taxation and oil sales dry up.” MORE

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT

Woman Whose Rapist Was Granted Joint Custody of Child Speaks Out

A local prosecutor and judge in Michigan are under fire forgiving a convicted rapist joint legal custody of his victim's eight-year-old son. Christopher Mirasolo pleaded guilty in 2008 to attempted third-degree criminal sexual assault. Last month, a district judge signed an order allowing Mirasolo joint custody rights of his victim's child. MORE

Rape Is an Instrument of War in Central African Republic Conflict

Armed groups in the Central African Republic are using rape and sexual slavery as a weapon of war, and such acts are being tolerated or even ordered by commanding officers, warns Human Rights Watch. The group is urging United Nations peacekeeping forces in the country to help authorities investigate these types of crimes. MORE

Over 20,000 Girls Married Off Illegally Each Day

At least 20,000 girls around the world are married off illegally each day, with child marriage often deeply rooted in tradition despite being outlawed in a growing number of countries. About 7.5 million girls become child brides every year in countries where early marriage is banned. More than a fifth are in West and Central Africa, where 1.7 million illegal child marriages occur each year. MORE

POVERTY & SOCIAL JUSTICE

TAKE ACTION: Say No to Tax Cuts for Wealthy Corporations

Congressional lawmakers are busy writing a plan that will hand out massive tax breaks to millionaires and wealthy corporations. To pay for their scheme, they will make deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, WIC, disaster relief, and early education programs. MomsRising invites us to tell Congress to reject cuts that will hurt families, communities, and the economy in order to give massive tax breaks to the mega-rich and powerful. TAKE ACTION

The New Reality of Old Age In America

As a result of two recent recessions which devastated personal savings, the shift in responsibility of the U.S. retirement system from employers to workers, and the weakening of purchasing power of Social Security benefits, millions of retired Americans are forced to work to survive. According to a recent government report, nearly 30 percent of households headed by someone 55 or older have no pension or retirement savings. MORE

DEATH PENALTY

US Votes Against UN Resolution Condemning Death Penalty

Last month, the United States was one of 13 members of the United Nations Human Rights Council to vote against the condemnation of the use of the death penalty for apostasy, blasphemy, adultery, and consensual same-sex relations. The resolution also called for an end to the discriminatory use of the death penalty "against persons belonging to racial and ethnic minorities ... and its use against individuals with mental or intellectual disabilities,” those under age 18, and pregnant women. MORE

Robert Pruett is scheduled to be executed on October 12 by the state of Texas for the murder of Daniel Nagle. Please hold Robert, Daniel, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Anthony Shore is scheduled to be executed on October 18 by the state of Texas for the murders of Laurie Lee Tremblay, Maria Del Carmen Estrada, Diane Rebollar, Dana Sanchez. Please hold Anthony, Laurie, Maria, Diane, Dana, their families and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Torrey McNabb is scheduled to be executed on October 19 by the state of Alabama for the murder of Anderson Gordon. Please hold Torrey, Anderson, their families and the people of Alabama in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Clinton Lee Young is scheduled to be executed on October 26 by the state of Texas for the murders of Doyle Douglas and Samuel Petrey. Please hold Clinton, Doyle, Samuel, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION