# Common Dreams - Complete Content

> Common Dreams: complete content export for LLMs - 535 sections and the 100 most recent articles. Navigation index: https://www.commondreams.org/llms.txt

**Site Overview:**
- Domain: https://www.commondreams.org
- Total Sections: 535
- Recent Posts Included: 100
- Content Word Count: ~83604 words
- Last Updated: 2026-09-27
- Generated: September 27, 2026 13:11:57

**Important Information:**

- Site ID: 25320514
- Markdown version: append .md to any URL
- Total sections: 535

## Site Structure
- [Politics](https://www.commondreams.org/politics/index.md): Discover the latest political news on Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (5735 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/politics; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/politics.rss)
- [Climate](https://www.commondreams.org/climate/index.md): Discover the latest news about the climate crisis on Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (14165 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/climate; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/climate.rss)
- [Economy](https://www.commondreams.org/economy/index.md): Discover the latest news about the economy on Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (11259 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/economy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/economy.rss)
- [Rights & Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/rights-justice/index.md): Discover the latest news focused on rights and justice on Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (17428 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/rights-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/rights-justice.rss)
- [War & Peace](https://www.commondreams.org/war-peace/index.md): Discover the latest news focused on war and peace on Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (14158 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/war-peace; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/war-peace.rss)
- [Breaking News](https://www.commondreams.org/breaking-news/index.md): Breaking news from Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/breaking-news; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/breaking-news.rss)
- [Opinion](https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/index.md): Discover the latest progressive opinion on Common Dreams ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (117087 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/opinion.rss)
- [News](https://www.commondreams.org/news/index.md): Discover the latest news from Common Dreams ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (103592 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/news; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/news.rss)
- [Newswire](https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/index.md): Daily press releases and alerts from over 200 progressive organizations on The Progressive Newswire, a project of Common Dreams since 1997 (71519 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/newswire; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/newswire.rss)
- [Further](https://www.commondreams.org/further/index.md): Opinion column by Abby Zimet on Common Dreams. ✯ Breaking News & Progressive Opinion ✯ Independent, non-profit journalism since 1997 (1305 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/further; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/further.rss)
- [Planned Parenthood Action Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/planned-parenthood-action-fund/index.md): Planned Parenthood was founded over 100 years ago on the revolutionary idea that women have the right to access the information and care they need to live strong, healthy lives. Today, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) fights to protect that right--often in the face of extreme politicians trying to take it away. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/planned-parenthood-action-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/planned-parenthood-action-fund.rss)
- [Trade Justice Education Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/trade-justice-education-fund/index.md): The Trade Justice Education Fund is a new nonprofit that sponsors public education programs designed to expand awareness about the worker rights, environmental and climate, and public health implications of U.S. trade policy. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/trade-justice-education-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/trade-justice-education-fund.rss)
- [Profile Organization Test](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/test/index.md): Description (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/test; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/test.rss)
- [ProsperUS](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/prosperus/index.md): ProsperUS is a coalition of movement groups, labor organizations, think tanks, experts, and advocates that believes government should invest in people. (12 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/prosperus; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/prosperus.rss)
- [Repairers of the Breach](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/repairers-breach/index.md): Repairers of the Breach is a nonpartisan 501c3 tax exempt not-for-profit organization that seeks to build a moral agenda rooted in a framework that uplifts our deepest moral and constitutional values to redeem the heart and soul of our country. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/repairers-breach; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/repairers-breach.rss)
- [Fix Our Senate](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fix-our-senate/index.md): Fix Our Senate is a coalition of more than 70 organizations who are joined together to ensure that the promises of progress are not blocked by the filibuster. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fix-our-senate; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fix-our-senate.rss)
- [ACLU Florida](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/aclu-florida/index.md): The mission of the ACLU of Florida is to protect, defend, strengthen, and promote the constitutional rights and liberties of all people in Florida. We envision a fair and just Florida, where all people are free, equal under the law, and live with dignity. (17 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/aclu-florida; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/aclu-florida.rss)
- [Alliance for Retired Americans](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/alliance-retired-americans/index.md): The Alliance for Retired Americans is a national organization with 4.4 million members that advocates for retirement security for all Americans. (22 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/alliance-retired-americans; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/alliance-retired-americans.rss)
- [Green New Deal Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-new-deal-network/index.md): The Green New Deal Network is a 50-state campaign with a national table of 15 organizations: Center for Popular Democracy, Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Greenpeace, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indivisible, Movement for Black Lives, MoveOn, People's Action, Right To The City Alliance, Service Employees International Union, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, US Climate Action Network, and the Working Families Party. (12 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-new-deal-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/green-new-deal-network.rss)
- [Concerted Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/concerted-action/index.md): Concerted Action is a one-stop consulting firm specializing in advocacy, organizing and the digital tools that power grassroots movements. We help non-profits and unions recruit supporters, build engaged and motivated communities and generate action. We're strategic, experienced, versatile and committed to your cause. Launched in 2015 as Blue Bulldog Digital and relaunched as Concerted Action in 2018. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/concerted-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/concerted-action.rss)
- [Costs of War](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/costs-war/index.md): The Costs of War Project is a team of 50 scholars, legal experts, human rights practitioners, and physicians, which began its work in 2010. We use research and a public website to facilitate debate about the costs of the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the related violence in Pakistan and Syria. There are many hidden or unacknowledged costs of the United States' decision to respond to the 9/11 attacks with military force. We aim to foster democratic discussion of these wars by providing the fullest possible account of their human, economic, and political costs, and to foster better informed public policies. (12 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/costs-war; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/costs-war.rss)
- [Fossil Free Media](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fossil-free-media/index.md): Fossil Free Media is a nonprofit media lab that supports the movement to end fossil fuels and address the climate emergency. (47 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fossil-free-media; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fossil-free-media.rss)
- [Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-democratic-and-environmental-rights/index.md): Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights is building a global movement to advance the rights of nature into law. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-democratic-and-environmental-rights; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-democratic-and-environmental-rights.rss)
- [Independent Jewish Voices Canada](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/independent-jewish-voices-canada/index.md): Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) is a grassroots organization grounded in Jewish tradition that opposes all forms of racism and advocates for justice and peace for all in Israel-Palestine. IJV has active chapters in cities and on university campuses across the country. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/independent-jewish-voices-canada; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/independent-jewish-voices-canada.rss)
- [Cascadia Wildlands](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/cascadia-wildlands/index.md): Cascadia Wildlands defends and restores Cascadia's wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets. We envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and vibrant communities sustained by the unique landscapes of the Cascadia bioregion. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/cascadia-wildlands; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/cascadia-wildlands.rss)
- [Congressman Jamaal Bowman](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressman-jamaal-bowman/index.md): Jamaal Anthony Bowman is an American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 16th congressional district since 2021. (18 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressman-jamaal-bowman; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congressman-jamaal-bowman.rss)
- [Environmental Defense](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-defense/index.md): Environmental Defense Fund's mission is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends. Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems. We work to solve the most critical environmental problems facing the planet. This has drawn us to areas that span the biosphere: climate, oceans, ecosystems and health. Since these topics are intertwined, our solutions take a multidisciplinary approach. We work in concert with other organizations -- as well as with business, government and communities -- and avoid duplicating work already being done effectively by others. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-defense; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/environmental-defense.rss)
- [National Coalition for the Homeless](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-coalition-homeless/index.md): National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission: To end and prevent homelessness while ensuring the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness are met and their civil rights are respected and protected. We envision a world where everyone has a safe, decent, accessible and affordable home. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-coalition-homeless; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-coalition-homeless.rss)
- [U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-campaign-ban-landmines/index.md): The United States Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working to ensure that the U.S. comprehensively prohibits antipersonnel mines--by banning their use in Korea--and joins the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, as more than 160 nations have done. It is the national affiliate of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), founded in New York in 1992 and recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate together with former ICBL coordinator Ms. Jody Williams of Vermont. We also call for sustained U.S. government financial support for mine clearance and victim assistance. (13 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-campaign-ban-landmines; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/us-campaign-ban-landmines.rss)
- [Riverkeeper](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/riverkeeper/index.md): Riverkeeper protects and restores the Hudson River from source to sea and safeguards drinking water supplies, through advocacy rooted in community partnerships, science and law. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/riverkeeper; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/riverkeeper.rss)
- [Free Gaza Movement](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-gaza-movement/index.md): Free Gaza is a human rights group founded in 2006. Our mission is to break the Israel's illegal siege on Gaza's 1.8 million civilians, since it inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinians who live there and has destroyed its economy. Free Gaza believes in direct action in confronting Israel's abuse of Palestinians using non-violent means and has found these voyages to be one of the most effective ways to alert the world to the prison-like conditions of Gaza. Ultimately, there is no better example of direct action than Free Gaza's sustained attempts to break the siege on Gaza which Israel claims it no longer occupies (38 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-gaza-movement; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/free-gaza-movement.rss)
- [Friends of the Earth Europe](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-europe/index.md): Friends of the Earth Europe is the largest grassroots environmental network in Europe, uniting more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-europe; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/friends-earth-europe.rss)
- [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bulletin-atomic-scientists/index.md): The Bulletin equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threatsto our existence. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bulletin-atomic-scientists; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/bulletin-atomic-scientists.rss)
- [Basel Action Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/basel-action-network/index.md): Basel Action Network's mission is to champion global environmental health and justice by ending toxic trade, catalyzing a toxics-free future, and campaigning for everyone's right to a clean environment. (21 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/basel-action-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/basel-action-network.rss)
- [Healthy California Now](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/healthy-california-now/index.md): Healthy California Now is a statewide, non-partisan coalition of community, consumer, labor, health, disability, LGBTQ, business, and political organizations committed to building and broadening the movement to guarantee health care for all Californians. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/healthy-california-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/healthy-california-now.rss)
- [Groundwork Collaborative](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/groundwork-collaborative/index.md): The Groundwork Collaborative is dedicated to advancing a coherent and persuasive progressive economic worldview and narrative capable of delivering meaningful opportunity and prosperity for everyone. Our work is driven by a core guiding principle: We are the economy. Groundwork Collaborative envisions an economic system that produces strong, broadly shared prosperity and power for all people, not just a wealthy few. (103 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/groundwork-collaborative; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/groundwork-collaborative.rss)
- [One Fair Wage](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/one-fair-wage/index.md): One Fair Wage is a national organization of over 200,000 service workers, over 800 restaurant employers, and dozens of organizations nationwide all working together to end all subminimum wages in the United States and improve wages and working conditions in the service sector in particular. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/one-fair-wage; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/one-fair-wage.rss)
- [Progressive International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-international/index.md): Progressive International is an international organization uniting and mobilizing progressive left-wing activists and organizations. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/progressive-international.rss)
- [Data for Progress](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/data-progress/index.md): Data for Progress is a multidisciplinary group of experts using state-of-the-art techniques in data science to support progressive activists and causes. (41 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/data-progress; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/data-progress.rss)
- [Congressman Ro Khanna](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressman-ro-khanna/index.md): Congressman Ro Khanna represents the 17th District of California, which covers communities in Silicon Valley. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressman-ro-khanna; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congressman-ro-khanna.rss)
- [Fight Corporate Monopolies](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fight-corporate-monopolies/index.md): Fight Corporate Monopolies is a progressive political advocacy institution devoted to breaking up the economic and political concentrations of corporate power. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fight-corporate-monopolies; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fight-corporate-monopolies.rss)
- [Mijente](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/mijente/index.md): We are a political home for Latinx and Chicanx people who seek racial, economic, gender and climate justice. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/mijente; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/mijente.rss)
- [Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-pramila-jayapal/index.md): U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-pramila-jayapal; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congresswoman-pramila-jayapal.rss)
- [Repair Our Democracy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/repair-our-democracy/index.md): Repair Our Democracy, a project of Democracy 21, is focused on defending the For the People Act against bad-faith attacks and outright lies. (10 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/repair-our-democracy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/repair-our-democracy.rss)
- [Oxfam America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oxfam-america/index.md): Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. We help people build better futures for themselves, hold the powerful accountable, and save lives in disasters. (17 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oxfam-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/oxfam-america.rss)
- [Accountable.Senate](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/accountablesenate/index.md): Nonpartisan watchdog group Accountable.US recently launched the Accountable Senate War Room to fight back against those lawmakers who seek to overturn the will of the people by standing in the way of the smooth transition of power and the swift approval of nominees to ensure that the government can function and advance the interests of all American people, not just the rich and powerful. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/accountablesenate; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/accountablesenate.rss)
- [Farm Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/farm-action/index.md): Farm Action leverages its research, policy development, advocacy campaigns, and political expertise to create a food and agriculture system that works for everyday people rather than a handful of powerful corporations. We are joined in our movement by farmers, ranchers, rural communities, food system workers, policymakers, advocates, and anyone who eats. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/farm-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/farm-action.rss)
- [The Sentencing Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sentencing-project/index.md): The Sentencing Project is a leader in changing the way Americans think about crime and punishment. The Sentencing Project promotes effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice. (13 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sentencing-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sentencing-project.rss)
- [Hunger Free America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hunger-free-america/index.md): Hunger Free America is a nonpartisan, national nonprofit group working to enact the policies and programs needed to end domestic hunger and ensure that all Americans have sufficient access to nutritious food. (10 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hunger-free-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/hunger-free-america.rss)
- [Fridays for Future](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fridays-future/index.md): Fridays for Future (FFF) is a global climate strike movement that started in August 2018, when 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began a school strike for climate. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fridays-future; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fridays-future.rss)
- [Family Farm Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/family-farm-action/index.md): The Farm Action network leverages its research, policy development, advocacy campaigns, and political expertise to create a food and agriculture system that works for everyone, not just a handful of powerful corporations. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/family-farm-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/family-farm-action.rss)
- [National Family Farm Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-family-farm-coalition/index.md): Representing 30 farmer, rancher, fisher, and rural groups in over 40 states, National Family Farm Coalition mobilizes family farmers and ranchers to achieve fair prices, vibrant communities, and healthy foods free of corporate domination. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-family-farm-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-family-farm-coalition.rss)
- [Protect the Results](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/protect-results/index.md): Protect the Results is a joint project of Indivisible and Stand Up America to protect the valid results of the 2020 election. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/protect-results; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/protect-results.rss)
- [AFSCME](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/afscme/index.md): AFSCME members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations, AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families. (51 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/afscme; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/afscme.rss)
- [Color Of Change PAC](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/color-change-pac/index.md): Color Of Change PAC is a Political Action Committee focused on building We're the political action committee focused on building Black political power, uplifting Black voices, and celebrating Black joy. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/color-change-pac; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/color-change-pac.rss)
- [MPower Change](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/mpower-change/index.md): MPower Change is a grassroots organizing movement rooted in diverse Muslim communities throughout the United States who are working together to build social, spiritual, racial, and economic justice for all people. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/mpower-change; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/mpower-change.rss)
- [Western Watersheds Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/western-watersheds-project/index.md): Western Watersheds Project is an environmental conservation group working to protect and restore watersheds and wildlife through. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/western-watersheds-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/western-watersheds-project.rss)
- [WildEarth Guardians](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wildearth-guardians/index.md): WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West. Driven by passion, we've tackled some of the West's most difficult and pressing conservation challenges over the past three decades. We've celebrated small victories (banning leghold trapping in the state of Colorado), monumental triumphs (ending logging on more than 21 million acres in the Southwest), and everything in-between. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wildearth-guardians; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/wildearth-guardians.rss)
- [The Elders](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/elders/index.md): The Elders are independent leaders using their collective experience and influence for peace, justice and human rights worldwide. The group was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007. The Elders are Ban Ki-moon (Deputy Chair), Lakhdar Brahimi, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, Hina Jilani, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/elders; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/elders.rss)
- [Gwich'in Steering Committee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/gwichin-steering-committee/index.md): The Gwich'in Steering Committee was formed in 1988 in response to proposals to drill for oil in the Sacred Place Where Life Begins, the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/gwichin-steering-committee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/gwichin-steering-committee.rss)
- [Stop the Money Pipeline](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-money-pipeline/index.md): The Stop the Money Pipeline coalition is over 160 organizations strong holding the financial backers of climate chaos accountable. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-money-pipeline; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stop-money-pipeline.rss)
- [United Nations Human Rights - Special Procedures](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-nations-human-rights-special-procedures/index.md): The special procedures of the Human Rights Council are independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. The system of Special Procedures is a central element of the United Nations human rights machinery and covers all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political, and social. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-nations-human-rights-special-procedures; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/united-nations-human-rights-special-procedures.rss)
- [Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/quaker-united-nations-office-quno/index.md): Since 1947, QUNO has worked with diplomats, UN officials, and civil society to support a UN that prioritizes peace and prevents war. QUNO uses Quaker House and its convening power to facilitate off-the-record meetings and bring perspectives from outside the UN system in order to promote peacebuilding and the prevention of violent conflict at a policy level in New York. QUNO also works closely with the American Friends Service Committee and other Quaker Service Agencies in country, and with Friends' policy offices in Geneva, Washington, and Brussels. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/quaker-united-nations-office-quno; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/quaker-united-nations-office-quno.rss)
- [Communications Workers of America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/communications-workers-america/index.md): Communication Workers of America (CWA) is America's largest communications & media union. CWA members work in telecommunications and information technology, the airline industry, news media, broadcast and cable television, education, health care, public service and education, law enforcement, manufacturing and other fields. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/communications-workers-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/communications-workers-america.rss)
- [The Endangered Species Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/endangered-species-coalition/index.md): The Endangered Species Coalition's mission is to stop the human-caused extinction of our nation's at-risk species, to protect and restore their habitats, and to guide these fragile populations along the road to recovery. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/endangered-species-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/endangered-species-coalition.rss)
- [Center for Climate Integrity](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-climate-integrity/index.md): The Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) helps cities and states across the country hold corporate polluters accountable for the massive impacts of climate change. (58 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-climate-integrity; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-climate-integrity.rss)
- [Climate Power](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-power/index.md): Climate Power 2020 is putting the Trump administration on defense every single day for ignoring experts, refusing to believe in science, surrendering our government to big oil executives, and gutting public health protections, all at the expense of future generations. The 2020 presidential election is the defining moment for how our nation addresses the climate crisis--our leaders must be emboldened to take immediate action on climate change and to build a just and equitable economy. The time to act is now. Learn more: climatepower2020.org (17 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-power; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-power.rss)
- [Lower Drug Prices Now](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lower-drug-prices-now/index.md): Lower Drug Prices Now brings together a broad array of state and national partners to fight for transformative policy change that will finally ensure everyone has access to affordable medicine whether they have a sore throat, high blood pressure or an acute illness like cancer. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lower-drug-prices-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/lower-drug-prices-now.rss)
- [NORML](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/norml/index.md): Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana consumers. A nonprofit public-interest advocacy group, NORML represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who use marijuana responsibly. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/norml; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/norml.rss)
- [National Education Association (NEA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-education-association-nea/index.md): The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education--from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States. (24 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-education-association-nea; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-education-association-nea.rss)
- [Democracy Initiative](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democracy-initiative/index.md): The Democracy Initiative is a coalition of 75 organizations with a collective 45 million members fighting for workers, civil rights, social justice and the environment. DI partner organizations are united in their commitment to realizing the promise of American democracy where all people have an equal seat at the governance table. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democracy-initiative; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/democracy-initiative.rss)
- [Small Business for Paid Leave](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/small-business-paid-leave/index.md): Small Business for Paid Leave is a coalition of grassroots and small business membership organizations that shares resources and supports small businesses as they engage in paid family and medical leave policy development. Small Business for Paid Leave works in partnership with Paid Leave for All and advocates across the country. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/small-business-paid-leave; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/small-business-paid-leave.rss)
- [Campaign Legal Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-legal-center/index.md): Campaign Legal Center (CLC) advances democracy through law, fighting for every American's right to participate in the democratic process. CLC uses tactics such as litigation, policy advocacy, communications and partnerships to win victories that result in a more transparent, accountable and inclusive democracy. (38 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-legal-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/campaign-legal-center.rss)
- [Muslim Advocates](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/muslim-advocates/index.md): Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination. (29 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/muslim-advocates; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/muslim-advocates.rss)
- [Congresswoman Ilhan Omar](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-ilhan-omar/index.md): Rep. Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-ilhan-omar; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congresswoman-ilhan-omar.rss)
- [Accountable.US](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/accountableus/index.md): Accountable.US is a nonpartisan watchdog that exposes corruption in public life and holds government officials and corporate special interests accountable by bringing their influence and misconduct to light. In doing so, we make way for policies that advance the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful. (182 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/accountableus; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/accountableus.rss)
- [Climate Mobilization](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-mobilization/index.md): Building a new movement of people across the United States to reclaim our future by initiating an emergency-speed, whole-society Climate Mobilization, reversing global warming and restoring a safe climate. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-mobilization; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-mobilization.rss)
- [GLAD](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/glad/index.md): Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, (12 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/glad; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/glad.rss)
- [Out & Equal](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/out-equal/index.md): Out & Equal is the premier organization working exclusively on LGBTQ workplace equality. Through our worldwide programs, Fortune 500 partnerships and our annual Workplace Summit conference, we help LGBTQ people thrive and support organizations creating a culture of belonging for all. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/out-equal; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/out-equal.rss)
- [American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-federation-state-county-and-municipal-employees/index.md): AFSCME's 1.4 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in communities across the nation, serving in hundreds of different occupations -- from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers -- AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and freedom and opportunity for all working families. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-federation-state-county-and-municipal-employees; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-federation-state-county-and-municipal-employees.rss)
- [The Sunrise Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sunrise-project/index.md): The Sunrise Project grows social movements to drive the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy as fast as possible. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sunrise-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sunrise-project.rss)
- [American Economic Liberties Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-economic-liberties-project/index.md): The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America's system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power. (39 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-economic-liberties-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-economic-liberties-project.rss)
- [Poor People's Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/poor-peoples-campaign/index.md): The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is building a generationally transformative digital gathering called the Mass Poor People's Assembly and Moral March on Washington, on June 20, 2020. At that assembly, we will demand that both major political parties address the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism by implementing our Moral Agenda. (24 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/poor-peoples-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/poor-peoples-campaign.rss)
- [Bend the Arc](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bend-arc/index.md): Bend the Arc is where progressive American Jews join together to fight for justice and equality for all. We are the only national Jewish organization focused exclusively on progressive social change in the United States. (42 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bend-arc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/bend-arc.rss)
- [The Revolving Door Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/revolving-door-project/index.md): The Revolving Door Project (RDP) scrutinizes executive branch appointees to ensure they use their office to serve the broad public interest, rather than to entrench corporate power or seek personal advancement. (89 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/revolving-door-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/revolving-door-project.rss)
- [Jewish Voice for Peace Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jewish-voice-peace-action/index.md): Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action) is a multiracial, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies working towards justice and equality for Palestinians and Israelis by transforming U.S. policy. (15 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jewish-voice-peace-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jewish-voice-peace-action.rss)
- [Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/index.md): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district. (18 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-alexandria-ocasio-cortez; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congresswoman-alexandria-ocasio-cortez.rss)
- [TIME'S UP Now](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/times-now/index.md): TIME'S UP(tm) Now is the nonpartisan and not-for-profit advocacy and political arm of TIME'S UP. We advocate for safe, fair, and dignified work for all in the public and private sectors, calling for an end to harassment and other related forms of discrimination on the job. And we fight to rebuild the systems that have taken away women's power for far too long. TIME'S UP Now is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/times-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/times-now.rss)
- [Oil Change U.S.](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oil-change-us/index.md): Oil Change U.S. is dedicated to supporting real climate leadership, exposing the true costs of fossil fuels, and building a just, equitable, and renewable energy future in the United States. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oil-change-us; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/oil-change-us.rss)
- [Vote Climate U.S. PAC](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/vote-climate-us-pac/index.md): Vote Climate U.S. PAC works to elect candidates to get off fossil fuels, transition to clean, renewable, energy and reduce carbon pollution by putting a fee on carbon, in order to slow climate change and related weather extremes. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/vote-climate-us-pac; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/vote-climate-us-pac.rss)
- [Community Change Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-change-action/index.md): Community Change Action is a national organization that builds power from the ground up. We believe that effective and enduring social movements must be led by those most impacted by injustice and voting is one essential lever of change. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-change-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/community-change-action.rss)
- [Democracy 21](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democracy-21/index.md): Democracy 21 is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to making democracy work for all Americans. Democracy 21, and its education arm, Democracy 21 Education Fund, work to eliminate the undue influence of big money in American politics, prevent government corruption, empower citizens in the political process and ensure the integrity and fairness of government decisions and elections. The organization promotes campaign finance reform and other related political reforms to accomplish these goals. (18 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democracy-21; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/democracy-21.rss)
- [Environmental Justice Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-justice-foundation/index.md): Dynamic, agile and effective, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is working to secure a world where natural habitats and environments can sustain, and be sustained by, the communities that depend upon them for their basic needs and livelihoods. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-justice-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/environmental-justice-foundation.rss)
- [Center for Popular Democracy Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-popular-democracy-action/index.md): Center for Popular Democracy Action promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD Action builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-popular-democracy-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-popular-democracy-action.rss)
- [Climate Justice Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-justice-alliance/index.md): Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) formed in 2013 to create a new center of gravity in the climate movement by uniting frontline communities and organizations into a formidable force. Our translocal organizing strategy and mobilizing capacity is building a Just Transition away from extractive systems of production, consumption and political oppression, and towards resilient, regenerative and equitable economies. We believe that the process of transition must place race, gender and class at the center of the solutions equation in order to make it a truly Just Transition. (22 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-justice-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-justice-alliance.rss)
- [Free Press Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-press-action/index.md): Free Press Action is fighting grave threats to the free and open internet, local journalism and a functioning democracy. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-press-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/free-press-action.rss)
- [International Rivers](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-rivers/index.md): International Rivers is an environmental and human rights organization with staff on four continents. For three decades, we have been at the heart of the global struggle to protect rivers and the rights of communities that depend on them. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-rivers; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/international-rivers.rss)
- [JVP Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jvp-action/index.md): JVP Action is an independent, non-partisan, 501(c)(4) organization formed as the political and advocacy arm of Jewish Voice for Peace. JVP Action is building a multi-racial, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies to transform U.S. policy towards justice in Israel/Palestine. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jvp-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jvp-action.rss)
- [Open Markets Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/open-markets-institute/index.md): The Open Markets Institute works to address threats to our democracy, individual liberties, and our national security from today's unprecedented levels of corporate concentration and monopoly power. By combining policy, legal, and market structure expertise with sophisticated communications and outreach efforts, Open Markets seeks not only to hold today's monopolies accountable for abuse of power, but to rebuild an economic system where progress is easier to achieve, because power is far more widely and equitably distributed (49 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/open-markets-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/open-markets-institute.rss)
- [Center for Popular Democracy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-popular-democracy/index.md): The Center for Popular Democracy works to create equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. CPD strengthens our collective capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda. (24 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-popular-democracy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-popular-democracy.rss)
- [Stand Up America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stand-america/index.md): Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization with over two million community members across the country. Focused on grassroots advocacy to strengthen our democracy and oppose Trump's corrupt agenda, Stand Up America has driven over 600,000 phone calls to Congress and mobilized tens of thousands of protestors across the country. (197 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stand-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stand-america.rss)
- [Demand Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/demand-justice/index.md): Demand Justice is a progressive movement fighting to restore the ideological balance and legitimacy of the federal courts by advocating for court reform and vigorously opposing extreme nominees. (32 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/demand-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/demand-justice.rss)
- [By the People](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/people/index.md): By the People is a movement fighting for an America that prioritizes the freedom and dignity of all of its people and fighting for a democracy that reflects the beauty of who we've become as a nation--starting first with removing the Trump administration. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/people; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/people.rss)
- [Stand.earth](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/standearth/index.md): Stand.earth (formerly ForestEthics) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with offices in Canada and the United States that is known for its groundbreaking research and successful corporate and citizens engagement campaigns to create new policies and industry standards in protecting forests, advocating the rights of indigenous peoples, and protecting the climate. Visit us at (28 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/standearth; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/standearth.rss)
- [The Sanders Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sanders-institute/index.md): Founded in 2017 by Dr. Jane Sanders and David Driscoll, the mission of the Sanders Institute is to revitalize democracy by actively engaging individuals, organizations and the media in the pursuit of progressive solutions to economic, environmental, racial and social justice issues. The Sanders Institute seeks to bring truth to the policy debate with rigorous research, innovative and common sense policy, presented in dialogue with a range of advocates in order to engage everyone in the issues that really matter. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sanders-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sanders-institute.rss)
- [Tax March](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/tax-march/index.md): The Tax March is a growing national movement that extends far beyond one day of marching. Led by working Americans who are tired of systems that are rigged in favor of the super-rich, the Tax March movement maintains that any reform to the tax code should be about closing loopholes for the wealthy and big corporations and building an economy that invests in working people, whether white, black, or brown, and prioritizes economic justice particularly for communities of color. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/tax-march; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/tax-march.rss)
- [Friends of the Earth Scotland](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-scotland/index.md): Friends of the Earth Scotland is campaigning for a world where everyone can enjoy a healthy environment and a fair share of the earth's resources. Climate change is the greatest threat to this aim, that's why we're calling for a just transition to a 100% renewable, nuclear-free, zero-fossil-fuel Scotland. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-scotland; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/friends-earth-scotland.rss)
- [Justice Democrats](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/justice-democrats/index.md): Justice Democrats is recruiting and supporting progressive Democrats all over the country, starting with Congress. We're working to transform the Democratic Party while building independent power. We do this by running primary challengers against out-of-touch Democratic incumbents and organizing to hold the party accountable to our issues. (14 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/justice-democrats; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/justice-democrats.rss)
- [Sunrise Movement](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sunrise-movement/index.md): Sunrise Movement is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. (208 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sunrise-movement; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sunrise-movement.rss)
- [Western Values Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/western-values-project/index.md): Western Values Project brings accountability to the national conversation about Western public lands and national parks conservation - a space too often dominated by industry lobbyists and their allies in government. (55 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/western-values-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/western-values-project.rss)
- [Good Jobs First](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/good-jobs-first/index.md): Good Jobs First is a national policy resource center for grassroots groups and public officials, promoting corporate and government accountability in economic development and smart growth for working families. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/good-jobs-first; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/good-jobs-first.rss)
- [Climate Works for All](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-works-all/index.md): Climate Works for All is comprised of environmental justice advocates, community organizations, and Labor unions with the goal of addressing climate change and income inequality. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-works-all; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-works-all.rss)
- [Democratic Socialists of America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democratic-socialists-america/index.md): The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has over 55,000 members and 200 local groups (as of November 2018) building working class power while establishing an openly democratic socialist presence in American communities and politics. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democratic-socialists-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/democratic-socialists-america.rss)
- [Freedom From Facebook & Google](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-facebook-google/index.md): Freedom From Facebook, a diverse group of organizations sharing deep concerns about Facebook's extraordinary power over our lives and democracy, is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to use its broad authority to break up Facebook's monopoly and re-establish competition in the social networking space by spinning off WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger into independent businesses. Freedom From Facebook also calls on the FTC to develop interoperability standards, so users will have the freedom to communicate between competing social networks, as well as implement strong privacy rules to give users more control over the collection and utilization of personal information. Learn more at (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-facebook-google; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/freedom-facebook-google.rss)
- [National Center for Transgender Equality](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-center-transgender-equality/index.md): The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization based in Washington, D.C. NCTE is devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. Founded in 2 (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-center-transgender-equality; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-center-transgender-equality.rss)
- [As You Sow](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/you-sow/index.md): As You Sow is the nation's non-profit leader in shareholder advocacy. Founded in 1992, we harness shareholder power to create lasting change that benefits people, planet, and profit. Our mission is to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. (89 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/you-sow; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/you-sow.rss)
- [Rootstrikers](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rootstrikers/index.md): Rootstrikers is a project of Demand Progress dedicated to reclaiming our government so it works for everyone and not just the wealthy and the well-connected. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rootstrikers; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/rootstrikers.rss)
- [Every Voice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/every-voice/index.md): Every Voice is a national organization fighting for a democracy that works for everyone. Learn more at everyvoice.org. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/every-voice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/every-voice.rss)
- [Direct Action Everywhere](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/direct-action-everywhere/index.md): Investigators with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) enter farms, slaughterhouses, and other agricultural facilities to document abuses and rescue sick and injured animals. DxE's investigatory work has been featured in The New York Times, Nightline, and a viral Glenn Greenwald expose, and DxE activists led the recent effort to ban fur products in San Francisco. Activists have been (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/direct-action-everywhere; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/direct-action-everywhere.rss)
- [Global Witness](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-witness/index.md): Many of the world's worst environmental and human rights abuses are driven by the exploitation of natural resources and corruption in the global political and economic system. Global Witness is campaigning to end this. We carry out hard-hitting investigations, expose these abuses, and campaign for change. We are independent, not-for-profit, and work with partners around the world in our fight for justice. (14 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-witness; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/global-witness.rss)
- [Earthworks](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earthworks/index.md): Earthworks is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the adverse impacts of mineral and energy development while promoting sustainable solutions. (48 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earthworks; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/earthworks.rss)
- [National Abortion Federation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-abortion-federation/index.md): The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers.Our members include individuals, private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women's health centers, physicians' offices, and hospitals who together care for approximately half the women who choose abortion in the U.S. and Canada each year. Our members also include public hospitals and both public and private clinics in Mexico City and private clinics in Colombia. (25 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-abortion-federation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-abortion-federation.rss)
- [Representative Keith Ellison](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/representative-keith-ellison/index.md): Rep. Keith Ellison has represented the Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives since taking office on January 4, 2007. The Fifth Congressional District is the most vibrant and diverse district in Minnesota with a rich history and traditions. The Fifth District includes the City of Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs. (12 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/representative-keith-ellison; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/representative-keith-ellison.rss)
- [Transgender Law Center (TLC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/transgender-law-center-tlc/index.md): Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/transgender-law-center-tlc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/transgender-law-center-tlc.rss)
- [Sea Shepherd](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sea-shepherd/index.md): Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sea-shepherd; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sea-shepherd.rss)
- [American Promise](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-promise/index.md): American Promise mission is to empower, inspire, and organize Americans to win the cause of our time: the 28th Amendment. This historic reform will rebalance our politics and government by putting the rights of individual citizens and the interests of the nation before the privileges of concentrated money, corporations, unions, political parties, and superPACs. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-promise; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-promise.rss)
- [Americans For Tax Fairness Action Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-tax-fairness-action-fund/index.md): Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a diverse campaign of more than 425 national, state and local endorsing organizations united in support of a fair tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This requires big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, not to live by their own set of rules. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-tax-fairness-action-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americans-tax-fairness-action-fund.rss)
- [Biofuelwatch](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/biofuelwatch/index.md): Biofuelwatch provides information, advocacy and campaigning in relation to the climate, environmental, human rights and public health impacts of large-scale industrial bioenergy. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/biofuelwatch; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/biofuelwatch.rss)
- [Grassroots International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-international/index.md): Grassroots International connects people in the US with global movements solving the root causes of poverty and climate change. We are a trusted link to communities building power to protect their rights to land, food, and water for the well-being of people and the planet. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/grassroots-international.rss)
- [End Rape On Campus (EROC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/end-rape-campus-eroc/index.md): End Rape On Campus (EROC) provides confidential services. This message is intended only for the named recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. This email and all other communication from EROC employees are not substitutes for legal or mental health advice, as EROC employees are not lawyers or mental health professionals. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/end-rape-campus-eroc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/end-rape-campus-eroc.rss)
- [Climate Justice Programme](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-justice-programme/index.md): The Climate Justice Programme (CJP) is an independent not for profit, non-government organisation that uses the law to expose environmental and human rights issues relating to climate change. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-justice-programme; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-justice-programme.rss)
- [Stop the Wall](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-wall/index.md): The Stop the Wall Campaign's aim to tear down the Wall is aligned with the Palestinian desire for liberation--for those of us inside and in exile, the young and old, those who have died, and those yet to be born. We are a grassroots movement uniting the struggle of the popular committees in the villages, refugee camps and cities struggling against the Wall and the settlements and the efforts of Palestinian civil society. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-wall; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stop-wall.rss)
- [Organization for Competitive Markets](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/organization-competitive-markets/index.md): Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) is a national, non-profit public policy research and advocacy organization headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/organization-competitive-markets; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/organization-competitive-markets.rss)
- [Balestra Media](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/balestra-media/index.md): Balestra Media is a communications shop of energetic and savvy public relations professionals dedicated to providing a springboard for the progressive community into the news cycle, in ways that both reach and influence. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/balestra-media; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/balestra-media.rss)
- [The LGBT Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lgbt-network/index.md): The LGBT Network is an association of non-profit organizations working to serve the LGBT community of Long Island and Queens throughout the lifespan: Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY), The Long Island LGBT Community Center (The Center), Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders - Long Island (SAGE-LI), and the Queens LGBT Community Center (Q Center). (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lgbt-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/lgbt-network.rss)
- [Pacifica Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/pacifica-foundation/index.md): Started in 1946 by conscientious objector Lew Hill, Pacifica's storied history includes impounded program tapes for a 1954 on-air discussion of marijuana, broadcasting the Seymour Hersh revelations of the My Lai massacre, bombings by the Ku Klux Klan, going to jail rather than turning over the Patty Hearst tapes to the FBI, and Supreme Court cases. Those cases include the 1984 decision that noncommercial broadcasters have the constitutional right to editorialize, and the Seven Dirty Words ruling following George Carlin's incendiary performances on WBAI. The Pacifica Foundation operates noncommercial radio stations in five major metropolitan areas, and syndicates content to over 220 affiliates. It invented listener-sponsored radio. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/pacifica-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/pacifica-foundation.rss)
- [Compassion in World Farming](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/compassion-world-farming/index.md): Compassion in World Farming was founded in 1967 in England by a British farmer who became horrified by the development of intensive factory farming. Over 40 years ago he decided to make a difference and take a stand against this farming system. In his lifetime, Peter Roberts saw the demise of veal crates and gestation crates in the UK, and in Europe achieved recognition that animals are sentient beings and secured a ban on the barren battery cage and gestation crates for sows (except for the period up to four weeks into pregnancy). (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/compassion-world-farming; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/compassion-world-farming.rss)
- [UNHCR](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/unhcr/index.md): UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/unhcr; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/unhcr.rss)
- [Community Alliance for Global Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-alliance-global-justice/index.md): Community Alliance for Global Justice educates and mobilizes with individuals and organizations to strengthen local economies everywhere. CAGJ is grassroots, community-based and committed to anti-oppressive organizing as we build solidarity across diverse movements. CAGJ seeks to transform unjust trade and agricultural policies and practices imposed by corporations, governments and other institutions while creating and supporting alternatives that embody social justice, sustainability, diversity and grassroots democracy. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-alliance-global-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/community-alliance-global-justice.rss)
- [Elders Rising](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/elders-rising/index.md): Elders Rising calls on the older generation to defend a livable future for their children, grandchildren, and future generations. We believe the State of Utah and the Federal Government must respond to the crisis of climate change. We act for intergenerational justice and for the countless species that make a livable world. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/elders-rising; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/elders-rising.rss)
- [Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/moms-demand-action-gun-sense-america/index.md): Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was created to demand action from legislators, state and federal; companies; and educational institutions to establish common-sense gun reforms. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/moms-demand-action-gun-sense-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/moms-demand-action-gun-sense-america.rss)
- [The Right Livelihood Award](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/right-livelihood-award/index.md): The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to "honour and support courageous people solving global problems". It has become widely known as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' and there are now 182 Laureates from 72 countries. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/right-livelihood-award; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/right-livelihood-award.rss)
- [Women's Earth & Climate Action Network (WECAN)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/womens-earth-climate-action-network-wecan/index.md): The Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International is a solutions-based organization established to engage women worldwide in policy advocacy, on-the-ground projects, direct action, trainings, and movement building for global climate justice. (43 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/womens-earth-climate-action-network-wecan; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/womens-earth-climate-action-network-wecan.rss)
- [The International Rescue Committee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-rescue-committee/index.md): The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. (53 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-rescue-committee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/international-rescue-committee.rss)
- [Women Cross DMZ](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/women-cross-dmz/index.md): Women Cross DMZis an organization led by women working globally for peace in Korea. In May 2015, on the 70thanniversary of the division of Korea, Women Cross DMZ led a historic women's peace walk across the De-Militarized Zone from North to South Korea to draw global attention to the urgent need to end the Korean War with a peace treaty, reunite divided families, and ensure women's leadership in peacebuilding. www.womencrossdmz.org (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/women-cross-dmz; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/women-cross-dmz.rss)
- [Acadia Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/acadia-center/index.md): Acadia Center is a non-profit, research and advocacy organization committed to advancing the clean energy future. Acadia Center is at the forefront of efforts to build clean, low-carbon and consumer-friendly economies. Acadia Center provides accurate and reliable information and offers a real-world and comprehensive approach to problem solving through innovation and collaboration. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/acadia-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/acadia-center.rss)
- [American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-sustainable-business-council-asbc/index.md): The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) advocates for policy change and informs business owners, policymakers and the public about the need and opportunities for building a vibrant, broadly prosperous, sustainable economy. Founded in 2009, its membership represents over 250,000 businesses in a wide range of industries. (40 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-sustainable-business-council-asbc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-sustainable-business-council-asbc.rss)
- [The New York Immigration Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/new-york-immigration-coalition/index.md): The New York Immigration Coalition aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all. The NYIC promotes immigrants' full civic participation, fosters their leadership, and provides a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York's diverse immigrant communities. (48 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/new-york-immigration-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/new-york-immigration-coalition.rss)
- [GAIA](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/gaia/index.md): GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 800 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/gaia; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/gaia.rss)
- [The Culinary Union](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/culinary-union/index.md): The Culinary Union was chartered on November 1, 1935 and 2015 marked the 80th anniversary of the organization that has improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nevada hospitality workers and their families with union wages and benefits. In eight decades, the Culinary Union has become an essential economic institution and a strong political force in the Battle Born State. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/culinary-union; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/culinary-union.rss)
- [The American Immigration Council](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-immigration-council/index.md): The American Immigration Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a powerful voice in promoting laws, policies, and attitudes that honor our proud history as a nation of immigrants. Through research and policy analysis, litigation and communications, and international exchange, the Council seeks to shape a twenty-first century vision of the American immigrant experience. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-immigration-council; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-immigration-council.rss)
- [Citizens Against Monopoly](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-against-monopoly/index.md): Citizens Against Monopoly's mission was to protect liberty and democracy from gigantic corporate monopolies. When we criticized Google for its monopoly practices, our program's funding was cut. We're continuing the fight -- and we need you to join us. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-against-monopoly; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/citizens-against-monopoly.rss)
- [Our Revolution](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-revolution/index.md): Our Revolution will reclaim democracy for the working people of our country by harnessing the transformative energy of the "political revolution." Through supporting a new generation of progressive leaders, empowering millions to fight for progressive change and elevating the political consciousness, Our Revolution will transform American politics to make our political and economic systems once again responsive to the needs of working families. Our Revolution has three intertwined goals: to revitalize American democracy, empower progressive leaders and elevate the political consciousness. (25 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-revolution; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/our-revolution.rss)
- [United We Dream](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-we-dream/index.md): United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. We create welcoming spaces for young people - regardless of immigration status - to support, engage, and empower them to make their voice heard and win! (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-we-dream; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/united-we-dream.rss)
- [National Women's Law Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-womens-law-center/index.md): The Center has worked for more than 40 years to protect and promote equality and opportunity for women and families. We champion policies and laws that help women and girls achieve their potential at every stage of their lives -- at school, at work, at home, and in retirement. Our staff are committed advocates who take on the toughest challenges, especially for the most vulnerable women. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-womens-law-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-womens-law-center.rss)
- [SumofUs](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sumofus/index.md): SumOfUs is a community of people from around the world committed to curbing the growing power of corporations. We want to buy from, work for and invest in companies that respect the environment, treat their workers well and respect democracy. And we're not afraid to hold them to account when they don't. Barely a day goes by without a fresh corporate scandal making headlines. From polluting the environment to dodging taxes - when left unchecked, corporations don't let anything stand in the way of bigger profits. In an age of multinational companies that are bigger and richer than some countries, it can be easy to feel powerless. But there is a chink in their armor. The biggest corporations in the world rely on ordinary people to keep them in business. We are their customers, their employees, and often their investors. When we act together, we can be more powerful than they are. Together, our community of millions act as a global consumer watchdog - running and winning campaign (17 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sumofus; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sumofus.rss)
- [Global Zero](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-zero/index.md): Global Zero is the international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons. It is led by more than 300 eminent world leaders and backed by a half a million citizens worldwide. For more information, please visitwww.globalzero.org. (25 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-zero; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/global-zero.rss)
- [The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/immigrant-legal-resource-center-ilrc/index.md): The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC's mission is to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities. www.ilrc.org (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/immigrant-legal-resource-center-ilrc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/immigrant-legal-resource-center-ilrc.rss)
- [NAACP Legal Defense Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/naacp-legal-defense-fund/index.md): Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation's first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957--although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/naacp-legal-defense-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/naacp-legal-defense-fund.rss)
- [Network Lobby](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/network-lobby/index.md): NETWORK, advocates for justice inspired by Catholic sisters, educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. They have a more than 40-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/network-lobby; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/network-lobby.rss)
- [NIAC Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/niac-action/index.md): NIAC Action is the grassroots, civic action organization committed to advancing peace and championing the priorities of the Iranian-American community. We are a nonpartisan nonprofit and the 501(c)4 sister organization of the National Iranian American Council, which works to strengthen the Iranian-American community and promote greater understanding between the American and Iranian people. (41 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/niac-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/niac-action.rss)
- [Asian Americans Advancing Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/asian-americans-advancing-justice/index.md): Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC) advocates for an America in which all Americans can benefit equally from, and contribute to, the American dream. Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights for Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Advancing Justice | AAJC is a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 in Washington, D.C. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/asian-americans-advancing-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/asian-americans-advancing-justice.rss)
- [Freedom of the Press Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-press-foundation/index.md): Freedom of the Press Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping support and defend public-interest journalism focused on exposing mismanagement, corruption, and law-breaking in government. We work to preserve and strengthen the rights guaranteed to the press under the First Amendment through crowdfunding, digital security and internet advocacy. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-press-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/freedom-press-foundation.rss)
- [Progressive Congress Action Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-congress-action-fund/index.md): Progressive Congress Action Fund is a 501(c)4 organization that serves as the vital linkage between progressive Members of Congress and grassroots organizers around the country, turning bold policy ideas into action and advancing a progressive agenda. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-congress-action-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/progressive-congress-action-fund.rss)
- [The Main Street Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/main-street-alliance/index.md): The Main Street Alliance (MSA) is a national network of small business coalitions working to build a new voice for small businesses on important public policy issues. Main Street Alliance members are working throughout the country to build policies that work for business owners, their employees, and the communities they serve. (68 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/main-street-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/main-street-alliance.rss)
- [Millions Marching For Medicare For All](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/millions-marching-medicare-all/index.md): Millions Marching For Medicare For All is a collective of everyday Americans, taking the streets to demand that access to quality care be expanded to all people regardless of income. We chant "healthcare is a human right" as we shut down business as usual in the fight to save our lives. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/millions-marching-medicare-all; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/millions-marching-medicare-all.rss)
- [The World Health Organization](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/world-health-organization/index.md): The World Health Organization's goal is to build a better, healthier future for people all over the world. Working through offices in more than 150 countries, WHO staff work side by side with governments and other partners to ensure the highest attainable level of health for all people. Together we strive to combat diseases - infectious diseases like influenza and HIV and noncommunicable ones like cancer and heart disease. We help mothers and children survive and thrive so they can look forward to a healthy old age. We ensure the safety of the air people breathe, the food they eat, the water they drink - and the medicines and vaccines they need. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/world-health-organization; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/world-health-organization.rss)
- [Senator Elizabeth Warren](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/senator-elizabeth-warren/index.md): Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat and fearless consumer advocate who has made her life's work the fight for middle class families, was elected to the United States Senate on November 6, 2012, by the people of Massachusetts. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/senator-elizabeth-warren; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/senator-elizabeth-warren.rss)
- [Rep. Barbara Lee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/barbara-lee/index.md): Congresswoman Barbara Lee has been representing California’s 13th District since 1998. She is the highest ranking African American woman in Democratic Leadership, serving as Co-Chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. She also serves on the Budget Committee and the powerful Appropriations Committee, which oversees all federal government spending. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/barbara-lee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/barbara-lee.rss)
- [John Conyers, Jr., Congressman](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/john-conyers-jr-congressman/index.md): John Conyers, Jr., Congressman (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/john-conyers-jr-congressman; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/john-conyers-jr-congressman.rss)
- [The Commonwealth Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/commonwealth-fund/index.md): The Commonwealth Fund--among the first private foundations started by a woman philanthropist, Anna M. Harkness--was established in 1918 with the broad charge to enhance the common good. The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/commonwealth-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/commonwealth-fund.rss)
- [Social Security Works](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/social-security-works/index.md): Social Security Works' mission is to: Protect and improve the economic security of disadvantaged and at-risk populations; Safeguard the economic security of those dependent, now or in the future, on Social Security; and Maintain Social Security as a vehicle of social justice. (124 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/social-security-works; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/social-security-works.rss)
- [Mercy for Animals](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/mercy-animals/index.md): Mercy For Animals believes that a humane society is possible. We are committed to reducing the greatest amount of suffering for the largest number of animals. Our efforts focus on protecting farmed animals--the most abused and exploited animals on the planet--and utilize a broad range of strategic approaches that seek to expose cruelty, prosecute abusers, and inspire consumers to make compassionate food choices. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/mercy-animals; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/mercy-animals.rss)
- [American Federation of Teachers](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-federation-teachers/index.md): The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do. The American Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, was founded in 1916 and today represents 1.6 million members in more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide. (25 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-federation-teachers; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-federation-teachers.rss)
- [Nuclear Age Peace Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nuclear-age-peace-foundation/index.md): Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's mission is to educate and advocate for peace and a world free of nuclear weapons, and to empower peace leaders. (15 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nuclear-age-peace-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/nuclear-age-peace-foundation.rss)
- [Climate Disobedience Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-disobedience-center/index.md): Climate Disobedience Center is an organization designed to serve as a catalyst for direct action, creating points of vivid moral clarity, emboldening both climate activists and the unlikeliest of allies, to capture the heart and soul of the climate debate. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-disobedience-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-disobedience-center.rss)
- [Open Media](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/open-media/index.md): OpenMedia is a community-driven organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free. We operate as a civic engagement platform to educate, engage, and empower Internet users to advance digital rights around the world. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/open-media; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/open-media.rss)
- [Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-environmental-legal-defense-fund/index.md): The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is helping build a decolonial movement for Community Rights and the Rights of Nature to advance democratic, economic, social, and environmental rights-building upward from the grassroots to the state, federal, and international levels. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-environmental-legal-defense-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/community-environmental-legal-defense-fund.rss)
- [Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-nuclear-disarmament/index.md): CND campaigns non-violently to rid the world of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and to create genuine security for future generations. CND opposes all nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction: their development, manufacture, testing, deployment and use or threatened use by any country. (36 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-nuclear-disarmament; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/campaign-nuclear-disarmament.rss)
- [Bold Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bold-alliance/index.md): Bold Alliance is a non-profit organization fighting fossil fuel projects, protecting landowners against eminent domain abuse, and working for clean energy solutions while building an engaged base of citizens who care about the land, water and climate change. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bold-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/bold-alliance.rss)
- [The Greenlining Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/greenlining-institute/index.md): Greenlining is the solution to redlining. We advance economic opportunity and empowerment for people of color through advocacy, community and coalition building, research, and leadership development. (15 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/greenlining-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/greenlining-institute.rss)
- [Physicians for Reproductive Health](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-reproductive-health/index.md): Physicians for Reproductive Health unites the medical community and concerned supporters. Together, we work to improve access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including contraception and abortion, especially to meet the health care needs of economically disadvantaged patients. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-reproductive-health; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/physicians-reproductive-health.rss)
- [Americans for Tax Fairness](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-tax-fairness/index.md): Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a diverse campaign of more than 420 national, state and local endorsing organizations united in support of a fair tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This requires big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, not to live by their own set of rules. (70 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-tax-fairness; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americans-tax-fairness.rss)
- [Climate Action Tracker](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-action-tracker/index.md): The Climate Action Tracker is an independent scientific analysis that measures government climate action against the globally agreed aim of holding warming well below 2degC, and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5degC. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-action-tracker; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-action-tracker.rss)
- [American Federation of Government Employees](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-federation-government-employees/index.md): The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union proudly representing 700,000 federal and D.C. government workers nationwide and overseas. Workers in virtually all functions of government at every federal agency depend upon AFGE for legal representation, legislative advocacy, technical expertise and informational services. (57 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-federation-government-employees; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-federation-government-employees.rss)
- [Patriotic Millionaires](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/patriotic-millionaires/index.md): The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens. (262 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/patriotic-millionaires; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/patriotic-millionaires.rss)
- [Congresswoman Barbara Lee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-barbara-lee/index.md): Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a Democrat, represents the 13th District in California. (37 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congresswoman-barbara-lee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congresswoman-barbara-lee.rss)
- [Progressive Change Campaign Committee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-change-campaign-committee/index.md): The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (BoldProgressives.org) is a million-member grassroots organization building power at the local, state and federal levels. It engages in electoral work and issue advocacy work -- fighting on democracy issues and for economic populist priorities like expanding Social Security, Medicare For All, a Green New Deal, student debt cancellation, and Wall Street reform. PCCC has been a proud supporter of Elizabeth Warren since her first run for Senate and was the first national political organization to endorse her for president in the 2020 election. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-change-campaign-committee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/progressive-change-campaign-committee.rss)
- [Indivisible](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/indivisible/index.md): Indivisible Project (501c4) drives coordinated campaigns, powering the grassroots Indivisible movement to defeat the rightwing takeover of American government and win an inclusive democracy and bold progressive policies. (41 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/indivisible; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/indivisible.rss)
- [Stop the War Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-war-coalition/index.md): Stop the War was founded in September 2001 in the weeks following 9/11, when George W. Bush announced the "war on terror". Stop the War has since been dedicated to preventing and ending the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere. Stop the War opposes the British establishment's disastrous addiction to war and its squandering of public resources on militarism. We have initiated many campaigns around these issues. (48 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-war-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stop-war-coalition.rss)
- [Friends of the Earth Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-action/index.md): Friends of the Earth Action provides extra political muscle on legislative battles here in the U.S. to our sister organization, Friends of the Earth, which is part of a network of affiliates in 76 nations around the world. Friends of the Earth Action and its affiliated PAC make thoughtful political endorsements, provide direct support to candidates and place environmentalists in the field on critical campaigns. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/friends-earth-action.rss)
- [Earthrights International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earthrights-international/index.md): EarthRights International (ERI) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which we define as "earth rights." We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns. Through these strategies, EarthRights International seeks to end earth rights abuses, to provide real solutions for real people, and to promote and protect human rights and the environment in the communities where we work. (31 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earthrights-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/earthrights-international.rss)
- [Free Speech for People](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-speech-people/index.md): Free Speech For People is a national non-partisan non-profit organization founded on the day of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC that works to defend our democracy and our Constitution. (87 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-speech-people; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/free-speech-people.rss)
- [National Employment Law Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-employment-law-project/index.md): For more than 45 years, NELP has sought to ensure that America upholds for all workers her promise of opportunity and economic security through work. NELP fights for policies to create good jobs, expand access to work, and strengthen protections and support for low-wage workers and the unemployed. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-employment-law-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-employment-law-project.rss)
- [Open Debate Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/open-debate-coalition/index.md): Open Debate Coalition is the sponsor of the OpenPresidentalQuestions.com project--bringing together the PCCC, Americans for Tax Reform, and dozens of influential left, right, and Silicon Valley coalition members to give the public a voice in the second debate, which will feature questions from the internet. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/open-debate-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/open-debate-coalition.rss)
- [Navdanya International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/navdanya-international/index.md): Navdanya is a movement for Earth Democracy based on the philosophy of 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' (The Earth as one Family). We protect the India's biodiversity based food heritage through Bija Swaraj, Ann Swaraj, Bhu Swaraj and Gyan swaraj. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/navdanya-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/navdanya-international.rss)
- [Shut It Down - Climate Direct Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/shut-it-down-climate-direct-action/index.md): In October 2016 activists under the banner of 'Shut It Down - Climate Direct Action' took the climate future into their own hands by shutting down all the tar sands oil flowing into the US from Canada. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/shut-it-down-climate-direct-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/shut-it-down-climate-direct-action.rss)
- [Grassroots Global Justice Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-global-justice-alliance/index.md): Grassroots Global Justice (GGJ) is a national alliance of US-based grassroots organizing (GRO) groups organizing to build an agenda for power for working and poor people and communities of color. We understand that there are important connections between the local issues we work on and the global context, and we see ourselves as part of an international movement for global justice. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-global-justice-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/grassroots-global-justice-alliance.rss)
- [SOA Watch](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/soa-watch/index.md): SOA Watch is a nonviolent grassroots movement that works to close the SOA and change the oppressive US foreign policy that the school represents. To date, over 70,000 Latin American soldiers and police have been trained at the US taxpayer-funded institution. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/soa-watch; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/soa-watch.rss)
- [Green Party of the US](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-party-us/index.md): The Green Party of the United States is a grassroots national party. We're the party for "We The People," the health of our planet, and future generations instead of the One Percent. (42 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-party-us; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/green-party-us.rss)
- [Live Share Grow](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/live-share-grow/index.md): Live Share Grow uses creative nonviolent action to interrupt business-as-usual; invites the 100% to live, share, grow; points to the viable alternatives, and actively participates in local, sustainable, just, and equitable ways of being in the world. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/live-share-grow; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/live-share-grow.rss)
- [Advancement Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/advancement-project/index.md): Advancement Project is a next generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America's promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/advancement-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/advancement-project.rss)
- [Chicago Teachers Union](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/chicago-teachers-union/index.md): An affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), CTU is the third largest teachers local in the country and the largest local union in Illinois. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/chicago-teachers-union; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/chicago-teachers-union.rss)
- [Indigenous Environmental Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/indigenous-environmental-network/index.md): Established in 1990 within the United States, IEN was formed by grassroots Indigenous peoples and individuals to address environmental and economic justice issues (EJ). IEN's activities include building the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect our sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, health of both our people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities. (122 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/indigenous-environmental-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/indigenous-environmental-network.rss)
- [Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/financial-accountability-and-corporate-transparency-fact-coalition/index.md): The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition is a non-partisan alliance of more than 100 state, national, and international organizations working toward a fair tax system that addresses the challenges of a global economy and promoting policies to combat the harmful impacts of corrupt financial practices. (34 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/financial-accountability-and-corporate-transparency-fact-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/financial-accountability-and-corporate-transparency-fact-coalition.rss)
- [Coalition to Stop Gun Violence](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/coalition-stop-gun-violence/index.md): The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) is a 501(c)(4) organization that was founded in 1974. We seek to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy. Our organizational structure is unique among national gun violence prevention organizations. CSGV is composed of 47 national organizations working to reduce gun violence. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/coalition-stop-gun-violence; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/coalition-stop-gun-violence.rss)
- [The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/leadership-conference-civil-and-human-rights/index.md): The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals. (159 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/leadership-conference-civil-and-human-rights; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/leadership-conference-civil-and-human-rights.rss)
- [Stop Mass Incarceration Network - Chicago](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-mass-incarceration-network-chicago/index.md): The Stop Mass Incarceration Network is a project of the Alliance for Global Justice, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stop-mass-incarceration-network-chicago; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stop-mass-incarceration-network-chicago.rss)
- [International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-campaign-abolish-nuclear-weapons-ican/index.md): The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of more than 400 non-governmental organisations in 95 countries. We are calling on governments to launch negotiations on a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons, which would place them on the same legal footing as chemical and biological weapons and help pave the way to their complete elimination. (23 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-campaign-abolish-nuclear-weapons-ican; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/international-campaign-abolish-nuclear-weapons-ican.rss)
- [Progress Michigan](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progress-michigan/index.md): Progress Michigan aims to provide a strong credible voice that holds public officials and government accountable, assists in the promotion of progressive ideas and uses state-of-the-art web based new media to creatively build grassroots support for progressive ideas. (26 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progress-michigan; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/progress-michigan.rss)
- [350 Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/350-action/index.md): 350 Action is the independent political action arm of the non-profit, non-partisan climate justice group 350.org. (79 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/350-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/350-action.rss)
- [Climate Action Network International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-action-network-international/index.md): The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of over 950 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from over 110 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-action-network-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-action-network-international.rss)
- [Climate Tracker](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-tracker/index.md): The Carbon Tracker Initiative is a not-for-profit financial think tank that seeks to promote a climate-secure global energy market by aligning capital markets with climate reality. Our research to date on unburnable carbon and stranded assets has begun a new debate on how to align the financial system with the energy transition to a low carbon future. www.carbontracker.org (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/climate-tracker; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/climate-tracker.rss)
- [Regeneration International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/regeneration-international/index.md): Regeneration International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to building a global network of farmers, scientists, businesses, activists, educators, journalists, governments and consumers who will promote and put into practice regenerative agriculture and land-use practices that: provide abundant, nutritious food; revive local economies; rebuild soil fertility and biodiversity; and restore climate stability by returning carbon to the soil, through the natural process of photosynthesis. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/regeneration-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/regeneration-international.rss)
- [Ecojustice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/ecojustice/index.md): As Canada's only national environmental law charity, Ecojustice is building the case for a better earth. (38 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/ecojustice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/ecojustice.rss)
- [Together for Global Justice (CIDSE)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/together-global-justice-cidse/index.md): Our 17 member organisations from Europe and North America come together under the umbrella of CIDSE to fight poverty and inequality. We challenge governments, business, churches, and international bodies to adopt policies and behavior that promote human rights, social justice and sustainable development. These are important elements of our mission, which we try to achieve through joint advocacy, campaigning and development cooperation work. We work with people of all faiths and none. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/together-global-justice-cidse; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/together-global-justice-cidse.rss)
- [Carbon Underground](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/carbon-underground/index.md): TheCarbonUnderground was created to be the umbrella organization responsible for organizing, communicating and educating the world about the powerful climate change-reversing ability of healthy soil, and for helping to create the transformation of enough farms and grasslands to restore a healthy climate. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/carbon-underground; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/carbon-underground.rss)
- [Fight for $15](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fight-15/index.md): Fast food workers are coming together all over the country to fight for $15 an hour and the right to form a union without retaliation. We work for corporations that are making tremendous profits, but do not pay employees enough to support our families and to cover basic needs like food, health care, rent and transportation. (43 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fight-15; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fight-15.rss)
- [sHELLNO](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/shellno/index.md): We are a coalition of activists, artists, and noisemakers battling Shell in Seattle. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/shellno; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/shellno.rss)
- [Pembina Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/pembina-institute/index.md): The Pembina Institute is an organization unlike any other working to protect Canada's environment today. We combine the research and technical capacity of a think tank with the values and advocacy of an environmental non-governmental organization (NGO) and the entrepreneurial and business sense of a for-profit consulting firm. This equips us with a unique ability to employ multi-faceted and highly collaborative approaches to change. Pembina's 50 staff in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and the Northwest Territories use research, advocacy and consulting as tools toward our goal of leading Canada's transition to a clean energy future. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/pembina-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/pembina-institute.rss)
- [Global Justice Now](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-justice-now/index.md): Global Justice Now is a democratic social justice organisation working as part of a global movement to challenge the powerful and create a more just and equal world. We mobilise people in the UK for change, and act in solidarity with those fighting injustice, particularly in the global south. (124 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-justice-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/global-justice-now.rss)
- [La Via Campesina](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/la-campesina/index.md): La Via Campesina is the international movement which brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. It defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity. It strongly opposes corporate driven agriculture and transnational companies that are destroying people and nature. La Via Campesina comprises about 164 local and national organizations in 73 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether, it represents about 200 million farmers. It is an autonomous, pluralist and multicultural movement, independent from any political, economic or other type of affiliation. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/la-campesina; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/la-campesina.rss)
- [Grassroots Leadership](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-leadership/index.md): At Grassroots Leadership, we believe no one should profit from the imprisonment of human beings. We live in the most incarcerated society in the history of the world. Every day we confront a prison industry that preys on pain because our addiction to locking people up dehumanizes all of us. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-leadership; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/grassroots-leadership.rss)
- [New York Civil Liberties Union](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/new-york-civil-liberties-union/index.md): The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is one of the nation's foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, we are a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with eight chapters and regional offices and nearly 50,000 members across the state. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/new-york-civil-liberties-union; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/new-york-civil-liberties-union.rss)
- [Privacy International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/privacy-international/index.md): Privacy International is committed to fighting for the right to privacy across the world. We investigate the secret world of government surveillance and expose the companies enabling it. We litigate to ensure that surveillance is consistent with the rule of law. We advocate for strong national, regional, and international laws that protect privacy. We conduct research to catalyse policy change. We raise awareness about technologies and laws that place privacy at risk, to ensure that the public is informed and engaged. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/privacy-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/privacy-international.rss)
- [National Iranian American Council (NIAC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-iranian-american-council-niac/index.md): The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to give voice to the Iranian-American community. From being the trusted voice on U.S.- Iran relations, to pushing forth legislation that protects individuals of Iranian heritage from systematic discrimination, to celebrating our cultural heritage, NIAC creates a lasting impact in the lives of the members of our community. (141 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-iranian-american-council-niac; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-iranian-american-council-niac.rss)
- [Restaurant Opportunities Centers United](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/restaurant-opportunities-centers-united/index.md): The mission of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United is to improve wages and working conditions for the nation's restaurant workforce. We are 13,000 restaurant workers, 100 high-road employers, thousands of engaged consumers united for raising restaurant industry standards. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/restaurant-opportunities-centers-united; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/restaurant-opportunities-centers-united.rss)
- [U.S. Right to Know](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-right-know/index.md): U.S. Right to Know is a nonprofit investigative research group focused on promoting transparency for public health. We are working globally to expose corporate wrongdoing and government failures that threaten the integrity of our health, our environment and our food system. (17 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-right-know; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/us-right-know.rss)
- [Share the World's Resources](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/share-worlds-resources/index.md): STWR is an independent civil society organisation campaigning for a fairer sharing of wealth, power and resources within and between nations. Through our research and activities, we make a case for implementing economic sharing as a pragmatic solution to a broad range of interconnected crises that governments are currently failing to address - including hunger, poverty, climate change, environmental destruction and conflict over the world's natural resources. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/share-worlds-resources; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/share-worlds-resources.rss)
- [National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-latina-institute-reproductive-health/index.md): The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is the only national reproductive justice organization dedicated to building Latina power to advance health, dignity, and justice for 26 million Latinas, their families, and communities in the United States through leadership development, community mobilization, policy advocacy, and strategic communications. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-latina-institute-reproductive-health; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-latina-institute-reproductive-health.rss)
- [Don't Shoot Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/dont-shoot-coalition/index.md): The murder of Michael Brown and its aftermath have exposed the ongoing crisis of police-on-black crime. As we work toward justice for the Brown family, we must also address the ongoing systemic problems of police practices in black, brown and all oppressed communities. We come together as diverse local organizations to speak with one voice, so that the greater St. Louis area can become a model for justice for all across the United States. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/dont-shoot-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/dont-shoot-coalition.rss)
- [Environmental Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-action/index.md): Founded at the first Earth Day with a mission to protect the planet and all of us who live on it, we are Environmental Action. We stand up to big polluters, take on the corrupt politicians and give everyone in America a chance to be an environmentalist with simple, powerful actions. Ready to take action for the planet? You're in the right place. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/environmental-action.rss)
- [Fight for the Future](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fight-future/index.md): Fight for the Future is a group of artists, engineers, activists, and technologists who have been behind the largest online protests in human history, channeling Internet outrage into political power to win public interest victories previously thought to be impossible. We fight for a future where technology liberates -- not oppresses -- us. (221 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fight-future; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fight-future.rss)
- [Oceana](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oceana/index.md): Oceana is the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy organization. Oceana works to protect and restore the world's oceans through targeted policy campaigns. (75 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oceana; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/oceana.rss)
- [UltraViolet](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/ultraviolet/index.md): UltraViolet is a powerful and rapidly growing community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture. (99 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/ultraviolet; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/ultraviolet.rss)
- [Huu-ay-aht First Nations](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/huu-ay-aht-first-nations/index.md): As a leader among First Nations, the Huu-ay-aht will create certainty for its people and generate wealth for financial independence by providing economic opportunities, social, cultural and recreational programs for all Huu-ay-aht. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/huu-ay-aht-first-nations; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/huu-ay-aht-first-nations.rss)
- [Latino Advocacy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/latino-advocacy/index.md): Latino Advocacy provides consulting for non-profits in the areas of policy, advocacy, organizing and membership development, workshops and meetings facilitation, focusing on racial justice and immigrant rights. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/latino-advocacy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/latino-advocacy.rss)
- [Western Environmental Law Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/western-environmental-law-center/index.md): The Western Environmental Law Center uses the power of the law to safeguard the public lands, wildlife, and communities of the American West in the face of a changing climate. We envision a thriving, resilient West, abundant with protected public lands and wildlife, powered by clean energy, and defended by communities rooted in an ethic of conservation. (49 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/western-environmental-law-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/western-environmental-law-center.rss)
- [Rolling Jubilee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rolling-jubilee/index.md): Rolling Jubilee is a Strike Debt project that buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, abolishes it. Together we can liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. Debt resistance is just the beginning. Join us as we imagine and create a new world based on the common good, not Wall Street profits. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rolling-jubilee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/rolling-jubilee.rss)
- [Coalition for Peace Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/coalition-peace-action/index.md): The Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) is a grassroots citizens organization which brings together people of all ages, backgrounds, professions, and political persuasions in support of three goals: global abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy, and a halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/coalition-peace-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/coalition-peace-action.rss)
- [Rodale Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rodale-institute/index.md): Rodale Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach. For more than sixty years, we've been researching the best practices of organic agriculture and sharing our findings with farmers and scientists throughout the world, advocating for policies that support farmers, and educating consumers about how going organic is the healthiest options for people and the planet. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rodale-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/rodale-institute.rss)
- [Food Research and Action Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-research-and-action-center/index.md): The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) leads efforts to broaden low-income children's access to healthy school lunch and breakfast, summer and afterschool meals and child care food in the child nutrition reauthorization process. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-research-and-action-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/food-research-and-action-center.rss)
- [Reject and Protect](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reject-and-protect/index.md): Reject and Protect is led by the "Cowboy Indian Alliance," a group of ranchers, farmers, and tribal communities from along the Keystone XL pipeline route. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reject-and-protect; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/reject-and-protect.rss)
- [The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/upstate-coalition-ground-drones-and-end-wars/index.md): The Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars is made up of antiwar organizations and formed around resistance to the MQ-9 Reaper Drone program at Hancock Field Air Force Base. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/upstate-coalition-ground-drones-and-end-wars; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/upstate-coalition-ground-drones-and-end-wars.rss)
- [Center for Reproductive Rights](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-reproductive-rights/index.md): The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization of lawyers and advocates who ensure reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person. (73 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-reproductive-rights; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-reproductive-rights.rss)
- [People's Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peoples-action/index.md): People's Action builds the power of poor and working people, in rural, suburban, and urban areas to win change through issue campaigns and elections. (190 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peoples-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/peoples-action.rss)
- [Jewish Voice for Peace](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jewish-voice-peace/index.md): Jewish Voice for Peace is a national, grassroots organization inspired by Jewish tradition to work for a just and lasting peace according to principles of human rights, equality, and international law for all the people of Israel and Palestine. JVP has over 200,000 online supporters, over 70 chapters, a youth wing, a Rabbinic Council, an Artist Council, an Academic Advisory Council, and an Advisory Board made up of leading U.S. intellectuals and artists. (108 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jewish-voice-peace; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jewish-voice-peace.rss)
- [Iraq Veterans Against the War](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/iraq-veterans-against-war/index.md): Matt Howard, Communications Director 646.723.0989Media@ivaw.org (15 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/iraq-veterans-against-war; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/iraq-veterans-against-war.rss)
- [US Robin Hood Tax Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-robin-hood-tax-campaign/index.md): The U.S. Robin Hood Tax would set a 0.5% tax on the trading of stocks, 50 cents on every $100 of trades, and lesser rates on trading in bonds, derivatives and currencies in the U.S. It marks the return of a tax on financial transactions in place in this country during the years 1914 to 1966. Some form of the financial tax is in place today in more than 40 countries. Who's behind it? We are Nobel Prize-winning economists, former US Vice Presidents and founders of Microsoft. We are Ronald Reagan's Budget Director, the UN's Secretary General and the Archbishop of Capetown. We are union members, nurses, small business owners, community organizers, faith leaders, AIDS activists, environmentalists, movie stars and musicians, and we are part of a global movement of more than 220 million people in 25 countries who are fighting for a Robin Hood Tax - a small tax on Wall Street trades. We are a force to be reckoned with, and we are demanding justice. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-robin-hood-tax-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/us-robin-hood-tax-campaign.rss)
- [Chesapeake Climate Action Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/chesapeake-climate-action-network/index.md): The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to fighting global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Our mission is to build and mobilize a powerful grassroots movement in this unique region that surrounds our nation's capital to call for state, national and international policies that will put us on a path to climate stability. - See more at: https://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view;=itemlist&... (24 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/chesapeake-climate-action-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/chesapeake-climate-action-network.rss)
- [Council of Canadians](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-canadians/index.md): Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada's leading social action organization, mobilizing a network of 60 chapters across the country. (116 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-canadians; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/council-canadians.rss)
- [Haiti: Make Births Safe](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/haiti-make-births-safe/index.md): Haiti: Make Births Safe is a new campaign consisting of international and Haitian nonprofits working to ensure the health of mothers and children in northern Haiti. By investing in local medical facilities, training community healthcare providers and empowering women with knowledge and support, H:MBS takes a systemic approach to providing effective and accessible maternal and newborn care. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/haiti-make-births-safe; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/haiti-make-births-safe.rss)
- [Center for Corporate Policy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-corporate-policy/index.md): The Center for Corporate Policy is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization working to curb corporate abuses and make corporations publicly accountable. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-corporate-policy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-corporate-policy.rss)
- [Our Children's Trust](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-childrens-trust/index.md): Our Children's Trust is a nonprofit organization advocating for urgent emissions reductions on behalf of youth and future generations, who have the most to lose if emissions are not reduced. OCT is spearheading the international human rights and environmental TRUST Campaign to compel governments to safeguard the atmosphere as a "public trust" resource. We use law, film, and media to elevate their compelling voices. Our ultimate goal is for governments to adopt and implement enforceable science-based Climate Recovery Plans with annual emissions reductions to return to an atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 350 ppm. (40 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-childrens-trust; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/our-childrens-trust.rss)
- [The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/partnership-civil-justice-fund/index.md): The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund is a public interest legal organization that brings a unique and cutting edge approach dedicated to the defense of human and civil rights secured by law, the protection of free speech and dissent, and the elimination of prejudice and discrimination. Among the PCJF cases are constitutional law, civil rights, women's rights, economic justice matters and Freedom of Information Act cases. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/partnership-civil-justice-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/partnership-civil-justice-fund.rss)
- [Friends of the Earth International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-international/index.md): Friends of the Earth International is the world's largest grassroots environmental network, uniting 74 national member groups and some 5,000 local activist groups on every continent. With over 2 million members and supporters around the world, FOEI campaigns on today's most urgent environmental and social issues. (86 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/friends-earth-international.rss)
- [Labor Network for Sustainability](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/labor-network-sustainability/index.md): Labor Network for Sustainability is dedicated to engaging trade unions, workers and our allies to support economic, social, and environmental sustainability. LNS provides a community for those in the labor and sustainability movements and their allies who care about economic justice, ecology, and equality. Our members are helping labor become a force for advancing worker interests - while advancing the broader social good. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/labor-network-sustainability; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/labor-network-sustainability.rss)
- [GetEQUAL](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/getequal/index.md): GetEQUAL was, from 2010 to 2018, an American non-profit organization and advocacy group which advocates for LGBT social and political equality through confrontational but non-violent direct action. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/getequal; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/getequal.rss)
- [Backbone Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/backbone-campaign/index.md): Backbone Campaign's mission is to provide creative strategies, artful activism trainings, and creative action support to progressive activists, organizers and organizations around the US and beyond in order to invigorate and nurture a people-power, community-based, and internationally-networked nonviolent social movement for human rights, thriving communities, and ecological wellbeing. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/backbone-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/backbone-campaign.rss)
- [The Breast Cancer Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/breast-cancer-fund/index.md): The Breast Cancer Fund works to connect the dots between breast cancer and exposures to chemicals and radiation in our everyday environments. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/breast-cancer-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/breast-cancer-fund.rss)
- [Forest Peoples Programme](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/forest-peoples-programme/index.md): Forest Peoples Programme supports the rights of peoples who live in forests and depend on them for their livelihoods. We work to create political space for forest peoples to secure their rights, control their lands and decide their own futures. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/forest-peoples-programme; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/forest-peoples-programme.rss)
- [Families Against Mandatory Minimums](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/families-against-mandatory-minimums/index.md): By advocating for sensible state and federal sentencing reform, FAMM helps: Mitigate the taxpayer burden of overcrowded prisons; Shift resources from excess incarceration to law enforcement and other programs proven to reduce crime and recidivism; and Mobilize the thousands whose lives are adversely affected by unfair sentences to work constructively for change. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/families-against-mandatory-minimums; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/families-against-mandatory-minimums.rss)
- [United Students Against Sweatshops](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-students-against-sweatshops/index.md): United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) is the nation's largest youth-led, student labor campaign organization, with affiliated locals on over 150 campuses. USAS affiliates run both local and nationally-coordinated campaigns for economic justice in partnership with worker and community organizations. Since 1997, USAS has won precedent-setting campaigns, educated students about the growing dominance of corporations in the globalized economy, as well as the intersectionality of identity and social justice issues with the labor movement, and has trained tens of thousands of young activists to become skilled organizers, researchers, and campaigners in labor and social justice organizations. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-students-against-sweatshops; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/united-students-against-sweatshops.rss)
- [The Jeremy Hammond Defense Committee](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jeremy-hammond-defense-committee/index.md): The Jeremy Hammond Defense Committee is a coalition of family members, activists, lawyers, and other supporters who are working together to protect free speech and to support Jeremy Hammond. The committee's goal is to provide information to the public and the press, to organize events related to Jeremy's case, and to support Jeremy while he is in jail. For more information, please visit https://freejeremy.net. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jeremy-hammond-defense-committee; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jeremy-hammond-defense-committee.rss)
- [Idle No More](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/idle-no-more/index.md): Idle No More is not an organization, but a movement, and includes hundreds of Indigenous grassroots organizers from across Turtle Island who are engaged in local resistance struggles against resource extraction corporations and the Canadian government ignoring and defying Treaty rights. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/idle-no-more; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/idle-no-more.rss)
- [Committee to Protect Journalists](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/committee-protect-journalists/index.md): The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. (33 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/committee-protect-journalists; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/committee-protect-journalists.rss)
- [All Out](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/all-out/index.md): In 76 countries it is a crime to be gay; in 10 it can cost you your life. All Out is mobilizing millions of people and their social networks to build a powerful global movement for love and equality. Our mission is to build a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity, because of who they are or who they love. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/all-out; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/all-out.rss)
- [All Out](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/all-out-0/index.md): In 76 countries it is a crime to be gay; in 10 it can cost you your life. All Out is mobilizing millions of people and their social networks to build a powerful global movement for love and equality. Our mission is to build a world where no person will have to sacrifice their family or freedom, safety or dignity, because of who they are or who they love. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/all-out-0; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/all-out-0.rss)
- [Penn Student Labor Action Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/penn-student-labor-action-project/index.md): Penn Student Labor Action Project is a student-worker collective that strives for the transformation of our community and material conditions to create a better reality. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/penn-student-labor-action-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/penn-student-labor-action-project.rss)
- [David Suzuki Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/david-suzuki-foundation/index.md): We collaborate with Canadians from all walks of life, including government and business, to conserve our environment and find solutions that will create a sustainable Canada through science-based research, education and policy work. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/david-suzuki-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/david-suzuki-foundation.rss)
- [Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands (MI-CATS)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/michigan-coalition-against-tar-sands-mi-cats/index.md): The Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands (MI CATS) seeks to unite the people of Michigan towards a common goal of stopping all transportation and refining of tar sands oil in the state and advocating against the production/transportation of tar sands everywhere. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/michigan-coalition-against-tar-sands-mi-cats; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/michigan-coalition-against-tar-sands-mi-cats.rss)
- [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/intergovernmental-panel-climate-change/index.md): The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme established the IPCC in 1988. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/intergovernmental-panel-climate-change; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/intergovernmental-panel-climate-change.rss)
- [Concerned Citizens for Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/concerned-citizens-justice/index.md): Concerned Citizens for Justice (CCJ): Educating, Agitating, Motivating, and Organizing in Chattanooga! (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/concerned-citizens-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/concerned-citizens-justice.rss)
- [StopWatching.us](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stopwatchingus/index.md): StopWatching.us is a coalition of more than 100 public advocacy organizations and companies from across the political spectrum. We came together in June 2013 to demand the U.S. Congress investigate the full extent of the NSA's spying programs. Go here to read our letter to U.S. Congress demanding accountability and reform. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stopwatchingus; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stopwatchingus.rss)
- [Representative Adam Schiff](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/representative-adam-schiff/index.md): Rep. Adam Bennett Schiff is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented California's 28th congressional district since 2013. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/representative-adam-schiff; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/representative-adam-schiff.rss)
- [Freedom to Work](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-work/index.md): FreedomtoWork.org is a national organization committed to banning workplace harassment and career discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender Americans through public education, policy analysis, and legal work. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-work; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/freedom-work.rss)
- [Stand Up! Chicago](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stand-chicago/index.md): Stand Up! Chicago is a coalition of community and labor organizations and working families standing up together to demand good jobs and a strong investment in our community's schools and neighborhoods. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/stand-chicago; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/stand-chicago.rss)
- [Gulf Restoration Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/gulf-restoration-network/index.md): The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) is a network of environmental, social justice, and citizens' groups and individuals committed to restoring the Gulf of Mexico to an ecologically and biologically sustainable condition. www.healthygulf.org. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/gulf-restoration-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/gulf-restoration-network.rss)
- [Americans Against Fracking](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-against-fracking/index.md): Fracking and drilling associated with fracking pose a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, climate, food, health and economies of communities across the United States. Americans Against Fracking is comprised of entities dedicated to banning drilling and fracking for oil and natural gas in order to protect our shared vital resources for future generations. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-against-fracking; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americans-against-fracking.rss)
- [Natural Resources Council of Maine](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/natural-resources-council-maine/index.md): The Natural Resources Council of Maine is the leading nonprofit membership organization working statewide for clean air and water; healthy people, wildlife and forests; and clean energy solutions. NRCM harnesses the power of science, the law, and the voices of more than 12,000 supporters to protect the nature of Maine. Visit NRCM online at www.nrcm.org. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/natural-resources-council-maine; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/natural-resources-council-maine.rss)
- [Color of Change](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/color-change/index.md): Color Of Change is the nation's largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over one million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. (63 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/color-change; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/color-change.rss)
- [Our Power Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-power-campaign/index.md): Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) is a collaborative of over 35 community-based and movement support organizations uniting frontline communities to forge a scalable, and socio-economically just transition away from unsustainable energy towards local living economies to address the root causes of climate change. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-power-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/our-power-campaign.rss)
- [Credo Mobile](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/credo-mobile/index.md): CREDO Mobile is a progressive phone company that makes it easy for its customers to fight for change - and raises millions of dollars for nonprofit groups that do the same. CREDO Mobile has raised more than $72 million for progressive groups, including the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Rainforest Action Network. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/credo-mobile; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/credo-mobile.rss)
- [Xerces Society](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/xerces-society/index.md): The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/xerces-society; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/xerces-society.rss)
- [War on Want](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/war-want/index.md): War on Want fights poverty in developing countries in partnership with people affected by globalization. We campaign for human rights and against the root causes of global poverty, inequality and injustice. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/war-want; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/war-want.rss)
- [OUR Walmart](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-walmart/index.md): OUR Walmart works to ensure that every Associate, regardless of his or her title, age, race, or sex, is respected at Walmart. We join together to offer strength and support in addressing the challenges that arise in our stores and our company everyday. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/our-walmart; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/our-walmart.rss)
- [Amazon Watch](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/amazon-watch/index.md): Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We partner with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon's ecological systems. (39 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/amazon-watch; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/amazon-watch.rss)
- [Center for Food Safety](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-food-safety/index.md): Center for Food Safety's mission is to empower people, support farmers, and protect the earth from the harmful impacts of industrial agriculture. Through groundbreaking legal, scientific, and grassroots action, we protect and promote your right to safe food and the environment. CFS's successful legal cases collectively represent a landmark body of case law on food and agricultural issues. (162 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-food-safety; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-food-safety.rss)
- [One Wisconsin Now](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/one-wisconsin-now/index.md): One Wisconsin Now is a statewide communications network specializing in effective earned media and online organizing to advance progressive leadership and values. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/one-wisconsin-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/one-wisconsin-now.rss)
- [Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/great-plains-tar-sands-resistance/index.md): Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance is a coalition of Great Plains organizations and individuals dedicated to using direct action to stop tar sands extraction and transportation infrastructure, like the Keystone XL pipeline, in the beautiful heartland of North America. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/great-plains-tar-sands-resistance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/great-plains-tar-sands-resistance.rss)
- [Iraq Body Count](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/iraq-body-count/index.md): Iraq Body Count (IBC) is a citizens' initiative devoted to recording the violent civilian deaths that have resulted from the 2003 military intervention in Iraq. Its public database includes deaths caused by US-led coalition forces and paramilitary or criminal attacks by others. The project was founded in January 2003 by volunteers from the UK and USA who felt a responsibility to ensure that the human consequences of military intervention in Iraq were not neglected. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/iraq-body-count; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/iraq-body-count.rss)
- [Oil Change International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oil-change-international/index.md): Oil Change International is a research, communications, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the ongoing transition to clean energy. (245 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oil-change-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/oil-change-international.rss)
- [Fast Food Forward](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fast-food-forward/index.md): Fast Food Forward is a movement of NYC fast food workers to raise wages and gain rights at work. It is part of the national movement of low-wage workers fighting for a better future. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fast-food-forward; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fast-food-forward.rss)
- [Food Democracy Now!](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-democracy-now/index.md): Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots community dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-democracy-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/food-democracy-now.rss)
- [350Maine](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/350maine/index.md): 350 Maine is a grassroots effort to bring people together across the state, sharing resources with our allies, friends, and other groups performing important environmental work and engaging individuals who have expressed interest in supporting the ideals and aims of 350.org, an international environmental organization. 350.org aims to build "a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis," and we in Maine--though we organize and act independently--stand in solidarity with this global effort. In our communities and with our neighbors, from the coast to the mountains, and from our smallest towns to our largest cities, we will strive and fight for a more sustainable world, a healthier Maine, and a better tomorrow. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/350maine; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/350maine.rss)
- [Arise Chicago](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/arise-chicago/index.md): Arise Chicago builds partnerships between faith communities and workers to fight workplace injustice through education and organizing and advocating for public policy changes. Its Worker Center is a community resource for workers, both immigrant and native-born, to learn about their rights and join fellow workers to improve workplace conditions. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/arise-chicago; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/arise-chicago.rss)
- [KyotoNOW!](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/kyotonow/index.md): KyotoNOW! is a Cornell student organization formed in response to the US rejection of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001. Our student-run campaigns work to promote a sustainable, just future and advance policy on climate change on the university, local and national levels. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/kyotonow; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/kyotonow.rss)
- [Making Change at Walmart](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/making-change-walmart/index.md): Making Change at Walmart is a campaign challenging Walmart to help rebuild our economy and strengthen working families. Anchored by the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), we are a coalition of Walmart associates, union members, small business owners, religious leaders, community organizations, women's advocacy groups, multi-ethnic coalitions, elected officials and ordinary citizens who believe that changing Walmart is vital for the future of our country. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/making-change-walmart; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/making-change-walmart.rss)
- [Reprieve](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reprieve/index.md): Reprieve is a UK-based human rights organization that uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay. (478 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reprieve; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/reprieve.rss)
- [Warehouse Workers United](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/warehouse-workers-united/index.md): Warehouse Workers United is an organization committed to improving the quality of life and jobs for warehouse workers in Southern California's Inland Empire. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/warehouse-workers-united; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/warehouse-workers-united.rss)
- [Tar Sands Blockade](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/tar-sands-blockade/index.md): Tar Sands Blockade is a coalition of Texas and Oklahoma landowners and organizers using nonviolent direct action to physically stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/tar-sands-blockade; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/tar-sands-blockade.rss)
- [Just Foreign Policy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/just-foreign-policy/index.md): Just Foreign Policy is an independent and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to reforming U.S. foreign policy by mobilizing and organizing the broad majority of Americans who want a foreign policy based on diplomacy, law and cooperation. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/just-foreign-policy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/just-foreign-policy.rss)
- [Park Center for Independent Media](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/park-center-independent-media/index.md): The Park Center for Independent Media, launched in 2008, is a national center for the study of media outlets that create and distribute content outside traditional corporate systems and news organizations. Throughout history, technological and social upheaval have given rise to independent media voices. Today, independent media are growing amid crisis and conglomeration in mainstream journalism, and the rise of the Internet and new forms of media production and distribution. The Center's mission is to engage media producers and students in conversation about career paths in independent media, and financially viable ways to disseminate news and information. The center examines the impact of independent media institutions on journalism, democracy, and a participatory culture. Jeff Cohen is the foundi (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/park-center-independent-media; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/park-center-independent-media.rss)
- [Chelsea Manning Support Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/chelsea-manning-support-network/index.md): The Chelsea Manning Support Network was a coalition of groups and individuals engaged in supporting the U.S. Army whistleblower. (25 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/chelsea-manning-support-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/chelsea-manning-support-network.rss)
- [New Bottom Line](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/new-bottom-line/index.md): The New Bottom Line is a new and growing movement fueled by a coalition of community organizations, congregations, and individuals working together to challenge established big bank interests on behalf of struggling and middle-class communities. Together, we are working to restructure Wall Street to help American families build wealth, close the country's growing income gap and advance a vision for how our economy can better serve the many rather than the few. Coalition members include PICO National Network, National People's Action (NPA), Alliance for a Just Society, and dozens of state and local organizations from around the country. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/new-bottom-line; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/new-bottom-line.rss)
- [WikiLeaks](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wikileaks/index.md): WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organisation. Our goal is to bring important news and information to the public. We provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for sources to leak information to our journalists (our electronic drop box). One of our most important activities is to publish original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth. We are a young organization that has grown very quickly, relying on a network of dedicated volunteers around the globe. Since 2007, when the organization was officially launched, WikiLeaks has worked to report on and publish important information. We also develop and adapt technologies to support these activities. (15 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wikileaks; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/wikileaks.rss)
- [Maplight](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/maplight/index.md): MapLight is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that reveals money's influence on politics. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/maplight; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/maplight.rss)
- [Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-american-islamic-relations-cair/index.md): The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. (181 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-american-islamic-relations-cair; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/council-american-islamic-relations-cair.rss)
- [DRM Capitol Group](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/drm-capitol-group/index.md): DRM Capitol Group serves as a voice for undocumented youth. Our work ensures that undocumented youth are represented in the halls of power and are correctly and directly informed of the actions of Congress, Executive Agencies, and the Courts. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/drm-capitol-group; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/drm-capitol-group.rss)
- [Handicap International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/handicap-international/index.md): Handicap International is an independent and impartial international aid organization working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. Since its creation in 1982, Handicap International has established development programs in more than 60 countries and it has worked in various emergency situations. Eight national associations comprise the Handicap International network: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Switzerland. Together, the national associations mobilize resources, jointly manage projects and promote the organization's principles and actions around the world. Handicap International is one of the six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/handicap-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/handicap-international.rss)
- [United Wisconsin](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-wisconsin/index.md): United Wisconsin is the non-partisan grassroots organization heading up the recall efforts of Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch in Wisconsin. The group plans to continue its work as the recall campaign moves forward. For more information, visit www.unitedwisconsin.com. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-wisconsin; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/united-wisconsin.rss)
- [Workers Independent News](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/workers-independent-news/index.md): Workers Independent News (WIN) is focused on the issues and concerns of working people. As a news service, WIN is devoted to bringing the voices of workers, their families, communities and organizations to the widest public possible, using all means of electronic media. WIN packages news for distribution to radio stations, Internet radio, websites, for podcast and print publication. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/workers-independent-news; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/workers-independent-news.rss)
- [Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/organic-seed-growers-and-trade-association-osgata/index.md): The Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) develops, protects and promotes the organic seed trade and its growers, and assures that the organic community has access to excellent quality organic seed, free of contaminants and adapted to the diverse needs of local organic agriculture. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/organic-seed-growers-and-trade-association-osgata; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/organic-seed-growers-and-trade-association-osgata.rss)
- [London Guantanamo Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/london-guantanamo-campaign/index.md): The London Guantanamo Campaign campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/london-guantanamo-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/london-guantanamo-campaign.rss)
- [Born Free USA](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/born-free-usa/index.md): Born Free USA is a national animal advocacy nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible. Our mission is to end the suffering of wild animals in captivity, rescue individual animals in need, protect wildlife -- including highly endangered species -- in their natural habitats, and encourage compassionate conservation globally. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/born-free-usa; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/born-free-usa.rss)
- [National Domestic Workers' Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-domestic-workers-alliance/index.md): Founded in 2007, the National Domestic Workers Alliance organizes domestic workers in the United States for respect, recognition and labor standards. Through leadership development, strategic campaigns and alliance building we seek to help build a vibrant movement for social and global justice. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-domestic-workers-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-domestic-workers-alliance.rss)
- [Ocupy Wall Street](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/ocupy-wall-street/index.md): Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan's Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. #OWS is fighting back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations. The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/ocupy-wall-street; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/ocupy-wall-street.rss)
- [Occupy Wall Street](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/occupy-wall-street/index.md): Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan's Financial District, and has spread to more than 100 cities in the United States and actions in over 1,500 cities globally. For more visit https://occupywallst.org (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/occupy-wall-street; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/occupy-wall-street.rss)
- [Center for Responsive Politics](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-responsive-politics/index.md): Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-responsive-politics; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-responsive-politics.rss)
- [Tar Sands Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/tar-sands-action/index.md): Tar Sands Action is a program of Peaceful Uprising, which is a project of International Humanities Center a 501(c)(3) charitable trust. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/tar-sands-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/tar-sands-action.rss)
- [Senator Bernie Sanders](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/senator-bernie-sanders/index.md): United States Senator for Vermont (464 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/senator-bernie-sanders; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/senator-bernie-sanders.rss)
- [Congressman Raul Grijalva](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressman-raul-grijalva/index.md): Serving the People of Arizona's 7th District (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressman-raul-grijalva; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congressman-raul-grijalva.rss)
- [Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-taxation-and-economic-policy/index.md): Founded in 1980, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization, based in Washington, DC, that focuses on federal and state tax policy. ITEP's mission is to inform policymakers and the public of the effects of current and proposed tax policies on tax fairness, government budgets, and sound economic policy. ITEP's full body of research is available at www.itepnet.org. (15 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-taxation-and-economic-policy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/institute-taxation-and-economic-policy.rss)
- [Nobel Women's Initiative](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nobel-womens-initiative/index.md): The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Maguire. We six women - representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa - have decided to bring together our extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nobel-womens-initiative; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/nobel-womens-initiative.rss)
- [NukeFree.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nukefreeorg/index.md): NukeFree.org works to stop construction of new atomic reactors and to close those now in operation. In their place they seek a truly green-powered Earth, run entirely on renewables and efficiency. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nukefreeorg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/nukefreeorg.rss)
- [Peaceful Uprising](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peaceful-uprising/index.md): Peaceful Uprising is committed to defending a livable future through empowering nonviolent action. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peaceful-uprising; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/peaceful-uprising.rss)
- [Jobs With Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jobs-justice/index.md): Jobs with Justice is a national network of local coalitions that bring together labor unions, faith groups, community organizations, and student activists to fight for working people. It works with 47 coalitions in 24 states across the country. More information can be found at their website www.jwj.org. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jobs-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jobs-justice.rss)
- [Former Congressman Dennis Kucinich](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/former-congressman-dennis-kucinich/index.md): Dennis Kucinich is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. (238 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/former-congressman-dennis-kucinich; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/former-congressman-dennis-kucinich.rss)
- [Demand Progress](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/demand-progress/index.md): Demand Progress amplifies the voice of the people -- and wields it to make government accountable and contest concentrated corporate power. Our mission is to protect the democratic character of the internet -- and wield it to contest concentrated corporate power and hold government accountable. (178 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/demand-progress; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/demand-progress.rss)
- [Strengthen Social Security Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/strengthen-social-security-campaign/index.md): The Strengthen Social Security Campaign is comprised of more than 300 national and state organizations representing more than 50 million Americans from many of the nation's leading aging, labor, disability, women's, children, consumer, civil rights and equality organizations. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/strengthen-social-security-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/strengthen-social-security-campaign.rss)
- [Voces de la Frontera](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/voces-de-la-frontera/index.md): Voces de la Frontera is Wisconsin's leading immigrant rights group - a grassroots organization that believes power comes from below and that people can overcome injustice to build a better world. (65 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/voces-de-la-frontera; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/voces-de-la-frontera.rss)
- [Citizens for Tax Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-tax-justice/index.md): Citizens for Tax Justice, founded in 1979, is a 501 (c)(4) public interest research and advocacy organization focusing on federal, state and local tax policies and their impact upon our nation. CTJ's mission is to give ordinary people a greater voice in the development of tax laws. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-tax-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/citizens-tax-justice.rss)
- [The Yes Men](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/yes-men/index.md): Ever since 1996, the Yes Men have used humor and trickery to highlight the corporate takeover of society, the neoliberal delusion that allows it, the corporate Democrats' responsibility for our current situation, and so on. And while we're all about "building awareness," we do realize that's not all there is, and that it's only ongoing campaigns that really make change. (26 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/yes-men; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/yes-men.rss)
- [America's Voice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americas-voice/index.md): America's Voice -- Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform. The mission of America's Voice is to realize the promise of workable and humane comprehensive immigration reform. Our goal is to build the public support and create the political momentum for reforms that will transform a dysfunctional immigration system that does not work into a regulatory system that does. (89 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americas-voice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americas-voice.rss)
- [Program on Inequality and the Common Good](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/program-inequality-and-common-good/index.md): The Program on Inequality and the Common Good focuses on the dangers that growing inequality pose for U.S. democracy, economic health and civic life. It is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies and based in Boston, MA. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/program-inequality-and-common-good; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/program-inequality-and-common-good.rss)
- [Move to Amend](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/move-amend/index.md): MovetoAmend.org is a coalition supported by hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals dedicated to ending the illegitimate legal doctrines that prevent the American people from governing ourselves. (31 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/move-amend; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/move-amend.rss)
- [Survival International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/survival-international/index.md): The movement for tribal peoples. Survival is the only organization working for tribal peoples' rights worldwide. We work with hundreds of tribal communities and organizations. We are funded almost entirely by concerned members of the public and some foundations. We will not take national government money, because governments are the main violators of tribal peoples' rights, nor will we take money from companies which might be abusing tribal peoples. (14 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/survival-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/survival-international.rss)
- [Physicians for Social Responsibility](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-social-responsibility/index.md): Physicians for Social Responsibility mobilizes physicians and health professionals to advocate for climate solutions and a nuclear weapons-free world. PSR's health advocates contribute a health voice to energy, environmental health and nuclear weapons policy at the local, federal and international level. (29 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-social-responsibility; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/physicians-social-responsibility.rss)
- [Hands Across the Sands](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hands-across-sands/index.md): Hands Across the Sand is a movement made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife, and fishing industry. Let us share our knowledge, energies and passion for protecting all of the above from the devastating effects of oil drilling. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hands-across-sands; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/hands-across-sands.rss)
- [Interfaith Worker Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/interfaith-worker-justice/index.md): Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ) calls upon our religious values in order to educate, organize, and mobilize the religious community in the U.S. on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers, especially low-wage workers. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/interfaith-worker-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/interfaith-worker-justice.rss)
- [CommonDreams.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/commondreamsorg/index.md): CommonDreams.org is a national nonprofit, progressive, nonpartisan citizens' organization founded in 1997. With millions of monthly readers, CommonDreams.org is one of the top progressive sites on the web and a powerful online voice for change in the United States and around the world. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/commondreamsorg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/commondreamsorg.rss)
- [Global Justice Ecology Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-justice-ecology-project/index.md): What differentiates Global Justice Ecology Project from most groups is our holistic approach to organizing. We believe that the compartmentalization of issues is enabling corporations and conservative forces to keep movements for change divided and powerless. We strive to identify and address the common roots to the issues of social injustice, ecological destruction and economic domination as a means to achieve a fundamental transformation toward a society based on egalitarian ideals and grounded in ecology. (22 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-justice-ecology-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/global-justice-ecology-project.rss)
- [Witness Against Torture](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/witness-against-torture/index.md): Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. For the first 100 days of the Obama administration, the group held a daily vigil at the White House, encouraging the new President to uphold his commitments to shut down Guantanamo. (55 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/witness-against-torture; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/witness-against-torture.rss)
- [World Future Council](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/world-future-council/index.md): The World Future Council (WFC) works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to our children and grandchildren. To achieve this, we focus on identifying, developing, highlighting and spreading effective, future-just policies for current challenges humanity is facing and promote their implementation worldwide. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/world-future-council; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/world-future-council.rss)
- [Environment America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environment-america/index.md): With Environment America, you protect the places that all of us love and promote core environmental values, such as clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and clean energy to power our lives. We're a national network of 29 state environmental groups with members and supporters in every state. Together, we focus on timely, targeted action that wins tangible improvements in the quality of our environment and our lives. (318 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environment-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/environment-america.rss)
- [Farm Sanctuary](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/farm-sanctuary/index.md): Farm Sanctuary fights the disastrous effects of animal agriculture on animals, the environment, social justice, and public health through rescue, education, and advocacy. (36 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/farm-sanctuary; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/farm-sanctuary.rss)
- [United for a Fair Economy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-fair-economy/index.md): United for a Fair Economy challenges the concentration of wealth and power that corrupts democracy, deepens the racial divide and tears communities apart. We use popular economics education, trainings, and creative communications to support social movements working for a resilient, sustainable and equitable economy. United for a Fair Economy believes another world is possible. We envision a global society which respects the humanity, rights, and creativity of all people. (30 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-fair-economy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/united-fair-economy.rss)
- [Progress Now](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progress-now/index.md): Building and activating the progressive movement online, state by state. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progress-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/progress-now.rss)
- [Children & Nature Network (C&NN)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/children-nature-network-cnn/index.md): The Children & Nature Network (C&NN;) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature. C&NN; provides access to the latest news and research in the field and a peer-to-peer network of researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/children-nature-network-cnn; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/children-nature-network-cnn.rss)
- [Win Without War](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/win-without-war/index.md): Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and organizations working for a more peaceful, progressive U.S. foreign policy. We believe that by democratizing U.S. foreign policy and providing progressive alternatives, we can achieve more peaceful, just, and common sense policies that ensure that all people--regardless of race, nationality, gender, religion, or economic status--can find and take advantage of opportunity equally and feel secure. (48 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/win-without-war; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/win-without-war.rss)
- [Wilderness Society](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wilderness-society/index.md): Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has led the conservation movement in wilderness protection, writing and passing the landmark Wilderness Act and winning lasting protection for 107 million acres of Wilderness, including 56 million acres of spectacular lands in Alaska, eight million acres of fragile desert lands in California and millions more throughout the nation. (27 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wilderness-society; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/wilderness-society.rss)
- [National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-network-opposing-militarization-youth-nnomy/index.md): NNOMY is a national networking body created in 2004 to unite national, regional and local organizations to oppose the growing intrusion of the military in young people's lives. NNOMY is network that seeks to bring to the forefront the importance and value of counter-recruitment organizing. It is not intended to function as an independent national organization, but rather as a coalition that strengthens the work of participating groups. www.nnomy.org (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-network-opposing-militarization-youth-nnomy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-network-opposing-militarization-youth-nnomy.rss)
- [Sunlight Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sunlight-foundation/index.md): The Sunlight Foundation was co-founded in 2006 by Washington, DC businessman and lawyer Michael Klein and longtime Washington public interest advocate Ellen Miller with the non-partisan mission of using the revolutionary power of the Internet to make information about Congress and the federal government more meaningfully accessible to citizens. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sunlight-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sunlight-foundation.rss)
- [Conservation System Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/conservation-system-alliance/index.md): The Conservation System Alliance is a coalition of eighty conservation, historic preservation, faith-based, recreation, business, education and place-based friends groups representing millions of Americans nationwide. The Conservation System Alliance aims to protect, restore and expand the National Landscape Conservation System by making it permanent, well-funded, well-managed, and inclusive of the best natural and cultural resources under the Bureau of Land Management's care. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/conservation-system-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/conservation-system-alliance.rss)
- [School of The Americas Watch](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/school-americas-watch/index.md): SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work. (22 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/school-americas-watch; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/school-americas-watch.rss)
- [US PIRG](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-pirg/index.md): U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being. With a strong network of researchers, advocates, organizers and students in state capitols across the country, we take on the special interests on issues, such as product safety,political corruption, prescription drugs and voting rights,where these interests stand in the way of reform and progress. (250 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/us-pirg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/us-pirg.rss)
- [Wake-Up Wal-Mart](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wake-wal-mart/index.md): WakeUpWalMart.com is about Americans joining together in common purpose to change Wal-Mart. There is only one force powerful enough to change the #1 Fortune 500 company in the world - the American people. WakeUpWalMart.com is about giving Americans the tools to empower themselves to change the world's largest employer. We are Wal-Mart's customers and we have the power to make Wal-Mart live up to its responsibility to its employees, our families, our communities and the nation. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/wake-wal-mart; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/wake-wal-mart.rss)
- [Violence Policy Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/violence-policy-center/index.md): The Violence Policy Center (VPC) works to stop gun death and injury through research, education, advocacy, and collaboration. Founded in 1988 by Executive Director Josh Sugarmann, a native of Newtown, Connecticut, the VPC informs the public about the impact of gun violence on their daily lives, exposes the profit-driven marketing and lobbying activities of the firearms industry and gun lobby, offers unique technical expertise to policymakers, organizations, and advocates on the federal, state, and local levels, and works for policy changes that save lives. The VPC has a long and proven record of policy successes on the federal, state, and local levels, leading the National Rifle Association to acknowledge us as "the most effective ... anti-gun rabble-rouser in Washington." (110 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/violence-policy-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/violence-policy-center.rss)
- [Water Advocates](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/water-advocates/index.md): Water Advocates is the first US-based nonprofit organization dedicated solely to increasing American support for worldwide access to safe, affordable and sustainable supplies of drinking water and adequate sanitation. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/water-advocates; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/water-advocates.rss)
- [Servicemembers Legal Defense Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/servicemembers-legal-defense-network/index.md): Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a non-partisan, non-profit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/servicemembers-legal-defense-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/servicemembers-legal-defense-network.rss)
- [Project On Government Oversight (POGO)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/project-government-oversight-pogo/index.md): The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more effective, accountable, open and honest federal government. (93 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/project-government-oversight-pogo; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/project-government-oversight-pogo.rss)
- [Public Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/public-campaign/index.md): Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in American politics. Public Campaign is laying the foundation for reform by working with a broad range of organizations, including local community groups, around the country that are fighting for change and national organizations whose members are not fairly represented under the current campaign finance system. Together we are building a network of national and state-based efforts to create a powerful national force for federal and state campaign reform. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/public-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/public-campaign.rss)
- [Physicians for Human Rights](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-human-rights/index.md): PHR was founded in 1986 on the idea that health professionals, with their specialized skills, ethical duties, and credible voices, are uniquely positioned to investigate the health consequences of human rights violations and work to stop them. PHR mobilizes health professionals to advance health, dignity, and justice and promotes the right to health for all. (56 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-human-rights; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/physicians-human-rights.rss)
- [National LGBTQ Task Force](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-lgbtq-task-force/index.md): The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we've made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That's why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you. Join us! (104 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-lgbtq-task-force; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-lgbtq-task-force.rss)
- [Refugees International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/refugees-international/index.md): Refugees International is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises, advocates for lifesaving assistance and protection for displaced people, and promotes solutions to displacement crises. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/refugees-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/refugees-international.rss)
- [Physicians for a National Health Program](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-national-health-program/index.md): Physicians for a National Health Program is a single issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program. PNHP has more than 21,000 members and chapters across the United States. (131 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/physicians-national-health-program; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/physicians-national-health-program.rss)
- [Peace Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peace-alliance/index.md): The Peace Alliance is a nonpartisan citizen action organization representing a growing constituency for peace. A 501(c)4 organization established in March 2004, our mission is to empower civic activism for a culture of peace. Our vision is a future in which the practical programs and principles of peacebuilding are the bedrock of our personal, national and global interest and investment. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peace-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/peace-alliance.rss)
- [Peace Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peace-action/index.md): Peace Action is the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights. (184 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peace-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/peace-action.rss)
- [Population Action International (PAI)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/population-action-international-pai/index.md): Population Action International (PAI) is an independent policy advocacy group working to strengthen political and financial support worldwide for population programs grounded in individual rights. Founded in 1965, PAI is a private, non-profit group and accepts no government funds. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/population-action-international-pai; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/population-action-international-pai.rss)
- [NAACP](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/naacp/index.md): Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors. (105 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/naacp; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/naacp.rss)
- [Reproductive Freedom for All](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reproductivefreedomforall/index.md): For over 50 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion. (201 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reproductivefreedomforall; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/reproductivefreedomforall.rss)
- [National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-coalition-abolish-death-penalty-ncadp/index.md): The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) was founded in 1976 in response to the Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia which permitted executions to resume in the United States. Our mission: abolish the death penalty in the U.S. and support efforts to abolish the death penalty world wide. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-coalition-abolish-death-penalty-ncadp; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-coalition-abolish-death-penalty-ncadp.rss)
- [National Low Income Housing Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-low-income-housing-coalition/index.md): The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to ending America's affordable housing crisis. Established in 1974 by Cushing N. Dolbeare, NLIHC educates, organizes and advocates to ensure decent, affordable housing within healthy neighborhoods for everyone. NLIHC provides up-to-date information, formulates policy and educates the public on housing needs and the strategies for solutions. (74 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-low-income-housing-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-low-income-housing-coalition.rss)
- [Vietnam Veterans Against the War](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/vietnam-veterans-against-war/index.md): Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc. (VVAW) is a national veterans' organization that was founded in New York City in 1967 after six Vietnam vets marched together in a peace demonstration. It was organized to voice the growing opposition among returning servicemen and women to the still-raging war in Indochina, and grew rapidly to a membership of over 30,000 throughout the United States as well as active duty GIs stationed in Vietnam. Through ongoing actions and grassroots organization, VVAW exposed the ugly truth about US involvement in Southeast Asia and our first-hand experiences helped many other Americans to see the unjust nature of that war. Today our government is still financing and arming undemocratic and repressive regimes around the world. Meanwhile, many veterans are still denied justice -- facing unemployment, discrimination, homelessness, post-traumatic stress disorder and other health problems, while already inadequate services are bein (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/vietnam-veterans-against-war; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/vietnam-veterans-against-war.rss)
- [Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lawyers-committee-civil-rights-under-law/index.md): The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar's leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today. (239 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lawyers-committee-civil-rights-under-law; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/lawyers-committee-civil-rights-under-law.rss)
- [Marijuana Policy Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/marijuana-policy-project/index.md): The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the number one organization in the U.S. legalizing cannabis. We passed 13 medical cannabis laws in the past 15 years, and we ran winning campaigns in eight of the 11 legalization states. No organization in the movement has changed as many cannabis laws, impacted as many patients and consumers, created as many new markets, or done more to end cannabis prohibition in the U.S. than MPP. (69 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/marijuana-policy-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/marijuana-policy-project.rss)
- [Justice at Stake Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/justice-stake-campaign/index.md): We're a nationwide, nonpartisan partnership of more than forty-five judicial, legal and citizen organizations. We've come together because across America, your right to fair and impartial justice is at stake. Judges and citizens are deeply concerned about the growing impact of money and politics on fair and impartial courts. Our mission is to educate the public and work for reforms to keep politics and special interests out of the courtroom--so judges can do their job protecting the Constitution, individual rights and the rule of law. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/justice-stake-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/justice-stake-campaign.rss)
- [Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-agriculture-trade-policy/index.md): The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems. (64 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-agriculture-trade-policy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/institute-agriculture-trade-policy.rss)
- [League of Women Voters](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/league-women-voters/index.md): The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. The League's enduring vitality and resonance comes from its unique decentralized structure. The League is a grassroots organization, working at the national, state and local levels. (23 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/league-women-voters; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/league-women-voters.rss)
- [International Campaign to Ban Landmines](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-campaign-ban-landmines/index.md): The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is committed to an international ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and sale, transfer, or export of antipersonnel landmines. (25 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-campaign-ban-landmines; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/international-campaign-ban-landmines.rss)
- [International Fund for Animal Welfare](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-fund-animal-welfare/index.md): The International Fund for Animal Welfare works to improve animal welfare, prevent animal cruelty and abuse, protect wildlife and provide animal rescue around the world. From stopping the elephant ivory trade, to ending the Canadian seal hunt and saving the whales from extinction, IFAW works to create solutions that benefit both animals and people. (44 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-fund-animal-welfare; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/international-fund-animal-welfare.rss)
- [Jubilee USA Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jubilee-usa-network/index.md): Jubilee USA Network is an interfaith, non-profit alliance of religious, development and advocacy organizations. We are 75 U.S. institutions and more than 750 faith groups working across the United States and around the globe. We address the structural causes of poverty and inequality in our communities and countries around the world. (283 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jubilee-usa-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jubilee-usa-network.rss)
- [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/people-ethical-treatment-animals-peta/index.md): People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), with more than 2.0 million members and supporters, is the largest animal rights organization in the world. PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns. (12 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/people-ethical-treatment-animals-peta; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/people-ethical-treatment-animals-peta.rss)
- [Families USA](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/families-usa/index.md): Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Working at the national, state, and community levels, we have earned a national reputation as an effective voice for health care consumers for 25 years. (10 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/families-usa; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/families-usa.rss)
- [Fair Vote](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fair-vote/index.md): FairVote acts to transform our elections to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all. As a catalyst for change, we build support for innovative strategies to win a constitutionally protected right to vote, universal voter registration, a national popular vote for president, instant runoff voting and proportional representation. (10 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fair-vote; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fair-vote.rss)
- [Freedom to Marry](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-marry/index.md): Freedom to Marry is the gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide. Headed by Evan Wolfson, one of America's leading civil rights advocates and lawyers, Freedom to Marry brings new resources and a renewed context of urgency and opportunity to this social justice movement. (90 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/freedom-marry; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/freedom-marry.rss)
- [Global AIDS Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-aids-alliance/index.md): The mission of the Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) is to halt the global AIDS crisis and mitigate its impacts on poor countries hardest hit by the pandemic. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-aids-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/global-aids-alliance.rss)
- [Global Exchange](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-exchange/index.md): Global Exchange takes a holistic approach to creating change. With 20 years working for international human rights, we realize that in order to advance social, environmental and economic justice we must transform the global economy from profit centered to people centered, from currency to community. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/global-exchange; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/global-exchange.rss)
- [CorpWatch](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/corpwatch/index.md): CorpWatch works to promote environmental, social and human rights at the local, national and global levels by holding multinational corporations accountable for their actions. We employ investigative research and journalism to provide critical information on corporate malfeasance and profiteering around the world to foster a more informed public and an effective democracy. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/corpwatch; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/corpwatch.rss)
- [Drug Policy Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/drug-policy-alliance/index.md): The Drug Policy Alliance is the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights. (131 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/drug-policy-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/drug-policy-alliance.rss)
- [Doctors Without Borders](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/doctors-without-borders/index.md): Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. MSF's work is based on the humanitarian principles of medical ethics and impartiality. The organization is committed to bringing quality medical care to people caught in crisis regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation. MSF operates independently of any political, military, or religious agendas. (149 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/doctors-without-borders; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/doctors-without-borders.rss)
- [Electronic Frontier Foundation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/electronic-frontier-foundation/index.md): The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. EFF's mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world. (58 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/electronic-frontier-foundation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/electronic-frontier-foundation.rss)
- [Council for a Livable World](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-livable-world/index.md): The Council for a Livable World promotes policies to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons, and to minimize the risk of war through lobbying and by helping elect and support Members of Congress who share our goals. For more than 50 years, the Council for a Livable World has been advocating for a more principled approach to U.S. national security and foreign policy. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-livable-world; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/council-livable-world.rss)
- [Common Cause](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/common-cause/index.md): Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process. (630 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/common-cause; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/common-cause.rss)
- [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-responsibility-and-ethics-washington/index.md): Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach. (253 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-responsibility-and-ethics-washington; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/citizens-responsibility-and-ethics-washington.rss)
- [Civil Society Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/civil-society-institute/index.md): The nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (https://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org) is a think tank that serves as a catalyst for change by creating problem-solving interactions among people, and between communities, government and business that can help to improve society. Since 2003, CSI has conducted more than 20 major surveys and reports on energy and auto issues, including vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, consumer demand for hybrids/other highly-fuel efficient vehicles, global warming and renewable energy. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/civil-society-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/civil-society-institute.rss)
- [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-budget-and-policy-priorities/index.md): The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is one of the nation's premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. (52 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-budget-and-policy-priorities; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-budget-and-policy-priorities.rss)
- [Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-innocent-victims-conflict-civic/index.md): Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) advocates on behalf of victims of armed conflict, working to ensure they receive recognition and assistance from warring parties. CIVIC persuaded the US Congress to establish programs for war victims in Afghanistan and Iraq, guides victims to assistance, brings the human cost of war to the attention of policymakers and the public, and is advocating a new global standard of conduct that warring parties should help where they have hurt. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-innocent-victims-conflict-civic; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/campaign-innocent-victims-conflict-civic.rss)
- [Corporate Accountability](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/corporate-accountability/index.md): Corporate Accountability stops transnational corporations from devastating democracy, trampling human rights, and destroying our planet. (65 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/corporate-accountability; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/corporate-accountability.rss)
- [CARE](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/care/index.md): CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives. (21 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/care; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/care.rss)
- [Center for Defense Information](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-defense-information/index.md): The Center for Defense Information (CDI) provides expert analysis on various components of U.S. national security, international security and defense policy. CDI promotes wide-ranging discussion and debate on security issues such as nuclear weapons, space security, missile defense, small arms and military transformation. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-defense-information; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-defense-information.rss)
- [Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-arms-control-and-non-proliferation/index.md): Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to enhancing international peace and security in the 21st century. The Center is funded by grants from private foundations and the generosity of thousands of individual donors. (37 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-arms-control-and-non-proliferation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-arms-control-and-non-proliferation.rss)
- [Center for Democracy & Technology](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-democracy-technology/index.md): The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-democracy-technology; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-democracy-technology.rss)
- [Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/labor-campaign-single-payer-healthcare/index.md): The primary purpose of the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer Health Care is to increase grassroots labor support for H.R. 676 as an essential element in winning the support of Congress to enact the National Health Care Act "Medicare for All" as the public policy of this country because we believe that health care is a human right. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/labor-campaign-single-payer-healthcare; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/labor-campaign-single-payer-healthcare.rss)
- [Veterans for Peace](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/veterans-peace/index.md): Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars. (92 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/veterans-peace; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/veterans-peace.rss)
- [National Priorities Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-priorities-project/index.md): The National Priorities Project (NPP) is a 501(c)(3) research organization that analyzes and clarifies federal data so that people can understand and influence how their tax dollars are spent. Located in Northampton, MA, since 1983, NPP focuses on the impact of federal spending and other policies at the national, state, congressional district and local levels. For more information, go to https://nationalpriorities.org. (45 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-priorities-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-priorities-project.rss)
- [Campaign for America's Future](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-americas-future/index.md): The Campaign for America's Future is the strategy center for the progressive movement. Our goal is to forge the enduring progressive majority needed to realize the America of shared prosperity and equal opportunity that our country was meant to be. (70 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/campaign-americas-future; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/campaign-americas-future.rss)
- [National Whistleblowers Center](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-whistleblowers-center/index.md): Since 1988, the NWC and attorneys associated with it have supported whistleblowers in the courts and before Congress and achieved victories for environmental protection, government contract fraud, nuclear safety and government and corporate accountability. (101 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-whistleblowers-center; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-whistleblowers-center.rss)
- [Constitution Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/constitution-project/index.md): The Constitution Project is a politically independent think tank established in 1997 to promote and defend constitutional safeguards. More information about the Constitution Project is available at https://constitutionproject.org/. (95 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/constitution-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/constitution-project.rss)
- [Media Matters for America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/media-matters-america/index.md): Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. (81 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/media-matters-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/media-matters-america.rss)
- [Human Rights First](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/human-rights-first/index.md): Human Rights First is a non-profit, nonpartisan international human rights organization based in New York and Washington D.C. Human Rights First believes that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence. (186 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/human-rights-first; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/human-rights-first.rss)
- [Peaceful Tomorrows](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peaceful-tomorrows/index.md): Peaceful Tomorrows is an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. Acknowledging our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, we work to create a safer and more peaceful world for everyone. (16 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peaceful-tomorrows; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/peaceful-tomorrows.rss)
- [Human Rights Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/human-rights-campaign/index.md): The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of over 750,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where LGBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. (48 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/human-rights-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/human-rights-campaign.rss)
- [Citizens Trade Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-trade-campaign/index.md): The Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) is a national coalition of environmental, labor, consumer, family farm, religious, and other civil society groups founded in 1992 to improve the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We are united in a common belief that international trade and investment are not ends unto themselves, but instead must be viewed as a means for achieving other societal goals such as economic justice, human rights, healthy communities, and a sound environment. (7 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/citizens-trade-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/citizens-trade-campaign.rss)
- [Lambda Legal](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lambda-legal/index.md): Lambda Legal is the oldest national organization pursuing high-impact litigation, public education and advocacy on behalf of equality and civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV. The work we do has impact on the way we live -- we change laws, policies and ideas. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/lambda-legal; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/lambda-legal.rss)
- [National Center for Lesbian Rights](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-center-lesbian-rights/index.md): The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-center-lesbian-rights; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-center-lesbian-rights.rss)
- [Food & Water Watch](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-water-watch/index.md): Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests. (1101 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-water-watch; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/food-water-watch.rss)
- [Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nuclear-information-and-resource-service-nirs/index.md): Nuclear Information and Resource Service is the information and networking center for people and organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation, and sustainable energy issues. (31 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/nuclear-information-and-resource-service-nirs; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/nuclear-information-and-resource-service-nirs.rss)
- [Sustainability Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sustainability-institute/index.md): The Sustainability Institute was founded in 1996 by the late Donella (Dana) Meadows to apply systems thinking and organizational learning to economic, environmental and social challenges. We believe that unsustainability does not arise out of ignorance, irrationality or greed. It is largely the collective consequence of rational, well-intended decisions made by people caught up in systems - ranging from families and communities to corporations, governments and economies - that make it difficult or impossible to act in ways that are fully responsible to all those affected in the present and to future generations. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sustainability-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sustainability-institute.rss)
- [Government Accountability Project](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/government-accountability-project/index.md): The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a 30-year-old nonprofit public interest group that promotes government and corporate accountability by advancing occupational free speech, defending whistleblowers, and empowering citizen activists. We pursue this mission through our Nuclear Safety, International Reform, Corporate Accountability, Food & Drug Safety, and Federal Employee/National Security programs. GAP is the nation's leading whistleblower protection organization. (113 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/government-accountability-project; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/government-accountability-project.rss)
- [People For the American Way (PFAW)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/people-american-way-pfaw/index.md): People For the American Way works to build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. We fight against right-wing extremism and the injustice it fosters. (264 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/people-american-way-pfaw; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/people-american-way-pfaw.rss)
- [National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-network-immigrant-and-refugee-rights-nnirr/index.md): The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) is a national organization composed of local coalitions and immigrant, refugee, community, religious, civil rights and labor organizations and activists. It serves as a forum to share information and analysis, to educate communities and the general public, and to develop and coordinate plans of action on important immigrant and refugee issues. We work to promote a just immigration and refugee policy in the United States and to defend and expand the rights of all immigrants and refugees, regardless of immigration status. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-network-immigrant-and-refugee-rights-nnirr; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-network-immigrant-and-refugee-rights-nnirr.rss)
- [Alliance for A New Humanity](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/alliance-new-humanity/index.md): Our mission is to connect people, who, through personal and social transformation, aim to build a just, peaceful, and sustainable world, reflecting the unity of all humanity. The Alliance recognizes at the core of its vision the unity of all life, and a wholehearted adherence to the noblest aspirations of humankind, as proclaimed in all spiritual and humanist traditions that call for compassion and the celebration of life. The values and principles of the emerging movement for a new humanity, and of the Alliance, which is trying to serve it, are based upon the support of policies, causes and actions that favor respect for life, human dignity, freedom, ecological sustainability and peace. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/alliance-new-humanity; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/alliance-new-humanity.rss)
- [Americans for Democratic Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-democratic-action/index.md): ADA is America's most experienced independent liberal lobbying organization. In the spirit of the New Deal and ADA founders Eleanor Roosevelt, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith, and former Senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey we lobby through coalition partnerships, through direct advocacy, and through the media. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-democratic-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americans-democratic-action.rss)
- [International Labor Rights Forum](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-labor-rights-forum/index.md): ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. ILRF serves a unique role among human rights organizations as advocates for and with working poor around the world. We believe that all workers have the right to a safe working environment where they are treated with dignity and respect, and where they can organize freely to defend and promote their rights and interests. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/international-labor-rights-forum; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/international-labor-rights-forum.rss)
- [MADRE](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/madre/index.md): MADRE is an international women's human rights organization that partners with community-based women's groups to advance women's human rights, challenge injustice and create social change in contexts of war, conflict, disaster and their aftermath. MADRE advocates for a world in which all people enjoy individual and collective human rights; natural resources are shared equitably and sustainably; women participate effectively in all aspects of society; and all people have a meaningful say in policies that affect their lives. For more information about MADRE, visit www.madre.org. (78 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/madre; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/madre.rss)
- [Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-hemispheric-affairs-coha/index.md): Founded in 1975, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), a nonprofit, tax-exempt independent research and information organization, was established to promote the common interests of the hemisphere, raise the visibility of regional affairs and increase the importance of the inter-American relationship, as well as encourage the formulation of rational and constructive U.S. policies towards Latin America. (10 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/council-hemispheric-affairs-coha; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/council-hemispheric-affairs-coha.rss)
- [Hottpac.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hottpacorg/index.md): Head off the Threat Political Action Committee, hottpac.org, is the only national PAC working on the grassroots level, focused exclusively on electing candidates to reverse climate change. We are distinct because of the centerpiece of our platform: Reduce greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, 80% below 1990 levels by 2025 - a generation sooner than existing proposals. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hottpacorg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/hottpacorg.rss)
- [Rising Tide North America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rising-tide-north-america/index.md): Rising Tide is a grassroots network of groups and individuals who take direct action to confront the roots causes of climate change and promote local, community-based solutions to the climate crisis. Rising Tide was formed in the Netherlands in 2000 to bring a more radical voice to the COP6 (UN Conference of the Parties) climate talks that attempted (unsuccessfully, largely due to the efforts of the US delegation) to salvage what of substance was left of the Kyoto Protocol. Employing popular education and direct action to address the root causes of climate change with a focus on climate justice, Rising Tide now spans three continents. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rising-tide-north-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/rising-tide-north-america.rss)
- [350.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/350org/index.md): 350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all. (783 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/350org; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/350org.rss)
- [Avaaz.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/avaazorg/index.md): Avaaz.org is a new global web movement with a simple democratic mission: to close the gap between the world we have, and the world most people everywhere want. "Avaaz" means "Voice" in many Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European languages. Across the world, most people want stronger protections for the environment, greater respect for human rights, and concerted efforts to end poverty, corruption and war. Yet globalization faces a huge democratic deficit as international decisions are shaped by political elites and unaccountable corporations -- not the views and values of the world's people. (4 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/avaazorg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/avaazorg.rss)
- [Brennan Center for Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/brennan-center-justice/index.md): The Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan law and policy institute. We strive to uphold the values of democracy. We stand for equal justice and the rule of law. We work to craft and advance reforms that will make American democracy work, for all. (132 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/brennan-center-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/brennan-center-justice.rss)
- [Credo Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/credo-action/index.md): CREDO Action, part of CREDO Mobile, is a social change network of over five million activists, sending tens of millions of petition signatures and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to decision-makers each year. CREDO Action members also participate in meetings, protests and other direct action for progressive change. (52 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/credo-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/credo-action.rss)
- [Democracy for America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democracy-america/index.md): Democracy for America is our nation's largest progressive political action community. With over 725,000 members nationwide, DFA is a grassroots powerhouse working to change our country and the Democratic Party from the bottom-up. We provide campaign training, organizing resources, and media exposure so our members have the power to support progressive issues and candidates up and down the ballot. Join us in delivering results for a progressive America! (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/democracy-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/democracy-america.rss)
- [Get Afghanistan Right.com](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/get-afghanistan-rightcom/index.md): Get Afghanistan Right! opposes military escalation in Afghanistan and supports non-military solutions to the conflict.Get Afghanistan Right (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/get-afghanistan-rightcom; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/get-afghanistan-rightcom.rss)
- [Green For All](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-all/index.md): Green For All is a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. By advocating for local, state and federal commitment to job creation, job training, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the emerging green economy - especially for people from disadvantaged communities - Green For All fights both poverty and pollution at the same time. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-all; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/green-all.rss)
- [Grassroots Netroots Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-netroots-alliance/index.md): GNA sees itself as complementary, yet also an alternative, to MoveOn.org and other pre-existing progressive, radical, and libertarian online networks. GNA believes that America's life or death, multi-faceted Crisis demands that we move beyond single-issue campaigns and limited focus activism to a radical but practical multi-issue platform that stimulates local alliance building and grassroots action, focused on pressuring the politicians, and pushing through legislation that can move us out of the Crisis. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/grassroots-netroots-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/grassroots-netroots-alliance.rss)
- [It's Getting Hot In Here.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/its-getting-hot-hereorg/index.md): It's Getting Hot in Here is the voice of a growing movement, a collection of voices from the student and youth leaders of the global movement to stop global warming. Originally created by youth leaders to allow youth to report from the International Climate Negotiations in Montreal, It's Getting Hot in Here has since grown into a global online community, with over 100 writers from countries around the world. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/its-getting-hot-hereorg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/its-getting-hot-hereorg.rss)
- [MoveOn](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/moveon/index.md): MoveOn is where millions mobilize for a better society--one where everyone can thrive. Whether it's supporting a candidate, passing legislation, or changing our culture, MoveOn members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future. We envision a world marked by equality, sustainability, justice, and love. And we mobilize together to achieve it. (82 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/moveon; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/moveon.rss)
- [Planned Parenthood](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/planned-parenthood/index.md): Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is many things to many people. We are a trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world. Planned Parenthood delivers vital health care services, sex education, and sexual health information to millions of women, men, and young people. (83 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/planned-parenthood; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/planned-parenthood.rss)
- [Reality Coalition](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reality-coalition/index.md): The Reality Coalition is a project of the Alliance for Climate Protection, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters, and tells the truth about coal today - it isn't clean. We are challenging the coal industry to come clean - in its advertising and in its operations. You can learn more about the reality of "clean" coal here or take action and help stop misleading coal campaigns. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/reality-coalition; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/reality-coalition.rss)
- [ONE Campaign](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/one-campaign/index.md): ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people from around the world and every walk of life who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/one-campaign; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/one-campaign.rss)
- [Netroots Nation](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/netroots-nation/index.md): Netroots Nation amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Within that campus, we strengthen community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for progressive ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/netroots-nation; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/netroots-nation.rss)
- [TrueMajority.org](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/truemajorityorg/index.md): TrueMajority was founded by Ben Cohen, Co-founder, Ben and Jerry's. It is a grassroots education and advocacy joint project of UsAction and UsAction Education Fund. The 10 founding principles outline our the philosophy of TrueMajority. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/truemajorityorg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/truemajorityorg.rss)
- [Organic Consumers Association](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/organic-consumers-association/index.md): The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit public interest organization, and the only organization in the U.S. focused exclusively on promoting the views and interests of the nation's estimated 50 million consumers of organically and socially responsibly produced food and other products. OCA educates and advocates on behalf of organic consumers, engages consumers in marketplace pressure campaigns, and works to advance sound food and farming policy through grassroots lobbying. We address crucial issues around food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability, including pesticide use, and other food- and agriculture-related topics. (92 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/organic-consumers-association; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/organic-consumers-association.rss)
- [Institute for Local Self-Reliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-local-self-reliance/index.md): The Institute's mission is to provide innovative strategies, working models and timely information to support environmentally sound and equitable community development. To this end, ILSR works with citizens, activists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to design systems, policies and enterprises that meet local or regional needs; to maximize human, material, natural and financial resources; and to ensure that the benefits of these systems and resources accrue to all local citizens. (17 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-local-self-reliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/institute-local-self-reliance.rss)
- [Alliance for Climate Protection](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/alliance-climate-protection/index.md): The Alliance for Climate Protection is undertaking an unprecedented mass persuasion exercise based on scientific facts. Through a new combination of non-partisan alliances with Americans from all walks of life and innovative and far-reaching communication techniques the Alliance will focus on presenting the facts about climate change and its solutions to the general public in an accurate, clear and compelling manner. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/alliance-climate-protection; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/alliance-climate-protection.rss)
- [Apollo Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/apollo-alliance/index.md): The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing our climate, and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/apollo-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/apollo-alliance.rss)
- [Foreign Policy In Focus](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/foreign-policy-focus/index.md): FPIF provides timely analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs and recommends policy alternatives. We believe U.S. security and world stability are best advanced through a commitment to peace, justice and environmental protection as well as economic, political, and social rights. We advocate that diplomatic solutions, global cooperation, and grassroots participation guide foreign policy. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/foreign-policy-focus; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/foreign-policy-focus.rss)
- [Food First](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-first/index.md): The purpose of the Institute for Food and Development Policy - Food First - is to eliminate the injustices that cause hunger. Food First supports a "bottom-up" approach to solving world hunger, asserting the ability of all countries to feed their own people if they focus on agriculture for subsistence rather than for export. (3 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/food-first; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/food-first.rss)
- [Economic Policy Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/economic-policy-institute/index.md): EPI is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States. EPI's research helps policymakers, opinion leaders, advocates, journalists, and the public understand the bread-and-butter issues affecting ordinary Americans. (82 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/economic-policy-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/economic-policy-institute.rss)
- [Institute for Policy Studies](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-policy-studies/index.md): Institute for Policy Studies turns Ideas into Action for Peace, Justice and the Environment. We strengthen social movements with independent research, visionary thinking, and links to the grassroots, scholars and elected officials. I.F. Stone once called IPS "the think tank for the rest of us." Since 1963, we have empowered people to build healthy and democratic societies in communities, the US, and the world. Click here to learn more, or read the latest below. (91 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-policy-studies; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/institute-policy-studies.rss)
- [Community Change](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-change/index.md): The mission of the Center for Community Change is to develop the power and capacity of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, to change their communities and public policies for the better. (9 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/community-change; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/community-change.rss)
- [Oakland Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oakland-institute/index.md): The Oakland Institute is a policy think tank whose mission is to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic and environmental issues in both national and international forums. (18 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oakland-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/oakland-institute.rss)
- [Earth Policy Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earth-policy-institute/index.md): As a small organization with a global mission, the Earth Policy Institute has designed a unique information dissemination model, capitalizing on the synergy between a worldwide network of book publishers, the communications media, and the Internet. Through this distribution network, countless individuals and organizations have become aware of the environmental issues facing the world and many have been inspired to take action. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earth-policy-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/earth-policy-institute.rss)
- [Breakthrough Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/breakthrough-institute/index.md): The Breakthrough Institute is a small think tank with big ideas. Breakthrough is committed to creating a new progressive politics, one that is large, aspirational, and asset-based. We believe that any effective politics must speak to core needs and values, not issues and interests, and we thus situate ourselves at the intersection of politics, policy, philosophy, and the social sciences. (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/breakthrough-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/breakthrough-institute.rss)
- [Center for Media and Democracy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-media-and-democracy/index.md): The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a non-profit investigative reporting group. Our reporting and analysis focus on exposing corporate spin and government propaganda. We publish PRWatch, SourceWatch, and BanksterUSA. Our newest major investigation is available at ALECexposed.org. We accept no funding from for-profit corporations or the government. If you would like to make a financial contribution to support our work, please click here. (53 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-media-and-democracy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-media-and-democracy.rss)
- [Dēmos](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/demos/index.md): Demos is a think tank that powers the movement for a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy. Through cutting-edge policy research, inspiring litigation, and deep relationships with grassroots organizations, Demos champions solutions that will create a democracy and economy rooted in racial equity. (87 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/demos; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/demos.rss)
- [The Cornucopia Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/cornucopia-institute/index.md): The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit farm policy research group, is dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Their Organic Integrity Project acts as a corporate and governmental watchdog assuring that no compromises to the credibility of organic farming methods and the food it produces are made in the pursuit of profit. (85 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/cornucopia-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/cornucopia-institute.rss)
- [Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/middle-east-childrens-alliance-meca/index.md): The Middle East Children's Alliance is a nonprofit organization working for the rights and the well-being of children in the Middle East. MECA supports dozens of community projects for Palestinian children and refugees from Syria. Since 1988 we have delivered $27 million in food and medical aid to Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon. MECA welcomes the support of all people who care about children and their future. (16 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/middle-east-childrens-alliance-meca; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/middle-east-childrens-alliance-meca.rss)
- [Center for Public Integrity (CPI)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-public-integrity-cpi/index.md): The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit organization dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. The Center is non-partisan and non-advocacy. We are committed to transparent and comprehensive reporting both in the United States and around the world. (58 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-public-integrity-cpi; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-public-integrity-cpi.rss)
- [FAIR](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fairness-accuracy-reporting-fair/index.md): FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. (106 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fairness-accuracy-reporting-fair; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fairness-accuracy-reporting-fair.rss)
- [Service Employees International Union (SEIU)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/service-employees-international-union-seiu/index.md): With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy. (159 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/service-employees-international-union-seiu; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/service-employees-international-union-seiu.rss)
- [War Resisters League (WRL)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/war-resisters-league-wrl/index.md): The United States' oldest secular pacifist organization, the War Resisters League has been resisting war at home and war abroad since 1923. Our work for nonviolent revolution has spanned decades and has been shaped by the new visions and strategies of each generation's peacemakers. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/war-resisters-league-wrl; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/war-resisters-league-wrl.rss)
- [Center for American Progress (CAP)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-american-progress-cap/index.md): The Center for American Progress is a think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We combine bold policy ideas with a modern communications platform to help shape the national debate, expose the hollowness of conservative governing philosophy and challenge the media to cover the issues that truly matter. (73 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-american-progress-cap; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-american-progress-cap.rss)
- [Green America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-america/index.md): Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 and known until January 1, 2009 as "Co-op America." Green America's mission is to harness economic power--the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace--to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. (19 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/green-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/green-america.rss)
- [Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-science-public-interest-cspi/index.md): Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, and sound science. (114 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-science-public-interest-cspi; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-science-public-interest-cspi.rss)
- [National Lawyers Guild (NLG)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-lawyers-guild-nlg/index.md): The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) works to promote human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests. It was founded in 1937 as the first national, racially-integrated bar association in the U.S. (93 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-lawyers-guild-nlg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-lawyers-guild-nlg.rss)
- [Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/pesticide-action-network-north-america-panna/index.md): PANNA (Pesticide Action Network North America) works to replace pesticide use with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives. As one of five autonomous PAN Regional Centers worldwide, we link local and international consumer, labor, health, environment and agriculture groups into an international citizens' action network. This network challenges the global proliferation of pesticides, defends basic rights to health and environmental quality, and works to ensure the transition to a just and viable society. (45 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/pesticide-action-network-north-america-panna; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/pesticide-action-network-north-america-panna.rss)
- [Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-constitutional-rights-ccr/index.md): The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. (499 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-constitutional-rights-ccr; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-constitutional-rights-ccr.rss)
- [Oxfam International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oxfam-international/index.md): Oxfam International is a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. We are working across regions in about 70 countries, with thousands of partners, and allies, supporting communities to build better lives for themselves, grow resilience and protect lives and livelihoods also in times of crisis. (296 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/oxfam-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/oxfam-international.rss)
- [Children's Defense Fund](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/childrens-defense-fund/index.md): The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for 35 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. We champion policies and programs that lift children out of poverty; protect them from abuse and neglect; and ensure their access to health care, quality education, and a moral and spiritual foundation. (13 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/childrens-defense-fund; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/childrens-defense-fund.rss)
- [United for Peace & Justice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-peace-justice/index.md): United for Peace and Justice was founded, in 2003, to build a coalition of local and national peace and justice organizations to prevent the War on Iraq. The conflicts raging around the world today make it clear that the need to work for peace remains more important than ever. That is why UFPJ reorganized, in 2008, as a network and now operates with an all-volunteer Coordinating Committee, supported by one part-time staff member who assists with UFPJ action alerts, campaigns, and organizing. They meet weekly to manage the ongoing communication and administrative requirements of the network. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/united-peace-justice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/united-peace-justice.rss)
- [Sierra Club](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sierra-club/index.md): The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world. (566 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/sierra-club; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/sierra-club.rss)
- [World Wildlife Fund (WWF)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/world-wildlife-fund-wwf/index.md): World Wildlife Fund is the largest multinational conservation organization in the world, works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF's unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature. (30 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/world-wildlife-fund-wwf; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/world-wildlife-fund-wwf.rss)
- [National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-parks-conservation-association-npca/index.md): NPCA is a non-profit, private organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System. (66 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-parks-conservation-association-npca; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-parks-conservation-association-npca.rss)
- [League of Conservation Voters](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/league-conservation-voters/index.md): The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is turning environmental values into national priorities. To secure the environmental future of our planet, LCV's mission is to advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt and implement such policies. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/league-conservation-voters; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/league-conservation-voters.rss)
- [Rainforest Action Network (RAN)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rainforest-action-network-ran/index.md): Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices staff in Tokyo, Japan, and Edmonton, Canada, plus thousands of volunteer scientists, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens around the world. We believe that a sustainable world can be created in our lifetime and that aggressive action must be taken immediately to leave a safe and secure world for our children. (101 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/rainforest-action-network-ran; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/rainforest-action-network-ran.rss)
- [Environmental Working Group (EWG)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-working-group-ewg/index.md): The Environmental Working Group is a community 30 million strong, working to protect our environmental health by changing industry standards. (306 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/environmental-working-group-ewg; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/environmental-working-group-ewg.rss)
- [Earthjustice](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earthjustice/index.md): Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations, coalitions and communities. (788 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/earthjustice; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/earthjustice.rss)
- [Defenders of Wildlife](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/defenders-wildlife/index.md): Defenders of Wildlife is the premier U.S.-based national conservation organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of imperiled species and their habitats in North America. (94 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/defenders-wildlife; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/defenders-wildlife.rss)
- [ForestEthics](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/forestethics/index.md): Founded in 2000, ForestEthics is a nonprofit environmental organization with staff in Canada, the United States and Chile. Our mission is to protect Endangered Forests and wild places, wildlife, and human wellbeing--one of our focus areas is climate change, which compromises all of our efforts if left unchecked. We catalyze environmental leadership among industry, governments and communities by running hard-hitting and highly effective campaigns that leverage public dialogue and pressure to achieve our goals. (29 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/forestethics; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/forestethics.rss)
- [American News Project (ANP)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-news-project-anp/index.md): ANP is passionately dedicated to producing online video journalism that matters. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-news-project-anp; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-news-project-anp.rss)
- [Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-democrats-america-pda/index.md): Progressive Democrats of America was founded in 2004 to transform the Democratic Party and U.S. politics by working inside and outside of the party by working to elect empowered progressives and by building the progressive movement in solidarity with with peace, justice, civil rights, environmental, and other reform efforts. For more information about PDA, please see PDAmerica.org. (78 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/progressive-democrats-america-pda; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/progressive-democrats-america-pda.rss)
- [Greenpeace](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/greenpeace/index.md): Greenpeace is a global, independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. (620 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/greenpeace; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/greenpeace.rss)
- [National Organization for Women (NOW)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-organization-women-now/index.md): The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States. NOW has 500,000 contributing members and 550 chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (186 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-organization-women-now; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-organization-women-now.rss)
- [Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/union-concerned-scientists-ucs/index.md): The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices. (447 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/union-concerned-scientists-ucs; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/union-concerned-scientists-ucs.rss)
- [Worldwatch Institute](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/worldwatch-institute/index.md): The Worldwatch Institute was a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., founded by Lester R. Brown. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts. Brown left to found the Earth Policy Institute in 2000. The Institute was wound up in 2017, after publication of its last State of the World Report. Worldwatch.org was unreachable from mid-2019. (110 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/worldwatch-institute; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/worldwatch-institute.rss)
- [National Nurses United](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-nurses-united/index.md): National Nurses United, with close to 185,000 members in every state, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in US history. (266 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/national-nurses-united; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/national-nurses-united.rss)
- [Congressional Progressive Caucus](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressional-progressive-caucus/index.md): The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is made up of nearly 100 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and advance civil liberties. (124 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/congressional-progressive-caucus; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/congressional-progressive-caucus.rss)
- [Equality California (EQCA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/equality-california-eqca/index.md): Equality California is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve equality and civil rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. (118 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/equality-california-eqca; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/equality-california-eqca.rss)
- [Center for Biological Diversity](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-biological-diversity/index.md): At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive. (1613 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-biological-diversity; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-biological-diversity.rss)
- [Real News Network](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/real-news-network/index.md): The Real News Network is a television news and documentary network focused on providing independent and uncompromising journalism. Our staff, in collaboration with courageous journalists around the globe, will investigate, report and debate stories on the critical issues of our times. We are viewer supported and do not accept advertising, government or corporate funding. (99 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/real-news-network; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/real-news-network.rss)
- [Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-public-accuracy-ipa/index.md): A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists. (1095 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/institute-public-accuracy-ipa; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/institute-public-accuracy-ipa.rss)
- [Fairplay](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fairplay/index.md): Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing. Fairplay organizes parents to hold corporations accountable for their marketing practices, advocates for policies to protect kids, and works with parents and professionals to reduce children's screen time. (98 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/fairplay; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/fairplay.rss)
- [Secular Coalition for America](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/secular-coalition-america/index.md): The Secular Coalition for America represents nine national coalition partners who share the view that a secular government offers the best guarantee for freedom of thought and belief for all Americans. It works to protect the civil rights of nontheistic Americans, and lobbies the U.S. Congress on issues of concern to its constituents. The Coalition's website iswww.secular.org. (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/secular-coalition-america; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/secular-coalition-america.rss)
- [CODEPINK](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/codepink/index.md): CODEPINK is a women-led grassroots organization working to end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs. (271 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/codepink; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/codepink.rss)
- [Friends of the Earth](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth/index.md): Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of our economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature. (777 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/friends-earth; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/friends-earth.rss)
- [Defending Rights & Dissent](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/defending-rights-dissent/index.md): Defending Rights & Dissent strengthens our participatory democracy by protecting the right to political expression. About the merger of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and Defending Dissent Foundation In 2015, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) and the Defending Dissent Foundation agreed to merge to place both organizations and their respective supporters in an even stronger position to help restore constitutional rights eroded by executive agencies. While BORDC was established to fight the PATRIOT Act in the wake of its passage under the Bush administration, DDF was founded decades ago to fight the McCarthy-era witch hunt that targeted law-abiding Americans on the basis of their political beliefs. Both organizations are committed to popular constitutionalism, and work with grassroots Americans from all walks of life to help them raise their voices to confront the national security state. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/defending-rights-dissent; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/defending-rights-dissent.rss)
- [Bread for The World](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bread-world/index.md): Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, we provide help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which we live. (20 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/bread-world; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/bread-world.rss)
- [Brady United](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/brady-united/index.md): Brady United formerly known as The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and its legislative and grassroots affiliate, the Brady Campaign and its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence. We are devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities. (134 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/brady-united; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/brady-united.rss)
- [Beyond Nuclear](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/beyond-nuclear/index.md): Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. (89 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/beyond-nuclear; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/beyond-nuclear.rss)
- [Americans for Safe Access](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-safe-access/index.md): Americans for Safe Access is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. (91 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-safe-access; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americans-safe-access.rss)
- [Public Citizen](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/public-citizen/index.md): Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country. (1521 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/public-citizen; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/public-citizen.rss)
- [Americans United for Separation of Church and State](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-united-separation-church-and-state/index.md): Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. (189 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/americans-united-separation-church-and-state; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/americans-united-separation-church-and-state.rss)
- [Amnesty International - USA](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/amnesty-international-usa/index.md): Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization. (845 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/amnesty-international-usa; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/amnesty-international-usa.rss)
- [Audubon Society](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/audubon-society/index.md): Now in its second century, Audubon connects people with birds, nature and the environment that supports us all. Our national network of community-based nature centers, chapters, scientific, education, and advocacy programs engages millions of people from all walks of life in conservation action to protect and restore the natural world. (8 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/audubon-society; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/audubon-society.rss)
- [Action Against Hunger](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/action-against-hunger/index.md): Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF), an international relief and development organization committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and families, provides sustainable access to safe water and long-term solutions to hunger. For nearly three decades, ACF has pursued its vision of a world without hunger by combating hunger in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/action-against-hunger; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/action-against-hunger.rss)
- [Amnesty International](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/amnesty-international/index.md): Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues. (625 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/amnesty-international; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/amnesty-international.rss)
- [AFL-CIO](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/afl-cio/index.md): The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) works tirelessly to improve the lives of working people. We are the democratic, voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5 million working men and women. (108 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/afl-cio; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/afl-cio.rss)
- [Africa Action](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/africa-action/index.md): Africa Action is a national organization that works for political, economic and social justice in Africa. Through the provision of accessible information and analysis combined with the mobilization of public pressure we work to change the policies and policy-making processes of U.S. and multinational institutions toward Africa. The work of Africa Action is grounded in the history and purpose of its predecessor organizations, the American Committee on Africa (ACOA), The Africa Fund, and the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), which have fought for freedom and justice in Africa since 1953. Continuing this tradition, Africa Action seeks to re-shape U.S. policy toward African countries. (42 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/africa-action; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/africa-action.rss)
- [American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-friends-service-committee-afsc/index.md): American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization devoted to service, development, and peace programs throughout the world. Our work is based on the belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. (14 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-friends-service-committee-afsc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-friends-service-committee-afsc.rss)
- [American Rivers](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-rivers/index.md): American Rivers is the only national organization standing up for healthy rivers so our communities can thrive. Through national advocacy, innovative solutions and our growing network of strategic partners, we protect and promote our rivers as valuable assets that are vital to our health, safety and quality of life. Founded in 1973, American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and supporters nationwide, with offices in Washington, DC and the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, California and Northwest regions. (94 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/american-rivers; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/american-rivers.rss)
- [Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/index.md): NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild. (419 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc.rss)
- [Military Families Speak Out (MFSO)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/military-families-speak-out-mfso/index.md): Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) is an organization of people opposed to the war in Iraq who have relatives or loved ones who are currently in the military or who have served in the military since the buildup to the Iraq war in the fall of 2002. Formed by two families in November of 2002, we have contacts with military families throughout the United States, and in other countries around the world. Our membership currently includes over 3,400 military families, with new families joining daily. (21 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/military-families-speak-out-mfso; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/military-families-speak-out-mfso.rss)
- [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/association-community-organizations-reform-now-acorn/index.md): ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, working together for social justice and stronger communities. Since 1970, ACORN has grown to more than 350,000 member families, organized in 850 neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the U.S. and in cities in Argentina, Peru, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Canada. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/association-community-organizations-reform-now-acorn; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/association-community-organizations-reform-now-acorn.rss)
- [Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-economic-and-policy-research-cepr/index.md): The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options. (447 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-economic-and-policy-research-cepr; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-economic-and-policy-research-cepr.rss)
- [Free Press](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-press/index.md): Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities. (502 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/free-press; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/free-press.rss)
- [Human Rights Watch (HRW)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/human-rights-watch-hrw/index.md): Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. (784 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/human-rights-watch-hrw; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/human-rights-watch-hrw.rss)
- [Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/public-employees-environmental-responsibility-peer/index.md): PEER protects public employees who protect our environment. We are a service organization for environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers, and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values. We work with current and former federal, state, local, and tribal employees. (449 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/public-employees-environmental-responsibility-peer; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/public-employees-environmental-responsibility-peer.rss)
- [ACLU](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/aclu/index.md): The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. (2148 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/aclu; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/aclu.rss)
- [Voices for Creative Nonviolence](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/voices-creative-nonviolence/index.md): Voices for Creative Nonviolence has deep, long-standing roots in active nonviolent resistance to U.S. war-making. Begun in the summer of 2005, Voices draws upon the experiences of those who challenged the brutal economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and U.N. against the Iraqi people between 1990 and 2003. (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/voices-creative-nonviolence; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/voices-creative-nonviolence.rss)
- [Common Dreams](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/common-dreams/index.md): To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/common-dreams; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/common-dreams.rss)
- [Jill2016](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jill2016/index.md): (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/jill2016; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/jill2016.rss)
- [Hancock 17](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hancock-17/index.md): (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/hancock-17; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/hancock-17.rss)
- [People's Vaccine Alliance](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peoples-vaccine-alliance/index.md): The People’s Vaccine Alliance is a coalition of over 100 organisations and networks, supported by Nobel Laureates, health experts, economists, Heads of States, faith leaders and activists, working together towards equitable access to medical technologies that help to prevent and respond to COVID-19 and future pandemics. (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/peoples-vaccine-alliance; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/peoples-vaccine-alliance.rss)
- [Center for International Environmental Law](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-international-environmental-law/index.md): Since 1989, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) has worked to strengthen and use international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society. (44 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-international-environmental-law; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-international-environmental-law.rss)
- [Center for International Policy](https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-for-international-policy/index.md): The Center for International Policy is a woman-led, progressive, independent nonprofit center for research, education, and advocacy working to advance a more peaceful, just, and sustainable U.S. approach to foreign policy. (2 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/organization/center-for-international-policy; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/organization/center-for-international-policy.rss)
- [Daily-News](https://www.commondreams.org/dailynews/index.md): Daily selection of Common Dreams News (6 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/dailynews; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/dailynews.rss)
- [Daily-Opinion](https://www.commondreams.org/dailyopinion/index.md): Daily selection of Common Dreams Opinion (11 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/dailyopinion; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/dailyopinion.rss)
- [Weekly-Opinion](https://www.commondreams.org/weeklyopinion/index.md): Weekly selection of Common Dreams Opinion (0 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/weeklyopinion; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/weeklyopinion.rss)
- [Team](https://www.commondreams.org/team/index.md): (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/team; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/team.rss)
- [Daily Feature](https://www.commondreams.org/daily-feature/index.md): (1 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/daily-feature; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/daily-feature.rss)
- [Weekly News A](https://www.commondreams.org/weekly-news-a/index.md): (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/weekly-news-a; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/weekly-news-a.rss)
- [Weekly News B](https://www.commondreams.org/weekly-news-b/index.md): (5 posts; HTML: https://www.commondreams.org/weekly-news-b; RSS: https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/weekly-news-b.rss)

## Recent Content

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### The Right to Fire the Boss: Politics, Laws, and Institutions in Liberal Democracies

**Published:** September 27, 2026 | **Author:** Jorge Majfud | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/fire-boss-in-democracy.md

As Cicero wrote in The Tusculan Disputations (three centuries before Julius Caesar, the dictator who ruled Rome), the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius, tired of the flattery and envy of his courtier Damocles, invited him to sit on his throne. Damocles enjoyed the banquet for no more than a few minutes. When he looked up, he saw a sword hanging above his head, suspended by a horsehair. It was a warning: Those in power live under a constant threat. If they are aware of it, they will be alert to the consequences of their decisions.

At that time, the common people were more feared than the city’s wealthy. At that time, it was the wealthiest who had to foot the bill for most of the wars they dared to wage. But Julius Caesar was assassinated a year later, not by his own people, but by a group of senators representing the Roman oligarchy. It was an act of mutual betrayal, since these senators had been his main allies in government. Exactly 30 years later, Plutarch reported on the assassination of Quintus Sertorius in Hispania at the hands of mercenary officers, who did not receive the expected compensation—a classic reminder that “Rome does not pay traitors.”

Two thousand years later, we have achieved the opposite marvel: It is not the rich who pay for the wars they invent, but they are who profits from them. It is the people who provide all the money and all the blood that fuel a system administered by the sect of neo-feudal lords—a system infinitely more corrupt, more degenerate, and more brutal than the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire combined.

A business owner’s “sacred right” to fire someone who, in his judgment, is not meeting expectations does not apply to those at the top.

Systematically, and especially in so-called liberal democracies, the traitors are the Julius Caesars and their oligarchs; they are the Quintus Sertoriuses and his officers. They are the puppets that the puppeteer will make kill one another, to the people’s amusement. They are the Yamandú Orsis and the Delsy Rodríguezes on the left. They are the Javier Mileis, the José Antonio Kasts, the Alberto Fujimoris, the Jair Bolsonaros, and the Abelardo de la Espriellas on the right.

We have built republics where the sword of Damocles hangs over the citizen’s head—not over that of the ruler. Puppet presidents, after having betrayed their people and themselves, sleep soundly. They know—or believe—that for four or eight years, no matter what happens, no one can touch them. As history shows, this is an illusion; but history also shows that justice delayed is justice denied, because we humans cannot wait 100 years. We don’t even have a reserve supply of young people to make up for lost time.

Every four or five years, citizens of countries that perceive themselves as full-fledged democracies—such as Uruguay—sign a blank contract. They elect a president, and if they later discover that the promises were mere window dressing, all that remains for them is therapy, resignation, and republican patience until the circus returns to town.

Uruguay takes pride—with some justification—in its civic tradition, which includes plebiscites and referendums, such as the one in 1989 that confirmed impunity for human rights violators and, in the 1990s, halted privatizations despite the almost unanimous support of politicians in favor of the Washington Consensus. But neither Uruguay, nor Argentina, nor Brazil, nor Chile, nor Paraguay, nor Peru has a mechanism for citizens to recall their presidents. Impeachment proceedings are unreliable, because they are mediated by a representative body invented to ensure “responsible stability” for the major shareholders in each country.

In controlled democracies, laws are written by the powerful—the feudal lords of capital—who are almost always residents of the imperial capitals. When workers’ interests do not offend or inconvenience them due to their modesty, these laws are also passed off as achievements of the organized people. However, a law can be repealed; a term of office cannot—especially when the puppet plays along with those who hold the real power to promote, buy, extort, and remove.

Other societies have this instrument of removal, though it has rarely been used. In California, Gov. Gray Davis was recalled in 2003, while Gavin Newsom survived his recall in 2021. In Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Mexico, the recall process has been included in those countries’ constitutions during the presidencies of Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales, Rafael Correa, and Manuel López Obrador. In Colombia (approved by César Gaviria), recall is available for mayors and governors, but the requirements are so high that there are almost no cases.

As is more than obvious, this mechanism is not enough to ensure a more just and direct democracy, but it remains a useful sword of Damocles; however, a democratic instrument is not measured by how often it is used, but by what it prevents. A fire extinguisher isn’t meant to put out fires every day either. Recall is not merely a punishment. It is, above all, a form of political education.

The objections are predictable: The instrument could become a weapon for sore losers; it could lead to a state of perpetual campaigning. Historical experience suggests otherwise, and, moreover, we must always begin a political reflection by asking ourselves whether these arguments serve those who hold the real power or the people. Even generous donations are used to do harm. That is why every reform bill must be carefully worded to guarantee this popular right and prevent good intentions from being hijacked once again.

To prevent abuse, the process might require that a high percentage of citizens sign the petition and that it cannot be initiated in the first or last year of the term. Designing the instrument correctly is the civilized way of ensuring it is not abandoned.

It will also be said that Uruguay already has impeachment and elections every five years. But impeachment is a matter for the elites—resolved among legislators who answer to the same parties that support the president or the opposition, both more or less anointed by the owners of capital. When the gap between campaign promises and government actions is displayed with brazen paternalism, citizens watch as spectators as they are humiliated. The school of resignation and futile complaining has been the mother of this political pornography.

A society that learns that voting is an irrevocable gamble ends up voting with distrust and, in the long run, ceases to participate. The old observation we wrote in 2013 for a legal journal: The worst thing that can happen to a democracy is for its citizens to leave politics in the hands of politicians (Revista Forumul Judecătorilor, No. 1/2014).

After all, in a world shaped by capitalist dogmas, it is always the heads of large corporations and their puppets in the political system who do not abide by their own laws. A business owner’s “sacred right” to fire someone who, in his judgment, is not meeting expectations does not apply to those at the top. The freedom of the powerful is protected by money and the law; the freedom of the powerless, by rights and legitimacy.

Neither can be achieved or defended without some form of radical struggle.

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### In Africa, Changing the Crops Without Changing the System Is Not Good Enough

**Published:** September 27, 2026 | **Author:** Million Belay | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/africa-s-indigenous-crops.md

Millet, sorghum, fonio, Bambara groundnut, cowpea, amaranth, pigeon pea, taro. For decades these crops were treated as the food of the past. Research money, extension, subsidies, and markets went to maize, wheat, and rice. Yet African farmers, most of them women, kept planting them, saving the seed, sharing it with neighbors, and cooking with them. They did it with very little help.

Now, suddenly, the same crops are fashionable. Climate change, poor diets, and tired soils have pushed them into conference halls and donor strategies. I welcome that. But I keep coming back to one question: Who gets to decide what happens to them next?

The question hit me again at a side event on African adapted crops during the Africa Food Systems Forum, hosted by the Africa Adaptation Crops Initiative, the Food Action Alliance, AGRA, TechnoServe, and Bain & Company. I went in encouraged. Before long, the discussion had slipped into a familiar script: raise productivity, formalize seed, mechanize, attract private investment, link farmers to big buyers. I am not against research, processing, or markets. My worry is what happens when crops that African communities developed and protected over generations are treated first as business opportunities. We could change the crop and leave the system exactly as it was.

Let the women who kept these crops alive sit where decisions are taken. And judge success by diets, biodiversity, soil health, incomes, and farmers’ control over seed, not only by tons and dollars.

The same worry applies to the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils, known as VACS. It was launched by the US State Department with the African Union and Food and Agriculture Organization to promote diverse, nutritious, climate-adapted crops grown in healthy soils. On paper, it takes neglected crops seriously and brings soil back into the conversation. Both are long overdue. So the issue is not whether to invest, but what kind of investment, and controlled by whom.

Look at who was in the room when VACS was designed. Early research profiling possible “opportunity crops” was backed by the Rockefeller Foundation, and in December 2023 Washington announced $150 million in support for that year. African farmer organizations were not consulted while the program was being planned. Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, whose members have campaigned for years to promote nutritious local crops, was never approached. When the journalist Alexander Zaitchik asked me about it, I had to tell him that nobody from VACS’ leadership or affiliate groups had ever reached out to us or our networks.

Who was at the table instead? Zaitchik’s reporting for Truthdig, from the World Food Prize’s Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, is revealing. Cargill, Bayer, Syngenta, and John Deere are listed as “VACS champions,” alongside the Rockefeller and Gates foundations. The World Food Prize Foundation, where VACS was showcased, is chaired by a former president of Corteva, the seed giant formed from the Dow and DuPont merger. Cary Fowler, the US special envoy who championed VACS, has told audiences that “the answers to the world’s food insecurity issues may lie in for-profit companies.” When the world’s biggest grain, seed, and agrochemical companies are champions of a program on Africa’s seeds, and African farmers are not even asked, we are entitled to ask whose programme it really is.

Zaitchik’s larger point is that VACS, for all its new language, carries the assumptions of the Green Revolution. The crops are different, but outside expertise is still placed above farmers’ knowledge, and yields above food sovereignty. It was telling that at a 2023 VACS event, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken held up Norman Borlaug as the precedent. The pattern is familiar: Experts define the problem, breeders supply the technology, financiers bring the money, companies build the markets, and farmers adopt and supply.

And opportunity for whom? For the woman who has kept Bambara groundnut varieties alive? For the farmer selling millet at the weekly market? For a public breeder at an African university? Or for a seed company, a food multinational, or investors looking for the next growth market? These interests are not the same.

This is why seed is the heart of the matter. CGIAR, VACS’ main research partner, reports breeding work on Bambara groundnut, finger millet, okra, sesame, taro, amaranth, and pigeon pea, guided by market intelligence and “Target Product Profiles.” VACS officials say CGIAR treats its seeds as public goods. But what outside actors do with those seeds, including patenting them, is up to them. With seed companies among the champions, the risk is plain: Crops that farmers bred over centuries could become more valuable just as farmers lose control of them. As I told Zaitchik, no project involved in advancing punitive seed patent regimes has the interest of African farmers at heart. Seed governance, farmers’ rights, and benefit sharing must be settled before breeding programs are designed, not after.

Farmers have been plant breeders for thousands of years, and diversity is Africa’s real strength: hundreds of cereals, legumes, vegetables, fruits, roots, and local varieties. Once donors and markets pick a short list of “opportunity crops,” money and breeding capacity crowd around them. My concern is everything left off the list. Diversity is not inefficiency. It is our insurance. A farm with millet, cowpea, vegetables, fruit trees,and a few animals may produce fewer tons of millet than a monoculture, but more nutrition, fodder, healthier soil, and a steadier income in a bad year. Judge only the millet yield and we will end up with higher-yielding Indigenous crops on simpler, more fragile farms.

Markets need the same care. A mother buying millet in a village market is demand. A school buying vegetables from nearby farms is demand. Public procurement by schools and hospitals could create reliable markets for these foods and keep money in local economies. Processors and exporters can take part, but policy should not be written backward from their specifications.

So what would I ask of AGRA, VACS, and the others? Start by talking to African farmer movements, and give them a real say in governing research agendas, not a consultation after the decisions are made. Put public money into farmer-managed seed systems and participatory breeding. Commit clearly that seeds developed from African crops will not end up under corporate patents. Let the women who kept these crops alive sit where decisions are taken. And judge success by diets, biodiversity, soil health, incomes, and farmers’ control over seed, not only by tons and dollars.

The world has discovered that crops African farmers refused to abandon may matter for everyone’s climate future. But they were never lost. They were being planted, selected, exchanged, cooked, and protected all along. The people who did that work must not now become raw-material suppliers for someone else’s revolution. Africa’s crops do not need rescuing from African farmers. They need investment that puts those farmers at the center of what comes next.

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### Trump Has Clubbed Our Tax Code Back Into the Stone Age—Can Congress Fix It?​

**Published:** September 27, 2026 | **Author:** Bob Lord | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-broke-tax-code.md

A tale of two couples:

Barney and Betty are both 66. Betty works as a hostess at a local restaurant. She makes $15,000 in hourly pay, plus another $25,000 in tips. Barney owns an interest in his family’s business, organized as a Subchapter S corporation, from which his annual income is $50,000. Over the holidays, Barney works long hours at a local big box store. He makes $10,000, $2,500 of which is the premium for overtime.

At tax time, Barney and Betty report $100,000 of adjusted gross income. In computing their taxable income, they take deductions of $25,000 for Betty’s tips, $12,000 in deductions for seniors, a $10,000 qualified business income deduction for Barney’s income from the family business, a $2,500 deduction for Barney’s overtime pay, and a standard deduction of $35,500, leaving them with taxable income of $15,000 and a federal income tax bill liability of $1,500.

The only path out of this mess is to rebalance our income tax structure. The Working Americans Tax Cut Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.O would accomplish that rebalancing.

Fred and Wilma are both 64. Wilma no longer works. Fred makes $100,000 per year as an accountant with a local firm. Although he works long hours during tax season, he is not paid overtime because of his base compensation and position, which includes managerial duties. At tax time, Fred and Wilma report $100,000 of adjusted gross income. They take a standard deduction of $32,200, leaving them with taxable income of $67,800 and a federal income tax liability of $7,640.

These are, of course, concocted examples. But they show how tax policy in the US under President Donald Trump has returned to the Stone Age. There are couples with tax pictures virtually identical to Barney and Betty’s and other couples with tax pictures virtually identical to Fred and Wilma’s. Do they ever compare their respective situations? Do they question the Swiss cheese tax code we have courtesy of two Trump tax bills?

Could it get worse? Absolutely. As Brian Faler at Politico reported, members of Congress have a slew of new “no tax on” proposals ready to campaign on. No Tax on Boat Loan Interest? Yep. Taxes on Utility Bills? Absolutely, and it’s bipartisan no less! I spoke to a senior congressional staffer a few months ago who was just giddy about all the “no tax on” proposals his office hoped to include in a 2029 budget reconciliation bill.

The “no tax on” provisions currently in the tax code are set to expire after 2028. Will they be extended? Of course they will. As I commented to Politico, if you do away with no tax on tips, you can kiss the state of Nevada goodbye. And imagine how this will play in the other swing states in 2028. “No tax on auto workers” sure will sound sweet in Michigan. And if you want to carry Georgia, you damn well better sign on to “no tax on peanut farm workers.” By the time we get to the 2032 campaign, the pandering will be stripped of all pretense and we’ll be hearing “no tax on Pennsylvanians.”

How problematic is this from a tax policy perspective? Huge. The federal income tax system depends on voluntary compliance. The system must make sense to taxpayers for them to voluntarily comply. If you’re Fred or Wilma, would our tax system still make sense to you? Hardly.

How, then, do we rein this craziness in? We start by identifying the source of the problem. As gimmicky as provisions like no tax on tips are, and even though they benefit only a tiny percentage of workers, they address a need millions of Americans feel and millions more Americans understand. When people hear “tipped worker,” they don’t picture the blackjack dealer at the Venetian making $150,000 a year. They don’t even picture a worker like Betty, who together with her husband enjoys a comfortable income. They picture the struggling unmarried server at their local Denny’s slinging dishes for $35,000. And they understand well she doesn’t have enough income before federal income tax, let alone after, to pay her basic living expenses.

Now, consider struggling non-tipped workers and their reaction to no tax on tips. Do they think their tipped counterparts are getting an unfair break like the ultra rich get on their lightly-taxed investment gains? Or do they think that they should have their income tax burdens reduced as well, and that the rich should be required to pay more?

Asking those questions, of course, answers them, and shines a light on the real problem: The federal income tax is fundamentally flawed at both ends of the income spectrum. At the lower end, incomes not even sufficient to cover basic living expenses are subject to federal income tax. At the upper end, marginal rates top out at a fraction of the country’s highest income levels. Doctors making in the high six figures face the same marginal tax rate as CEOs making 50 times that much.

The only path out of this mess is to rebalance our income tax structure. The Working Americans Tax Cut Act, a bill introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.O would accomplish that rebalancing. Their bill provides an exemption from federal income tax for income up to the basic cost of living, with a progressively smaller income tax reduction for those with incomes just above the basic cost of living. At the same time, the bill imposes a surtax on income in excess of $1 million, and larger surtaxes on incomes above $2 million and $5 million.

If the Working Americans Tax Cut Act becomes law, the ghastly “no tax on” provisions could be allowed to expire. The great majority of tipped workers, like that struggling server at Denny’s, won’t care, since they’d pay no federal income tax either way. A handful of taxpayers would still benefit from no tax on tips. But nobody will waste political capital on a tax break for affluent blackjack dealers.

Members of Congress face a choice. They can continue their vote-pandering through “no tax on” proposals. Or they can address the glaring structural flaws in the federal income tax and, in doing so, perhaps save our tax system and our democracy.

Let’s hope they make the right choice. Stone Age tax policy won’t end well for any of us.

This article was originally published on Bob Lord's Substack.

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### The Insurance Industry Is on the Wrong Side of the Legal Battle Against Fossil Fuels

**Published:** September 27, 2026 | **Author:** Nikki Reisch, Charles Slidders | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/insurance-industry-fossil-fuels.md

The US Supreme Court opens its new term on October 5 with oral arguments in Suncor v. Boulder—the most consequential climate case it has heard to date. The fossil fuel defendants are trying to block local governments from suing them for climate deception and harm. In an alarming display of corporate allegiance, the nation’s largest property insurance associations have sided with the oil companies seeking to avoid responsibility for climate losses, over the public entities and policyholders footing the growing bill.

In recent years, insurers have pointed to growing climate risk as the reason for raising rates and dropping coverage. Now, they’re supporting the very industry driving that risk rather than the communities facing it. Why?

Suncor v. Boulder and the Demand for Fossil Fuel Accountability

From establishing cooling centers and flood protection plans to equipping firefighters and emergency responders, communities are shouldering the mounting costs of climate change. The burden is both untenable and unfair. That’s why a growing number of states and local governments have turned to courts to make fossil fuel companies pay their share for driving the climate crisis.

Fossil-fueled climate destruction threatens human life, health, the economy, and vital ecosystems on which all depend. That reality should incentivize insurers to break free from fossil fuels faster and protect the public from climate peril.

Of the nearly three dozen such suits pending across the US, Suncor v. Boulder is the first to reach the Supreme Court.

The case, brought by the city and county of Boulder, alleges Suncor and ExxonMobil knowingly contributed to climate change for decades by producing fossil fuels while deceiving the public about their dangers. Boulder argues the companies should be on the hook for the resulting climate harms and the rising costs of adapting to a warming world.

Rather than address the legal claims on their merits, the fossil fuel defendants have instead sought to get the case thrown out. They are urging the Supreme Court to bar Boulder’s suit on the grounds that it aims to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, something they claim only federal law can do. But as the plaintiffs and dozens of supporters explain, Boulder is seeking to recoup the costs of local harm and to hold the fossil fuel defendants accountable for misleading consumers, not pollution controls.

If the court rules for the defendants, it could close the door not just on this suit but others like it nationwide—leaving the public and local governments, rather than the companies that caused the harm, to keep covering the costs.

Who’s Backing the Fossil Fuel Defendants?

Nearly 70 friend-of-the-court briefs were filed in the case—many, like the Center for International Environmental Law’s, supporting the plaintiffs. Others, however, came in on the side of the fossil fuel industry. Among the 38 briefs backing Suncor and ExxonMobil, Consumer Watchdog found that 25 of them have documented financial ties to fossil fuel companies or the dark-money networks behind decades of climate denial.

Three major US insurance trade associations—the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), the Complex Insurance Claims Litigation Association, and the Reinsurance Association of America—also submitted a brief in support of the defendants. These trade groups weren’t part of Consumer Watchdog’s analysis. But insurers, including members of these very associations, have their own story to tell of financial entanglement with the fossil fuel industry.

Betting on the Problem

Like others helping the fossil fuel industry dodge accountability, the insurance sector has well-documented financial ties to oil and gas companies. Property and casualty insurers hold a growing financial stake in fossil fuels—the same products causing the climate losses that are driving insurers to hike premiums and withdraw coverage.

As of 2023, the US property and casualty insurance industry held $84.6 billion in fossil fuel investments. The share of insurers’ portfolios tied up in fossil fuels climbed from 3.8% in 2014 to 4.4% by 2023.

Every premium dollar that flows into those investments comes from policyholders, many of whom are already struggling to afford coverage in fire- and flood-prone areas. While warning it can no longer absorb climate risk, the insurance industry is betting on the very companies creating that risk.

The Real Insurability Crisis

In their published brief in support of the Suncor defendants, the insurance associations argue that allowing state tort claims like Boulder’s could make it harder for fossil fuel companies to get liability insurance—potentially creating uncertainty and instability in the insurance market.

But they ignore the actual uncertainty and instability facing tens of millions of homeowners and tenants in the US who are bearing the brunt of climate losses and a deepening insurance crisis. In 2025, the US saw more than 23 billion-dollar weather events. The country racked up the lion’s share of global insured losses last year from what the industry continues to call “natural catastrophes,” which include climate-intensified events.

Citing climate risk, insurers are raising rates, dropping policies, and widening the climate protection gap. Home insurance premiums in the US grew by almost 50% between 2020 and 2024—more than double the rate of inflation. And since 2018, insurers have dropped more than 1.9 million home insurance contracts nationwide, contributing to a rising number of uninsured homes.

Yet the insurance industry opposes efforts to make the fossil fuel companies responsible for rising climate risk pay their fair share for resulting climate harm. If insurers are sounding the alarm, it should be about the reality of climate change, not the prospect of climate accountability.

What Are Insurers Afraid of?

It’s no wonder fossil fuel companies are seeking to stay out of court. The facts are not on their side—and neither is the law. Why, then, are the insurers?

Make no mistake, real climate accountability would be destabilizing for the fossil fuel industry. But climate change is already more destabilizing—for everyone. The inevitable and transient upheaval that will come from holding polluters responsible for the harm they have caused will be far less destabilizing than the predicted and irreparable impacts of unchecked climate change.

Fossil-fueled climate destruction threatens human life, health, the economy, and vital ecosystems on which all depend. That reality should incentivize insurers to break free from fossil fuels faster and protect the public from climate peril, rather than insulate polluters from the climate costs they have knowingly unleashed.

The message to the insurance industry is clear: Insure our collective future and make fossil fuels a thing of the past.

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### Austin City Council Candidate Misael Ramos Arrested After Protest Against ICE Shooting

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-austin-texas.md

Misael Ramos, a democratic socialist running for City Council in Austin, was arrested by Texas troopers on Saturday morning for protesting US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an ICE agent shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in the state's capital.

"At approximately 8:50 am this morning, two neighbors witnessed several state troopers, including many in unmarked vehicles, approach Misael while he was walking his dog and proceed to detain him," his campaign said on social media. "They never showed him a warrant for his arrest, but proceeded to arrest him anyway."

The Travis County Sheriff's Office website shows that the 40-year-old candidate for District 1 was booked at the county jail shortly after that and charged with a Class B misdemeanor for "riot participation." His campaign said the charge appears to be "related to his participation in the protest last Sunday at the site of Wilber's shooting by ICE."

The Austin American-Statesman reported that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) could not be reached for comment.

"That these officers felt emboldened to do this to me, as a candidate on the ballot, speaks volumes to the level of impunity they feel to do this to our neighbors, who are living in fear of these kinds of abductions every day," Ramos said in a statement from jail. "We must end the terror in our communities created by the fascist administration in Washington and here in Texas—I will never stop standing up and speaking out for our community."

ABC affiliate KVUE reported that "at least four people were arrested by DPS and the Austin Police Department during Sunday's demonstration, including for charges of rioting, obstructing a highway, resisting arrest, and assault on a peace officer. Ramos' campaign said additional arrests have been made on DPS warrants throughout the week."

Ramos' campaign held a Saturday afternoon press conference outside the jail with representatives from various organizations, including the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)—which has endorsed him—as well as the Austin Lawyers Guild and Texas State Employees Union.

"People have a constitutional right to gather, speak, protest, and criticize the government," George Lobb, an attorney and spokesperson for the Austin Lawyers Guild, said in a statement ahead of that event. "Arresting someone does not establish that they committed a crime, and pretrial conditions must comply with the Constitution."

Ramos was released from jail during the press conference, eliciting cheers from the crowd gathered outside. He made his way to the podium, hugging audience members, and began by thanking everyone who "spoke up" and "spoke out" on Saturday, including a neighbor who recorded his arrest and notified people he asked her to contact.

"This should not be happening on our streets," but "this is why I fight," the candidate declared, reiterating that he was approached while walking his dog—which one officer threatened to shoot—and never shown a warrant. "Thank you again, and let's keep fighting."

The crowd broke out into chants of "this is what solidarity looks like," and "Fuck ICE, ICE OUT."

Protests have been held in Texas since an ICE agent shot Garcés Pérez during a traffic stop last Sunday while he was making DoorDash deliveries. A federal judge has temporarily barred the President Donald Trump's administration from deporting the 28-year-old Venezuelan, who remains in ICE custody, despite having a bullet lodged in his back, near his spine.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas), whose district includes Austin, visited Garcés Pérez at a detention center in Pearsall on Wednesday. Afterward, according to The New York Times, the congressman told reporters that a doctor has advised the immigrant to have surgery to remove the bullet.

"If Wilber and his wife decide that he needs to go through his surgery, then ICE needs to expedite his care," said Casar. "I am making it very clear to every part of the federal government that ICE needs to take the medical care of Wilber Garcés extremely seriously."

Since returning to office last year, Trump has deployed ICE in cities across the United States as part of his mass detention and deportation campaign. Members of the agency and Customs and Border Protection have shot immigrants and US citizens alike—some fatally—and violated the rights of numerous others. Additionally, over 50 people have died in ICE custody.

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### Trump 'Gleefully Eviscerating' Efforts to Help Families With 'Illegal' Pocket Rescission

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-funding-cuts.md

Elected Democrats—and even the Senate's top Republican appropriator—blasted President Donald Trump late Friday for rescinding nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved spending that the White House deemed "wasteful and harmful" through a legally contested process.

In a statement announcing what was targeted, the administration celebrated funding cuts for what it called "pro-illegal immigration programs," a "nefarious" Department of Justice subagency, a program that "propagates America Last climate alarmism," an office that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—or "discrimination, and radical woke ideologies"—and more.

House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) responded in a statement that "Donald Trump knows he can't get these cuts through Congress, so he is illegally making them through the back door."

"Trump's actions are a blatant attack on Congress' constitutional power of the purse," he added. "It is exactly why we need to pass my Congressional Power of the Purse Act and stop any president from illegally overriding Congress."

The Associated Press reported that "under federal law, Congress has 45 days to review the president's proposed spending cuts before they take effect. But Trump made that all but impossible by announcing them with just five days left in the federal fiscal year and the House out of session through the November election."

Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) stressed on social media that "a pocket rescission is an illegal line-item veto. It is the president saying that he and he alone will convert a bipartisan spending bill (that has been signed into law) into a partisan spending bill. He is canceling the lines of spending he doesn't like."

"This violates the core separation of powers embedded in our Constitution in which it is the Congress, not the president, who decides what programs are designed and at what level they are funded," he continued. "Republican colleagues said they would never let this happen. Well, here it is. They should ask themselves: 'How would I like to have a Democratic president canceling out the Republican flavored programs he or she doesn't like in a bipartisan spending bill that has been signed into law?' If they have any integrity or any spine, they will join us in ending this practice."

Noting that the cuts will impact everything from critical health research, to combating the international illicit narcotics trade, Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) declared: "This is theft from the American people, plain and simple. These are funds Congress has delivered on a bipartisan basis and should be helping people—not cut off by a president more focused on building a ballroom than investing in families."

She specifically called out Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought—a co-author of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led blueprint for a right-wing overhaul of the federal government, who was recently condemned as an "unelected shadow president" by the House Democrat who introduced impeachment articles against him. According to Murray, "Every Republican who voted for these bills should be furious because Vought is saying their votes don't count."

Murray also pointed out that during negotiations for the recently enacted stopgap spending legislation, "Democrats fought to include language to prevent the Trump administration from once again usurping Congress' power—but for the second time in a year, Republicans refused to take common sense action and prevent this from happening."

"While Trump spends tax dollars on ads promoting himself, Congress needs to reassert its powers to help people, and it's past time Republicans join us in that fight," she argued. "Russ Vought's message to Congress is that your votes don't count, and your laws are optional. It is now time for my Republican colleagues who said they would never let this happen to stand up and join us to stop this, and remind this administration this is not how this works."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) emphasized the impact of the administration's move, saying that "Trump is gleefully eviscerating programs and protections that help hardworking American families live a safe and healthy life, all while he continues to punish them with skyrocketing gas and grocery prices."

"With this rescissions package, the Trump administration is illegally stripping nearly $1 billion in critical funding that supports kids, K-12 students, small businesses, and health and clean air research," he highlighted. "Americans are crying out for relief."

"Instead of ending his Iran War and tariff chaos that are driving up costs, Trump is rolling out the red carpet for our adversaries while stealing funds meant to help American families," he added. "Senate Democrats will challenge Trump's illegal cuts at every turn and continue the fight to help American families, lower healthcare costs and secure our communities."

The administration's rescission announcement came less than six weeks away from the midterm elections. Democrats aim to win majorities, while Trump's Republican Party is fighting to keep control of both chambers of Congress. One of the nationally watched races is that of Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine).

As some congressional Republicans cheered the Friday action, Collins put out a statement denouncing it. She said that "without warning or consultation, Congress just received an $810 million package of pocket rescissions from the administration," which she called OBM's most recent attempt "to undermine Congress' constitutional power of the purse."

"This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law," Collins continued. "Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress' appropriations powers. OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding."

"The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act," she added. "Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law. I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions."

While some Democrats had called for their Republican colleagues to make such promises, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) fired back at Collins on social media, writing that "Senate Republicans had chance after chance to stop Trump's illegal seizure of taxpayer money. Time after time, they pledged allegiance to Trump instead of to citizens. And he'll keep rolling them if the Senate doesn't change hands."

So did Troy Jackson, the former Democratic Maine Senate president running to unseat Collins. He said that "Susan Collins voted for Trump's pick to lead the OMB. Now she’s surprised he's doing exactly what he promised to do? She's the appropriations chair who voted with Trump 96% of the time. Expressing concern isn't enough. Mainers see through the bullshit."

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### The Senate Can and Should Take an Important Step Toward Ending Israeli Impunity

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** Kevin Martin | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/senate-end-israeli-impunity.md

Last week, I was pleased to once again participate in a meeting with one of my US Senators, Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a consistent leader for peace, justice, and human rights in Congress, and especially for ending US support for Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing against the people of Palestine.

The subject of the meeting was his bill, with a vote expected early next week, Senate Resolution 852, to hold Israel accountable for its horrific actions against US citizens killed or detained by Israel. The goal of the resolution is very simple: within 30 days of passage, to require a State Department report on Israel’s alleged killings of nine US citizens, and more broadly, on the commission of “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights by Israel.” The resolution cites US law, section 502(B)(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

The resolution reads, in part “...since January 2022, at least nine United States citizens have been killed by violent Israeli settlers or Israeli security forces in the West Bank, including Omar Assad, Shireen Abu Akleh, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, Mohammad Khdour, Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Amer Rabee, Sayfollah Kamel Musallet, Khamis Ayyad, and Nasrallah Abu Siyam” and “...the killings of these Americans in the West Bank have been met by a lack of accountability from the Netanyahu government and an inability to secure justice by the United States Government.”

This resolution can help bring an end to US support for Israel’s atrocities, something most people in this country, especially nearly three-quarters of Democrats, support.

Asking the Department of State to produce such a report sounds like the absolute minimum we, as taxpayers, deserve from our government, and certainly the families of those killed by Israel, likely with US-provided weapons, deserve that and much more. The resolution is supported by 84% of voters, on a bipartisan basis, in a just-released poll, and has 24 Senate co-sponsors. And as the resolution states, and many supporters note, protecting US citizens abroad is constantly touted as the top priority for US foreign policy, even by the current rogue Trump regime that regularly flouts domestic and international law, with the most egregious example being the illegal US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran.

Peace advocates regularly support much stronger legislation, and will do so repeatedly, until peace, justice, and human rights are the real foundations of US foreign policy, and not just paid cynical lip service. Soon there will likely be a Joint Resolution of Disapproval (JRD) in Congress to stop the proposed shipment of 40,000 one-ton bombs to Israel. The Biden administration, as bad as it was in its support for Israel during the razing of Gaza, had put this sale on hold, but President Donald Trump is now moving it forward. But the relatively modest Van Hollen resolution would be an important step toward ending Israel’s impunity, and if we can’t get justice for American citizens killed by Israel, then Congress is completely derelict in doing its job.

Peace Action and our colleagues have already generated over 57,000 letters to the Senate in favor of Sen. Van Hollen’s resolution, and many groups are pushing to get that figure close to 100,000, if not more.

With the mess in Congress (not to mention the administration and Supreme Court), there is no guarantee this resolution will pass, or even get a vote, though it is considered privileged, so it can’t be bottled up indefinitely under Senate rules. It could get punted to the lame-duck congressional session after the midterm elections. Regardless, along with other proposed legislation such as the JRD in the pipeline, this resolution can help bring an end to US support for Israel’s atrocities, something most people in this country, especially nearly three-quarters of Democrats, support.

While I doubt hardcore supporters of Israel in this country will be swayed by much of anything, there is a growing political inevitability at play here. Regardless of what one thinks of the state of Israel, its actions, or its “right” to certain territory, US taxpayers are not going to continue to put up with endless amounts of US weaponry and military going to support genocide, apartheid, and gross human rights violations. And it’s easy to connect to the “affordability crisis” in the US and elsewhere. Young Americans who can’t afford to buy a car, let alone a house, and lack the free universal healthcare Israelis enjoy, have especially turned against Israel. The pipeline of US military support is going to be shut off eventually, and perhaps sooner than expected. Politicians of any party ignore this reality at their own peril.

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### Trump's Diversionary Assault on the First Amendment

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** Steven Harper | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-first-amendment-distraction.md

President Donald Trump is in trouble and he knows it.

He promised “no more foreign wars,” but started a war with Iran that he has lost.

He promised to tame inflation, but tariffs and his war of choice have made it worse.

He promised to deport only the “worst of the worst” illegal immigrants. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has terrorized American cities as agents sometimes arrested, detained, wounded, or killed US citizens.

He promised to make the United States the most respected country in the world, but he has destroyed America’s reputation and alienated its allies.

He calls himself the best president in history, but his approval rating has dropped to the mid-30s—his lowest ever and approaching President Richard Nixon’s final approval rating of 24% shortly before his resignation in 1974.

He tells his audiences to pretend he’s on the ballot in November, but many Republican congressional candidates are distancing themselves from him.

Sen. John Curtis (R) from ruby-red Utah is not up for reelection, but he has urged an investigation into the Trump family’s financial dealings and the potential for corruption.

Trump promised lower interest rates on home mortgages, but 30-year fixed-rate mortgages now exceed 7%—the highest since May 2024.

He promised gasoline below $2.00 per gallon, but the price has soared to an average of $4.50 per gallon. The price of diesel has increased even more dramatically—to a record-shattering $6.50 per gallon.

The list goes on and on. So Trump turned to a familiar foil and a proven strategy: Attack the press to divert public attention from his failures.

Same Old Playbook

CNN, MSNOW, and Politico won the first round in Trump’s latest attempt to subvert the First Amendment. But Trump’s shiny object consumed the media. His goal now is to extend the controversy.

Act I

While many of his most senior advisers were away at 3:00 pm on Friday, September 18, Trump announced on social media that he was banning CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House. At first nothing happened, but by Saturday morning the press passes for reporters at those organizations no longer allowed them past White House security.

On Monday morning, September 21, the news organizations sued the Trump administration for violating their First Amendment right to a free press and their Fifth Amendment right to due process of law.

On Tuesday, September 22, the White House sent the organizations what it purported were notices of the revocations, giving them until Friday to respond.

Act II

At a court hearing on Wednesday, September 23, Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) asserted the laughable argument that the White House letter sent to the news organizations on Tuesday, September 22—days after Trump revoked the press passes—somehow satisfied the Fifth Amendment requirement of due process prior to any revocation.

The DOJ also told the judge that amorphous “national security” concerns justified revoking the passes. But Trump’s own statements of his reasons for the revocation undercut that argument.

Without reaching the First Amendment issues, the court based its constitutional ruling on Trump’s failure to provide due process. Judge Timothy J. Kelly—a Trump appointee—granted a temporary restraining order requiring Trump to restore the revoked press credentials immediately.

Act III

Judge Kelly issued his opinion around 1:00 am on Thursday, September 24. But as the business day began, the affected reporters’ press passes were still disabled, prompting the news organizations to file an emergency motion before Judge Kelly. The Justice Department responded with a declaration stating that press access had been restored at 9:55 am, so the judge cancelled the hearing.

But that evening, reporters for CNN and MSNOW were turned away from the state dinner arrivals at the White House, where Trump was hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Act IV

To satisfy Trump, government attorneys are probably working on a new strategy. Here’s one possible scenario:

The White House imposes less drastic restrictions on its disfavored press outlets. Slow walking the reinstatement of press passes and preventing CNN and MSNOW reporters from covering arrivals at the state dinner for President Xi Thursday night could be previews of coming attractions.

The White House gives the news organizations new notices and an opportunity to be heard before suspending their press passes again. The notices would concoct arguments, probably with a focus on Trump’s favorite phrase for justifying his consolidation of power—“national security.”

The White House would then revoke the press passes.

The news organizations would file another lawsuit challenging the revocation.

Trump would lose again, but he would press ahead in the hope that eventually the US Supreme Court would bail him out. If Trump loses in the DC Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court probably would refuse to take the case—leaving his loss in place.

If the Supreme Court accepted the case, I predict it would issue a 7-2 opinion—with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting—confirming that the First Amendment still means what it says.

All of this will take time. And most importantly, it will remain a big news item that diverts at least some attention away from the broader failures of Trump’s presidency.

“The People’s House”

Trump has been eager to tear down the East Wing, reshape the White House grounds, turn the interior into a gilded spectacle, and otherwise impose his dramatic construction ideas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Yet shortly after revoking the press credentials of CNN, MSNOW, and Politico, he told reporters: "It's sick. I mean, there's something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stuff.”

In the next sentence, he revealed himself: “Now, if they want to write them, that's fine. But I don't have to let them into my, into the people's house."

Trump thinks the White House belongs exclusively to him. But his lease ends in two years, and no security deposit is sufficient to cover the profound damage he is inflicting on the nation.

Meanwhile, it is vital to beat back Trump’s repeated assaults in the Constitution. But it’s also important to remember that among the most important underlying goals of his most outrageous actions is diverting Americans from the mess that he has made of the country.

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### Just So You Know, Trump’s Erratic Behavior Makes Life More Expensive for Everyone Else

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** Dean Baker | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-makes-life-more-expensive.md

The interest rate on 30-year bonds rose to 5.4%, the highest rate since July of 2003. It’s not clear exactly why the rate rose, but expectations of higher inflation do not seem a plausible explanation. The interest rate on inflation-indexed bonds has been rising pretty much in tandem with the rise on 30-year bonds. This means we are looking at higher real interest rates.

There are several plausible reasons why real interest rates would increase. A standard explanation is higher government budget deficits. I have always been skeptical of any direct link between deficits and interest rates, but if investors believed that the Fed would respond to deficits by pushing the federal funds rate higher in future years, that would lead to higher interest rates, whether or not a larger deficit was directly the cause.

And we are certainly looking at larger budget deficits now than at the start of the year, due to the war on Iran. This has led to large expenditures to fund the war and will almost certainly lead to larger expenditures in the future, as President Donald Trump seeks to replenish depleted weapon stockpiles and reconstruct bases destroyed in the war. He is requesting a budget of $1.5 trillion, almost 5% of GDP, which would be $600 billion more than the last Biden budget.

There is also the Trump-crazy premium. There are many ways in which the world was reasonably predictable before Trump but no longer is.

The trillions of dollars that the hyperscalers plan to spend building data centers also creates huge demand for borrowing. This spending can also play a role in pushing up rates.

There is also the Trump-crazy premium. There are many ways in which the world was reasonably predictable before Trump but no longer is.

Under Trump, US trade agreements are no longer meaningful. He openly ignores them at will, saying they were signed by “dumb” presidents, including the agreements that he negotiated. Trump has also threatened wars or military actions all over the world, including against longstanding US allies like Denmark and Canada. And he has shown a lack of respect for domestic law, repeatedly violating orders from judges when he disagrees with them.

This erratic behavior almost certainly adds a substantial cost to borrowing. While under other presidents it would have been virtually inconceivable the United States would default on its debt, that is no longer the case. It is entirely plausible that Trump would at least selectively default, not paying off the interest and principal to bondholders he didn’t like. As Trump is fond of saying, he can do whatever he wants.

While that may be fun for him, Trump’s erratic behavior makes life more expensive for everyone else. He has pushed mortgage rates over 7%, making homeownership ever more unaffordable. Higher rates also mean that people have to pay more on car loans and credit card debt, as well as the interest rates businesses and state and local governments have to pay.

The basic story is that while Donald Trump is apparently having a good time, the rest of the country is paying a big price in the form of higher prices for gas, food, electricity, and many other items, as well as higher interest rates. Trump apparently hasn’t noticed this reality, and any of his aides who have are too scared to tell him. It’s very MAGA!

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### Eliminating Nuclear Weapons: an Urgent Existential Threat

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** Robert Dodge | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/eliminating-nuclear-weapons.md

On Saturday the world observes the United Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, known as Nuclear Weapons Elimination Day. It was first observed on September 26, 2014 subsequent to the UN Declaration in December 2013 following high-level United Nations meetings on nuclear disarmament. The day provides an opportunity to educate the public and elected officials about the benefits of eliminating nuclear weapons, as well as the humanitarian, social, and economic costs of their continued existence.

Today, our world faces the greatest threat of nuclear war with the devastating possibility of the extinction of humanity. Current nuclear arsenals have roughly 12,187 nuclear weapons, hundreds of which are on hair-trigger alert with the potential to cause the deaths of billions from the use of only this small percentage of the world’s arsenals.

We have seen a breakdown in relationships between the largest nuclear armed states. The expiration of the New START Treaty occurred on February 5 this year. This has left the world for the first time since 1970 with no agreed-upon nuclear limitation treaty. We have witnessed reckless and immoral threats against adversaries and ultimately to all of humanity by the nuclear “superpowers,“ including US President Donald Trump’s not-so-veiled nuclear threat to annihilate Iran and its people before the world community at the UN's 81st General Assembly on Tuesday of this week. Such vitriol and illegal statements regarding the threatened use of nuclear weapons cannot be tolerated. Imagine our reaction if we heard any other nation espousing similar comments before the international community.

An informed and active citizenry must step forward and lead the way.

We have also recently acknowledged the illegal placement of weapons in space by the United States. In our technologically reliant world, the existence and potential use of such weapons threatens much of our day to day lives with the possibility of rendering technology impotent.

Each of these facts when combined with the potential for disruptive technologies, including discussions and testing of artificial intelligence in nuclear war scenarios, led the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to reset their famous Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight earlier this year, the closest it has been since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 81 years ago.

The challenge to rein in these weapons seems daunting and impossible.

Yet, at this time of great peril, it is also a time of great opportunity if only we will act. We know how to build these weapons, and we know how to take them apart. We have made tremendous progress through the decades reducing global arsenals from roughly 64,000 in 1985 to the current totals. What is needed is the political will and courage.

Internationally, nuclear weapons are illegal to possess, develop, test, acquire, transfer, use, or threaten to use, by virtue of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted on July 7, 2017 and entered into force on January 22, 2021. This treaty evolved from the inertia of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) with the understanding of the humanitarian consequences of even a limited war, and the refusal of the non-nuclear nations to be held hostage any longer by their nuclear counterparts. Initially adopted by 122 nations, the treaty currently has 101 nations that have signed it and 75 that have ratified it through their legislative bodies representing a majority of the world‘s population. The lion's share of effort on this treaty has been by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. ICAN is a coalition of 733 international partner organizations.

Here in the United States, a similar grassroots coalition exists called “Back From the Brink.“ This coalition includes 505 organizations encompassing every sector of society, 78 municipalities and counties, eight state legislative bodies, 594 local and state officials, 70 members of Congress through Congressional Resolutions H.Res 317 and S.Res 323, and 28 community hubs across the nation. Addressing the urgent danger of nuclear weapons, the campaign works to build awareness and support for the need to abolish these weapons coupled with the immediate actionable precautionary measures necessary to prevent nuclear war until their elimination is achieved.

As such, Back From the Brink calls on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war. It urges the US to enact these five policy solutions:

Pursue global elimination of nuclear weapons through a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals;

Renounce the option of using nuclear weapons first;

End the sole, unchecked authority of any president to launch a nuclear attack;

Take US nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert; and

Cancel the plan to replace the entire US arsenal with enhanced weapons.

Working with Back From the Brink is Students for Nuclear Disarmament (SND). As a national, nonpartisan, organization dedicated to raising awareness among Gen Z about the threat that nuclear weapons pose to humanity, its growing presence in high schools, colleges, and universities across the nation educates and empowers young people to take action against the growing threat of nuclear war.

To succeed in this critical effort to save humanity, we must remain informed and work to inform others. Our movement, while still barely noted by corporate media, is unstoppable and must continue to move quickly and strategically. An informed and active citizenry must step forward and lead the way. We must demand wise public officials to act immediately and move away from the brink of nuclear war.

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### What Do We Do About Trump? Remove Him!

**Published:** September 26, 2026 | **Author:** James Rothenberg | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/remove-trump.md

We’re nearly two years into President Donald Trump’s second term in office—his first where his fascist dreams took flight—and I’m not the only one to notice. Millions of people in groups as large as city blocks, and as tiny as a corner in a village without a traffic light, have gathered to protest under the banner, No Kings.

Its success was in bringing together disparate groups of people. At some I had the impression that out of thousands of people, no two had a similar political orientation. That’s the good part. It’s also a weakness.

At the same time, and now with increasing regularity, respected media (from The New York Times down to those that take their lead from it) editorialize in stark terms against the administration. Editorials read like a list of grievances, not unlike the Declaration of Independence. But unlike the Declaration, they lack a political message.

Fascism is not a throwaway word. Trump told people he was returning the nation to its “rightful place,” and pretty soon hastily organized federal police ganged up on people and shot them in the streets.

No Kings is an historical descriptive designed to engage our intellect, but it asks nothing. It demands nothing. It, like media editorials, sounds an alarm but an alarm is endless without a call. What’s missing is a bold call for removal. Remove him!

By what mechanism? Do I mean by impeachment? No, I do not. Do I mean by the 25th Amendment? No, I do not. Do I mean by the Democratic Party? No, I do not.

It is not up to those that call for removal to state or provide a mechanism. The call signifies itself. If the causes are alarming enough—and I suggest we are presently living under a fascist regime—there is nothing left to be done but what was once done.

The Declaration of Independence keenly notes that people “are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” Before enumerating the greatness of the causes for separation, the Declaration expresses a sentiment that Washington’s gatekeepers would have us forget: that it is the right and the duty of the people to throw off such government as is reducing them to despotism.

The gulf must be acknowledged between what the leaders of a country in 1776 declared and did, and what, not the leaders, but the followers of a country in 2026 are prepared and able to do. The situations cannot be compared, but they can be instructive.

The Declaration is a radical document. It did not wait for the government of the mother country to have a change of heart, as we wait for the midterm elections. Suffering what we must.

What is our cause for alarm? And should it mark the time for a call for removal? Even if it only articulates what we want?

Fascism is not a throwaway word. Trump told people he was returning the nation to its “rightful place,” and pretty soon hastily organized federal police ganged up on people and shot them in the streets. They’re coming for people. They may not have come yet for you and me.

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### In Win for Missouri Voters, Supreme Court Smacks Down GOP's Rigged Map a Third Time

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/missouri-congressional-district-map.md

Although the US Supreme Court's right-wing supermajority on Friday greenlit President Donald Trump's voter purge database, it also helped deliver yet another blow to Missouri Republicans' push for a rigged congressional map.

"In 2022, the Missouri Legislature enacted a redistricting map for elections to the US House of Representatives. In 2025, the Missouri Legislature enacted a new map," says the high court's unsigned ruling. Like Republican legislators in other states, Missouri's lawmakers pursued the new districts in response to public pressure from the president.

"But under the Missouri Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Missouri, a new law such as the 2025 map does not take effect unless and until approved by voters in a referendum in the next election—at least where, as here, the number of voter signatures on the petition suffices to trigger a referendum," Friday's opinion explains.

Thus, on September 3, the document notes, "the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the 2025 redistricting map 'is not the law and has never been the law' in Missouri—and will not take effect unless and until approved by Missouri voters by referendum in the 2026 election."

However, Missouri Republicans fought back. The following week, Justice Brett Kavanaugh—a Trump appointee and member of the court's right-wing supermajority—delivered the first blow to the 2025 map. Just days later, the full court agreed, again tossing the redrawn districts.

The high court reiterated its position for a third time on Friday, with no noted dissents: "In short, as a matter of state law, the 2022 map—not the 2025 map—must be used in the 2026 congressional election."

The justices also gave clear directions to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, stating that they "should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map," and "should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map" in the November midterm elections.

Trump's Republican Party is trying to cling to control of both chambers of Congress in the face of the president's unpopular and illegal war on Iran, which has exacerbated the country's affordability crisis.

With early voting underway and Election Day less than six weeks away, the high court highlighted that "at this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos."

Gov. Mike Kehoe—who last year called the special session to redraw the map and then signed House Bill 1—said that Friday's decision was "disappointing," but "nevertheless, Missouri will follow the court's order."

Meanwhile, Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, declared that "this victory is the final nail in the coffin of Missouri’s egregious mid-decade gerrymander for the 2026 midterms."

"Make no mistake: In the 2026 midterms, Missourians will not only vote on the Show Me State's 2022 congressional map, a map that keeps Kansas City together, but they will also have the opportunity to veto Republicans' egregious mid-decade gerrymander at the ballot box."

People Not Politicians Missouri, a campaign that has challenged the GOP map since it was passed a year ago and sought the latest intervention from the nation's top court, also welcomed its Friday decision.

"We are done with corrupt politicians trying to force their map into effect outside the process outlined in the Missouri Constitution," said the group's executive director, Richard von Glahn. "We have said from the beginning, people, not politicians will be the final deciders on this DC power grab. We are moving forward to vote NO on Proposition A."

Proposition A is the congressional map referendum. If enough voters oppose it, they can kill "the gerrymander that won't die," a map that targets the state's 5th Congressional District, currently held by Democratic US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

As The Associated Press reported Friday: "Cleaver was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin won a six-way Republican primary under the revised districts. They remain the candidates for the general election, even though the district boundaries have reverted to their prior lines."

Journalist Jamie Dupree called the Friday ruling a "loss for the GOP," adding that "the Missouri map will be 5R-2D instead of 6-1."

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### 'Working People Won': Unions Score Deal to Shield Federal Workers From Government Shutdown Firings

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/federal-employee-unions-settlement.md

A coalition of federal employee unions won a settlement Friday requiring the Trump administration to abandon its policy authorizing mass layoffs during government shutdowns, after unions sued to block the firings of thousands of public servants.

“Today, working people won,” American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) president Everett Kelley said in a statement. “The administration tried to turn a shutdown into an excuse to fire the public servants who kept this country running without a paycheck on payday, and we refused to let it stand. We fought back, we held the line, and they backed down.”

“The people they tried to fire are hardworking Americans who care for our veterans, keep our airports safe, and make sure Social Security checks go out on time," Kelley added. "They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect for their service, not used as pawns in a political fight they had no part in creating."

The settlement announced Friday settles litigation stemming from the Trump administration's actions during the 43-day government shutdown in 2025, which was the longest in US history. The administration had directed agencies to implement reductions in force (RIFs) targeting workers whose programs it deemed inconsistent with President Donald Trump's agenda.

Roughly 4,200 employees at seven federal agencies—including the Environmental Protection Agency and departments of Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury—received RIF notices.

A federal judge in California subsequently blocked the administration from carrying out the layoffs, and workers separated through the shutdown-related RIFs were reinstated.

Under Friday's settlement, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management must notify agencies within 30 days that previous guidance authorizing shutdown-related RIFs has been rescinded. Agencies must remove blanket authorization for such layoffs from their shutdown contingency plans. If an agency later seeks to modify its plan to permit RIFs during a shutdown, it must provide the unions with 30 days' notice and publicly post the revised plan.

The settlement represents a significant setback for the Trump administration's broader effort to remake the federal workforce largely spearheaded by Russell Vought, director of Trump's OMB. Vought co-authored the policy portion of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led blueprint for a right-wing overhaul of the federal government that includes dramatic cuts to critical public programs and abolishing or gutting essential agencies.

The case was initially brought by AFGE and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and later expanded to include several other unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and National Federation of Federal Employees.

“Only an administration that wanted to hurt workers and help billionaires would use a government shutdown as a cynical pretext to fire tens of thousands of federal employees,” AFT president Randi Weingarten said Friday.

"Today’s victory is yet another rebuke to this administration’s illegal attacks on the people who keep this country running," she added. "And if they try it again, we will be waiting in the courts and on the streets to send a message that the American people won’t stand for these bully-boy tactics that hold workers’ careers to ransom to pursue a craven political agenda.”

While welcoming the win, AFSCME president Patrick Moran warned that "this billionaire-run administration continues to put politics between these essential workers and their public service, at great expense to our communities."

"We’re glad this settlement places limits on their ability to use federal workers as bargaining chips to push their extreme agenda during the next government shutdown," he added, "but the fight is far from over."

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### New York Times Affirms Haaretz Report: Netanyahu Was Warned About Oct. 7

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/benjamin-netanyahu-warning.md

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel after using his United Nations speech "to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians" in the Gaza Strip, The New York Times on Friday corroborated Haaretz's recent reporting that the Israeli leader was warned about the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack that resulted in the war.

Haaretz reported earlier this month that during a September 2023 phone call, United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Netanyahu about now-deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's plans "for a major event" targeting Israel.

Netanyahu not only denied receiving that notice but also sent a "warning letter," threatening to file a libel lawsuit against the Israeli newspaper and journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval. In response, Haaretz said that it stood by their work.

A trio of Times journalists backed up that exposé on Friday, reporting that "a person who said they had spoken with Sheikh Mohammed and another person who said they had been briefed by someone on the call between the two leaders told The New York Times that the Emirati leader had secretly reported to Mr. Netanyahu that Hamas was considering a major attack."

"The warning from the Emirati leader, however, never reached the leaders of Israel's security establishment, according to five former senior Israeli officials. Mr. Netanyahu gathered his security chiefs days later, on October 1, 2023, for a meeting about the situation in the Gaza Strip, and never mentioned the warning," reported the US-based paper, which reviewed meeting minutes.

The minutes show that Netanyahu "pushed back when some security officials said that Israel should consider military strikes against senior Hamas leaders in Gaza who were overseeing attacks against Israelis in the West Bank," and suggested such action "might sabotage the prospect of Saudi Arabia establishing diplomatic relations with Israel," according to the Times.

While the Emirati foreign ministry and Netanyahu's office did not respond to the Times' requests for comment, the paper also revealed that months after the reported September 2023 phone call, the UAE's president told then-Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns that "he had spoken to Mr. Netanyahu about a looming threat of violence in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip carried out by Hamas," according to someone familiar with that discussion. The paper's sources were granted anonymity.

The Times' reporting came just days after an Emirati source commented on the Haaretz article. As the Israeli paper detailed:

"UAE discusses security matters with other countries through the relevant entities, and does not discuss such details at the level of national leaders," the source told UAE state-owned newspaper The National. He did not deny that the two leaders spoke, nor did he refute Haaretz's report.

In 2024, the Financial Times reported that The National is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's vice president and the president's brother. It also reported that the site aligns with the government's position and practices self-censorship on issues deemed sensitive or problematic by the authorities.

Noting that Netanyahu reportedly declined to pass the warning along to his intelligence agencies, investigative journalist Eli Clifton, a co-founder and senior adviser at the US-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, asked: "Why? Did he welcome the attack as an opportunity to wage war?"

Mehdi Hasan, who founded the outlet Zeteo, similarly wrote "wonder why" on social media.

Journalist Zaid Jilani declared that "Netanyahu not only has unleashed vicious crimes onto Palestinians, but he failed his own people."

Israel's next parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 27.

Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence firm RANE, said that it is "as close to an October surprise as one gets in Israel. If I was a betting man, I'd be betting against Netanyahu being next PM."

Reminder that the Trump administration is trying to destroy the ICC in order to protect this man.www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/w...

— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) September 25, 2026 at 1:02 PM

In a series of decisions seen as signs that Netanyahu and his allies are worried about holding on to power, Israel's Central Elections Committee—which is chaired by a Supreme Court justice but dominated by members of the Knesset's governing coalition—just disqualified all Arab-majority political parties and multiple candidates, while rejecting similar petitions for right-wing parties.

Israel's Supreme Court is set to review those decisions next week, and may overturn some or all of them before the elections.

While Netanyahu's allies on the committee tried to bar potential challengers from running, the prime minister briefly traveled to New York City to speak at the UN General Assembly—despite being the subject of a 2024 International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued over Israel's decimation of Gaza, which human rights groups and scholars have denounced as genocide.

As Netanyahu claimed in his speech that "Israel didn't commit genocide," but rather "prevented genocide," at least hundreds of protesters filled New York's streets and argued that the Israeli leader "needs to be tried in The Hague."

---

### Trump's ICE Wasted Millions of Dollars on Deadly Immigrant Detention Drive: Audit

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-wastes-millions-on-detention.md

The Trump administration's deadly immigration crackdown has not only resulted in widespread abuse of detained immigrants, it has also wasted millions of dollars on facilities and services that were never used, were quickly abandoned, or were far more expensive than necessary, according to an audit published Thursday by the Government Accountability Office.

The nonpartisan congressional watchdog found that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has poured billions of dollars into six detention expansion initiatives since January 2025 without the comprehensive planning needed to determine whether the investments were necessary, affordable, or capable of meeting federal detention standards.

"ICE pursued this and the other initiatives without necessary analysis and planning," the GAO said, concluding that the agency's approach has already resulted in "millions of dollars of waste."

The report contends that "urgent planning" is "needed to avoid further waste of taxpayer dollars."

Heather MacLeod, director of Homeland Security and Justice at GAO, said Friday that "we just saw a real lack of planning overall."

"The lack of planning has really led to stops and starts which have ultimately resulted in waste," she added.

Among the most striking examples highlighted in the report is the administration's purchase of 11 warehouses for roughly $1.07 billion, with plans to convert them into detention centers. ICE subsequently decided to sell seven of the properties. More than $20 million had already been spent on costs—including security and zoning assessments—that cannot be recovered.

In May, More Perfect Union detailed how members of Trump's inner circle were cashing in on the warehouse-buying spree.

The GAO also exposed spending for almost no apparent use at Guantánamo Bay. For example, after Trump ordered officials to expand immigration detention capacity at the US military base in Cuba, the Pentagon assembled tents intended to accommodate thousands of people. However, DHS subsequently determined that the tents failed to meet ICE detention standards and they were dismantled, costing approximately $2.85 million.

Meanwhile, an average of just 16 immigrants per day were detained at Guantánamo during fiscal year 2026. Pentagon and State Department inspectors general had previously found that roughly $68 million had been committed for immigration detention there between October 2024 and May 2026, while ICE separately committed approximately $43 million through June 2026.

The report also highlights the now-shuttered Florida facility commonly known as Alligator Alcatraz. The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Florida a $608.4 million detention support grant, even though there was no agreement or contract authorizing the facility to detain immigrants, according to senators who requested an investigation into the matter.

The GAO's findings came after Congress approved an unprecedented $45 billion for ICE detention expansion under Trump's so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a boon for the private prison industry. Yet the agency still lacks a comprehensive strategic plan governing how many beds it needs, where they should be located, or how to account for detainees' medical and other needs.

This, as more than 50 people have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term.

ICE has also failed to adequately consider long-term affordability, according to the new report. As of July, the agency had spent $2.5 billion purchasing warehouses and detention facilities but had only estimated operating costs for the first three years—even though some of the funding supporting the expansion expires after fiscal year 2029.

A separate GAO investigation published in June found millions in waste and serious safety and operational deficiencies at Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The nation's largest immigrant detention facility opened last year under a $1.3 billion contract.

Responding Friday to the new GAO report, a DHS spokesperson told CBS News that ICE is "working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people's mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens."

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on social media in response to the GAO revelations: "Remember when Donald Trump promised to get rid of ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ in Washington? Well, GAO continues to uncover incompetence and waste at the highest levels of ICE."

"Americans are outraged at ill-conceived immigration detention projects," he added, "and it’s time to hold DHS and ICE responsible."

---

### Watchdog Says Trump Control of $400 Million Political War Chest a 'Clear-Cut Violation of Campaign Finance Law'

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-maga-inc-spending.md

An election spending watchdog on Friday accused President Donald Trump of committing a "clear-cut violation of campaign finance law" through his stated control over spending decisions made by the MAGA Inc. super political action committee.

Citing decades of legal precedent, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) argued that federal office holders are prohibited from directing spending for super PACs, which raise money outside the scope of federal campaign laws.

Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at CLC, noted that Trump has stated publicly on multiple occasions that he will decide where MAGA Inc.'s $400 million war chest will be deployed in the 2026 elections—which Ghosh said would be flatly illegal.

"Our laws are clear: No federal officeholder or candidate is allowed to direct the money raised or spent by a super PAC," said Ghosh. "President Trump, MAGA Inc., and anyone else who breaks campaign finance laws must be held accountable to help ensure that our political system is free of corruption."

Last week, CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that cited statements Trump made to reporters, whom he told funds raised by MAGA Inc. were "my money that I control."

This statement alone, the group said, was "a remarkable admission of a serious campaign finance violation."

The complaint then asked the FEC to seek "appropriate sanctions for any and all violations" of campaign finance law committed by Trump and MAGA Inc., "including civil penalties sufficient to deter future violations and an injunction prohibiting the respondents from any and all violations in the future."

While MAGA Inc. has a formidable stash of campaign cash at its disposal, it is unclear how much of an impact it will have on the 2026 midterms given that polls show the president and his party are in a deep hole with voters.

A report from The New Republic published last week revealed that the pro-Trump super PAC is plugging significant money into at least 17 districts that the president won by more than five points in 2024, and six districts that he won by more than 10 points.

David Wasserman, elections analyst for Cook Political Report, told The New Republic that this spending in pro-Trump districts is "an acknowledgment that things have shifted in a huge way since 2024."

"Republicans have hemorrhaged support among independent voters, they’ve got a real enthusiasm problem," said Wasserman, "and as a result, districts that ordinarily would vote handily for Trump and Republicans are now in play."

A Friday report in The Washington Post examined the states where Trump is preparing to campaign in the coming days, and found the president is being deployed in deep-red states such as Alabama and Oklahoma.

"Oklahoma is a state Trump won in 2024 with 66% of the vote—and won all 77 counties," the Post reported. "In Alabama, Trump won with 65%."

---

### 'Maybe Trump’s Neighbors Know Something He Doesn’t': Palm Beach County, Home to Mar-a-Lago, Passes Data Center Moratorium

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/palm-beach-data-center-moratorium.md

President Donald Trump has said every American should want a data center in their town. But his home county in Florida just voted to block them.

In a 6-0 vote, commissioners in Palm Beach County—home to the president's luxurious private club and second residence, Mar-a-Lago—voted to enact a one-year moratorium on the construction of new "large-scale" data centers that use at least 50 megawatts of power.

The moratorium, approved on Thursday, came after Palm Beach residents expressed concerns shared by Americans around the country who’ve seen data centers move into their communities. Palm Beach already has some smaller data centers. But in July, it rejected a proposal for the 600MW Project Tango, following warnings about its potential effects on local wetlands and on families’ pocketbooks.

"Many communities want the economic benefits that data centers bring, but we all fear the higher power bills, the negative environmental impact, disruptive noise, and the depletion of water resources," explained one supporter of the moratorium at a county commission meeting on Thursday, according to the local ABC affiliate.

A poll conducted last month by Embold Research and published by Heatmap Pro found that 75% of Americans now oppose the building of AI data centers in their area, including 61% who registered strong opposition. Aversion to data centers crosses party lines, with majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents viewing them negatively.

As AI companies spend tens of millions bankrolling Trump and Republican candidates, members of the president's Cabinet, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, have scoffed at Americans' concerns about the tremendous water and energy use of data centers, which have been well documented as jacking up utility prices.

In a social media post last month, Trump himself said the only reason communities would not want a data center nearby is if they "want to end up being backwards and poor." Before that, he said that "smart communities" were "begging for them."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has become one of Capitol Hill's leading critics of data centers and the artificial intelligence models they power, has said that if Trump truly finds data centers so desirable, he should “lead by example” by having his friend and megadonor, tech billionaire Elon Musk, build one at Mar-a-Lago.

"Trump says communities that oppose data centers will end up 'backwards' and 'poor,'" Sanders remarked Friday on social media. "Yesterday, Mar-a-Lago’s own Palm Beach County passed a year-long ban on these facilities."

"Maybe," the senator said, "Trump’s neighbors know something he doesn’t."

---

### Fresh Calls for Trump Removal as Tucker Carlson Claims He Said 'In the End, We All Die, Anyway' Ahead of​ Iran War

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/does-tucker-carlson-still-support-trump.md

New revelations from right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson about President Donald Trump's push to wage war on Iran earlier this year prompted the latest calls for Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment and force Trump out of office on the grounds that he is unable to fulfill the duties of the office—namely, to protect the security of the people of the United States.

"Days before the war began," Carlson told Steve Inskeep of NPR on Thursday, the president explicitly said that the outcome of the conflict didn't matter, because "in the end we all die, anyway."

Carlson revealed that he visited Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in late February, after having gone to Tel Aviv and interviewed Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel.

Trump expressed annoyance at Carlson, an on-and-off ally of the president over the years who claimed in April that he had "regrets" about supporting him, for challenging Huckabee on the US relationship with Israel.

Carlson had pressed Huckabee on his comment that "it would be fine if Israel took" over huge swaths of the Middle East, including parts of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Türkiye.

The host of "The Tucker Carlson Show" said he told Trump he had come away from his two-hour discussion with Huckabee understanding that the unprovoked war the US and Israel was days away from started was not aimed at ending Iran's nuclear program—which the president had claimed was taken out of commission in June 2025 by US strikes.

The Israeli threats against Iran, said Carlson, were actually aimed at ending Iran's "regional power," "diminishing the power" of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and ultimately "getting the US out of the Middle East because we constrain their ambitions" by maintaining a presence in countries in the region.

As the podcaster warned the president not to be manipulated by the Israeli government into taking military action against Iran, according to Carlson, "he looked at me and said, 'Yes, you're right, but in the end we all die, anyway, so it doesn't matter."

This is also 25th Amendment stuff. Extremely disturbing. pic.twitter.com/SnyqCwI3fL
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) September 25, 2026

"That's exactly what he said," said Carlson. "I said to him, shocked, ''But what about our kids and our grandkids, and like, our country?' And he goes, 'Argh!'... That's a verbatim exchange."

"I was shocked by that," he added. "Who lives or dies does matter, the future does matter."

The president's assertion that allowing Israel to push the US into war—something Secretary of State Marco Rubio also openly acknowledged had happened after the conflict began—could be disastrous for the US and lead to an untold number of American deaths, was called "extremely disturbing" by Drop Site News journalist Ryan Grim, who suggested Carlson's revelation should prompt the use of the 25th Amendment.

Journalist Pedro L. Gonzalez expressed wariness at the thought of taking Carlson at his word regarding his exchange with Trump and his current opposition to the president, while Carlson said he believed the need for Cabinet members to push Trump out of office predated the interview.

He said that Trump's threat of nuclear war in April, when he threatened to annihilate the "whole civilization" of Iran, "never to be brought back again," was grounds for invoking the 25th Amendment, with a majority of his Cabinet members voting to remove him from office.

Tucker Carlson: Trump should have been removed from office immediately when he threatened nuclear war pic.twitter.com/eYPbYBRsta
— FactPost (@factpostnews) September 24, 2026

"He should have been bundled up and taken out," said Carlson. "That's a crime."

---

### US Citizens 'Could Lose Their Right to Vote' After Supreme Court Gives Green Light to Trump's Voter Purge Database

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/supreme-court-trump-voter-database.md

Many eligible voters may be at risk of having their voter registrations wrongfully canceled just weeks before the midterms after the US Supreme Court cleared the way on Friday for the Trump administration to screen voters using a database known for flagging naturalized citizens.

In a 6-3 decision, the court's conservative majority lifted a lower court order that blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using and expanding the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database—whose original purpose was to check if noncitizens qualified for government benefits—to trawl through state voter rolls and link them to information supposedly confirming citizenship.

The expanded SAVE system relied upon by the Trump administration has also incorporated federal immigration and Social Security records that can be outdated.

"Because Social Security data was never intended for verifying voter eligibility, has no reason to keep people’s immigration status up to date in cases where it isn’t relevant for their benefits," explained Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, on Friday.

"As a result," she said, "US citizens could wrongfully lose their right to vote."

Investigations and court records have documented eligible US citizens being wrongly targeted by voter-purge systems using flawed citizenship data. In Missouri and Texas, for example, investigations have found that the system wrongly flagged hundreds of eligible voters as noncitizens, often those born outside the US who have since become naturalized.

Halting the SAVE system's implementation in June, Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of the US District Court in Washington, DC, wrote that the Trump administration had “haphazardly combined and repurposed the private information of millions of Americans, including citizenship data that they knew to be unreliable."

But the Supreme Court's conservatives wrote on Friday, in an unsigned majority opinion, that the lower court's block on the use of SAVE impeded “the federal government’s efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper administration of the midterm elections.”

In her dissent, the liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson emphasized that "the harm caused by burdening or disenfranchising even a few lawful voters outweighs the nonexistent harm that the government experiences when it is prevented from taking an action that it likely lacks the authority to take."

The court did not issue a final ruling on SAVE's legality to scrutinize voting rolls. But the timing—less than six weeks before the November 3 midterm elections—means the administration can potentially use it to direct states to identify and purge purported noncitizens on their voter rolls.

"The Supreme Court’s decision today wrongly lifts the burden from DHS and puts it on the shoulders of voters," Pamela Smith, president and CEO of the election security nonprofit Verified Voting, told Common Dreams. "The SAVE database has known errors, including incorrectly flagging numerous eligible citizens, such as recently naturalized citizens, as noncitizens."

"Now more than ever," she said, "voters must check their registration well in advance of Election Day to ensure they are not swept up in a flawed system through no fault of their own."

Jon Sherman, the litigation director for the Fair Elections Center, told Common Dreams that the court's ruling did contain a "silver lining." It "acknowledged that the National Voter Registration Act cuts off systematic voter removal programs 90 days before a federal election." However, voters could still be individually flagged as potential noncitizens.

The use of citizenship data is part of a larger effort by Trump to "nationalize" voting to clamp down on what he claims, without evidence, is a rash of noncitizens voting. He has used unsubstantiated claims of mass illegal voting to justify his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to let Trump enforce another portion of his voting executive order, which would have had the US Postal Service block mail-in ballots in states that did not turn over information about mail-in voters to the federal government.

There is little evidence that noncitizen voting, or voter fraud more generally, is a significant problem: The right-wing Heritage Foundation's nationwide database of alleged instances of voter fraud identifies just 99 total cases of suspected noncitizen voting dating back to the year 2000.

A Brookings Institution review of that data in 2024 found that across several swing states, all forms of fraud impacted less than one vote for every million, far below what would be needed to swing an election.

"The Supreme Court’s decision to allow DHS and states to use an error-ridden system is completely unacceptable and didn’t need to happen this close to the election," said Virginia Kase Solomón, the president and CEO of the watchdog group Common Cause. "This DHS system, which the federal government itself admits is flawed, has always been part of the Trump administration’s campaign to interfere in our elections and sow distrust—and it will fail."

The legal challenge to the SAVE database was brought by the League of Women Voters and several state affiliates, along with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), who are represented by Democracy Forward, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and the Fair Elections Center.

The coalition said Friday's decision was "profoundly disappointing, as it puts millions of Americans at risk of being unlawfully targeted by the administration’s unreliable voter purge database weeks before the midterm elections."

"However, this case is not over," it said. "The DC District Court ruled that the expanded SAVE program violated multiple laws. We will be doing everything in our power to protect Americans’ voting and privacy rights by ensuring that the district court decision stands."

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said that with Friday's ruling, the Supreme Court had upheld a "Trump administration voter-suppression tactic."

"It's disappointing that the Supreme Court decided to capitulate to and enable an authoritarian, again," she said. "States must hold the line and do everything in their power to protect voting rights and our democracy!"

---

### Taxpayer-Funded Trump Ad Violates the Hatch Act

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/taxpayer-funded-trump-ad-violates-the-hatch-act.md

A television ad boosting the image of President Donald Trump, which was paid for by government funds, violates laws prohibiting the use of government resources for propaganda, the Hatch Act, and other related laws, according to a complaint filed today by Public Citizen.

The complaint, sent to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, takes issue with ads airing in two media markets that include a disclaimer: “Paid for by the U.S. government.” Both markets airing the ad contain key districts in the upcoming midterm elections.

“For anyone with a modicum of ethics, common sense or respect for the law, it’s the most basic thing: Taxpayer funds cannot pay for partisan political propaganda,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen. “These ads should immediately be pulled from the air, and the White House’s many apparent violations of the law should be investigated.”

“This administration’s repeated and flagrant violations of the law, including the Hatch Act, are an affront to taxpayers and our democracy,” said Craig Holman, Ph.D., a government ethics expert with Public Citizen. “Public Citizen has filed a dozen Hatch Act complaints with OSC over the past year and, to our knowledge, all have been ignored by the agency. That negligence is dangerous, and creates conditions that allow for the situation we are responding to today.”

The full complaint is available to read here.

---

### Following SCOTUS Ruling, Common Cause Vows Immediate Legal Action Against Any Attempts to Disenfranchise Voters Using Flawed System

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/following-scotus-ruling-common-cause-vows-immediate-legal-action-against-any-attempts-to-disenfranchise-voters-using-flawed-system.md

Common Cause condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling today allowing the federal government to continue using the flawed SAVE system.

Statement from Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón:

“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow DHS and states to use an error-ridden system is completely unacceptable and didn’t need to happen this close to the election. This DHS system, which the federal government itself admits is flawed, has always been part of the Trump administration’s campaign to interfere in our elections and sow distrust — and it will fail.

“As the Court noted in its decision, it is flatly illegal for states to conduct mass removals of voters from the rolls within 90 days of an election. If any state official attempts to disenfranchise eligible voters using this flawed database, we will take them to court immediately, just like Common Cause is already doing in Texas.

“Our elections remain safe and secure, and nothing will stop voters from making their voices heard.”

Last year, Texas officials removed multiple eligible voters from the voter rolls based on this same flawed DHS system, without any investigation or further checks into even the state’s own records that could confirm these voters’ citizenship. Common Cause filed a lawsuit to stop this illegal voter purge, and we are ready to do so again.

Common Cause will continue leading the charge to safeguard the right to vote for every American. We urge all voters to check their registration status today and reach out to 866-OUR-VOTE by call or text for accurate, nonpartisan assistance.

Common Cause’s nonpartisan Election Protection volunteers will also be on the ground and staffing hotlines nationwide throughout early voting and on Election Day.

---

### SCOTUS Greenlights the Misuse of Social Security Data

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/scotus-greenlights-the-misuse-of-social-security-data.md

The following is a statement from Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, in response to today’s Supreme Court decision greenlighting the use of Social Security data for determining voter eligibility:

“In the name of non-existent voter fraud, the Supreme Court has given the Trump administration the power to misuse Social Security data to deprive American citizens of their right to vote. This is an obvious effort to undermine free and fair elections.

The personal data that Americans provide to the Social Security Administration is intended for one purpose only: To get people the benefits they’ve earned. Only those who are lawfully present in this country are eligible for benefits.

Because Social Security data was never intended for verifying voter eligibility, SSA has no reason to keep people’s immigration status up to date in cases where it isn’t relevant for their benefits. Indeed, it would be a misuse of trust fund monies for SSA to spend resources updating that information.

That means that some of the data is inaccurate or outdated. As a result, U.S. citizens could wrongfully lose their right to vote.

Today’s Supreme Court decision is a violation of the trust that the American people place in Social Security.”

---

### Ad for US Senate Seat in Kansas Pillories Roger Marshall for Having Pregnant Mom Arrested Over $50 Medical Payment

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/roger-marshall-patient-arrest.md

The campaign of Kansas Democratic US Senate candidate Adam Hamilton on Friday released an ad highlighting incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall's history of having patients arrested for medical debt.

The ad features Meischa Zimmerman, a one-time patient of Marshall, who prior to running for political office had a long career as an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Zimmerman begins the ad by recounting her 2011 arrest.

"One evening, I see lights, I open the door, and it's a police officer," Zimmerman explains. "They arrested me because I didn't make a $50 payment to Roger Marshall."

"I was eight months pregnant," she continues. "And I said, 'Please do not handcuff me in front of my two-year-old daughter.'"

At the end of the ad, Zimmerman turns Marshall's aggressive debt collection tactics into an indictment of the for-profit US healthcare system.

"Roger Marshall preyed on the low-income families of Kansas," she says. "The healthcare system is broken, but not for Roger Marshall. He's absolutely profiting from it."

Meischa was Roger Marshall's patient. This is her story. pic.twitter.com/M6bmqK92gm
— Team Hamilton (@TeamHamiltonHQ) September 25, 2026

Zimmerman's story was highlighted earlier this month in a report from The New York Times, which found that Marshall filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients for medical debt, leading to at least 81 of them getting arrested.

Zimmerman owed Marshall $3,596 for a C-section her performed while delivering one of her children and, after his office sued her for outstanding medical debt, she agreed to undertake a monthly $50 payment plan.

Zimmerman told the Times that, while she tried to make the monthly payments, there were times when she couldn't keep up.

"I had to choose whether I’d pay my electricity," Zimmerman said, "or pay $50 to a doctor who didn’t need it."

Additionally, the law firm representing Marshall began charging 18% interest on her unpaid bill, which she said nearly doubled the total value she owed.

The Times story found that many patients Marshall sued didn't have anywhere close to the thousands of dollars in medical debt owed by Zimmerman, and that one of his patients was arrested for owing as little as $114.

The anti-Marshall ad drew praise from many political observers, who described it as a searing indictment of the Kansas Republican's character.

"This is a killer ad," wrote Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, in a social media post. "If Hamilton defeats Marshall for Senate in Kansas, include it in your analysis."

Bloomberg columnist Francis Wilkerson similarly described the ad as "among the best... I've seen."

Amanda Litman, president of Run for Something, declared after watching the ad that "Roger Marshall is a real piece of shit."

James Goodwin, policy director at the Center for Progressive Reform, argued that the ad was so strong that it could break through a key barrier progressives have long faced when challenging right-wing politicians.

"One of the structural advantages that Republicans have enjoyed the last 10 to 15 years is ordinary people didn't believe you when you told them how evil they were," Goodwin wrote. "After all, how could anyone be that evil? That's just the left exaggerating again, right? It feels like that is starting to fall apart."

---

### 'Every Taxpayer... Should Be Outraged': Anger Spreads Over 'Illegal' US-Funded Pro-Trump Ad

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-taxpayer-funded-propaganda.md

Outrage mounted Friday over a taxpayer-funded television advertisement glorifying President Donald Trump, with critics describing the 30-second spot as self-aggrandizing propaganda and questioning whether the administration violated federal law restricting the use of public money for partisan communications.

The ad—which aired this week on outlets including Fox News, Newsmax, and CBS—features a dizzying montage of Trump at rallies, White House events, sporting events, and alongside military personnel, captioned, "AMERICA WILL NEVER BE A COMMUNIST COUNTRY."

The refrain of R&B singer JMSN’s “Love Me” plays over the rapid-fire images. The spot concludes with a voiceover from Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White praising Trump as “the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met.”

At the bottom of the screen, an alarming disclosure appears, reading, "Paid for by the US government."

The White House dismissed criticism of the ad—which aired ahead of November's midterm elections—by calling the spot a "public service announcement" intended to remind Americans “to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending.”

However, on Friday, US Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Jack Reed (D-RI), along with Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), excoriated the clip.

“This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and utterly illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” the four senior congressional appropriators said in a joint statement.

“The law is not complicated," the lawmakers added. "You cannot use taxpayer dollars for political advertisements.”

Federal appropriations law—including the funding bill Trump signed earlier this year—prohibits the use of government funds for unauthorized “publicity or propaganda purposes,” while the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has interpreted the prohibition to encompass communications whose obvious purpose is “self-aggrandizement” or “puffery,” as well as “purely partisan” communications.

The consumer advocacy watchdog group Public Citizen on Friday filed a complaint with the GAO alleging the ad "violates laws prohibiting the use of government resources for propaganda, the Hatch Act, and other related laws."

"Whether or not President Trump was personally involved in the ad, it was conceived, produced, and distributed by Trump’s White House staff," Public Citizen said.

US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Friday on social media that "every taxpayer, no matter your party, should be outraged by this."

"Your money is being used to fund campaign ads for Trump," the senator added. "It’s totally, completely . He’s stealing your money for his campaign."

"The advertisement raises deep concerns about the Trump administration’s use of taxpayer dollars and its compliance with federal laws that prohibit the use of appropriated funds for the promotion of a political party or candidate," Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) said Thursday.

“This taxpayer-funded political advertisement serves as yet another troubling example of President Trump’s growing list of expensive vanity projects—including the White House ballroom—that are estimated to cost over $1.8 billion, money that could have instead spent lowering costs for Americans.”

Sam Stein, co-host of "The Bulwark Podcast," said, "What possible rationale could there be for using tax dollars to play that ad? This is just pure cult propaganda paid for by us."

@timmiller.bsky.social and @samsteindc.bsky.social react to a taxpayer-funded TV ad praising Trump, complete with “Love Me” playing over footage of the president.“This is just pure cult propaganda paid for by us.”

— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) September 24, 2026 at 6:46 PM

Noting that Trump's approval rating has plunged below 30%, Stein added: "People are abandoning him... members of his own party are starting to distance themselves from him, and he uses that moment to have an ad please love me... It's desperate."

Tim Miller, Stein's co-host, called the ad "alarming" and "Orwellian."

Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of the advocacy group Common Cause, said Friday in a statement that “taxpayer dollars should never be used to bolster the president’s self-esteem because his ego has been damaged."

"Running political messaging stamped with ‘Paid for by the US Government’ dangerously crosses the line from public service into authoritarian self-promotion," she added. "It also raises serious questions about whether it violates federal law barring tax dollars from being used for publicity or propaganda."

Others noted that the ad blasted communism as Trump rolled out the red carpet at a state dinner for Chinese President Ji Xinping, who is also the secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party.

"The clip’s heavy-handed anti-communist messaging also strikes a wildly hypocritical note, if not for anything but the fact that the Supreme Leader that ran it followed up by hosting China’s Xi Jinping with open arms, a flyover of US military planes, and a statue of a bald eagle," Jezebel's Danielle Han wrote on Friday.

Meanwhile, the controversy has spread beyond politics. JMSN—whose real name is Christian Berishaj—said that he never authorized Trump to use “Love Me,” writing that he would “never authorize my music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign.”

"I am looking at lawyers," he added, "and handling this internally.”

---

### 'We Won't Let Him': Efforts to Stop Trump Grow as Work Observed at 'Illegal and Immoral' Arch

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-arch.md

While Americans are stressed about the economy and President Donald Trump's approval rating has hit a historic low, the second-term Republican is focused on vanity projects like his proposed 250-foot "Triumphal Arch," which opponents are trying to block.

The watchdog group Public Citizen is planning a protest and press conference for the morning of October 1 at Memorial Circle in Washington, DC. Speakers include Congressman Don Beyer (D-Va.), military veterans, and other critics of the "self-indulgent project" that lacks congressional approval—and which Trump is now trying to push as a national security project.

"Trump's planned construction is not only illegal," Public Citizen said in a Thursday statement, pointing to the lawsuit it filed on behalf of three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian. "It is an affront to American veterans and their families."

"The arch will sit on Memorial Circle along the Potomac River, impeding the symbolic line-of-sight between the Lincoln Memorial in DC and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where hundreds of thousands of our nation's military members have been laid to rest," explained the group, which has secured from a federal judge temporary restrictions on work at the site.

Beyer—whose district includes Arlington National Cemetery—headed to the site on Thursday. He said in a statement that "after hearing from constituents who saw construction equipment at the site of Trump's proposed vanity arch, I drove down to Columbia Island to see for myself. When I arrived, I found workers operating heavy equipment who told me they were conducting archaeological work to evaluate the composition of the soil."

"When I asked whether this work was a precursor to construction of the arch, they said that they could not answer," the congressman continued. "The logical conclusion, however, is that the presence of this heavy equipment and additional surveyors is a clear indication that the Trump administration is preparing to move forward with construction. That would be deeply troubling. Trump's arch is illegal and immoral, and the administration is also under court order requiring 48 hours' notice before work proceeds."

"Yet, the administration appears to be pushing ahead with activity at the site even while it still has not done the basic work necessary to understand the consequences of this project," Beyer warned. "There has been no adequate assessment of the regional impacts of this 250-foot structure on public safety, vehicular traffic, air traffic, or historic sites, including the implications of Trump's latest ravings about using the arch as a base for drone and sniper operations."

Beyer, who also shared video of his visit to the site on social media, added that “Donald Trump and his administration are determined to find a way to push this project through by any means necessary, regardless of the law or the concerns of the people who live here, but my constituents have made their views abundantly clear: They do not want this project. Neither do I. I will continue doing everything in my power to stop this illegal and reckless attempt to turn our nation's capital into a monument to Donald Trump."

In May, Beyer and Dina Titus (D-Nev.)—who, as co-chair of the Congressional Humanities Caucus, led challenges to the administration's illegal attempts to fund the arch using the National Endowment for the Humanities budget—introduced the Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act, which would explicitly prohibit construction of Trump's project.

"As President Trump strips away the necessary safety nets from Americans who are struggling to afford their basic needs like groceries and healthcare, he builds his unauthorized, grandiose Triumphal Arch. While destroying historical monuments and artifacts important to our American identity, he is erecting monuments to honor himself," Titus said at the time. "The American people deserve a leader who is responsibly using federal funding for critical government services, not for self-promotion."

After months of pushback over the project, Trump announced last Sunday that "at the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage."

"There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World," the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Out of the 59 top cities and Capitals, Washington, DC, IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, but it will now and, by far, the greatest of them all!"

The Hill reported Friday that analysts and lawmakers "are perplexed by President Trump’s surprise declaration," with Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, telling the outlet that adding military elements to the arch "is not totally fictional or crazy—but also not optimal."

Whether or not the project include military components, "to build an arch on federal land (that is not in the White House complex), the administration needs to navigate a lot of bureaucracy," The Washington Post noted Thursday. "The administration has argued the arch doesn't need to abide by DC's height laws for buildings and that it doesn't need congressional authorization because Congress authorized something similar a century ago nearby."

However, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation—whose members are picked by the president—has attempted to abide by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and related regulations, and consulted with local officials "to seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects to historic properties that would result from this undertaking."

ABC News highlighted that "the law says federal officials don't have to reach an agreement with state officials on mitigation of those harms, but they do have to try. Those consultations can then be unilaterally terminated if there's a failure for parties to meet in the middle."

The council's vice chair, Travis Voyles, on Thursday wrote to Tammy Stidman, associate regional director for lands and planning at the National Park Service, that "we are hereby terminating consultation," but the panel "will develop and transmit its final comments to the secretary of interior," aiming to deliver them by October 7.

According to the Post, "The administration is hoping to start construction by November."

---

### Trump Is Wrong: Internationalism Is the Only Path Forward

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Kellea Miller | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-wrong-need-internationalism.md

This week, I watched New York’s East River swell with armed speedboats as cars, ferries, and planes ground to a halt for President Donald Trump’s motorcade to the United Nations General Assembly’s 81st session. Stranded temporarily, I had plenty of time to consider Trump's winner-takes-all rejection of the United Nations.

And yet, as UNGA81 continues, this dismissive bluster aims to hide the global ripple effects of a crumbling world order. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development oil inventories are at their lowest in decades as the US and Israel continue strikes on Iran, and as Russia continues to wage its war on Ukraine. The real costs continue to fall on those with the least cushion, including the 50 million people the World Food Program says will be pushed into acute hunger. While only 15% of the world’s population lives in what we call the Global North, that 15% continues to drive the greatest of climate and economic catastrophes imposed on the Global Majority.

Last year, the United Nations General Assembly felt like a descent into surrealism. This year, the world order is fully under attack. In the face of health and climate crises and unilateral wars, we can’t afford to ignore internationalism or to quietly retreat from institutions meant to buffer those most at risk.

Trump may have usurped the podium at UNGA to malign multilateralism, but we're doing the work beyond the podium.

This does not mean wholesale protection of multilateralism as we know it. From foundation leaders to UN officials to civil society, we hear calls for "reimagining" the UN and global governance. Indeed, we cannot build a future fit for purpose for us all if we don’t bring the lifelines we need—from the International Criminal Court to the Paris Agreement.

That is what makes this week so critical. UNGA takes place in the shadow of elections in Russia that are anything but free or fair and heading into midterms in the United States that, while free, rest under the pressure cooker of strong and clear cross-border efforts to attack open societies. If internationalism is to survive, we have to make the case for multilateral cooperation and global funding. Internationalism is the only way we can see ourselves through the crises that we’re facing.

Crises from the Covid-19 pandemic to the risks of unregulated AI have shown us that if we go at it alone or try to address just one country or one policy at a time, we will invariably fail all. We cannot withstand the polycrises we face if we don’t consider ourselves intrinsically linked to movements around the world. And philanthropy's purpose is precisely to fund what markets won't.

We—those who seek to protect human dignity and rights—are not alone. Autocratic leaders, who bask in impunity and lambast institutions like the UN, have a secret: They are the ultimate internationalists, under the guise of nationalism.

The irony is that autocratic forces have mobilized with one another, carefully, strategically, and across borders, over the last 20 years. They have trained each other, learned how to keep and barter power, and worked with the very same billionaires to mobilize breathtaking amounts of money to dismantle and destroy progressive policies and strip away our basic civil and political rights. "Make America Great Again" and "Russia United" are playing by the same authoritarian playbook to keep the opposition in check.

They have another secret: They need us, too. Leaders like Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are still showing up to UNGA81 (albeit in a flurry). They still care enough to ridicule allies, to bully others into foreign aid budget cuts their citizens oppose, and to push back wherever they could be held to account, whether by the International Criminal Court or reports by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Indeed, 10 countries—including the US, Russia, Israel, and North Korea—opposed an extended four-year mandate for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.

These debates are not symbolic. They are signals that descent into isolationism and away from multilateralism is not a foregone conclusion. They point to where the fight is—and the spaces we must not cede. And, lest we lose sight of the larger lesson, the possibilities indeed, in a new world order: 144 countries voted in favor of extending High Commissioner Türk’s mandate.

So, how can we lead internationalism into its next era with conflicts multiplying, the Sustainable Development Goalss off track, and AI reshaping global governance? How can we protect human dignity and human rights for all people? By getting more creative in shaping our shared future—without wholesale retreat from the institutions that bring us together. Just this week, Canada invited the United Kingdom to join the economic alliance it is negotiating with the European Union, days after the commission floated a first-ever associate status. This year, countries committed to moving us away from fossil fuels came together despite China, Russia, and the US to implement just transitions. The Global Alliance for Human Rights is a perfect example of adaptation—convened by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the alliance is a multi-stakeholder, cross-regional mobilization that connects people across sectors and generations, without any single person, organization, or country that is responsible for the lion’s share.

As many of us gather this week—itself a signal—from UNGA to Climate Week, the Clinton Global Initiative to the Devex Impact House, it is time to reimagine what kind of leadership can carry internationalism through its most consequential transition in decades. At Human Rights Funders Network, we believe that better preparedness means building infrastructure for coordination, improving funding flows, and connecting diverse sectors, so movements can survive today’s crises and thrive tomorrow. And we plan to make the case for development and multilateralism to a new United States and policymakers worldwide. We are two years away from the 80th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. What we do, say, and create in the next two years will determine whether we are celebrating a new era of our shared humanity or if we have ceded to the divisions some would have us believe are inevitable.

The US war on Iran has shown how quickly one region's crisis becomes everyone's. Leaders who treat their constituencies as separate are ignoring what the past seven months have made plain. Trump may have usurped the podium at UNGA to malign multilateralism, but we're doing the work beyond the podium—at coffeetables, halls, and on the streets—to ensure the very best of the internationalism system is protected.

---

### Marking One Year of NSPM-7, Rights Advocates Call On Congress to Rein In FBI's Spying Capabilities

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/fbi-national-security.md

On the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's signing of one critical national security memo, every member of Congress on Friday received a report on how his administration's "blatant use of the counterterrorism framework against left-wing domestic speech" has allowed the FBI to "spy on the First Amendment," attacking one of the bedrock principles of the US Constitution in order to crack down on "speech disfavored by Trump."

The 19-page report, titled "7Can the FBI Spy on the First Amendment?," was sent to every congressional office by the advocacy group Defending Rights and Dissent (DRAD), exactly a year after the president signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7) in the wake of the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump and other top White House officials immediately blamed the killing of 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder on the "radical left," and claimed left-wing extremists were behind "the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today." Days earlier, the US Department of Justice had removed from its website a report showing that political violence perpetrated by far-right extremists in the US far outpaced that of people on the left.

The memo outlined how the Trump administration planned to crack down on left-wing groups by directing law enforcement agencies to treat political speech "as a precursor to terrorism," if it came from organizations that demonstrated particular viewpoints—including those critical of capitalism or the US government. Groups that displayed so-called "extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality" were also named as potential targets.

NSPM-7 called for the FBI's 200 Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF)—comprised of about 4,000 agents across the country—to investigate groups suspected of left-wing extremism under the memo, with local police officers staffing many of the task forces.

"This extremely broad language leads to individual agents interpreting what these viewpoints mean to them when determining who to target. And thanks to the existence of FBI assessments, designed with the same preventive purpose that NSPM-7 echoes, Task Force officers can investigate groups or individuals without a factual basis to suspect them of criminal wrongdoing or consider them a national security threat," wrote Chip Gibbons, policy director at DRAD. "At the assessment level, the FBI can even have an informant infiltrate their group. Informants often act as agent provocateurs in sting operations, in which the informant proposes and recruits individuals to participate in a fictitious terror plot concocted by the FBI."

Under pressure from Trump, Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, and other officials to deliver prosecutions of suspected left-wing extremists, wrote Gibbons, "the agents' loose guidelines, politicized guidance, and track record of the FBI creates a recipe for disaster."

"Trump and Miller have made clear they plan to exploit the broad counterterrorism authorities of the executive branch to unleash this machinery of repression upon their domestic political opponents. Unless Congress acts now, they will get away with it."

A year after NSPM-7 was signed, the memo has already underpinned a crackdown on groups and individuals who oppose Trump's deeply unpopular deployment of federal immigration agents to carry out his violent mass deportation policy and other aspects of his far-right agenda.

US Attorney Daniel Rosen cited the memo in June when he announced the indictment of 15 organizers who led protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota, and those indictments came out of a sprawling investigation into local labor and rights groups that was opened after federal agents fatally shot anti-ICE protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January. Top administration officials also accused Pretti, soon after he had been killed, of being a "domestic terrorist."

In July, Miller said NSPM-7 would allow the administration to "disrupt, identify, defund, de-bank, arrest, prosecute these political terrorists that are operating within our country," as Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that four left-wing groups had been designated as "foreign terrorist organizations."

And in March, the memo underpinned the conviction of eight people accused of domestic terrorism for wearing all black to a protest at Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, where one demonstrator shot and wounded a police officer. The protesters were later sentenced to 30-100 years in prison.

“This wouldn’t be a terrorism case if it weren’t for that memo,” a defense lawyer told one news outlet after the conviction.

Gibbons emphasized on Friday that carrying out NSPM-7's directives "requires no new laws, no new agencies, because well before Trump ever returned to power, the FBI and its enablers have amassed for itself the power to spy on pure political speech."

As hundreds of thousands of Americans expressed opposition to President George W. Bush's impending invasion of Iraq in 2003, notes the report, "the FBI issued two controversial intelligence bulletins, one on 'Tactics Used During Protests and Demonstrations,' and one on 'Potential for Criminal Activity at Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Annual Meeting.'"

"The latter bulletin was prepared in advance of mass protests against the Iraq War," reads the report. "It went so far as to list 'tactics by which protestors draw attention,' which included 'marches, banners, and forms of passive resistance such as sit-in.' It urged law enforcement to 'be alert to these possible indicators of protest activity and report any potentially illegal acts to the nearest FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.'"

The inspector general of the Department of Justice at the time raised alarm about the bulletins' potential violation of the First Amendment, but the head of the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), Jack Goldsmith, dismissed the concern.

"The OLC opinion made clear that the executive branch believes it is not unconstitutional for the FBI to monitor protected speech so long as it claimed it was looking for potential unlawful activity, such as terrorist threats or 'civil disorder,'" writes Gibbons.

The FBI's international terrorism program has also pursued "homegrown violent terrorists," and the agency sought to prove in the 1960s and '70s that anti-war protests were "the product of Soviet foreign"—providing the National Security Agency with the names of US citizens to be added to a watchlist.

"While the stakes were high before, the actions of the Trump administration, especially those of Stephen Miller, have made it clear they aim to use the counterterrorism bureaucracy to destroy their domestic political opponents," reads the DRAD report.

Gibbons called on Congress to take several key actions to rein in the FBI as it seeks to carry out the directive outlined in NSPM-7, including:

Creating a statutory charter for the FBI that outlines what it can investigate and why;

Imposing on the FBI a definition of "terrorism" that puts the focus on criminal violence against people instead of political ideology;

Eliminating the FBI's assessments of individuals based on their political speech and putting the agency "out of the business of suspicionless investigations"; and

Requiring a warrant for foreign intelligence searches and queries under §702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"With NSPM-7, Trump and Miller have made clear they plan to exploit the broad counterterrorism authorities of the executive branch to unleash this machinery of repression upon their domestic political opponents," said Gibbons. "Unless Congress acts now, they will get away with it."

---

### Lula Teams With Bad Bunny to Highlight Dangers of Trump’s Colonial Ambitions Across Latin America

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/lula-bad-bunny-ad.md

The campaign of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva released new advertisements this week that sounded alarms about the threat posed by US President Donald Trump to the country's sovereignty and resources.

One ad, released on Tuesday, features a Portuguese version of Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny's song "Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii," the lyrics of which decry the damage done by US imperialism throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The ad consists of a video montage highlighting Brazil's rich cultural, ethnic, and ecological diversity, and ends with Lula saying, "Brazil has only one owner: The Brazilian people."

Do Latim, Silva é a própria selva: a raiz que brota do solo, o verde que resiste e a força viva da terra.

Durante séculos quiseram diminuir a nossa gente, mas foi na garra, no suor e na dignidade que cada Silva construiu este país.

A nossa força não se curva, a nossa bandeira… pic.twitter.com/iwujl0ojq0
— Lula (@LulaOficial) September 23, 2026

"Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii" was one of the songs that Bad Bunny performed during his acclaimed Super Bowl halftime show in February, which some critics saw as a joyful rebuke to the colonialist vision for Latin America that Trump has embraced throughout his second term.

According to a report published Thursday in Correio Braziliense, Bad Bunny gave Lula's team permission to use his music in the campaign video.

Another ad, released on Thursday, is more explicit in its warnings about Trump's ambitions for Latin America.

Unlike the video released Tuesday, the later ad directly links the unpopular US president to far-right politician Flávio Bolsonaro, who has emerged as Lula’s top rival for the presidency in upcoming elections and is the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, still serving a criminal sentence for efforts to overthrow Lula's government.

"Flávio Bolsonaro is Trump's candidate," says that ad's narrator. "And what Trump wants is to colonize Brazil, take our wealth, steal our future, and leave us behind."

"Flávio Bolsonaro," the narrator concludes, "is playing against the Brazilian people."

Flávio Bolsonaro é o candidato do Trump.

Quer entregar o nosso país e as nossas riquezas para os Estados Unidos.

Se depender dele, o Brasil vira colônia de novo.

Mas o Brasil só tem um dono: o povo brasileiro. pic.twitter.com/jOSJ83xcKb
— Lula (@LulaOficial) September 25, 2026

In a Thursday social media post, Lula said Bolsonaro “wants to deliver our country and our wealth to the United States,” adding that, if it were up to Bolsonaro, “Brazil will become a colony again.”

During a speech delivered at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Lula called out efforts to treat Brazil as a colony, although he didn’t mention the US directly.

“Brazil is no one’s backyard,” the Brazilian president said at one point.

“We will not allow the enemies of democracy—internal or external—to attack the will of the people," he said. "Brazilian democracy belongs to the Brazilians.”

---

### Israel’s US-Backed Assault on Gaza Has Created the ‘World’s Most Severe Economic Crisis on Record’: UN

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-economic-crisis.md

Israel’s US-backed military assault on Gaza has not only caused mass death and destruction; it has also created “the world’s most severe economic crisis on record,” according to Pedro Manuel Moreno, the acting secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Moreno presented a recent report at a press conference on Thursday showing that 92% of economic establishments in Gaza—including shops, factories, restaurants, and farms—have been damaged or destroyed since Israel launched its assault on the territory in October 2023 and reduced most of its infrastructure to rubble.

Less than 1.5% of cropland across the strip remained accessible and undamaged, while more than half of its hospitals and primary health clinics have been rendered nonfunctional.

Compared with 2022, Gaza’s main productive sectors have been almost entirely wiped out: Agricultural and industrial output were each down 94%, while construction was down 99% in 2025. With most of its economic capacity destroyed, unemployment in the exclave skyrocketed to 78% in 2025, while tremendous scarcity led prices to soar to 274% above 2022 levels.

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Dropping to just 17% of its 2022 level, Gaza’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita cratered to $212 in 2025, equivalent to about 58 cents per person per day.

"Productive capacity is wiped out while the entire population is displaced and condemned to multidimensional poverty," said UNCTAD's coordinator for assistance to the Palestinians, Mutasim Elagraa, who led work on the report. "By multidimensional poverty I mean not just income poverty; it's also a lack of proper shelter, a lack of access to basic services like health and education and sanitation."

"Before the onset of this crisis in October 2023, two out of three residents were poor," Elagraa continued. "Today, everyone in Gaza is multidimensionally poor."

These conditions have increased the territory's reliance on outside aid, which Israel has often blocked, leading UN experts and human rights organizations to accuse its leaders of using starvation and deprivation as "weapons of war."

The International Criminal Court has found reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who gave a defiant speech denying Israel's responsibility for genocide at the UN General Assembly Thursday—bears criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.

The report estimates that $71.5 billion will be needed for recovery and reconstruction, as well as $35.2 billion in physical infrastructure damage and $22.7 billion in economic and social losses.

"Restoring the collapsed health system, rebuilding destroyed education infrastructure and other public infrastructure will need to go together while restoring productive capacity, employment, functioning markets and the ability for businesses to operate," Moreno said. "Peace cannot be built on a collapsed economy."

Though the report emphasizes how Israel's bombardment has brought near-apocalyptic conditions upon the strip, it notes that Gaza's economic deprivation dates back decades before the Hamas-led attack in October 2023, which was the catalyst for the unprecedented assault.

It noted that 59 years of Israeli occupation of Palestine had severely stunted its economic growth, particularly as it tightened its blockade of Gaza in the last two decades.

Previous UNCTAD analyses have shown that between 2006, a year before Israel began its land, air, and sea blockade of Gaza, and 2022, Gaza's real GDP per capita fell by 37% while its productive economy, including agriculture and manufacturing, was hollowed out by Israel's restrictions on movement and imports. Even before 2023, nearly half of Gaza's workforce was unemployed, roughly two-thirds lived in poverty, and 80% depended on international aid.

“The central message of this report we are talking about today is that about six decades of occupation have hollowed out the Palestinian economy and de-developed it,” Elagraa said. “We have moved from development blocked to development reversed, and now decades of human development that has been achieved in Gaza has been wiped out."

"Although the intensity of destruction is far more in Gaza" than in the West Bank, he said, the report showed the "destruction" to be "a dramatic escalation of a pattern that dates back to 1967 with the onset of occupation."

"The report," he said, "maintains that history did not start in October 2023."

---

### 'Never Fails to Disappoint': Fetterman Joins GOP to Keep Trump's Iran War Going

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Jon Queally | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/fetterman-iran-war-resolution.md

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the lone Democrat on Thursday to help Republicans in the US Senate vote down a resolution to end the "illegal" war of choice launched against Iran by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

In the 49-50 vote, the Republican majority blocked the latest resolution calling for an end to the war. While four Republicans—Susan Collins of Maine, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina—joined Democrats by voting in favor, Fetterman became the deciding vote.

Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) was among those expressing frustration with Fetterman, a lawmaker who has become a thorn in the side of his party since taking office and taking a hard right with his pro-war positions, accommodations to Trump, and determined support for pro-Israeli policies.

"John Fetterman just cast the deciding vote to keep the Iran War raging," said Deluzio. "This reckless war has cost American lives, innocent lives, tens of billions of dollars, and higher prices on nearly everything here at home. John and 49 Republican Senators voted in favor of all of that."

"Fetterman never fails to disappoint," said Susan Wild, a former Democratic member of the US House from Pennsylvania.

The vote came on the same day that an advocacy group representing American citizens with Iranian heritage sued the Trump administration for usurping the powers of Congress when it launched an "unconstitutional" war against Iran—a military conflict that has lasted nearly 7 months with no end in sight, causing misery across the Middle East and economic pain worldwide, including in the United States.

Filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday, the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the National Iranian American Council Action (NIAC Action), asks the court to declare that President Donald Trump's unprovoked attack on Iran violates the Constitution’s Declare War Clause.

In a statement, NIAC Action said the suit was brought "on behalf of its members whose families have been injured, displaced, economically devastated and are in continuing mortal danger as a result of a war that was never lawfully authorized."

Launched on Feb. 28, the US attack, in coordination with the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was launched despite ongoing diplomatic efforts and active talks over US sanctions against Iran and questions about Iran's domestic nuclear program and its conventional missile capabilities. The war was initiated, according to the group,

without a declaration of war or other congressional authorization and that the war has continued, including repeated heavy bombardments and a naval blockade, despite this lack of authorization and the passage by both chambers of Congress of an explicit directive to terminate unauthorized hostilities against Iran.

“No President should have the power to take this country into an indefinite war by himself,” said NIAC Action president Jamal Abdi, in a statement. “Congress never authorized this war. Yet Iranian families are being bombed, American service members have been killed, and communities on both sides are being forced to bear the consequences. This lawsuit asks a fundamental question: can one person decide, on his own, to keep an entire nation at war?”

NIAC Action offered the example of one plaintiff, Nima Dilmaghani, whose cousin in Iran was injured when the company warehouse where she worked was bombed. Dilmaghani's cousin, the group explained, "suffered a broken leg, serious damage to their eardrums, and the loss of their index finger, which surgeons reattached but which has lost motion. Approximately ten of her coworkers were killed, and approximately ten more were injured. In a separate bombing, their apartment was destroyed while they were away at work. They are now working two jobs to survive." Other NIAC Action members have detailed similar stories.

Lawyers behind the lawsuit said that just because President Trump and other officials, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, have tried to argue that war against Iran is not a "war," that does not make it so.

“President Trump has spent months waging a war that Congress never authorized, while insisting that changing the terminology somehow changes the constitutional question,” said attorney Bruce Fein. “Calling a war a ‘military operation’ or an ‘excursion’ does not erase the Declare War Clause. The question before the Court is whether the President can continue these hostilities without the authorization the Constitution requires.”

While War Powers resolutions have been passed in the House to cease military operations in Iran, none of those have been binding on President Trump, and overall, Congress has stood aside in the face of what critics have described as criminal aggression and war crimes by Trump.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other members of the Democratic Caucus in the US Senate, have continued to voice their opposition to Trump's war as poll after poll show that the US voting public—across the political spectrum—want the war, and the economic harm it has wrought—to end.

"The American people, overwhelmingly, want to end this horrific war in Iran," Sanders said after the failed vote. "Pathetically, today, nearly every Republican voted with Trump to keep the war going. When will Republicans represent their constituents and have the courage to oppose their mentally unstable leader?"

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### Minnesota Proves Trans Inclusion Works; the Government Needs You to Believe It Doesn't

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Megan Peterson | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/minnesota-trans-inclusion.md

In 1993, Minnesota became the first state in the country to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in its Human Rights Act, with explicit trans-inclusive language built into the law from the start. In 2014, the Minnesota State High School League clarified that student athletes can participate on teams that align with their gender identity. And just last year, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Cooper v. USA Powerlifting that it’s illegal discrimination for sports organizations to ban trans women from participating.

Throughout these 30-plus years of trans inclusion, girls' and women's sports in Minnesota have thrived—the state ranks No. 1 in the nation on Action Network's Girls' Sports Opportunity Index, which measures participation, access, and gender parity across all 50 states. Minnesota is also home to the winningest coach in Women's National Basketball Association history.

As a cisgender woman, I believe it's past time for more women like me to stand in loud, public solidarity with trans people, rather than let this manufactured fight be waged in our name. The people most invested in “protecting” women's sports have rarely shown up for women's sports at all. And as the executive director of Gender Justice, a nonprofit advocacy organization based in the Upper Midwest, I’d love to know where all the urgency around fairness in women’s sports has been.

This is a familiar political playbook: Choose a wedge issue that polls well, use it to normalize the once-radical idea that civil rights law is negotiable, then expand from there.

I've spent years talking with women athletes across Minnesota. They talk about the sexual harassment. The state of their locker rooms. Subpar training facilities. Uneven access to fields and courts. Unequal pay and unequal media coverage. They talk about the coaches and administrators who still don't take their teams seriously. What they don’t talk about is the urgent need for the government to ban trans women from participating in sports.

So why does the noise persist? Republicans and their allies spent nearly $215 million on network television ads vilifying transgender people during the last presidential election cycle alone—more money than has ever been spent championing the women and girls they claim to want to protect.

Because sports was never the destination—they were the entry point. This is a familiar political playbook: Choose a wedge issue that polls well, use it to normalize the once-radical idea that civil rights law is negotiable, then expand from there. Across the country, courts are being asked whether Title IX protections extend to transgender students. The very law, passed in 1972, that guarantees equal access to education and athletics, protection from harassment, and freedom from discrimination based on sex, is being weaponized as a tool for exclusion. Executive orders now redefining "sex" across federal law and agencies don't stop at locker rooms either; they reach into schools, healthcare, and workplaces—into the fabric of American life. Title IX has never required schools to exclude trans students. It has long protected them.

What we are witnessing is not about fairness in athletics. It's political theater, and transgender youth are the ones paying the price—subjected to fear, harassment, and public scrutiny that lawmakers should be ashamed to have invited. What's happening now isn't a return to what the law always meant—it's a rewrite, carving an exception into a civil rights statute so that protections can be revoked for whichever group is politically convenient to sacrifice.

Attacks on trans rights, attacks on abortion rights, and persistent pay inequity are not separate fights; they are one fight against gender inequality, taking on different forms depending on the news cycle. Minnesota already answered the question of whether trans girls and women should have the right to play, with 30 years of evidence and a unanimous state supreme court ruling showcasing that trans inclusion works. The question still on the table is much more dangerous: Do we accept a government empowered to decide who gets rights, and who doesn't? When we allow our government to dismantle the fundamental rights of transgender people, we validate a legal precedent that threatens the liberties of every single citizen tomorrow.

If trans inclusion were the threat opponents claim, then three decades of it in Minnesota would have proven it. Instead, it's proven the opposite.

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### MAGA ❤️ Motherhood (If You’re White)

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Mitchell Zimmerman | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/maga-white-babies.md

Creepy. That’s the word for the rising right-wing interest in family policy, exemplified by a recent administration proposal to pay $9,000 each year per child for women to stay at home with their children. The money would come from, and deplete, an existing federal program that helps working parents pay for childcare.

Of course, that program, the Child Care and Development Fund, is already woefully underfunded—only 1 in 7 eligible parents is able to use it. Most of those are single working mothers, the kind of hardworking people who do tough work for low wages and are derided by conservatives as “Welfare Queens.” They would not be eligible for the stay-at-home moms benefit.

MAGA leaders like Vice President JD Vance have a model of family life that is a caricature of a 1950s TV family: Dad works and Mom stays home with the kids, shops, cooks, cleans house, and puts on a clean apron and a big smile for Dad when he comes home from the office. A woman’s appropriate concerns in that model life are “Kinder, Küche, Kirche.” Children, cooking, church, as 19th-century Germans described the feminine role.

MAGA right-wingers define America as a white nation and seek to shrink our non-white population, so the only solution acceptable to them is persuading or forcing women to have more babies than they want. It won’t work.

Or put more simply, “barefoot and pregnant.”

In Vance’s view, women who seek a professional career have chosen a “value system that leads to misery.” Consistent with the MAGA conception of women’s roles in society, Vance opposes abortion in all circumstances, wants to make divorce more difficult, and sees traditional family life as “the path to happiness and to fulfillment.”

But Vance and the right are motivated by bigger concerns than female happiness. They believe more pregnancies are critical to preserving civilization. It’s a “crisis,” says Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Low birth rate is the number one threat to the West,” says Elon Musk.

Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz warns that “1 in 3 Americans are under-babied.” Declining teen pregnancy is part of the problem: Fox medical analyst Marc Siegel laments that teen pregnancies (15-to-19-year-old girls) are “down 70% over the last two decades, meaning we’re telling people who are young not to have babies.” To remedy that problem, President Donald Trump is actually defunding federal programs designed to reduce teen pregnancies.

This despite the well-documented medical and developmental risks of teen pregnancies for both mother and child: high blood pressure, preeclampsia, post-partum hemorrhage, systemic infections, mental health difficulties, life-long health issues, premature births, neonatal fatalities and stillbirths, low birth weight. And the teen mom’s interruption in schooling commonly means a life of poverty and instability.

MAGA family policy bears striking similarities to that of Nazi Germany, which linked national greatness to more babies—of the correct race. In the interest of higher birth rates, German mothers could not terminate pregnancies if the child would be “of good blood.” The Nazi state also offered “marriage loans” and child financial incentives, and—in a society that treated single mothers as pariahs—they even tried to destigmatize unmarried motherhood.

Medals for motherhood were a Nazi honor Trump might consider offering. Hitler awarded the Mother Cross for large families. (In bronze for mothers of four children, silver for six, gold for eight or more babies.)

The American fertility rate is indeed substantially below the 2.1 required to maintain the American population level. But if a declining population is a problem, the answer is obvious: Welcome immigrants.

America is already suffering from Trump’s mass deportation efforts, as the agricultural workforce is decimated, and workers in home healthcare, food packing, restaurants, home construction, and building services are in desperately short supply, exacerbating inflation. We plainly need more immigrants, not fewer, to sustain our nation.

Immigration is not an acceptable solution for MAGA because they demand a whiter America, and more immigrants come from what the president has called “shithole countries” than from “Aryan” nations like Norway. But non-whites are not “replacing” supposed “real” Americans because America is and always has been a multiracial, multinational society.

MAGA right-wingers define America as a white nation and seek to shrink our non-white population, so the only solution acceptable to them is persuading or forcing (white) women to have more babies than they want. It won’t work.

A 2025 survey of Americans showed that two children was the most desired family size, and only 20% wanted to three or more. Similarly, an international survey conducted by the United Nations showed most respondents wanted just two children.

In the US survey, cost and the state of the world were high among the reasons Americans gave for not wanting more children.

Here is what the Trump regime is doing to address those concerns: defunding healthcare; slashing food assistance for families and children; weakening education and child welfare systems; imposing eligibility requirements for government rental assistance; denying climate change; ignoring the challenge of AI; deregulating polluting industries; and fueling inflation through deportation, tariffs, and an unending war.

Why are women in the workforce and not staying home with the children? The determination to lead full lives is a driving force. But, in all likelihood, the number of stay-at-home moms has plummeted since the 1970s because rising income inequality has made it impossible for a working class or middle class family to survive on one income. Before right-wing “traditionalists” utter any more demands that women give up their jobs, ambitions, independence, and self-respect, perhaps they can start by confronting the unbearable greed of the billionaire class that has rendered the supposed MAGA aim beyond reach.

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### An IPCC for Inequality Is Good, But It Can't Replace the Movement That Made It Possible

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Jenny Ricks | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/movement-end-inequality.md

For years, the people organizing against extreme inequality have made a simple argument that the world’s institutions preferred not to hear: The gap between the very rich and everyone else is not an accident, not a law of nature, and not something we have to accept. It is a choice, made by people with the power to choose differently.

For a long time that was a fringe position. It isn’t any more.

You can see the shift in the news that South Africa is pushing to create an International Panel on Inequality, like an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the wealth gap, to pull the evidence together in one authoritative place and put it in front of governments. Joseph Stiglitz backs it. More than 500 economists have signed on.

Nobody skipping meals is waiting for a footnote. What they are waiting for is action, and action comes from pressure.

This is a good thing, and we welcome it. When the establishment builds an institution to take your issue seriously, it means the argument is being won. The people who got this far deserve credit.

But I want to be honest about where the real momentum is coming from, because it matters for what happens next. The panel is a sign of progress. It is not the engine of it. The engine is the movement that dragged inequality up the agenda in the first place, and that movement is where the story of actual change has been written.

Look at what the IPCC has actually done so far. For 30 years it has produced the best climate science anyone had ever assembled. It won a Nobel Prize. It leaves no room for honest denial. And for a long time, governments read it and carried on much as before. The science mattered enormously.

However, it moved politics fastest when people forced it to: kids walking out of school on Fridays for the Future, communities blocking fossil fuel projects like the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline. The movement was decisive. Change came when the two worked together, and not a moment before.

Inequality is in the same place as the climate crisis now—the evidence is not the thing we are short of. We already know the shape of it. The richest 1% took 41% of all the new wealth created between 2000 and 2024. Around 2.3 billion people, nearly 1 in 4 of us, now skip meals because they can’t afford to eat. South Africa, which is carrying this panel forward, is the most unequal country the World Bank has ever recorded.

A panel will sharpen that picture, and sharper is better. But nobody skipping meals is waiting for a footnote. What they are waiting for is action, and action comes from pressure.

Here is the encouraging part: That pressure is already working.

When Brazil used its G20 presidency to put a global tax on billionaires on the table, it did not come from nowhere. Movements, campaigners, and economists had pushed the idea for years, and the Fight Inequality Alliance was part of that.

The economist Gabriel Zucman drew up a plan: a 2% minimum tax on the world’s roughly 3,000 billionaires, enough to raise around $250 billion a year. In November 2024, for the first time, G20 leaders agreed to cooperate on taxing the ultra rich. An idea dismissed as impossible a few years earlier was suddenly the position of the world’s largest economies.

That is what movements do. They move the line of what is politically possible, and they do it faster than any institution.

This is why the movement matters, and why its role in this next chapter should be front and center. We are the ones knocking on the doors, running the campaigns, and keeping the pressure on long after the summit is over and the experts have gone home.

We have been doing it without a panel, and we have already moved things many said could not be moved. Give that movement the authoritative evidence a body like this can provide, and you do not only get a better report. You get a sharper weapon in the hands of the people already fighting.

The tax has not been won yet. The United States and Germany refused to back a binding version, and it was watered down to a promise to cooperate. But notice why.

It did not stall for lack of evidence. Zucman had done the numbers, and nobody serious disputed them. It stalled because the people who would pay still had the power to slow it down. That is the real contest, and it is not a contest of data. It is a contest of power, and power is shifted by organized people, not by publications.

I say all this as someone who spends more time with campaigners than with economists, and I will be honest about our own side too.

Movements do not win every time. We are sometimes better at naming a problem than at holding the ground we take. But the lesson of the last decade is not that we need fewer people in the fight and more in the seminar room. It is the opposite. The evidence has been overwhelming for years. What has changed the weather is people refusing to accept it.

So build this panel well, and build it close to the movement that made it necessary. Let it answer the questions people are actually fighting over. Get its evidence into the hands of the people doing the pushing. Check whether it does speak to the inequalities and the solutions people are talking about and demanding change for. Treat the organizers and the communities living this every day as partners in the work, not an audience for the findings. Do that, and this panel becomes part of something genuinely powerful.

Because the gap will not be closed in a seminar room. It never has been. It will be closed the way every advance against entrenched power has been won, by people organizing, demanding, and refusing to be told that the way things are is the way they have to stay.

The evidence is on our side. It has been for a long time. Now comes the part that actually changes lives.

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### Why We Need a Carbon War Tax

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Saravana Kumar Nagarajan, Sean Xavier | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/carbon-war-tax.md

When a bomb destroys a home, we see the rubble. When a factory burns, we see the smoke. When forests are set on fire, we see the devastation. But one consequence of war is almost impossible to see: the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

And that carbon does not stay where the bombs fall. Once released, greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere and contribute to global warming far beyond the borders of the country at war. A war may begin in one place, but part of its climate cost is carried by the entire planet.

The smoke may clear. The carbon does not simply stay behind.

The Carbon War Tax is not simply about creating another tax. It is about changing the way we understand the price of war.

Yet when we talk about the cost of war, that climate cost is rarely part of the bill.

That gap in accountability led Saravana Kumar Nagarajan and his colleague Sean Xavier to develop the idea of a Carbon War Tax, documented in their 2021 master's thesis at Klaipėda University and the University of Bergen. The question behind it was simple: if industries are increasingly expected to measure and account for their carbon emissions, why should warfare be treated differently?

The Carbon War Tax proposes a new principle: Measure the greenhouse-gas emissions caused by war, assign responsibility, and attach a financial obligation to those emissions.

Military fuel use, weapons production and transportation, fires, destroyed factories and power plants, damaged infrastructure, and burning forests can all create emissions. Scientific models, satellite imagery, and other data could help estimate them. The goal would not be perfect accounting overnight. It would be to make an invisible cost visible.

And then make someone responsible for it.

The money generated through such a system could support carbon capture and storage, environmental restoration, ecosystem recovery, pollution cleanup, and climate-resilient rebuilding in communities affected by war.

That creates a striking possibility: The environmental cost of destruction could help pay for restoration.

The Carbon War Tax is not a proposal to put a price on human suffering. No amount of money can compensate a family for a life lost or a community destroyed. It addresses one specific consequence of war—the carbon and environmental damage that reaches far beyond the battlefield.

Today, we count the cost of weapons. We count military spending. We count destroyed buildings and economic losses. We count refugees and reconstruction.

The Carbon War Tax asks us to add another question: How much carbon did this war release—and who is responsible for paying for it?

That question could also change the economics of war.

No tax will magically end conflict. Wars are driven by power, territory, security, ideology, and politics. But economic consequences influence decisions. If military escalation carried a measurable climate liability, governments would have one more cost to consider before choosing destruction over negotiation.

And there is a deeper question of justice.

Why should a community devastated by war inherit the environmental damage? Why should people who had no role in starting a conflict bear the climate consequences of the emissions it creates? And why should future generations inherit an atmospheric debt they never chose?

The Carbon War Tax is not presented as a finished international policy. It is a starting framework that needs to be tested, challenged, and developed.

Climate-policy researchers could determine how wartime emissions should be measured. Scientists could improve methods for calculating emissions from military operations and conflict-related destruction. Economists could study how a financial mechanism could work without creating unintended consequences. International-law experts could examine questions of responsibility and enforcement. Policymakers, diplomats, and peace organizations could explore how such a system might fit within existing international climate and legal frameworks.

In other words, the idea needs a global research effort to turn a powerful concept into a credible mechanism that could one day be implemented.

That work has not yet been done. And that is precisely why the conversation should begin.

The idea began as an academic question in 2021. It now deserves to move beyond the pages of a thesis and into the hands of the researchers, policymakers, and institutions capable of testing its possibilities.

Because if the world can develop systems to make industries accountable for their carbon, perhaps it can eventually develop a system to make war accountable for its carbon.

Imagine a future in which governments considering military escalation must confront not only the human and financial costs of war, but also the environmental debt it could create.

Imagine that debt helping restore forests, ecosystems, and communities damaged by conflict.

Imagine peace having not only a moral argument, but another economic one.

The Carbon War Tax is not simply about creating another tax.

It is about changing the way we understand the price of war.

War destroys lives. War destroys communities. And war can leave behind a carbon debt carried by the entire planet.

Perhaps it is time that debt became visible.

Perhaps it is time that the world studied how to make it accountable.

And perhaps, if developed into a workable international mechanism, the Carbon War Tax could give peace one more powerful reason to prevail.

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### Elections Won't Save a Movement People Don't Trust

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Chrystian Woods, Dillon St. Bernard | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/need-trust-to-win-elections.md

As millions head to the polls in the 2026 elections, voters are showing up disappointed, forgotten, and worn down from years of failed policies.

After nearly two decades working inside campaigns, Democratic leaders, national advocacy organizations, and movement institutions have made it clear: We’ve got a problem on our hands.

The challenge before us is not simply that Democrats have a messaging problem, nor is it that Republicans have become better communicators. The deeper problem is that we have spent years trying to win elections while underinvesting in the communities, relationships, and culture that make political victories durable.

People don’t organize their lives around resistance alone. They organize around belonging, purpose, hope, and the possibility that tomorrow can be better than today.

Narratives don’t emerge from communications plans, but rather from institutions that people trust. This distinction matters.

We keep hearing the same question: Why aren’t more young people and people of color engaged in the civic process? This is the wrong question.

The question we need to be asking is whether or not our current institutions are willing to or even positioned to share power with us. More often than not, participation is shared only after decisions are made, and usually with an ask attached.

We are not waiting for institutions to tell us how to participate. We have lived the reality of what happens when institutions fail, time and time again. We have seen how powerful it is when we build our own.

Young Black folks in particular are organizing, creating, building community, and culture. Especially for those who are young, queer, and Black, so much of the language and swagger that shapes our lives has been created by us. We know that when institutional belonging is unavailable, community creates belonging. We got us.

As Black queer Americans, we inherit a tradition shaped by people who understood that institutions rarely surrender power simply because the moral argument is clear. Generations before us organized, marched, litigated, and forced America to confront the distance between its ideals and its reality. Progress has never been inevitable. It has always been demanded.

A collective 20 years inside politics has made it clear to us: Institutions rarely fail overnight. Long before they lose public trust, they lose relevance. They become more concerned with protecting existing power than with creating new possibilities, optimizing for stability rather than adaptation.

Eventually, they find themselves speaking fluently to one another while struggling to connect with the people they were created to serve. That is where much of the progressive movement finds itself today.

Americans are losing faith in politics and in the idea that our institutions can solve the problems shaping their everyday lives.

People do not experience institutional failure in constitutional language or policy briefs. They experience it through rising costs, unstable jobs, inaccessible housing, underfunded schools, broken infrastructure, and the growing sense that the rules apply differently depending on who you are and how much power you hold. They talk about fairness, opportunity, dignity, and whether working hard still leads to a better life.

These conversations are not separate from politics. They are politics. We can’t continue mistaking communications for culture.

Too often, the response has been to refine the message rather than rebuild the institution that delivers it. We have mistaken communication for culture, which has led to the consequences we are all currently living with.

The progressive movement has become extraordinarily sophisticated at producing content. We can generate messaging guidance overnight, build rapid-response campaigns within hours, and create endless streams of digital content. Yet none of those capabilities automatically produce trust.

Trust is earned when people see themselves reflected not only in the message but in the leadership, values, and relationships behind it. You can’t message your way out of a deficit of trust. No amount of message testing can compensate for institutions that people no longer believe understand their lives.

This is where imagination becomes essential.

Since 2016, countless postmortems have focused on messaging, media strategy, and digital infrastructure. Those conversations matter, but they begin from an incomplete premise. They assume we already have a compelling story to tell.

We are not convinced we do.

Sentiments such as “fight” or “protect democracy” are important calls to action, but they are not visions of the future. They put us on the defensive and describe what we oppose more clearly than what we are building. People don’t organize their lives around resistance alone. They organize around belonging, purpose, hope, and the possibility that tomorrow can be better than today.

That kind of vision cannot be manufactured through advertising.

It grows from culture. It expands from artists, educators, organizers, faith leaders, entrepreneurs, local institutions, and civic spaces where people build relationships long before anyone asks for their vote.

We can look back at the Obama era, as one example of how politics can bend the arc of history. If you were near a college campus on November 4, 2008, you remember the celebrations. Music poured from dorm rooms and car speakers, topped off with dancing in the street. For a brief moment, hope felt less like a slogan and more like a possibility finally personified. The belief in our collective power and the possibilities it could create ignited a generation.

Research supports what many organizers have understood intuitively for decades. Economist Raj Chetty’s work on economic mobility found that social capital (the relationships that connect people across communities and opportunities) is among the strongest predictors of upward mobility. That insight extends beyond economics.

Relationships shape what people believe is possible. They influence trust, aspiration, and whether institutions feel relevant to everyday life. Politics is no different.

Queer communities have long understood something about the power of relationships that institutions are only beginning to relearn. We call it chosen family: the idea that belonging can be deliberately built through relationships of trust, care, responsibility, and mutual recognition. There is a civic lesson in that tradition. Durable movements are built the same way. Not through an email list or a message tested to perfection, but through relationships strong enough to survive disagreement, disappointment, and the space between elections.

The same is true for Black communities, particularly Black women, whose creativity, organizing, and cultural leadership have repeatedly expanded the boundaries of American democracy while too often receiving recognition only after the fact.

Innovation doesn’t come from preserving the status quo. History has shown us that it comes from creating space for voices that institutions have historically overlooked.

That means the work ahead demands more than better campaigns. It requires rebuilding civic infrastructure and cultivating leaders rather than personalities. A focus on relationships instead of audiences and investing in organizations that remain present between election cycles.

Institutional renewal is no longer optional as artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty, climate disruption, and political polarization reshape public life simultaneously. The pace of change is accelerating, while confidence in the institutions meant to guide us continues to decline.

That should concern all of us. Democracy has always depended on more than elections. It depends on institutions that people believe are worthy of their participation and capable of improving their lives.

The encouraging news is that Americans have not completely lost faith in one another. Mutual aid networks, local organizers, community leaders, and everyday people continue to demonstrate the generosity and resilience our institutions often struggle to match.

We must build institutions strong enough, imaginative enough, and trustworthy enough for the story to tell itself. There’s no other choice.

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### 'Baseless Lies Meant to Sanitize His Genocide': Mamdani Hits Back After Netanyahu's Attacks During UN Speech

**Published:** September 25, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/mamdani-rebuts-netanyahu.md

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hit back Thursday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the United Nations General Assembly podium to accuse him of supporting Hamas and making Jewish New Yorkers feel unsafe—remarks that came after delegates from scores of countries walked out of the chamber to protest the far-right fugitive's presence.

Refuting allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza—where Israeli forces have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including more than 21,500 children, since the Hamas-led attack of October 2023—Netanyahu said, "To all those spreading these lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York City, I say this: Shame on you."

"Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York," the prime minister claimed. "It’s no wonder... You falsely and repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide. Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide. And that’s exactly what Mr. Mamdani’s Hamas buddies would have done to us had we not stopped them. They would have killed every last one of us."

Mamdani issued a statement later Thursday saying: “As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, are fugitives from the International Criminal Court, where they are accused of murder and forced starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. The ICC also issued arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders, but Israel assassinated them.

While neither Israel nor the United States is a party to the Rome Statute governing the ICC, the treaty states that people from nonsignatory states who commit alleged crimes in states that are party to the treaty—as Palestine is—can be arrested in third countries and subsequently tried by the court.

Mamdani has said that Netanyahu should be arrested and brought before the Hague-based tribunal for trial, but that he lacks the legal authority to apprehend the prime minister in New York.

The International Court of Justice—also located in The Hague, Netherlands—is currently processing a genocide case filed against Israel by South Africa and formally supported by nearly 20 nations. The case is based on what the ICJ called the plausibility that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The court has issued a series of provisional orders for Israel to adhere to the Genocide Convention—orders that critics say Israel has simply ignored.

Last year, an independent UN commission of inquiry found that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a conclusion shared by the International Association of Genocide Scholars and other experts including many Israeli and diaspora Jewish academics, jurists, human rights campaigners, and others.

As Netanyahu prepared to deliver his UN speech Thursday, delegates from a reported 77 nations walked out of the chamber in protest.

"If there are any other moral cowards who haven’t yet left this hall—please do so now," the prime minister said. "Thank you very much."

While some observers applauded the display of solidarity with Palestinians, others expressed disgust that Netanyahu was allowed to address the world body and that he has not yet been brought to justice.

"The head of the genocidal Israeli apartheid regime, a fugitive indicted for crimes against humanity, was allowed to enter the US and to address the UNGA today, without arrest," said Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN official who resigned in protest of what he described as the world body’s failure to stop Israel’s genocidal war.

"Netanyahu insulted delegations, openly celebrated the regime’s many crimes, bragged about its terrorist pager attacks on Lebanon, repeated the regime’s debunked genocide propaganda, defended the illegal occupation of Palestine and Syria, lied incessantly, called violent, racist, illegal Zionist settlers 'peaceful' and 'honorable people,' labeled human rights defenders as 'antisemites,' even arrogantly attacked American citizens and officials for speaking out against the regime’s crimes," he continued.

"This violent psychopath cannot hide behind Trump’s skirts forever," Mokhiber added. "He (and his collaborators) must be captured and brought to justice. And the UN must finally act to isolate the regime and hold it accountable. "

Referring to Netanyahu's address and Trump's threat on Tuesday to "annihilate" Iran during his rambling, lie-laden General Assembly speech, University of Colorado Law School associate professor Maryam Jamshidi said on social media, "Between Trump threatening Iran w/annihilation and Netanyahu bragging about Israel’s pager attacks, the UN podium has become a venue for promoting genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes."

Meanwhile, people took to the streets of New York to protest Netayahu's presence in the city, US complicity in Israeli crimes, and to show solidarity with Palestinians.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside UN headquarters in Turtle Bay for a sit-in demonstration led by Jewish Voice for Peace. Demonstrators blocked roads while chanting slogans including, "Netanyahu you can't hide, you are wanted for genocide!"

As Common Dreams reported earlier Thursday, more than 100 demonstrators were arrested.

THEY’RE PUTTING THEM IN THE BUS!
Susan Sarandon Chelsea Manning, and MANY OTHER CELEBS ARRESTED at UN protest ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address! 👀

The 79-year-old actress – who has previously said she's been blacklisted over pro-Palestinian comments… pic.twitter.com/pvzuRGwGG4
— SANTINO (@TheRealSantino) September 24, 2026

Among those reportedly arrested were progressive congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier; actors Susan Sarandon, Hannah Einbinder, and Cynthia Nixon; New York state Assemblymember Emily Gallagher (D-50); Democratic New York City Councilmembers Chi Ossé and Alexa Avilés; former Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning; and Palestinian American political activist Linda Sarsour.

"I will never, ever be silent," Sarsour said on Facebook. "I will never just accept the world as it is. I want history to record for future generations of Palestinians that we fought. At every turn. In every way. When it was easy and when it was hard."

"I want Palestinian girls in Gaza to see me in my hijab and my unapologetic Palestinian blood fighting for them to live FREE," she added. "This is bigger than all of us. Netanyahu is a war criminal and belongs in The Hague, not the United Nations."

---

### AI Battle Between Insurers and Hospitals Jacked Up Patient Prices by Nearly $1 Billion

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/ai-in-healthcare-billing.md

Artificial intelligence proponents claim AI will make healthcare more efficient, but an analysis published Wednesday suggests that the burgeoning technology is instead helping hospitals identify more lucrative diagnoses—and is driving nearly $1 billion in additional costs for patients and insurers.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) analysis found that the share of inpatient cases billed as "medically complex" rose from 37% at the beginning of 2023 to 40% by the end of 2025. While that may seem like a small increase, it translated into an estimated $942 million in additional costs for Blue Cross plans over two years, including $653 million attributable to secondary diagnoses that pushed hospital claims into higher-paying categories.

“Critically, what we found is underneath all of that data no change in corresponding care for a more complex patient,” Luke Chalker, BCBSA’s senior vice president of product and data science and a co-author of the analysis, told reporters. “We find no evidence of a corresponding change in care.”

The analysis' findings underscore an intensifying battle between hospitals seeking maximum reimbursement and insurers trying to contain payouts—a conflict increasingly mediated by AI. AI-powered coding systems can scan medical records, doctors' notes, and laboratory results for additional diagnoses that can increase the amount hospitals are paid. Ambient AI systems can also listen to clinician-patient conversations and automatically document them.

While AI can have legitimate benefits—like reducing paperwork and administrative burdens—BCBSA contends that the financial incentives built into the nation's fee-for-service healthcare system can turn those capabilities toward maximizing profits.

"Not exactly the cancer cure we were promised," More Perfect Union quipped on social media.

In one example, the analysis examined secondary diagnoses like anemia following major bowel surgery.

“If patients are truly sicker, we'd expect to see more treatment,” Chalker said. “For example, we're seeing significantly more anemia diagnoses at these hospitals without a corresponding increase in transfusions. The disconnect between diagnoses and treatment suggests that AI is identifying more billable conditions, not sicker patients.”

The analysis' findings echo an earlier BCBSA study of maternity care, which found that some hospitals dramatically increased diagnoses of acute posthemorrhagic anemia, while transfusion rates barely changed. BCBSA estimated that the increase in that single diagnosis alone added $22 million to maternity admission costs in one year.

Progressive healthcare advocates argue that the problem cannot be solved by tweaking the current system. Advocates for a Medicare for All-type system, including US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), propose replacing the for-profit insurance system with a universal public program.

In August, Sanders cited a Yale study estimating that his Medicare for All legislation could save 114,000 lives each year, while reducing national healthcare spending by more than $1 trillion annually.

“We do not suffer from scarcity in this country; we suffer from greed,” Jayapal said at a July Medicare for All shadow hearing.

"Medicare for All is the path to fix the broken healthcare system that has let corporate interests determine who lives and dies," Jayapal added. "The reality is that Medicare for All is the only solution that guarantees care for everyone in the US, brings down costs for working families, and generates savings for the country.

---

### As Trump Threatens to 'Annihilate' Iran, Most Senate Republicans Still Refuse to Demand End to Illegal War

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/senate-war-powers-resolution.md

Even as some swing-state Republican US Senate candidates are suddenly calling for an end to President Donald Trump's unpopular and illegal war with Iran, the vast majority of elected GOP senators are voting to keep the conflict going.

A war powers resolution that would have compelled Trump to end the war he started more than six months ago was narrowly defeated in the US Senate on Thursday.

Just four Republicans—Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Thom Tillis (R-NC)—voted in favor of the resolution, which failed by a vote of 49-50. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the lone Democrat to vote against the resolution.

The Iran War, which Trump launched in February without congressional authorization, has led to a massive spike in energy prices, including record-high prices for diesel fuel.

As reported by NPR, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who voted against Thursday's resolution, nonetheless acknowledged the economic toll the war is taking on Americans while speaking with reporters earlier this week.

"Everybody wants to see wars come to a conclusion," said the South Dakota Republican. "We are hopeful that the administration's efforts will lead to getting... the shipping lanes open and taking some of the pressure off of the American peoples' pocketbooks via a lower price at the pump for gasoline."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who led the war powers resolution in the US House of Representatives, decried the Senate's failure to pass it as "a slap in the face to the millions of American people who want this war to end."

"The Senate had the opportunity to send a clear message to this administration that they would not stand for another day of his war of choice," said Jayapal. "Instead, a majority of Senate Republicans acted as a cult party and stood by Trump’s unpopular and devastating war."

The Washington Democrat vowed that the House "will continue to pass these resolutions and demand an end to the war."

Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy adviser for Demand Progress, had a more optimistic take on the resolution's failure, arguing that the close vote count "shows that the tide continues to turn against this illegal war."

Kharrazian also noted that "Congress has already passed a legally binding war powers resolution directing him to remove US forces from the fighting," but the president "ignored it and kept waging a war that was illegal from day one."

During an unhinged speech before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump threatened to "annihilate" Iran by driving the country "into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations."

---

### UK's New Israel Sanctions Haven't Actually Suspended Any Weapons Transfers

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/uk-israel-weapons-sanctions.md

Earlier this month, the UK government announced plans to cut off trade with Israel's illegal settlements in the West Bank—including weapons shipments.

But according to new disclosures made to Parliament, reported Thursday by Declassified UK, the sanctions regime has not actually led to any weapons licenses being suspended or revoked, validating warnings by some critics that the new Labour government's effort to cut ties with Israel's occupation was only skin-deep.

Back in 2024, as Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza was raging, then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer had suspended 30 out of approximately 350 arms export licenses to the country.

According to the UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), the UK has still approved at least £178 million ($235 million) worth of fixed-value military export licenses to Israel since October 2023—a figure that excludes exports authorized under open licenses, including much of Britain's contribution to the F-35 program.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the new restriction on arms export licenses as a “double lock against arms sales” to Israel under which the government would continue its existing suspensions and refuse applications for arms that "materially contribute to the occupation” of Palestine.

However, CAAT warned the following day that the policy, while welcome, "does not go far enough," and included several loopholes—including one that allowed the UK to continue supplying F-35 fighter jet parts to an international pool used by the Israeli military and another allowing Israel to potentially use military equipment exported there for use by third countries.

Several prominent leftists in Parliament, including Your Party co-founders Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, as well as Green Party leader Zack Polanski, said that the trade bans should ultimately be just a first step on the way to a full arms embargo.

On September 16, the UK's trade department acknowledged, following a question from MP Iqbal Mohamed, that "no additional licenses have been revoked or suspended since September 8," according to Declassified.

The department explained that this was "largely because licenses for items that might materially contribute to the occupation have already been suspended because of Israel’s conduct in the Gaza conflict."

Declassified called this into doubt, however:

The government insists that many of the extant licenses for Israel cover items that are for re-export to a third country or military-grade goods for civilian use such as body armor.

Yet fighter jet components are still being exported to global spares pools used by Israel, and UK-made trainer aircraft parts, which help to sustain the F-35 program, continue to flow directly to Tel Aviv.

When asked about trainer aircraft, the trade department told Parliament that such components “are not used in Gaza and… do not materially contribute to Israel’s illegal occupation.”

This is despite the Foreign Office previously acknowledging that Israel’s M-346 trainer aircraft are “used to train fast-jet pilots” and “facilitate the development of an offensive capacity.”

Dearbhla Minogue, a lawyer from Global Legal Action Network, which took the UK to court over arms exports to Israel in 2024, told the outlet that these revelations appear to indicate that there will be "no concrete consequences for Israel after this government recognized the likelihood of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and what it terms Israeli terrorism."

"Successive governments have done everything in their power to continue aiding and abetting genocide and war crimes with deadly and devastating consequences," said Sam Perlo-Freeman, CAAT’s research coordinator. "The new so-called ‘double-lock’ on arms exports to Israel exemplifies this."

He added that it is "nothing more than a soundbite designed to appease voters, whilst failing to deliver meaningful policy change, and continuing to allow arms dealers to profit from Israel’s genocide in Gaza."

This news comes days after Prime Minister Andy Burnham also affirmed that the UK would provide military support—specifically “defensive” air-to-air refueling—to Saudi Arabia as it launches new strikes on Yemen’s Houthis.

A new CAAT report says the UK approved £464.8 million in military exports to Saudi Arabia in just the first quarter of 2026, with most of the value consisting of air-to-surface weapons.

The Saudi-led war against Yemen that lasted from 2015-22 killed an estimated 377,000 people from direct and indirect causes. During that time, CAAT found that the UK approved £7.1 billion ($9.4 billion) worth of military goods to Saudi Arabia.

---

### 'Netanyahu Wanted for Genocide!' 100+ Arrested Outside UN Speech

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/netanyahu-protests-2677931572.md

As she waited to be loaded into a police vehicle with several other pro-Palestinian protesters in New York City on Thursday, Democratic US House candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier said she was among hundreds of New Yorkers who had risked arrest "because we can't allow a war criminal to roam the streets of our city."

"He needs to be tried in The Hague," she added, speaking about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose arrival in the city for the United Nations General Assembly sparked the protest outside the UN headquarters.

Other politicians who joined the protest included Brad Lander, Chris Rabb of Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros of Colorado, and Adam Hamawy of New Jersey, while celebrities who have been outspoken supporters of Palestinian rights, including actors Hannah Einbinder, Susan Sarandon, Elliot Page, Cynthia Nixon, and writer Tony Kushner also joined the demonstration led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

"I'm here because I want to stop US complicity in the genocide that is happening in Gaza and the West Bank," said Nixon. "I want to stop us funding Israel, I want to block the bombs, and I want elected leaders here in this country to catch up to the American people and people everywhere around the globe who understand that what is happening in Gaza and Palestine is a war crime, it's unacceptable, and it's wrong, and history will judge them very harshly."

Mass anti-war sit-in outside Netanyahu's speech https://t.co/iKJas2TeBG
— Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) September 24, 2026

The demonstrators blocked roads outside the UN headquarters, and The New York Daily News reported that more than 100 people were arrested.

“There’s an arrest warrant out for Benjamin Netanyahu for the war crimes he’s committing in Gaza," said Sumaya Awad, director of the New York-based Organizing for Adalah Justice Project. " Trump is refusing to arrest him so we’re taking to the streets to make it clear to our government, and to future generations who will look back on this moment, that we refuse to normalize genocide. We refuse to normalize sending billions to commit war crimes, meanwhile our own schools and hospitals here are underfunded."

The US has provided at least $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel since the country began its military campaign in Gaza—on top of $3.8 billion it provides annually.

But as Nixon noted, public approval for US funding of the Israel Defense Forces has plummeted in recent years. A Quinnipiac University poll last year found that 60% of Americans no longer support providing Israel with weapons and military funding.

Nixon was among many attendees who wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words, "Fund People, Not Bombs." Protesters chanted, "Netanyahu, you can't hide, you are wanted for genocide!" and "Not another penny, not another dime, no more money for genocide!"

Netanyahu has been welcomed to the US multiple times since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant in November 2024 for his arrest, along with that of former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, who was killed several months later.

Netanyahu has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the military campaign his government has ordered in Gaza since October 2023, in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack—which, according to a report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz earlier this month, the prime minister was alerted about ahead of time by the United Arab Emirates.

In Gaza, Israeli forces have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, decimated the vast majority of housing units, and bombed hospitals, schools, and refugee camps. According to testimony from IDF soldiers, commanders have explicitly allowed the mass killing of civilians.

The government has also blocked humanitarian aid, leading to the starvation of hundreds of people, including at least 130 children. Amnesty International said last year that Netanyahu's government had used starvation as a "weapon of war," and the group is one of numerous human rights organizations that have called the assault on Gaza a genocide.

Netanyahu has joined US politicians in accusing critics of the Israeli government of "antisemitism," but JVP noted that a majority of people who took part in Thursday's protests were "Jewish New Yorkers, joined by Palestinian, Lebanese, and Iranian New Yorkers, including parents, teachers, nurses, grandmothers, and descendants of Holocaust survivors who were determined to raise their voices as Netanyahu roamed free in the streets of New York City."

Stefanie Fox, executive director of JVP, noted that "as we protest, the Israeli military expands its genocide in Gaza and destruction across the region," while "we are living through the crushing conditions of expanding fascism here in the US."

"But this is a movement that refuses to give up, and we know we can end this," said Fox. "From the streets of NYC to the halls of Congress we will be relentless in our demands to stop arming Israel."

Inside the UN headquarters, a number of delegations walked out of the room as Netanyahu began addressing the General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon—leading to jeers from the prime minister, who called the leaders "moral cowards" for objecting to the presence of an accused war criminal at the UN.

By continuing to back Israel, said Utah state Sen. Nate Blouin (D-13), "The US is very much not in step with the rest of the world."

---

### $2.2 Trillion: The Collective Net Worth of 'Big Tech Oligarchs' Invited to Trump-Xi Dinner

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-xi-dinner-tech-ceos.md

The combined net worth of the tech executives expected to attend US President Donald Trump's private dinner Thursday night with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, is around $2 trillion, underscoring the staggering wealth and political influence of the small group of moguls poised to profit immensely from rapid developments in artificial intelligence—which researchers and industry insiders say is a threat to humanity.

The dinner attendee list is expected to include Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man; OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Google CEO Sundar Pichai; and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. A Forbes analysis released earlier this week estimated that the tech executives are worth a combined $2.2 trillion.

The Trump White House has published the dinner menu for the event but has not released any details on what will be discussed on Thursday night. Given the expected guest list—and intensifying competition between the US and China on AI development—artificial intelligence is expected to be a major topic of discussion.

Earlier this week, during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump dismissed efforts to regulate AI and said he plans to "encourage" the technology, "not rein it in."

US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who introduced legislation earlier this week that would ban AI superintelligence and pause advanced AI development, wrote in a social media post on Thursday that "the function of AI must be to improve life for all humanity, not just make a handful of billionaires even richer."

Sanders pointed to the guest list for the Trump-Xi dinner and noted that the expected attendees "have nearly doubled their wealth since Trump's election."

Trump invited 10 Big Tech Oligarchs to his private dinner with President Xi of China.

They have nearly doubled their wealth since Trump's election & are now worth almost $2 trillion. Here's how much richer each of them got since Trump was elected:

Elon Musk: ⬆️ $658 billion…
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 24, 2026

Bloomberg reporter Jonathan Tamari argued that the Trump-Xi dinner shows how the US president has "treated Silicon Valley execs almost like an extension of his administration."

Other executives expected to attend the dinner are Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Apple's Tim Cook.

---

### 'Is the President Telling the Truth?' Sanders Corners Trump FDA Nominee on His Bogus Drug Price Claims

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/bernie-sanders-trump-drugs.md

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday grilled President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the US Food and Drug Administration about the president's false claims about the price of prescription drugs in the US.

During a Senate confirmation hearing, Sanders (I-Vt.) asked Dr. Heidi Overton about Trump's boast at this year's State of the Union address about giving Americans the cheapest medications of any country in the world.

“President Trump has claimed... that he took prescription drugs from the highest price in the entire world to the lowest,” Sanders said in an incredulous tone.

“Wow!" he continued sarcastically. "The American people are so excited to know now that we pay the lowest prices in the world for prescription drugs.”

BERNIE SANDERS: Trump claims we pay the lowest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Wow! Is the president telling the truth?

FDA NOMINEE HEIDI OVERTON: There has been immense progress--

SANDERS: Do we pay the lowest prices like the president said? You just told us you… pic.twitter.com/X7gWNbSmik
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2026

"What do you think?" Sanders asked Overton. "Are we paying the lowest prices in the world for prescription drugs?"

"Senator... there has been immense progress, especially on individual products," Overton replied. "Right now, 89% of branded drugs have signed agreements to lower their prices and make that available..."

Sanders at this point interjected.

"Do we pay the lowest prices?" he asked. "The president said it. He's your boss... He just said we pay the lowest prices in the world for prescription drugs. It's true or it's not true. Is it true?"

"Senator, we have seen..." Overton began.

"Is it true that we pay the lowest prices in the world for prescription drugs, as President Trump has said?" Sanders persisted.

"So, senator, the results that we have seen for the American people... have dropped prices," she replied. "And right now says that, for the first time in 60 years, prescription drug prices have gone down by 3%."

"Which may have something to do with the legislation that we passed several years ago," said Sanders, in reference to provisions in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that granted Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for certain prescription drugs.

Even if Trump's policies were solely responsible for a 3% drop in drug prices, that would not make them the lowest in the world by any stretch of the imagination.

A 2024 study from the RAND Corporation found that Americans pay nearly three times as much for prescription drugs compared to the rest of the world.

Sanders' office last year released a report showing that, during the first year of Trump's second term, drug companies raised prices on 688 medications, with a median increase of 5.5%.

Trump has a long history of making false claims about reducing prescription drug costs, and has even said that he has slashed them by as much as 600%, which would mean that pharmaceutical companies are paying consumers to take their medications.

---

### 'The Billion Dollar Deal': Senate Democrats Detail How Trump Serves Fossil Fuel Industry

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-oil-executives-1-billion.md

While running for president in 2024, Donald Trump told oil and gas executives that he would pursue their policy priorities if the industry raised $1 billion for his campaign—and after returning to office last year, the Republican did just that, enriching those invested in fossil fuels, including himself, at the expense of the public and planet.

That's according to "The Billion Dollar Deal: How the Fossil Fuel Industry Bought the Trump Administration, Cashed In, and Left Americans to Pay the Price," a report released Thursday by US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Committee on Environment and Public Works Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

"The fossil fuel industry and their allies bought their way into the Trump White House with hundreds of millions of dollars in political donations, after Trump promised fossil fuel bigwigs at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser that he’d do anything and everything they wanted, for the right price," Whitehouse said in a statement.

"Now, their minions run the government from the inside, driving up energy bills to deliver payouts to the donors that put Trump back in office," he continued. "Our new report exposes this old-fashioned corruption, by a thuggish government and a desperate industry, that is squeezing every last dollar out of Americans' pocketbooks while they still can."

The report is based on 19 investigations into Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory rollbacks, 13 probes of nine other agencies, and 13 investigations into 88 separate polluters. Investigators from Schumer's Anti-Corruption Working Group examined campaign finance filings, corporate earnings, and investor communications.

The document details how, in the aftermath of Trump's quid pro quo offer at the Mar-a-Lago fundraiser in 2024, fossil fuel executives, along with their corporate political action committees (PACs) and dark money groups, contributed an estimated $201 million to support Trump and allied Republican lawmakers—plus $19 million toward the inaugural fund.

"These figures capture only traceable donations," the report emphasizes. "Other substantial sums flowed to candidate Trump through 501(c)(4) organizations that are not legally required to disclose their contributors. Dark money groups—nonprofits and shell companies that do not reveal their donors—contributed over $1.9 billion into the 2024 elections, up from $1 billion in 2020."

The report names key figures from "the fossil fuel donor class" and includes their estimated contribution to Trump's latest election:

Oil and banking heir Timothy Mellon: $151.5 million

Energy Transfer executive chair Kelcy Warren: $11 million

Elliott Management co-CEO Paul Singer: $8 million

CrownQuest Operating CEO Tim Dunn: $5 million

Continental Resources executive chair Harold Hamm: $4 million

Midland Energy founder and CEO Syed Javaid Anwar: $2 million

GeoSouthern Energy CEO George Bishop: $2 million

Alliance Resource Partners CEO Joseph Craft III: $2 million

Hilcorp Energy executive chair and founder Jeffery Hildebrand: $1.7 million

Sunoco board chari Ray Washburne: $611,000

There's also former Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright, who is now Trump's energy secretary and gave an estimated $795,000. According to the report, "Lobbyists say that many CEOs now keep Secretary Wright's personal phone number on speed dial."

Wright is among at least a dozen former oil executives and lobbyists Trump installed at the EPA and departments of Energy, the Interior, and Justice to systematically dismantle "the regulatory architecture built over decades to protect American families from pollution and climate change," the publication points out. "Those captured agencies delivered for the fossil fuel industry."

The report calls out not only Wright but also Trump's other "polluter worker bees," including EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and various other officials at their agencies who have ties to polluting industries.

It also calls out the GOP-controlled Congress, which last year sent to Trump's desk the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a law that includes "tens of billions in new and expanded direct subsidies to fossil fuel companies through tax breaks, royalty cuts, a suspension of the charge on methane pollution, and other giveaways. Combined with the subsidies already on the books, independent analysts estimate the industry will collect some $190 billion in tax breaks and subsidies over the next 10 years."

"The costs of these gifts to the fossil fuel industry fall on everyone else," the report stresses. "Climate-related disasters cost the United States at least $115 billion in direct damages in 2025 alone. Each year, the damages to public health from fossil fuel air pollution run at about $820 billion, or $2,500 per American, and contribute to approximately 91,000 premature deaths and 216,000 new cases of childhood asthma. Homeowners’ insurance has become unaffordable or unavailable across many parts of the country. These are just some of the existing costs associated with fossil fuel production and combustion."

"The Trump administration's regulatory rollbacks will drive them higher, as air and water pollution as well as climate change will all get worse," the document warns, as the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency worsens, with deadly consequences worldwide.

The report notes that "canceled and delayed wind and solar projects are also raising electricity prices for consumers in multiple states, sending billions to fossil fuel plants. And the EPA itself has estimated that the elimination of tailpipe emission standards will cost Americans a minimum of $580 billion in added fuel costs alone over the next three decades. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost as the United States cedes its industrial competitiveness in clean energy technologies to China and Europe."

Trump also partnered with Israel to launch an illegal war on Iran—which has responded by restricting ship traffic through the the Strait of Hormuz, sending global fuel prices soaring. The publication highlights that "the 100 biggest oil and gas companies collectively earned an extra $30 million per hour in the first month of the Iran conflict alone—amounting to $23 billion in windfall profits—with $234 billion projected by year's end if oil prices remain near $100 a barrel."

"As the Trump administration's war in Iran drives up gas prices—with analysts warning crude prices could reach $200—American
consumers pay directly for the chaos that Big Oil's political investments helped purchase," the report warns. Brown University's Costs of War Project estimates the higher diesel and gasoline prices have so far cost Americans $115.7 billion, or $883 per household.

Trump's war is also filling his own pockets. CNBC estimated earlier this month that the president has made up to $4.4 million from his investments in fossil fuel companies—and as Common Dreams reported earlier this week, he continues to make related trades.

"Donald Trump will always choose self-enrichment over helping American families, and as this report reveals, his fossil fuel corruption is costing Americans billions," said Schumer. "Instead of using the presidency to address the affordability crisis, lower costs, and protect Americans' health and safety, Trump has used his power to deliver for his billionaire buddies in the fossil fuel industry. The message from this administration is clear: Big Oil gets the profits, and American families get the bill."

Released less than six weeks away from the midterm elections, Senate Democrats' report not only lays out a range of issues, but offers some fixes, including demands to tax the windfall profits of Big Oil, as well as legislation that would "shine a light behind the dark money front groups and shell organizations that fossil fuel interests use to hide their spending."

The report also calls for making polluters pay for planet-heating emissions and empowering lawsuits to hold them accountable. It further advocates for ending fossil fuel subsidies and directing that money to clean energy, consumer relief, and infrastructure resilience.

"The Trump administration is pumping public money into the fossil fuel industry and stripping public protections to pad the profits of some of the wealthiest corporations in the nation," David Arkush, director of Public Citizen's Climate Program, said in response to the report. "The campaign contributions to Donald Trump by Big Oil have paid dividends and have allowed the fossil fuel industry to continue to pollute our communities."

"This administration has ceded our nation's clean energy future to dirty energy and is doing its best to sacrifice the economy, public health, and the environment to Big Oil's profits," he added. "Every American family struggling with high costs is suffering because of the corrupt relationship between Donald Trump and the fossil fuel industry."

---

### As El-Sayed Champions Medicare for All, Michiganders Can't Afford Basic Needs Due to Health Insurance Costs

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/michigan-needs-el-sayed-and-m4a.md

Nearly half of Michiganders surveyed for a poll published this week said they're struggling to pay for groceries and gas because of the high and rising cost of health insurance, underscoring an affordability crisis that Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has cited as one of the reasons why the United States needs Medicare for All.

Forty-nine percent of Michigan voters queried by Progress Michigan and Public Policy Polling said the cost of health insurance affects their ability to afford basic necessities at least some of the time. Twenty-four percent said it happens “all the time,” while another 25% said it happens “sometimes.” Among Black Michiganders, the figures were substantially higher, with 34% reporting the problem occurs all the time and 31% saying it happens sometimes.

“Half of Michigan is already struggling with the cost of health insurance,” Progress Michigan executive director Justin Mendoza said Thursday in a statement. “With everyday costs getting higher and higher, it is clear that we need a system like Medicare for All to help Michiganders improve their health and afford their lives.”

El-Sayed, a physician and former Detroit health official, has made universal healthcare one of the three policy pillars of his campaign, alongside getting money "out of politics” and putting it "in your pocket.”

At a Monday "Students vs. Billionaires" town hall at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, El-Sayed argued that healthcare should be treated as a basic public investment rather than a commodity.

"You need good healthcare. You need a good education. We need childcare. We need good roads and bridges," he said. "We don’t need to send our money to big corporations to subsidize them, we need to be invested in people so they have the human capital to be able to do all the things as they graduate and come out. That's how the system should work."

El-Sayed has also repeatedly highlighted the plight of families who are insured but still cannot afford care because their deductibles are prohibitively expensive, and others who worry what will happen to their families' healthcare if they lose their jobs—an increasingly likely prospect as artificial intelligence usurps human workers.

“Medicare for All would allow us to actually provide every single person cradle-to-grave insurance,” El-Sayed said in a recent CBS interview, “without having to worry about losing it” after changing jobs, losing employment, getting married, or reaching retirement age.

The health insurance affordability crisis is likely to worsen in 2027. Healthinsurance.org reports that insurers are proposing a median increase of roughly 15% for individual market premiums nationwide, with Michigan insurers seeking an average 14.2% increase. The final rates could change before approval.

“Imagine not having to pay that," El-Sayed told CBS.

A new New York Times/Siena poll of Michigan voters found that 57% of respondents believe El-Sayed would do a better job on healthcare than Republican opponent Mike Rogers. Only 33% said Rogers would do a better job. Among all surveyed women, 67% said El-Sayed would be better for healthcare.

The overwhelming majority of voters ages 18-29 (86%) and Black voters (82%) agreed. Just 4% of Black respondents said Rogers would be better on healthcare. Among young voters, none—0%—said Rogers is the better choice for healthcare.

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### Macklemore and the US Cultural Revolution for Palestine

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Ramzy Baroud | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/macklemore-palestine.md

Page Six Hollywood recently declared: “War of Open Letters Erupts Between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine Factions in Hollywood.” Only a few years ago, a headline like this would have seemed unthinkable.

The article described an increasingly open struggle between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel forces within the entertainment industry. On one side are artists and other industry figures taking a clear stand against Israel’s genocide in Gaza; on the other are defenders of Israel attempting to deny that genocide in the face of irrefutable evidence.

Yet even this framing failed to tell the whole story. What is unfolding is far more consequential than a quarrel among celebrities or a “war of open letters.” It is part of a brewing cultural revolution in American society—one that has now reached the highest echelons of the country’s cultural establishment. And in that struggle, Israel is losing—and losing badly.

When the pendulum swings this far, neither Kraft’s money nor the stadiums he controls can stop the movement.

Though the article acknowledged that support for Palestine has become powerful enough to divide Hollywood openly, it concealed the scale of the transformation underway by presenting the moment as a "war" between two factions.

Long before Israeli filmmakers, production companies, and actors established a significant presence in Hollywood, the industry’s cultural infrastructure routinely elevated Israel at every opportunity. Film and television constructed a glossy image of a heroic nation whose establishment and continued survival were portrayed as miraculous, while the dispossession and violence underpinning that narrative were largely erased from view.

Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims, meanwhile, were almost invariably cast in a negative light: the uncultured and menacing "other," supposedly possessing no legitimate claim to civilization, no recognizable morality, and no history or identity worthy of serious consideration.

Indeed, Hollywood played a central role in the systematic dehumanization of Palestinians in Western popular culture. When thousands of actors, filmmakers, producers, and artists begin taking principled public stands for Palestine—often at considerable professional risk—we can therefore speak confidently of a cultural shift of historic proportions.

Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoenix, Tilda Swinton, Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Cynthia Nixon, and Riz Ahmed are only some of the most visible names on an ever-expanding list of morally driven and courageous artists confronting an archaic industry establishment.

The story, however, extends far beyond Hollywood. Consider the major controversy that recently erupted in the US following Macklemore’s removal from the remaining dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour.

Macklemore is far more than a pro-Palestine singer. The Grammy-winning rapper and songwriter is a gifted political storyteller whose career has combined mainstream artistic success with an enduring commitment to social causes. Since the beginning of the genocide, he has emerged as one of the most powerful voices of Palestinian solidarity in the US and beyond.

During Sheeran’s recent concerts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Macklemore expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, called for a "free Palestine," and performed "Hind’s Hall," his protest anthem honoring Hind Rajab, the Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The response to Macklemore’s courageous stand was immediate, but also predictable. The billionaires who controlled the venues reached for the weapon still at their disposal: financial power. Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium, refused to allow Macklemore to perform there.

Sheeran, who appeared to underestimate the gravity of the moment, went on the defensive. “I am not complicit,” he declared, insisting that Macklemore’s removal had been the promoter’s decision rather than his own. But such a weak response by one of the world’s most influential musicians, particularly while an artist on his own tour was being punished for speaking out, could hardly be presented as a politically "neutral" position.

In the past, the story might have ended there. Macklemore would have been isolated and his career placed in jeopardy, while Sheeran, the promoters, and the stadium owners continued largely untouched.

Those days are gone. Global solidarity with Macklemore—and, by extension, with Palestine—spread so rapidly that the people responsible for his removal were forced to issue a succession of defensive and sometimes contradictory explanations.

By then, however, the damage had been done. Sheeran faced mounting boycott calls, protests, and even the suspension of his music by an Irish radio station. Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe withdrew from the tour, while Beoga, Sheeran’s backing band, also pulled out. Artists and public figures began speaking openly about the genocide, freedom of expression, and the power of billionaires to dictate the political boundaries of art.

Podcasters and social-media commentators also mobilized, reaching audiences of millions and digging deeper into the controversy. They began asking who Kraft was, examining his longstanding relationship with Israel; his campaign against Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions; and the enormous financial machinery behind his political advocacy.

The attempt to punish Macklemore ultimately placed Kraft, Sheeran, and the entertainment establishment itself under unprecedented scrutiny. Far from silencing the message of Palestinian freedom, their actions amplified it.

Ultimately, this is not a story about two feuding artists, just as Hollywood’s transformation cannot be reduced to two camps trading open letters. Both are manifestations of a much larger cultural upheaval rooted in grassroots American society, where people from diverse backgrounds are finally opening their eyes to Israeli crimes and to the extraordinary influence Tel Aviv has long exercised over their country.

Beyond the occasional opinion poll, that story rarely makes headlines. But when the pendulum swings this far, neither Kraft’s money nor the stadiums he controls can stop the movement.

Nor can they silence Macklemore’s cry of "Free Palestine"—a cry now echoed by millions of people throughout the world.

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### Macklemore Announces 'Free Palestine Tour' With Dates in Paris, London, and Dublin

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/macklemore-free-palestine-tour.md

Rapper Macklemore on Thursday revealed a new phase in his campaign to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians.

Macklemore, whose pro-Palestinian statements got him removed as a supporting act for fellow musician Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour, announced a series of live shows aimed at raising money for organizations that provide aid to Palestinian civilians suffering under Israeli military occupation and assault.

Several other opening acts for Sheeran subsequently quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

"What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage," Macklemore wrote. "When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention. So we're going on tour. All proceeds will benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement."

The "Free Palestine Tour" so far has concerts scheduled in London, Dublin, and Paris, and Macklemore said that additional musical guests would be revealed at a later date.

Earlier this month, Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million to six organizations who were aiding Palestinians: HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and American Near East Refugee Aid.

Those groups will also be beneficiaries of the upcoming tour, as will organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace and the Institute for Middle East Understanding.

Rachel Griffin Accurso, the YouTube star and child educator known popularly as Ms. Rachel, last week pledged to match Macklemore's $1 million donation to Palestinian aid groups, and encouraged "every wealthy white celebrity to match it and speak out against the genocide in Gaza."

“Over 20,000 precious Palestinian children have been killed and children continue to be killed every day,” Ms. Rachel said. “We have a moral obligation to use our privilege and platforms to protect children and human rights.”

---

### Could Trump, Who Coveted a Nobel Peace Prize, Become the Worst War Criminal in History?

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Connie Peck | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-worst-war-criminal.md

In a highly aggressive 40-minute speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 22, President Donald Trump once again issued ominous threats to Iran, saying: “I have a very big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill or destroy people or countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

He implied that his “very big decision” would come after the midterms, suggesting that Iran is waiting to make a deal until then and, if one isn’t forthcoming, then he would choose annihilation.

Several commentators have noted that his extreme rhetoric was all the more shocking in the context of being delivered, as it was, at the world’s foremost international organization for the peaceful settlement of disputes, created in the aftermath of World War II “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.”

Every one of us has an obligation to ensure that we don’t experience such a bleak future, and to totally reject the idea that anyone should be able to decide to “destroy a civilization” or “annihilate” a people and a culture.

Indeed, all states that become members of the UN agree to resolve their disputes peacefully and to refrain from the threat or use of force against one another, as an obligation of membership—an agreement that the US is currently violating.

Although some news outlets lamented the tone of Trump’s speech and fact-checked it (finding the usual errors), few have explicitly pointed out his not-so-veiled threat to use nuclear weapons. Most have simply ignored it, and a few have even seemed to excuse it, suggesting that it was simply a “negotiating ploy.”

But this threat is similar to others he has made over the last seven months of the war, at moments of extreme personal frustration. On Easter morning, for example, he wrote on his social media account, “Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell—JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

A couple of days later, he warned: “A whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will… We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.” He has also threatened on several occasions to “bomb Iran back to the Stone Ages.”

I have previously written about the extreme danger of the president of the United States having “sole authority” to launch nuclear weapons and the ease with which he can do so. As William Perry, former secretary of defense under Clinton, has written, “For President Trump, starting nuclear war is about as easy as sending a tweet.”

This is especially concerning given his mental state. On April 30, a group of 36 senior mental health professionals, experienced in the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and the evaluation of dangerousness, issued an update to their earlier 2024 report, concluding (after citing the reasons):

It is our professional opinion that the behaviors of Donald Trump, tragically, are neither momentary lapses nor political theater. It is our professional opinion that they reflect a rapidly worsening, reality-untethered, increasingly dangerous decline… For the reasons cited above, emphasizing that he presents a clear and present danger to our country and to the world, it is our expert opinion that Donald J. Trump is mentally unfit to be the president of the United States and that steps to remove him from office must be undertaken with the greatest urgency.

Although the use of nuclear weapons is a considered to be a taboo, Trump has previously broken international taboos (seemingly without even knowing they existed), such as the taboo against political assassination, which he violated on February 28, when Israel and the US attacked Iran, assassinating its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni, four of his family members, and a number of other senior Iranian leaders.

Most ghastly of all is what would happen if Trump were to use his “sole authority” to launch nuclear weapons against a country of 90 million people. The horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—already overwhelming in terms of human tragedy—would be unleashed exponentially against the population of Iran, with whom Trump has previously claimed to empathize.

Because of the dramatically increased power of today’s nuclear weapons and their sheer numbers, the results could be more monstrous than any war crime in human history. Even the use of tactical nuclear weapons would be appalling beyond comprehension, and the use of a full-fledged nuclear attack that would “annihilate” the country would, without doubt, bring about one of the darkest periods in world history. The death, destruction, and suffering would be beyond parallel.

It would also make Trump the worst war criminal in history, instantly convert the US into a state pariah, be a terrible blight on humanity, and lead to many unforeseen consequences.

One playbook of unforeseen consequences is that Russian President Vladimir Putin could follow suit in Ukraine (with equally horrific effects). NATO might then feel that it would have to respond in kind, and the resulting escalation could lead to World War III and nuclear Armageddon.

Even if there were no further iterations (which is unlikely), the results could lead to a nuclear winter, where smoke and soot from Iran’s burning cities and other infrastructure would loft into the upper atmosphere, blocking sunlight, darkening the sky, and chilling the Earth, creating massive crop failures and famine. Studies have shown that even a “limited” war could cause a nuclear winter that would (depending on the size of the attack) cause untold billions around the world to die of starvation.

It is no wonder that everyone wants to pretend that Trump’s threats weren’t really what they seemed and probably wouldn’t be acted upon because Trump would live up to his TACO (“Trump Always Chickens Out”) reputation.

But one of the very important, hard-learned lessons of international relations is that, when a leader makes a threat against another state, it should be taken with deadly seriousness. This has sometimes been overlooked, as, for example, in 1990, when Saddam Hussein amassed troops on his border with Kuwait and threatened to invade. No one took it seriously—until Iraq followed through, leading to the first Gulf War.

Much as we would all like to forget these terrible threats, we can’t. The leaders of the world must clearly communicate to Trump the likely consequences of his actions and the utter unacceptability of this path. Members of Congress must do the same, and we, the public, must collectively urge them to do so.

Legal means of removing Trump from office should also be undertaken, such as the 25th Amendment; Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-Md.) proposed nonpartisan “Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office”; or impeachment. All of this is much more likely if the Democrats win the House and the Senate in the upcoming midterms, in which we, the public, can also make a significant difference—by voting accordingly.

Every one of us has an obligation to ensure that we don’t experience such a bleak future, and to totally reject the idea that anyone should be able to decide to “destroy a civilization” or “annihilate” a people and a culture (regardless of how we judge their behavior or our fears of their future actions). This is totally against international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law. Such a decision should NOT be made under any circumstances, especially by one individual, who is most likely cognitively impaired; definitely feeling frustrated and aggrieved; and who doesn’t have any understanding of the consequences of the extreme threats he is making—but who does have the capacity to carry out a nuclear launch at any time.

---

### NAZA Filmmakers to Make Film Available for Free Online Amid Israel's Smear Campaign

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/documentary-about-gaza-strip.md

Israeli journalists and filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are determined to ensure that their documentary, NAZA, has the farthest reach possible even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government accuses them of "blood libel" for interviewing soldiers who described the Israeli military's mass killing of civilians, and threatens to revoke their citizenship for making the film.

Abraham said Thursday morning on social media that he, Szor, and The Guardian, which produced the film, had decided to make NAZA accessible "online for free, without any time limit, so that every person can watch it and the soldiers' testimonies," starting in November.

Until then, the filmmakers are approaching movie theaters in Israel and offering the film "at no cost, in the hope that it will be screened in the country" as it is distributed worldwide.

Commentators in Israel have criticized Abraham and Szor for not making the film free, said journalist Ryan Grim, and theaters are now "being dared to follow through on their bluff and screen it."

The film builds on reporting Abraham has done since the beginning of Israel's current assault on Gaza, which started in 2023 in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack. In NAZA, as well as in investigative reports for the Israeli news outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call, Abraham has extensively covered the Israel Defense Forces' rules of engagement in Gaza, including its use of artificial intelligence for targeting and the IDF policy of allowing the killing of more than 100 Palestinian civilians for every Hamas commander killed.

The film's title refers to the IDF's term for the number of civilians commanders expected to be killed in a particular strike.

"Journalism is not betrayal. Criticism is not betrayal."

NAZA received a record-breaking standing ovation and the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival this month, and the film will premiere in North America at the New York Film Festival this Saturday, with a theatrical release beginning four days later. A wider release in the US is scheduled for October 9, and 50 other countries and territories are also expected to release the film.

While the film has been widely acclaimed, Abraham noted that at home in Israel, "many incorrect things were said about us and about the film in the past week."

Officials have accused the filmmakers, who interviewed 24 military and intelligence officers for the film, of lying about the IDF's practices in Gaza.

Netanyahu, who is facing legislative elections next month, said after the film's release at the Venice Film Festival that he would introduce a bill to revoke the citizenship of Israelis who defame the IDF. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff at the IDF, said military lawyers were considering legal action against Abraham and Szor.

Protesters outside Szor's family home could be heard chanting, "Death sentence for traitors" one evening, and the Committee to Protect Journalists noted that the call for violence "followed days of increasingly hostile public rhetoric targeting the filmmakers, which underscores the risks created when government officials publicly target journalists."

The offices of +972 Magazine and Local Call were also reportedly broken into.

"We made the film to spark a public discussion about the government's actions in Gaza, the killing of more than 73,000 people, most of them civilians, the normalization of a war of extermination, of the notion that 'there are no uninvolved,'" said Abraham.

"Journalism is not betrayal. Criticism is not betrayal," he continued. "It is the duty of every citizen whose government commits crimes to know, and of every soldier who witnessed them to tell. There are thousands of such soldiers walking around here, who will watch the film and recognize what is described in it personally: the killing of unarmed people crossing an imaginary line, the approvals in the hundreds, the systematic attacks on family homes, the burning and physical destruction of Gaza, murder and shooting at hungry people in food distribution centers, and other crimes that have no justification."

Ali Abunimah, director of Electronic Intifada, said the filmmakers should have made the film free for viewers "from the start."

He also called for Abraham and Szor to "turn over any and all evidence they have that could lead to the arrest and punishment of perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to the International Criminal Court," which has a warrant out for the arrest of Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

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### Israeli Election Panel OKs Ben-Gvir and Smotrich's Far-Right Parties After Voting to Ban Arab Ones

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/2026-israeli-election.md

On the heels of voting to disqualify all Arab-majority political parties and multiple candidates from Israel's October 27 Knesset election, the Israeli Central Elections Committee on Thursday declined to bar various far-right parties—a series of events that critics condemned as anti-democratic and racist.

The CEC—which is chaired by a Supreme Court justice but dominated by members of the Knesset's governing coalition—rejected petitions to ban National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism, and Zehut, founded by Moshe Feiglin, a former member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.

"Under Israel's Basic Law on the Knesset, candidates and party slates can be barred from elections for rejecting Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state, inciting racism, or supporting armed struggle by an enemy state or terrorist organization against Israel," explained Haaretz.

In an unsuccessful bid to bar the Otzma Yehudit slate, Gilad Kariv, a member of the Knesset for the Democrats, declared that "Ben-Gvir is not a right-wing Zionist; he is a racist Kahanist who has been convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organization."

While the panel ultimately refused to pass petitions on the right-wing parties, the previous day, it voted to disqualify the United Arab List—also known as Ra'am and led by Member of the Knesset Mansour Abbas—and the Joint List, an alliance made up of the parties Balad, Hadash, and Ta'al.

The committee disqualified the Joint List on grounds including its alleged rejection of Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state and support for armed struggle against it, and the United Arab List on those grounds, plus incitement to racism.

Sharply condemning the "political, racist, and anti-democratic decision," the Joint List said that "Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir know that the only way they can remain in power is by disqualifying Arab political representation and suppressing voter turnout in Arab society. This is how they seek to pave their way to another term."

"It is deeply regrettable to see that those who claim to seek to replace Netanyahu are once again falling into the racist trap set by Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir and lending their support to this political campaign," the coalition continued. "In doing so, they are contributing to the continued racist persecution of the entire Arab public, deepening racism, and perpetuating the rule of Netanyahu and his political partners."

"The Joint List is the only party that has placed at the forefront of its platform the struggle for democracy for all, genuine equality, justice and comprehensive peace. It is the only alternative to the racist policies of Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir," it added.

Dov Waxman, a professor of Israeli studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, similarly suggested on social media Wednesday that the CEC disqualified the Arab-majority parties "to delegitimize" them "in the minds of Israeli Jewish voters, and they want to do that in order to make it harder for the opposition to form a coalition government."

An opposition coalition including Ra'am "is the most likely way that an alternative, Eisenkot-led government could take power if the anti-Netanyahu bloc wins the election," Waxman added, referring to Yashar's Gadi Eisenkot.

The CEC on Wednesday also disqualified MK Ofer Cassif of the left-wing Arab-Jewish Hadash party and Balad's leader, Sami Abu Shehadeh. The Times of Israel noted that a representative for Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara reaffirmed her "position that none of the petitions before the CEC had sufficient grounds except the one against Abu Shehadeh."

"All opposition parties—Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar, Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad, Yair Golan's Democrats, Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu, and Benny Gantz's Blue and White—backed the petition" against the Balad leader, as did Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, the panel's chair, according to The Times of Israel.

"The backing of Sohlberg and Baharav-Miara raises the prospect that the Supreme Court may uphold the decision, despite its historically high threshold for disqualifying candidates and its repeated overturning of such decisions by the committee," the newspaper added, pointing to plans for the justices to consider the decisions next week.

Otzma Yehudit sought to disqualify Abu Shehadeh over an article in which he called the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on Israel—which led to the ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip widely denounced as genocide—as "an important historic event militarily, politically, and strategically."

As Haaretz detailed:

Abu Shehadeh said he regretted writing the article at the center of the request to disqualify him. "I wrote it on October 7, and I didn't know the scale of the atrocities. If I had known, I would not have written it this way," he said. "I agree with the justified criticism of the article. I should not have written it, and I should have clearly condemned ."

"My intention was for the military campaign to be halted and for the parties to move to a diplomatic track led by the Palestinian Authority and Arab states," he explained.

As for Cassif, whose ban was spearheaded by Likud, he said that "the disqualification requests are intended to achieve the complete delegitimization of Arab society and Israeli-Arab partnership, and to perpetuate totalitarian rule and majority tyranny," according to the newspaper.

"There is no contradiction between the absolute condemnation I have expressed of the Gaza massacre and the war crimes being committed by the Israeli government, and the absolute condemnation I have expressed of the October 7 massacre and Hamas' horrific crimes," he added.

After the Wednesday decisions, the Haifa-based rights group Adalah said in a statement that "the hearings, like the motions themselves, showed once again that this is an arbitrary, inciting, and racist process, devoid of any legal process. The CEC conducted an illegitimate political process aimed at persecuting ideas the majority does not accept, and it ended with the disqualification of all Palestinian representation in the Israeli Knesset."

"The CEC approved every disqualification motion except a separate motion against Balad/Tajammu' alone, which it rejected on procedural grounds," noted Adalah—which "represented all the political party lists and individual candidates before the CEC, and will represent them against these decisions before the Supreme Court."

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### Billionaire Trump Suck-Ups Owning More News Outlets Is an Existential Threat

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Thom Hartmann | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/billionaire-media-owners.md

A CNN insider told Variety magazine yesterday that the mood inside CNN right now is “like a funeral.” Nepo-baby David Ellison, bankrolled by his father who’s one of the richest men in the world and a major Trump suck-up and donor (and is in the Epstein Files), is on the verge of taking over the company that owns the news network.

The day-before-yesterday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a group of Democratic state attorneys general rolled over and agreed to stop trying to block the $111 billion takover of Warner Bros. Discovery, now to be almost 50% funded by rightwing dictatorships in the Middle East who’ve given billions in gifts, loans, and investments to Trump and his family.

California Governor and presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom hailed the agreement, saying it would both protect California jobs and preserve CNN’s “editorial independence.”

If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge for you in Brooklyn.

As The Lever reported yesterday, the fine print tells the entire story:

Going forward, CNN and CBS will be overseen by an “editorial independence board” composed of people hand-picked by the Ellisons and their agents. When Rupert Murdoch took over The Wall Street Journal from the Bancroft family back in 2007, he ran the same scam, as CBS News then reported:

“As part of the deal package that cemented Rupert Murdoch's longstanding effort to acquire Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co., the two sides agreed to create an editorial board that would act as a buffer between the media mogul and the newspaper…”

That worked out real well, right?

There are also squishy promises for movies and jobs that are not backed up with any meaningful enforcement mechanism, and all of Ellison’s commitments can be set aside via a force majeure clause that lets Paramount off the hook in the event of “strikes, labor disruptions, economic recessions.” So, all Trump has to do is extend the Iran war another few months to crash our economy and the oligarchs are free to do what they want!

And if that doesn’t happen, there’s still the sunset clause that ends all their commitments in five years. Lee Hepner of the American Economic Liberties Project called it “a countdown to a cliff.”

These are the same billionaires who handed Trump a check for $16 million to “settle” a frivolous lawsuit against 60 Minutes, then cancelled Stephen Colbert’s show days after he referenced that as a “big fat bribe,” then reportedly offered the Trump White House up to $20 million in free “public service announcements” and installed a Trump-humping “ombudsman” at CBS News to police “bias” at the network.

The simple reality is that in every country that’s slid from democracy into strongman rule over the past half-century, the first step was capture of the media by friends of the regime.

And the FCC, run by Trump’s favorite brown-noser Brendan Carr, has blessed Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar taking a 49.5 percent equity state in the new entity that will control two of the three most important news networks in America.

Don’t expect any future analysis of Saudi involvement in 9/11, critical exploration of what Trump gave up in exchange for a $400 million 747 jet, or the billions that have gone to Kushner and the Trump boys, Uday and Qusay.

Because of momentous decisions made by presidents Reagan and Clinton, freedom of the press in America is now as much an economic issue as a political one. As I laid out in The Hidden History of Monopolies (with a foreword by Ralph Nader), when Reagan came into office 90 percent of the American media landscape was scattered among over 50 companies; now a mere five conglomerates dominate that 90 percent of the media Americans consume.

Reagan stopped enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (and others) in 1983, leading to the “M&A Mania” of mergers and acquisitions that characterized the late 1980s and 1990s. As a result, there’s not a single major industry in America that’s not dominated by a handful of companies that generally behave like cartels, and the average American family pays an annual “monopoly tax” — in additional costs for pretty much everything — of around $5,000, according to economist Thomas Philippon.

Cell phone service that costs $15 a month in France or $12 a month in Australia bills out at an average of $61.85 per month in the United States. High-speed broadband that’s a bit over $31 a month in France or $36 in Germany (for higher speeds and better reliability than almost anywhere in the United States) averages nearly $70 per month in the US.

Similar metrics are found with pharmaceuticals, airfares, and medical costs, among dozens of other product and service categories.

But it’s most deadly to democracy when it comes to the media.

Since Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 — which eliminated most of the rules about how many outlets one family or company could own — oligarchic monopoly of the media has spread its cancerous tentacles into politics, as well, destroying the ability of government to make policy that allows free people to make their own decisions about their own lives.

As Teddy Roosevelt, the great trust buster, said:

“There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short nor an easy task...”

And as Adam Smith wrote, in Wealth of Nations,

“...the monopoly which our manufacturers have obtained...like an overgrown standing army, they have become formidable to the government, and upon many occasions intimidate the legislature.”

And this is no small project by billionaires who explicitly distrust democracy and want complete control over America and her people. I’ve seen how this works up-close and personal when a Republican billionaire came after a media business I helped start.

In 2003, Louise and I had sold our last business and were retired in Vermont; that Thanksgiving, we drove to Michigan to visit my family for the holidays and all the way there I kept tuning across the radio dial looking for an intelligent conversation to occupy my mind while driving. In city after city, all I could find was Sean Hannity.

The outcome of that trip was my writing the initial business plan for Air America Radio and starting the radio show I’m still hosting 23 years later as a “proof of concept.” We were leasing stations from Clear Channel and reached over 90 percent of America; many credited Obama’s 2008 victory to our being on the air.

So, of course, billionaire Mitt Romney — with an eye to running for president in 2012 — had his company Bain Capital buy up all of the Clear Channel radio stations and, one at a time, take us off the air until we didn’t have enough of a signal to make money selling advertising. The network died in 2010 (and Romney lost).

The people who own the media pipes, in other words, get to decide what flows through them.

Remember when Uber was offering rides for half the price of taxis, until they’d put so many of the taxi companies out of business? Or Walmart offering goods at little to no margin just to drive local competitors out of business? Monopolists and wannabe monopolists understand exactly how this works.

While Rupert Murdoch reportedly lost an average of $80 to $90 million a year for about five years before Fox News turned a profit, he never viewed that as a loss: it was an investment. Economists Stefano DellaVigna and Ethan Kaplan later did the math and found that Fox News succeeded in shifting 3 to 8 percent of its audience toward the Republican Party, which in Florida alone in the 2000 election was worth more than 10,000 votes for George W. Bush in a state he carried by fewer than 600.

Had there been no Fox “News,” in other words, there would have been no war in Iraq or Afghanistan, and thousands of Americans and millions of Iraqis and Afghans would still be alive. And there would have been no Bush tax cuts, so our national debt would be nowhere near so bad. And Al Gore would have done something about the environment.

This is critical stuff: no democracy can survive the assault of what Jefferson referred to as “an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents” when only one family or political perspective dominates the media.

Franklin D. Roosevelt — the Bernie Sanders of his day — saw all of this coming. On April 29, 1938, in his Message to Congress on the Concentration of Economic Power, he told the country what fascism actually is:

“The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.”

FDR understood that when a monopolized industry gets big enough, its main rival then becomes the government itself because only the government has enough remaining power to break it up. Adam Smith made the same point in Wealth of Nations in 1776, writing that the East India Company and its allies had, “like an overgrown standing army,” become “formidable to the government” and could “intimidate the legislature.”

The simple reality is that in every country that’s slid from democracy into strongman rule over the past half-century, the first step was capture of the media by friends of the regime.

— Four days after Vladimir Putin was inaugurated in May, 2000, ICE-like masked agents raided the offices of Media-Most, the company that owned Russia’s largest independent national TV network (NTV). They threw its owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, in prison on fraud charges and confiscated his stake in Gazprom, then took over the network with the deal finalized in April of 2001. That same year Boris Berezovsky was forced to sell his share of the ORT network to Roman Abramovich, a fellow oligarch but one who’d pledged his total loyalty to Putin. Within a few years, every national channel in Russia was in the hands of the state or a Putin-friendly billionaire, and still are.

— Viktor Orbán’s people were slightly more sophisticated in 2018, having his oligarch buddies buy up media properties after he sued dissenters into bankruptcy by claiming libel. By the following year, the media monitor Mérték estimated that 77.8 percent of Hungary’s news media was directly or indirectly controlled by Orbán’s party, which is why when Péter Magyar successfully ran against Orbán he had to visit virtually every city and town in the country to get around the media blackout on his candidacy.

— In Egypt, el-Sisi was less elegant in his approach to the media. He had his version of the FBI — the General Intelligence Service — use a front company called Eagle Capital to buy up virtually every TV network, radio station, and newspaper in the country. Reporters Without Borders found that a dozen once-powerful media owners were pushed to sell to intelligence-linked companies, while the handful of businessmen who backed Sisi got to keep theirs. The spy agency’s media group now owns the ON, CBC, Al-Hayah, and DMC networks, and those Egyptian journalists who dared criticize the regime all went to prison.

— Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines used regulatory power the same way Trump lickspittle Brendan Carr’s FCC does. The country’s largest newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, was forced to sell to a billionaire Duterte ally under threat of imprisonment for breaking “media rules.” Duterte’s rightwing buddies in Congress then refused to renew the broadcast franchise of ABS-CBN, the nation’s biggest network, which had made the mistake of exposing the extrajudicial killings of his so-called drug war. Eleven thousand people lost their jobs, and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa’s little opposition newspaper The Rappler was ordered shut.

Almost without exception, this is the process autocrats use to destroy democracies, as documented brilliantly by people like Timothy Snyder and Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

First the strongman’s friends acquire the newsrooms, then the coverage softens, then the elections start experiencing “anomalies,” and by the time most people notice, there’s nobody left on the air to expose the oligarchs and fascists.

As Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1786:

“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

So, here we are. Bonta and Newsom have caved, and only the attorneys general of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Minnesota tried to hold out. You may want to call your own state attorney general and ask where they were on this case; you should be able to easily find their number with a quick internet search.

We should also contact our members of Congress (202-224-3121) and demand hearings on the FCC’s corrupt behavior, restoration of our anti-trust laws, and a return to the media ownership limits that Clinton blew up in 1996.

And please share this piece and hartmannreport.com with anyone who still thinks it can’t happen here. It has already happened everywhere else that’s seen their democracy disintegrate, and the first thing to go into oligarchic hands was always the news.

---

### White House Airs 'Illegal' Trump Propaganda Ad ‘Paid For By the US Government’

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-government-funded-ad.md

The White House is being accused of violating federal law after it aired an ad glorifying President Donald Trump, which it explicitly said was “paid for by the US government.”

The ad was first reported by CBS News Miami investigative reporter Jim DeFede, who saw it airing on Fox News Wednesday night.

The 30-second spot features numerous videos and images of Trump, set to the song “Love Me” by JMSN. It includes voiceovers by the president railing against “communism,” a label he’s regularly used to hammer Democrats as the midterm elections approach.

"Together we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism, in America," it features Trump saying. "America will never be a communist country."

The video then goes on to amplify, in bright red letters, what the White House views as Trump’s signature policy accomplishments and goals: the “largest tax cuts in history,” “reigniting American manufacturing,” and “defend law and order and police.”

Footage from the 2024 Republican National Convention featuring Trump alongside Ultimate Fighting Championship president and CEO Dana White is then shown.

"He is the toughest, most resilient person that I've ever met," White is heard saying about Trump. "And nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves."

As White is heard slathering Trump with praise, a message appears at the bottom of the screen in large white letters: "Paid for by the US government."

DeFede described the taxpayer-funded message as "clearly a campaign ad."

Many onlookers found the use of government resources to flood the airwaves with nakedly partisan messaging chilling, particularly in light of Trump's recent attempts to censor critical media outlets and establish a state-run TV channel, while designating political opponents as "terrorists."

Fernand R. Amandi, a political science professor at the University of Miami and analyst at MS NOW—a network recently banned from the White House by Trump—said that the use of state organs for messages like these was an "unmistakable you live under an authoritarian, fascist government."

Longtime Senate Democratic aide Jim Manley said the ad was not just "creepy," but also “illegal.”

Provisions in annual appropriations laws explicitly forbid federal appropriations from being used for "publicity or propaganda purposes."

For decades, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has interpreted this to mean that the executive branch can't use federal dollars for material whose “obvious purpose is ‘self-aggrandizement’ or ‘puffery,'" or for communications that are "purely partisan."

The Hatch Act also bans federal employees from using their official authority or government resources for partisan activity. While Trump himself is not subject to the Hatch Act, most other senior government employees and appointees are.

The Trump administration has been accused of violating the Hatch Act on multiple occasions during his second term, including by using official agency websites to run messages blaming “Radical Left” Democrats for last year’s lengthy government shutdown.

During Trump's first term, multiple officials were found to have violated the Hatch Act for arguably less overt offenses.

Former Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf was found to have violated the law by hosting a naturalization ceremony orchestrated to generate footage for the 2020 Republican National Convention. Former Trump housing official Lynne Patton, meanwhile, admitted to violating the act by using her government position to recruit participants for an RNC video, resulting in a $1,000 fine and a four-year ban from federal employment.

It's not clear which government employees were behind the taxpayer-funded Trump ad. But Max Flugrath, the communications director at the voting rights group Fair Fight, said it was the "weirdest way to violate the Hatch Act, ever."

---

### 'Dangerous for Democracy': Paramount Merger Opponents File Emergency Motion to Fight Settlement Deal

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/paramount-merger-emergency-filing.md

Update (1:40 pm ET):

A coalition of advocacy groups fighting the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger said Thursday that the judge overseeing the case granted their emergency motion to allow opponents of the combination to file briefs against a settlement reached earlier this week by Paramount and a dozen state attorneys general.

“The consent decree the state AGs agreed to in a backroom deal is weak, unenforceable, and leaves workers, journalists, and consumers in the dust," members of the anti-merger coalition said in a statement. "The settlement fails to address the grave dangers this merger poses—and no amount of spin can change that. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín’s ruling will allow the public to weigh in on this important issue and ensure the interests of those who will actually pay the price for the Ellisons’ sweetheart deal that the AGs failed to adequately represent are heard. We look forward to explaining that in further detail in our brief due at midnight tonight."

Earlier:

Opponents of Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery filed an emergency motion in federal court on Thursday asking the judge overseeing the merger proceedings to grant them an opportunity to formally oppose a settlement deal that Paramount reached earlier this week with a coalition of state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta.

The merger opponents' filing asks Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the US District Court for the Northern District of California to give them "an opportunity to be heard" before she rules on the proposed consent decree between Paramount and the 12 state attorneys general—a deal that drew widespread outrage. The anti-merger coalition—which includes Free Press, the Committee for the First Amendment, the Future Film Coalition, and other groups—described the tentative deal as "dangerous for democracy."

The coalition's filing was submitted shortly before a court hearing that's scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm ET. Martínez-Olguín set the hearing to "address certain outstanding questions regarding the factual and legal underpinnings of the parties’ proposed consent decree."

Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a constitutional rights litigator who serves on the steering panel for the Committee for the First Amendment, said in a statement that "we believe the consent decree fails to meaningfully address or mitigate the harms that will be caused by this monopoly merger to the entertainment industry, diverse storytelling, independent filmmaking, consumer interests, a free press, First Amendment rights, and fundamentally, democracy."

“It does not serve to benefit anyone except the owner family of Paramount and those holding political power, who will use this corporate consolidation as a proxy force for First Amendment suppression of disfavored expression and viewpoints," Verheyden-Hilliard added.

Paramount is headed by David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, one of the richest people in the world and a megadonor to President Donald Trump.

If Martínez-Olguín approves the proposed consent decree and the merger is finalized, Paramount would control both CBS and CNN, as well as other major media properties such as HBO.

As part of the consent decree, Paramount committed to "News Editorial Independence Boards" for CBS and CNN comprised of five "established journalists." Critics, including the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), have characterized the proposed editorial independence boards as "worthless" and a potential "First Amendment nightmare."

“The solution for the Ellisons letting Donald Trump and Brendan Carr police journalism is not to let attorneys general and judges police journalism too,” said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at FPF, part of the anti-merger coalition.

“It’s to keep the government out of the newsroom, period," Stern added. "No one seriously believes the Ellisons (or their rumored new investor Elon Musk) will do that, with or without a self-appointed sham editorial board, which is why this merger cannot proceed.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of religious leaders filed a separate motion on Thursday asking Martínez-Olguín to "defer entry of the decree" to "ensure this court has sufficient opportunity to consider the important issues raised" in the case.

"The proposed consent decree raises grave doubts whether the parties' settlement adequately addresses the harms alleged in the plaintiff states' complaint," the filing reads.

---

### 'Cowardice, Not Conviction': Republicans Try to Back Away From Toxic Trump After Years of Subservience

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-republicans-2026-midterms.md

Republican politicians who have spent years kowtowing to President Donald Trump are suddenly scrambling to distance themselves from him, as his approval ratings hit record lows less than six weeks before the midterm elections.

Some critics, however, are questioning the seriousness of the Republicans' purported dissents.

A Thursday report from The New York Times highlighted instances of Republican Senate candidates in battleground states such as Iowa and Michigan calling for an end to Trump's illegal war with Iran, which has sent energy prices soaring over the last six months.

Apparent Republican queasiness over Trump policies in an election year isn't limited to the Iran War, as Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Wednesday issued a statement pushing back on tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in his home state.

"When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement," Marshall wrote in a social media post. "Our sheriffs and police know these communities better than anyone, and working together keeps officers and residents safe."

Marshall's statement came one week after Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) publicly broke with Trump on immigration policy, telling the president that his mass deportations were going "too far" and leaving Latino voters who backed him in 2024 feeling "betrayed."

Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) told the Times that the abrupt breaks with Trump show that "this is survival mode time for Republicans," as they no longer have to fear that the unpopular president will back primary challengers against them this year.

Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told the Times he was skeptical about Republicans succeeding in portraying themselves as independent-minded Trump critics given how they have dutifully supported him in lockstep for the last two years.

"If you’ve been carrying the president’s water on all his legislation priorities and his issues, it’s hard now to distance yourself," Short explained. "It appears now as if it’s just for political convenience."

Former CBS News anchor John Dickerson similarly questioned how sincere Republicans were being in their last-minute pushback against certain Trump policies.

Specifically, Dickerson pointed to Iowa GOP US Senate candidate Ashley Hinson, who called on Trump to bring his illegal war "to a successful and immediate end" to lower energy costs for American farmers.

"Hinson hasn't said starting the war was a mistake," Dickerson wrote in an analysis published Thursday on his Substack page. "She has repeatedly voted against House resolutions to limit Trump's war powers, most recently last week... Saying a war should come to a successful end hardly repudiates the president who started it."

Drop Site News reporter Ryan Grim echoed Dickerson's analysis in a Tuesday social media post.

"Ashley Hinson out with a statement whining and crying about the consequences of the war she supported," Grim wrote. "If you read far enough in, you find she’s calling for an end to it. But just last week the House voted on a war powers resolution to end the war and she voted against it."

In an op-ed published Thursday, Bloomberg columnist Mary Ellen Klas offered a critical examination of Salazar's seeming revolt against Trump's hardline immigration policies, describing it as a signal "to fellow Republicans that they had permission to publicly distance themselves from their party leader to save themselves from electoral collapse."

"Republicans who didn’t have the courage to speak up as Trump corrupted the executive branch and usurped congressional authority," Klas added, "have suddenly grown backbones."

In a separate social media post promoting her column, Klas accused Republicans of showing "cowardice, not conviction" in their last-minute shifts.

---

### FPF comments on White House's defiance of judge's media ban smackdown

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/fpf-comments-on-white-house-s-defiance-of-judge-s-media-ban-smackdown.md

Hours after Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., delivered a resounding defeat to President Trump early this morning, restraining his administration from barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House and holding that the ban is likely unconstitutional, the administration defied the order by continuing to deny access to the networks.

Kelly held that the press met the “high bar” to show that the ban likely violated the Fifth Amendment’s protections for due process. He also rejected the administration’s argument that “national security” concerns justified the ban, noting that the news stories the administration pointed to are “routine” and that there is no precedent for applying laws prohibiting disclosure of classified information to reporters.

But after Kelly’s ruling and in spite of the temporary restraining order entered by the court, Politico, CNN, and MSNOW reported today that some of their reporters were denied access to the White House and some also had their press credentials confiscated.
The following can be attributed to Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern:

“The administration was rightly given the back of the hand by Judge Kelly for claiming routine reports harm ‘national security,’ but court orders are just paper unless they’re enforced. Enough is enough. Government officials who continue to deny journalists’ access to the White House in defiance of Kelly’s order should be held in contempt.

“And it’s long past time for judges to start aggressively sanctioning DOJ lawyers when they make frivolous national security arguments to turn Trump’s petty grievances against the press into government policy. That way, we won’t get to the point where Secret Service agents are defying court orders to carry out the president’s authoritarian whims.

“The Pentagon Papers case famously rejected a prior restraint aimed at specific documents the government claimed posed national security risks, and Trump himself lost two cases in which he tried to similarly ban reporters in his first term. Anyone who argues ‘national security’ are magic words justifying banning three entire news outlets from the White House should be not just laughed out of court but sanctioned.

“Trump’s own announcement of the ban admitted it was about coverage he didn’t like. The reports the government cited are years old and one was even based on a briefing from the vice president. Trump beats up on the free press not because of national security but because he’s terrified for the public to see what he and his administration are up to in the people’s house behind closed doors, whether it’s letting classified tech go missing or almost starting a war based on an AI hallucination.

“Those are the stories you won’t see on Trump TV. They bolster national security by exposing real threats to the homeland — government malfeasance and incompetence. Everyone involved in this multipronged and apparently ongoing attack on the Constitution must be held accountable.”

Read Judge Kelly’s full order here.

---

### Apologies to Caligula: Trump Is Out of His Goddamn Mind

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Will Bunch | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/is-trump-out-of-his-mind.md

I feel like I need to apologize for a column a couple of months ago when I compared the current president of the United States to Caligula, the possibly mad Roman emperor who is said to have nominated his trusted horse for high office. I need to apologize to Caligula. From pitching his triumphal D.C. arch as a storage shed for deadly snipers’ bullets to banning reporters from the White House in a narcissistic rage, Donald Trump is losing his grip on reality. This is unsustainable.

Worried about AI killing humans? Bad news: It already is.

Which is it?

Are the robots of AI, or artificial intelligence, so smart that they’re on the verge of holding a secret meetup in the darkest corner of the dark web and developing a plot to kill all humans through germ warfare, to make sure we don’t kill them first by pulling the plug?

Or is AI so dumb — artificial stupidity, despite the billionaires of Silicon Valley showing up daily on our TV screen to brag about the sky-high IQ of their son, Claude — that the thing that will murder us is a crazy hallucination that will turn a false alarm into World War III?

The fact that we can’t answer this should give us pause, but maybe we aren’t even asking the right question. Maybe the real issue is how easy we’ve made it to kill off the human race — a capability that was already created by people even before we invented the computer.

One thing is certain. Artificial intelligence has already been an accessory to mass murder, and if we do nothing, it will kill again.

Remember the very first days of the now seemingly endless Iran war, and the news that two missile strikes had obliterated a school for young children in the Iranian coastal city of Minab, in an apparent “double-tap” strike in which the second attack from the skies killed young girls and boys and their teachers as they huddled in a prayer hall?

Those bombings, which killed 156 people on Feb. 28, caused the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran to report last week that it found “reasonable grounds to believe that the United States committed a war crime by launching indiscriminate attacks …” The U.S. government has never taken responsibility for the bloodshed, despite overwhelming visual evidence that the bombs were precision-guided U.S. Tomahawk missiles.

It didn’t take long for additional speculation that an AI program had mistakenly targeted the school, perhaps using outdated maps and info from an earlier time when its buildings were attached to an Iranian military complex. After all, the Pentagon has been openly bragging about the death and destruction facilitated by its use of Palantir’s Smart Maven System and also Anthropic’s Claude.

Last week, Bloomberg News reported that the Pentagon’s overreliance on AI, and specifically the Palantir Maven program, was a major factor in the school tragedy, along with the outdated intelligence about the Minab site — the “garbage in.” Its exposé noted that U.S. military planners were racing to identify some 1,000 Iranian targets in the early hours of the war, giving humans little time to double-check the list. Kindergartners were slaughtered as a result.

This was hardly the first time robots have been linked to human death, both in war — in 2024, +924 Magazine reported the Israel Defense Forces were using an AI program code-named “Lavender” to target sites amid the mass killing in Gaza — and in peace, as shown by numerous accounts of robots helping troubled people die by suicide.

And yet, it could have been much, much worse. At the same time as the Bloomberg report on the AI link to the mass killing in Iran, the world also learned that a false report generated by robot intelligence nearly sparked a conflict between the United States and China that could conceivably have spiraled into major fighting.

CNN and other outlets have reported that a U.S. special operations command analyst working with AI generated an urgent report that a Chinese ship bound toward the Middle East was carrying components for a nuclear weapons system, which caused military leaders to scramble jets and assemble a team to seize the vessel.

Only at the last minute did the Pentagon dig deeper and learn the AI-generated report was completely false, a hallucination — one that nearly triggered a violent conflict between the world’s two largest military powers.

The two disturbing reports about the use, or misuse, of AI by the U.S. military in a time of war did make news but didn’t get nearly as much attention — either in the media or on sites like Bluesky or X — as warnings from both whistleblowers and CEOs in Silicon Valley that a swarm of robots could decide on their own and without any human intervention or awareness to try to kill off our so-called civilization.

The fear of an unprompted attack from AI secret agents is real, based on several incidents that have already occurred, including a well-planned and partly successful operation by OpenAI’s robot agents to hack into a company called Hugging Face.

Still, it says something about human intelligence that we are captivated by the unknown and mysterious possibility of a random attack, while the fact that people are currently misusing AI to cause death and suffering is a less compelling story. I noted in this space last week that the threat to humankind from climate change is arguably even more real — and yet this gets denied by many and ignored by others.

It’s also striking to me as a boomer born in 1959 that a generation that was born into a time of constant terror — backyard bomb shelters, “duck and cover” drills in the classroom, and sci-fi horror at the drive-in that an atomic arms race could kill us at any moment — is suddenly back to where we started.

Over 81 years, humans were smart enough never to drop another nuclear weapon (well, not intentionally) after the mass murders at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but not bright enough to figure out how to eliminate the nuclear threat altogether.

The fact that civilization managed to — so far — pause the number of world wars at two has given us the space and the false bravado to create new and much more insidious killing machines, and the threat from invisible robots on a hidden dark web is somehow even scarier than the radioactive mushroom cloud that we more or less understand.

Boomers who went to bed as kids in the 1950s and ’60s praying we wouldn’t die before we woke are now spending our senior-citizen-discount years fearful that something stranger than science fiction is coming for our children, or grandchildren. Over the course of a lifetime, the arc of that moral universe has not bent at all.

Still, humans were able, somehow, to prevent nuclear annihilation so far, and now it’s past time to get to work on the actual threats from AI and start on those workarounds. For example, the articles I’ve read speculating on how the robots plan to kill us frequently mention the prospect of AI agents developing bioweapons and releasing them, either on their own or prompted by a bad actor. (In theory, human development of bioweapons has been banned for a half century.)

From everything I’ve read so far about AI, it sounds like we’d have better luck safeguarding or eliminating the components that could make a biological agent rather than stopping the robots. Likewise, AI agents would not be able to start an atomic apocalypse if our human politicians went to work at finally eliminating nuclear weapons. Artificial intelligence won’t kill little girls in an Iranian school if humans don’t start dumb wars in the first place.

If Silicon Valley’s prophets of doom are serious, there’s no fix that’s too big or too ambitious. But understand that the biggest problem isn’t that AI wants to murder us, but that since 1942 we humans have been busy creating all the suicidal weapons AI agents could use.

Can you even “duck and cover” from a killer robot? I don’t intend to find out, and I don’t want my yet-to-be-born grandchildren to have to even think about it.

---

### How We Can Halve the Rate of Global Warming in 15 Years

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** V. Ram Ramanathan, Durwood Zaelke, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/halve-rate-global-warming.md

Among the three of us, we have 15 decades of high-level experience in climate science, policies, and actions, and we have never been more alarmed than we are at this moment. The United Nations has just officially declared that the world has failed in limiting global warming to a safe level. During the last decade, heat-trapping pollutants nearly doubled the rate that heat is being added to the planet—a rate that will push temperatures across the 1.5°C threshold in five years or less and breach the first barrier of the Paris Agreement. This will further destabilize natural climate systems and amplify weather extremes, which are already costing the world economy more than $ 2 trillion annually. At the current rate of warming, the global temperature is likely to cross 2°C in about 15 years, the outer limit of the Paris Agreement, taking us into a climate not witnessed by homo sapiens, ever.

High altitudes in the Tibetan-Himalayan region and the Alps are already warming at two to three times the global average (which may be implicated in the recent Nepal-Tibet floods that left 1,400 confirmed dead and 5,000 missing). Other disastrous impacts of reaching 2°C include the transition of the Amazon from a forest into a savanna. The health impacts could be the worst of all. At 2°C, heat deaths in 2050 could reach a staggering 2 billion in a worst-case analysis by actuarial experts at Exeter University.

If that weren’t bad enough, a new scientific study raises the possibility that the current rate of warming, if continued, could eventually shut down the ocean current called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation—AMOC. The Gulf Stream is a major part of this vital ocean current, which plays a dominant role in winter weather over North America and Europe. Worryingly, AMOC is already slowing down.

We know of no other measures of thinning the heat-trapping blanket to provide the rapid cooling needed to allow us to survive and thrive.

At today’s rate of warming AMOC could begin to collapse at warming as low as 2°C, which could be crossed by the time today’s infants are in college. Impacts would be punishing, stranding heat in the already too hot tropics, while robbing northern countries of heat now transported north to keep temperatures temperate, leading to bitter winters. If AMOC collapses, currently a low-probability event, it could trigger massive forced internal and international displacements, ushering in the world’s largest crisis of forced migration ever.

Crossing 2°C will trigger other irreversible impacts too, further amplifying warming through the loss of sea ice and glaciers. The depletion of ice and snow will make the planet darker, resulting in more absorption of incoming solar radiation, amplifying warming by 25% or more.

The good news is that we can avoid this fate if we cut the rate of warming quickly—by 50% within 15 years, which is feasible in two parts.

First, we need to cut the super pollutants of climate. These include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), methane, lower-atmosphere ozone, and black carbon soot from diesel and cooking smoke. These short-lived climate pollutants are called super pollutants because they are tens to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide in heating the planet and are currently contributing more than half of the warming the planet has witnessed. However, and this is crucial—they dissipate from the atmosphere within two decades, whereas carbon dioxide, the best-known climate pollutant, takes multiple decades to a century to significantly decline.

Technologies exist to quickly and affordably reduce the super pollutants. In many cases we have the policies and laws as well. HFCs are being cut through the 2016 Kigali amendment to the successful Montreal Protocol—the treaty that has slowed warming by several decades while restoring the protective stratospheric ozone layer.

Methane pollution is getting more attention recently, including from Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, who is recommending a binding international agreement—inspired by the Montreal Protocol—to prevent the oil and gas industry from wasting natural gas, which is 90% methane. Other local solutions can reduce or even eliminate methane from landfills, starting by reducing food waste. There are many other such practical, off-the-shelf solutions.

The immediate task at hand is to thin the invisible heat‑trapping blanket. If we implement super-pollutant solutions before 2030 and scale to full potential in less than 10 years, the rate of warming can be reduced by 30% by 2040s. But we need to cut the rate of warming by half, i.e. 50%. The super pollutants should be our first target, because the technologies and policies are there and once we put them into action, the blanket thinning will start immediately.

Second, as the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report affirms, we need to focus on removing CO2. The human-made CO2 blanket up there weighs about 1,200 billion tons, and we have to thin it by 5%, or 60 billion tons. Nature-based solutions are currently removing about 2 billion tons per year. Chemical-biological-technological solutions are actively pursued. Scaling to 4 billion tons per year would remove the needed tons in 15 years.

Together, these two measures would halve the rate of warming from today’s nearly 0.4°C per decade to less than 0.2°C per decade. We know of no other measures of thinning the heat-trapping blanket to provide the rapid cooling needed to allow us to survive and thrive. Even with rapid actions, climate disruption will continue for decades. We must make people and ecosystems resilient. Since we are all interconnected, we require global cooperation to make people and ecosystems climate resilient. Toward this global cooperation, we propose creating: One Million Climate Advocates to empower the public to support local and national actions; and One Million Climate Champions to connect civil society, governments, and industries to turn climate mitigation policies into actions at the local to the global level.

It’s time to move forward, always forward. Adelante, Siempre Adelante. Those were among the last words Pope Francis offered one of us (Suárez-Orozco). Not forward when the politics are perfect or opposition relents. Forward now, with the urgency of a species that has finally seen the iceberg but still has time to turn the tiller toward safety.

This article was first published by Legal Planet.

---

### Trump Is Busy Renaming and Remaking the World In His Grotesque Image

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Tom Engelhardt | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-rename-remake.md

Honestly, in this strange world of ours, what is there to write about except, of course, Donald Trump?

Oh, well, as a start, I could write about my country’s war with Iran and the way the militaries of the two countries are going after each other’s naval vessels. Oh, wait, that couldn’t be a more Trumpian subject, could it?

So, maybe I could write about great white sharks, which would certainly be cooler to see than “our” president. But what do I know about great white sharks? (Of course, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that, the moment after I wrote that, I put “Trump, Great White Shark” into my search window and promptly came up with a set of pieces beginning with the Palm Beach Post‘s “President Trump Misses Great White Shark Visit to Mar-a-Lago Waters” and The Guardian’s “Trump Is ‘Obsessed’ and ‘Terrified’ of Sharks—But His Fears Are Excessive.”

Sooner or later, once he’s finished with all the cities, states, and politicians, he could, of course, move on to the rest of our vocabulary and I would be able to Trump you rather than stump you when I write my future pieces.

Or maybe, I could write not about the present disaster of a war in the Strait of Trumpmuz, but the next one my country is likely to face, undoubtedly with Turkey—or do I mean Indonesia, or maybe Turkmenistan, or even perhaps Turkwomenistan (a country still to be created, of course, but that’s no reason not to go to war with it)? And all of them could be turned into Trumpific countries. Still, that’s so boringly unpredictably predictable, don’t you think? I mean, as the old line went, war, what is it good for? And the classic answer (if only!): Absolutely nothing! But in the era of Pete Hegseth and crew, that would need to be changed to: Absolutely everything!

Or maybe I could write about the odds that “my” president might be peached—that is, covered in overly ripe fruit, since in a historic first (or do I mean second?), he’s already been impeached twice to distinctly little effect. So why not try that instead? It makes him sound delicious, don’t you think?

Or perhaps I could focus on the future of mail-out voting, since “my” president is already distinctly (and yes, I just can’t help using that word again) determined to severely limit, if not simply do away with, the mail-in version of the same. Or maybe instead, I could deal with his administration’s likely urge to wipe out any chance of the future creation of an Antarctic Report Card about the second fastest-warming (and melting) area on this planet (and its ice sheet that has existed for a mere 30 million years or so), since his crew has already gone after the latest report on the fastest-warming place of all, the Arctic, by—yes, of course!—ending its funding.

Or, hey, how about if I focus instead on the fate of the US military’s privates, since Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has been taking superior care of its leaders who have been endlessly in the news. After all, he’s already fired or blocked the promotion of more than 80 generals and admirals, or about 10% of its high command (and I don’t have the slightest doubt that he’s just getting started). Sooner or later, when all the generals and admirals are gone, he’ll have to move down the ranks, right? I can’t help but believe that, in the end, he and the rest of his crew in Washington will be eager to fully privatize the military and turn themselves into the missing generals and admirals, or do I mean privates first class?

Or, come to think of it, since Donald Trump (labelled by The Guardian‘s Marina Hyde as this planet’s “most tireless freelance cartographer”) has had the urge not just to rename Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico as Lake America and the Gulf of America, but to dub the state of New Mexico as “New America,” how about if I spend a little time on what I’m sure will be his future renaming efforts. I mean, he’s certainly going to rename New York City (where he, like the author of this piece, was born so long ago) Old Trumpian City; and California as Trumpifornia (and, of course, its governor as Gavin OldTrump); and North and South Carolina as North Trump and South Trump, not to speak of Florida as Florump.

Phew! That was one long sentence and yet we’re undoubtedly only at the start of his renaming process. Sooner or later, once he’s finished with all the cities, states, and politicians, he could, of course, move on to the rest of our vocabulary and I would be able to Trump you rather than stump you when I write my future pieces.

Or, for that matter, I could skip to the president’s dance hall (undoubtedly to be known someday as Trump’s rock and roll) for which he’s already torn down the East Wing of that historically less than interesting building, the White House, or the 250-foot Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck he’s building that will be larger than Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, and instead put my energy into predicting the president’s next major architectural surprise in Washington, DC. Here’s my best guess (and I’ll be shocked if it doesn’t come true): Sometime before his third term in office—and count on him wanting that (to hell with such an ancient and useless document as the Constitution)—he’ll suddenly begin tearing down the West Wing of the White House (including the Oval Office) and in its place will construct a triumphal statue of—but of course, who else?—himself (or rather Himself). It goes without saying that it will be larger not just than the Arc de Triomphe but his own Arch of Triumph. And when he’s done with that, you can count on one thing: There will simply be no way to make our nation’s capital any more statuesque.

Not surprisingly, his White House spokespeople are already praising his construction efforts in Washington, including his magnificently green Trump Memorial Reflecting (or do I mean Deflecting?) Pool. As one of them put it recently, “Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, no other president has done more to beautify our nation’s interior than President Trump.” (And don’t you find it beyond weird, under the circumstances, that, as The Washington Post reports, “nearly 2 in 3, 65% , feel dissatisfied or upset” by his Washington building projects?)

Or what about a possible desire to replace presidentially loathed “birth tourism”—no matter that the Supreme Court last summer ensured babies born here would indeed become US citizens despite every effort by the Trump crew—with something distinctly presidential and much to be loved: “death tourism.” Wouldn’t that be the perfect formula for You Know Who?

Oh, and I don’t think I even mentioned it, but a source within the administration has assured me privately that President Trump is going to end his second term in office and begin his third term—no, the Supreme Court wouldn’t dare stop him!—by renaming himself Donald Trumplincoln and will come to be known in his later years as “Old Don” as his Civil War-era predecessor was known as “Old Abe.” (Whoops, sorry, my mistake! That was an eagle of the Civil War era!) I meant “Honest Abe“ and (Dis)Honest Don.

And none of that, not a bit of it, should seem even faintly surprising from such a distinctly presidential figure.

---

### Australian Officials Investigating OpenAI's Hacking of Country's Universal Healthcare System Portal

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/openai-australia.md

Australian officials said Wednesday that they were investigating what appeared to be the first case of an artificial intelligence agent "autonomously choosing to hack into a government," as one AI oversight group said, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that OpenAI's agents had gained unauthorized access to the country's Medicare system.

Albanese commented on the breach at a United Nations summit as world leaders met in New York for the UN General Assembly. He said that while the hacking incident took place in June, OpenAI only disclosed the episode to the government on September 10—and then only by writing an email to a "public mailbox" that is checked once a day.

On June 18, OpenAI's AI agents were directed to conduct internet research into public health spending using the statistics reporting website for Australia's universal healthcare system, Medicare, which provides government-funded healthcare for 27.5 million people.

The agents were repeatedly blocked from gathering information, and then tried "alternate ways” to gain the data, including by hacking into nonpublic sections of the statistics portal, said Albanese.

The prime minister said the agents accessed “public and non-public files within the portal” by "writing files as well to the internal server." He said the agent had not appeared to gain access to anyone's personal medical data.

“This situation is obviously unacceptable,” Albanese said. “Today, I spoke with the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, to express Australia’s extreme concern about this incident, and I also expressed my disappointment that it took the company way too long to inform the government what had occurred.”

JUST IN: An OpenAI AI agent went rogue and hacked the Australian government.

At a press conference earlier today, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the AI broke into Australia's Medicare statistics portal and accessed non-public data.

The attack occured in… pic.twitter.com/YZuziHGYVt
— ControlAI (@ControlAI) September 24, 2026

The Guardian reported that OpenAI's models had also attempted to breach the websites of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Victorian Department of Health, and the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Officials in Victoria and New South Wales said they were investigating the incidents and that it appeared no personal information had been shared in the breach.

But in the Medicare infiltration, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told ABC Radio on Thursday, OpenAI's agent "sought information, information was not given, and then it effectively hacked into that medical portal and got that information anyway."

“It’s that unauthorized access which we are very concerned about," Marles said.

The AI oversight research lab Transluce also identified previously undisclosed breaches that were attempted by OpenAI's models in May, including the unsuccessful attempted hacking of a digital library at the University of New Mexico and of Data USA, which collects public data on employment and education in the US.

The news of OpenAI's Medicare hack follows several disclosures of other breaches by the company's agents. In July, hundreds of its models escaped from a testing environment and gained unauthorized access to the machine learning company Hugging Face.

Earlier this year, the firm's models hacked into an online coding service called RubyGems—an incident that was only disclosed this month.

The security breaches have led AI executives including Altman to call for a "pacing" of AI development as the technology gains the ability to build the next generation of AI on its own, also known as recursive self-improvement.

Meanwhile, lawmakers including US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have insisted that the industry should be permitted to regulate itself and claimed that strong government regulations will allow China to "overlap us" on AI development.

On Wednesday, US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) introduced a bill to ban AI superintelligence, which "exceeds human cognitive performance and capabilities across most domains, or has sufficient capabilities to destroy or disempower humanity, including by overthrowing the federal government.”

Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan is among those who have emphasized that AI firms can and must face legal liability for damage done by their products.

"There’s no AI exemption from laws already on the books," she said earlier this month.

Lizzie O'Shea, spokesperson for the Australian group Digital Rights Watch, said Thursday that the Medicare breach, and OpenAI's failure to alert the government until months later, show that "basic rules and standards for tech companies" are needed.

"There have to be guardrails and safety measures in place which are way ahead of the capability which is being developed," said O'Shea. "Artificial intelligence has potential to do some things well, but it also poses huge risks—like hacking systems that store Australians’ sensitive personal data... The question is whether governments are going to let AI and tech companies run wild or whether they, on behalf of ordinary people, will put rules in place for tech companies that will promote accountability and trust.”

---

### Trump White House Restores Access to Politico, MS NOW, CNN Reporters Hours After Judge's Order

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/judge-reverses-trump-media-ban.md

Update (1:30 pm ET):

Journalists from Politico, MS NOW, and CNN said their access to the White House has been restored, hours after they were denied access to the complex despite a federal judge's Thursday morning order temporarily reversing President Donald Trump's ban on the outlets.

The director of the White House's press operations attested in a court filing that the administration had restored the outlets' access:

BREAKING: White House attests that access for POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW was restored as of 9:55am.https://t.co/32pQuZ1NmB pic.twitter.com/CZTqpJQeb9
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 24, 2026

Earlier (8:40 am ET):

Trump administration officials denied Politico, MS NOW, and CNN reporters access to the White House complex on Thursday morning, in blatant violation of a federal judge's decision ordering President Donald Trump to immediately reverse his ban on the three outlets.

US District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, ordered the White House in an early Thursday ruling to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" press passes to reporters from the three outlets.

Politico reported that its journalist had "his press credentials confiscated" upon trying to enter the White House complex hours after Kelly's ruling.

Laura Barrón-López, a White House reporter for MS NOW, said she was also denied access to the White House. She said a Secret Service agent confiscated her press badge after it failed to scan properly.

Barrón-López said it is "not clear, based on the interaction that I had, whether or not this is a defiance... of the court order, or it's some kind of incompetence or lag in the system where they have not updated our press badges."

Watch her account:

MS NOW reports that their White House reproter was denied access to the White House this morning despite a court order demanding she have access pic.twitter.com/wqUiB413jV
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2026

According to CNN, one of its reporters and a photojournalist were "denied access to the White House grounds" early Thursday.

"There was no reason provided for the refusal and CNN will continue to try to gain access as regular business hours start," the outlet added.

Earlier:

A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to immediately restore White House access to CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, prominent media outlets that the president banned last week.

Timothy Kelly, a Trump-appointed judge for the US District Court in Washington, DC, granted the media outlets' request for a temporary restraining order as the legal fight continues. Kelly ruled that the outlets showed "a likelihood of success" on their claim that the president's ban and revocation of reporters' press credentials violated the Fifth Amendment's due process protections.

The judge rejected the Trump administration's claim that the president's ban on the three outlets was necessary to protect national security.

"The court is skeptical—at least on this record—that defendants’ interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes," Kelly wrote. "The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds."

Trump's initial announcement of the ban, on September 18, said nothing about national security. The president vaguely accused the outlets he has long attacked of publishing "FICTION and LIES."

In letters submitted to the court as part of the ongoing legal fight over the ban, the White House press office cited examples of reporting from the three outlets that it claimed damaged US national security.

In its letter to CNN, the White House points to the outlet's reporting on "construction details related to the East Wing bunker" and a story on the US military's bombing of an Iranian elementary school.

Ted Boutrous, the lawyer representing the news outlets, welcomed Kelly's decision to grant the temporary restraining order, which will be in effect for 14 days.

"This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process, and the rule of law," Boutrous said. "We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action."

Kelly ordered the Trump administration to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" White House press passes to reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico.

It's unclear how swiftly the news outlets will resume their typical coverage of the White House following the judge's order. Earlier this week, a White House event was broadcast with no audio after the administration dropped CNN from its TV press pool duties, prompting other major networks to ditch pool coverage in solidarity with CNN.

On Wednesday, when Trump greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival in the US, no major TV network captured the moment.

"Other television outlets whose crews were present, according to signs on their tripods and cameras, were NewsNation, Newsmax, Right Side Broadcasting Network, One America News, and LindellTV," The Associated Press reported.

---

### 'Massive Exhale': Survivors Relieved as Weinstein Gets 15 Years for New York Sex Crime Conviction

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/weinstein-sentenced-to-15-years.md

Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting former assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haley in 2006, prompting expressions of relief from survivors and advocates after nearly a decade of legal battles—and calls to improve how such cases are handled so that the process does not punish victims.

The sentence, handed down by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber, adds to the prison time Weinstein has already served and follows his conviction last year for committing a first-degree criminal sexual act. With three separate felony sex crime convictions stemming from his 2022 California case still standing, Wednesday’s conviction marks the 74-year-old's fourth extant felony.

In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years behind bars after a New York jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting Haley and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann—but those convictions were overturned in 2024, sparking widespread anguish and outrage.

“Having been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein has had a devastating effect on my life and sense of security that may never go away. Making the decision to speak up will have me looking over my shoulder for years to come," Haley—who testified at both New York trials—told the court Wednesday in her pre-sentencing victim impact statement. "It’s a life sentence for me."

No survivor should have to relive their most difficult moments to be heard, yet so many showed incredible bravery. We're grateful to @manhattanda.bsky.social for pursuing justice and the survivors who stood through such a challenging process to bring accountability to light. We stand with you ❤️

— Safe Horizon (@safehorizon.bsky.social) September 23, 2026 at 1:02 PM

Haley—who had worked briefly on the Weinstein-produced reality show “Project Runway"—described the years of litigation, public scrutiny, and attacks on her credibility as deeply damaging. She said that she often considered dropping the case, a process she called one of the most difficult decisions of her life.

Prosecutors had sought a 20-year sentence, arguing that Weinstein had shown no genuine remorse and continued to portray himself as the victim, and that he had used private investigators and other intimidation tactics against Haley.

After Weinstein's sentence was announced, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg praised Haley and other survivors for their perseverance through the lengthy process.

“Today was about the survivors,” Bragg said. “Ms. Haley, her remarks were powerful, moving, and eloquent.”

Weinstein—who is expected to appeal—also addressed the court before Farber imposed the sentence. He apologized for causing Haley pain but again professed his innocence.

“I am not a perfect person. I live with many regrets and sincerely apologize for my actions," he said. “I do have remorse for Miriam Haley’s pain, but I have to reiterate my innocence.”

Farber wasn't having it, calling Weinstein "the literal face of the #MeToo movement."

A 2017 New York Times investigation into Weinstein led to a flood of allegations against him and others—sparking a #MeToo movement that featured a phrase coined by survivor and activist Tarana Burke more than a decade earlier.

“You had it all,” the judge said. “Your legacy could have been cemented with greatness. But you threw it all away by assaulting Miriam Haley.”

In June 2025, a Manhattan jury convicted Weinstein of first-degree criminal sexual act, a felony, for forcibly sexually assaulting Haley at his Manhattan apartment in 2006. He was acquitted of a separate first-degree charge involving former model Kaja Sokola. The jury deadlocked on the third charge, involving Mann's 2013 rape, resulting in a mistrial.

In California, Weinstein was convicted of felony rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual penetration by a foreign object stemming from a 2013 assault. Originally sentenced to 16 years, a California appeals court upheld the convictions in June while ordering a pending resentencing.

Rose McGowan, one of Weinstein’s most prominent accusers and a major figure in the #MeToo era, posted an Instagram video reacting to the sentence.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rose McGowan - Rosa Arianna (@rosemcgowan)

“It’s done. I can’t really adequately explain what this is like, what this feels like,” McGowan said. “It’s too strange and surreal and massive exhale and massive fucking yes.”

“Enough,” she added. “Years stolen from so many of us. Thank you to the women in New York. You did this."

Gloria Allred, Haley's attorney, said that "Mimi underwent a trial by fire twice, and prevailed both times, unlike any other person in the 'MeToo' movement."

"Mimi is a true hero. She has survived all attempts both inside and outside of court to discredit her or question her motives,” Allred added. “To describe Mimi as courageous is an understatement. She faced her fears and overcame them.”

Elisa Batista, campaign director at the women-led gender justice group UltraViolet, said in a statement that “Harvey Weinstein, like so many powerful abusers, thought the system would enable and protect him forever. That era is over."

"This victory belongs to courageous survivors like Miriam Haley, Kaja Sokola, and Jessica Mann who came forward at great personal risk to tell their stories, as well as those abused by Weinstein who were unable to," Batista continued.

“Thankfully, justice was delivered. But our work doesn’t end here," she stressed. "Across the country, it’s still the case that a majority of survivors of sexual abuse are often not served by our courts,” said Batista. “We will continue to stand with survivors and fight the systems that enable and protect abusers—whether in Hollywood, the workplace, the White House, or anywhere else.”

Haley left the courthouse Wednesday surrounded by supporters, including other Weinstein accusers and Allred.

NEW YORK: Miriam Haley, alongside her attorney Gloria Allred, spoke to the press after Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Haley said she “appreciated Judge Farber’s statement,” adding that she believed the “sentence was fair” and that she is “happy with it.” https://t.co/82CwIjRwXh pic.twitter.com/bN1M5DPlxX
— Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) September 23, 2026

“This being so public, for this having gone on for so long," she said, "it’s been really, really tough."

The US National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), by texting "START" to 88788, or through chat at thehotline.org. It offers 24/7, free, and confidential support. DomesticShelters.org has a list of global and national resources.

---

### Senate Democrats Push Sanctions Over E1 Settlement Construction in Israeli-Occupied West Bank

**Published:** September 24, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/e1-settlement.md

Nineteen US Senate Democrats on Wednesday introduced a bill to sanction people or companies that facilitate the construction of Israeli settlements in the E1 area east of Jerusalem in the West Bank, which would split the illegally occupied Palestinian territory in two.

"The E1 settlement project is a move towards de facto annexation of the West Bank, and those who choose to facilitate settlement construction should understand that they risk losing access to the US financial system," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is leading the legislation with Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

"The United States must use all diplomatic and economic tools available to counter rapid settlement expansion and extremist settler violence in the West Bank, spiraling trends that will only undermine the prospect of lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians," she argued.

Critics of the plan to build 3,401 housing units in the E1 area—and recent unprecedented violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers toward Palestinians in the West Bank—have pressured governments across the globe to respond with sanctions. In the face of such pressure, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said earlier this month that the E1 plan was designed to "make the two-state solution unviable."

Within the next nine months, Miliband pledged, the United Kingdom's Labour government will "take action against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion," and penalize “those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements."

The United Kingdom, France, and Canada have joined forces to ban imports of goods and some services from illegal Israeli settlements. Their foreign ministers also partnered with those from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden for a joint statement in which they said the situation in the West Bank is "rapidly deteriorating amid unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project."

The foreign ministers confirmed their "intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures."

In the United States on Wednesday, Wyden took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is heading to New York City this week for the United Nations General Assembly, which has sparked fresh calls for his arrest in accordance with an International Criminal Court warrant issued over his government's genocidal war on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"Benjamin Netanyahu's disgraceful policy of expanding West Bank settlements crosses a clear red line and makes Palestinian statehood and lasting peace even more difficult," said Wyden. "The United States must stand up against Netanyahu's campaign of violence and aggression against Palestinian civilians and sanction individuals and companies that are complicit in this unlawful action."

Under both Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden, the US has given Israel billions of dollars in military support, despite the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

As the Trump administration pushes a proposed $2.8 billion transfer of 40,000 2,000-pound bombs to Israel—weapons Israeli forces have dropped on civilians in Gaza and Lebanon—polling commissioned by the magazine Liberal Currents and released Monday by the Center for Strategic Politics shows that Americans want Trump and Biden officials held accountable for the genocide.

Although a growing number of lawmakers have joined scholars and rights advocates around the world in condemning Israel's war on Gaza since the October 2023 Hamas-led attack as a genocide, Congress hasn't taken any concrete action to limit military aid to Israel.

The bill unveiled Wednesday is similarly unlikely to go anywhere—even though, as Gallego noted, "for decades, Democrats and Republicans alike have pushed for a two-state solution," and the Israeli construction would "threaten a viable Palestinian state."

"It's a step in the wrong direction," Gallego said of the settlement plan. "This legislation sends a clear message to Prime Minister Netanyahu: The United States stands firmly behind a two-state solution as the only path to real peace and security for all."

Coons—a "staunch" longtime supporter of Israel—pointed out that "for decades, American presidents from both parties have warned successive Israeli governments that construction in E1 threatened the viability of a Palestinian state and was unacceptable to the United States."

However, even if Democrats win back control of the Senate, or perhaps both congressional chambers, in November's midterm elections, there appears to be little appetite within the Trump administration to do or say anything about the E1 plan.

After the European nations' moves earlier this month, Politico highlighted that "the White House's approach to US allies hitting Israeli settlers with sanctions comes down to this: Say as little as possible and let it happen."

Still, according to Coons, "as Palestinian civilians face a campaign of devastation and fear from violent extremist settlers, the United States must send a strong message that this behavior is unacceptable and that it remains committed to freedom, security, prosperity and self-determination for all Israelis and Palestinians."

The bill is backed by the liberal Zionist organization J Street, whose president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, also pointed to previous administrations treating E1 construction "as a clear red line because of the devastating blow it would deal to the possibility of a negotiated resolution to the conflict," and called Trump's failure to enforce that same standard "shameful."

"We applaud Sen. Coons, Warren, Wyden, and Gallego for taking a clear stand to preserve the possibility of peace and long-term security for Israelis and Palestinians," said Ben-Ami, whose group opposes broad boycotts of Israel.

In addition to the four lead sponsors, the bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Martin Heinrich (NM), Tim Kaine (Va.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Andy Kim (NJ), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Jack Reed (RI), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), and Peter Welch (Vt.).

Khaled Elgindy, a senior research fellow in the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft's Middle East program and adjunct instructor at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, offered some criticism of the bill.

"The 'individuals or groups' enabling E1 is called the Israeli ," Elgindy wrote on social media. "This looks like another attempt by D's to look like they're doing something without actually doing something."

---

### 'Historic': Seattle Passes First City Ban on AI-Enabled Surveillance Pricing

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Olivia Rosane | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/seattle-ban-surveillance-pricing.md

Seattle became the first city in the country to ban surveillance pricing on Tuesday afternoon after the City Council voted 7-2 to approve a measure co-sponsored and championed by progressive Mayor Katie Wilson.

The Fair Pricing and Transparency policy bans big retail outlets—both online and brick-and-mortar—from using customer data such as race, gender, employment status, internet or social media history, and conversations with chatbots to charge different shoppers different prices for the same products.

“Food is an essential good that’s getting more expensive all the time,” Wilson said in a statement celebrating the win. “People have been clear: They don’t want their data fed into algorithms that decide how much they pay at the grocery store. Everyone deserves transparent pricing and equal treatment, not hidden systems that charge some shoppers more than others.”

“I don’t think we could do that without the kind of mayor that was elected and the moment that we’re in."

Surveillance pricing is the practice of feeding shopper data to artificial intelligence, which then sets distinct prices for different customers based on what the AI thinks they can afford. A 2025 investigation from Consumer Reports, Groundwork Collaborative, and More Perfect Union found that the practice could add $1,200 a year to the average Seattle family’s grocery bill.

“This is a huge win for consumers against companies that abuse their personal data to rip them off,” former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said on social media in response to the news.

Seattle just became the first city in America to ban grocery stores from engaging in surveillance pricing.

This is a huge win for consumers against companies that abuse their personal data to rip them off.

Watch former FTC Chair Lina Khan explain. pic.twitter.com/TxAJGFy7H2
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 23, 2026

Grace Gedye, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, said in a statement: “Nobody should pay more for basic necessities because a data broker is quietly collecting information about what they’re searching for online, what they hover over, what their income is, or where they go. The price you see shouldn’t be different based on who you are. Mayor Wilson and the City Council have made Seattle a leader on protecting shoppers from unfair grocery pricing tactics with this bill. We commend this work.”

The Seattle ordinance comes amid an ongoing affordability crisis as grocery prices spike while President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have slashed the budget of crucial federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). At the same time, there is a growing national backlash against AI and Big Tech, with 78% of Americans favoring mandatory regulation of the technology. The ban on surveillance pricing follows a data center moratorium passed by the Seattle City Council in June.

Maya Morales, the founder of WA People’s Privacy and one of the organizers mobilizing grassroots support for the measure, told Common Dreams that harder day-to-day living conditions were leading to a "national shift” in awareness of how Big Tech and Big Retail make life even more difficult, likely enabling a major tech city like Seattle to take a stand against surveillance pricing.

“People are feeling the heat very intensely all over the nation, so in many ways it doesn't surprise me that this would be the moment that we could get this done, because the harms are so obvious,” she said.

Progressive City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, another co-sponsor of and key advocate for the bill, also emphasized the importance of food security.

“Groceries are getting more expensive for everyday Seattleites, while the buying, selling, and leveraging our private information to manipulate prices is making big national grocery corporations millions in profit,” Rinck said in a statement. “This legislation is intended to put some guardrails on what big businesses can do with our personal information. At a time when SNAP reductions have rocked our community and people have less to spend on food, this is an important step we can take to prevent AI-assisted price gouging and ensure fair discounts for everyone.”

The measure was also co-sponsored by Councilmembers Dionne Foster and Rob Saka and backed by labor and community groups including WA People’s Privacy, Washington Working Families Party, Transit Riders Union, Lavender Rights Project, Queer Power Alliance, Washington Fair Trade Coalition, The Nexus of Privacy, MLK Labor, Consumer Reports, and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 3000.

Grocery workers supported the measure in part because they would be likely to take the brunt of customer complaints if a shopper sees that they are being charged differently than the person next to them at the self checkout. They were also concerned about their own food bills remaining affordable.

“Passing the strongest ban on AI-powered price gouging on groceries feels historic,” Seattle grocery store worker Kristen Wilder said in a statement. “My coworkers and the customers we serve proudly stood together to stop the grocery industry from imposing this scheme here in Seattle. Today that worked paid off for families who just want to know they’re paying a fair price and for workers who want to focus on customer service instead of defending some algorithm making decisions in a black box.”

In addition to fighting food insecurity, Morales emphasized that the measure “takes a little bit of a crack” at the privacy violations enabled by AI and embraced at the federal level as a way of targeting people of color, immigrants, sex workers, low-income and LGBTQ+ people, and other vulnerable groups.

“AI harms are generally privacy and surveillance harms,” Morales said, because “AI needs data in order to work. Mass commercial data surveillance is the reason we have AI and vice versa, and that is an infinite loop.”

However, from a privacy standpoint Morales said there was one disappointing aspect of the bill: an amendment passed to specify that nothing in the law prohibited “technology used solely for security, loss prevention, safety, fraud prevention, fraud detection, or compliance with law.” Morales said this provision was unnecessary because the bill’s language had been very clear that it was focused on pricing. She was also concerned it could open up loopholes, as it is difficult to prove a given technology is only being used for one purpose, and a grocery store might then be able to introduce an invasive surveillance technology—such as shopping baskets that track customers—under the guise of fighting shoplifting.

Because of that amendment, Morales told Common Dreams, “we managed to get a privacy win on pricing but not a privacy win at the grocery store.”

That said, five other corporate “bill-gutting” amendments were voted down, which Morales called a “spectacular win,” and the overall bill was itself an important victory.

Both Morales, and Jon of The Nexus of Privacy, credited the bill’s strength and ability to resist watering down in part to Wilson, who worked with stakeholders including smaller grocery outlets, labor, and community groups to build a coalition and write a strong ordinance from the get-go. Morales noted that Wilson came to office from an organizing background, and that she and Rinck did a good job of bringing grassroots organizations into the process to secure a victory, allowing Seattle policymakers to counter powerful local technology and retail interests.

“I don’t think we could do that without the kind of mayor that was elected and the moment that we’re in,” Morales said.

There is now hope that the bill would have statewide and even national implications. A surveillance pricing ban was introduced into the Washington Legislature in 2026 but failed to advance.

Morales said a legislative win at the local level can show state lawmakers: "This can be done. You don’t have to cave to the Big Retail and Tech lobby, and you can protect people.”

On a national level, Jon of The Nexus of Privacy wrote:

This huge win will help organizers in other cities and states... across the country. Industry had killed a surveillance pricing bill in California just a couple of weeks ago, and they've stalled New York's surveillance pricing bill for months... but guess what, they're not invincible! And as well as the strong legislation providing... a model of what's possible, the Seattle coalition's very successful tactics can hopefully be adapted by organizers elsewhere to reflect the dynamics wherever they are.

As Morales told Common Dreams, “I hope every city will pass something like this.”

---

### Critics Warn Trump-Backed Diesel Export Ban Could Further Drive US Economy Into the Ground

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-diesel-export-ban.md

In an effort to blunt price hikes from his war with Iran, President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing a 90-day ban on diesel exports from the United States.

The cost of diesel—which is used to power semitrucks, trains, construction and farm equipment, and other large machines—has soared since Trump launched the war at the end of February, prompting Iran to restrict oil shipments through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

As of Wednesday, according to the American Automobile Association, average US diesel prices have jumped to $6.52 per gallon, a 77% increase from last year. Over the past month, as Trump has ramped up hostilities with Iran, prices have risen by 91 cents a gallon, a 16.2% increase.

Heightened diesel prices increase the cost of everything else—including food, transportation, and other energy sources. And while Trump claimed earlier this month to be bringing prices "way down, way, way down,” the latest federal data show consumer prices rising 0.4% in August—four times July’s monthly increase—and 3.4% over the past year.

With the midterms less than two months away and many voters blaming Trump for the strain on their pocketbooks, several GOP members of Congress, including some facing tough Senate races, such as Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Rep. Ashley Hinson (Iowa), have cheered the idea.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump told reporters: "I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. It could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline because when you do that, you know, it’s a sort of a flow. It’s a balance. But no, I’ve called for it. I’ve called for it within my people. I’ve been talking about it.”

But while the plan may help to keep diesel prices down for long enough to help Republicans stop the bleeding before November, some economists are warning that it could make things much worse in the long term.

“The US Gulf Coast would get a temporary pump price dip, at the cost of likely higher coastal prices and eventually, higher prices for everyone as investment gets scared away," explained Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House energy adviser under the administration of former President George W. Bush.

"You would get a short-term, abrupt collapse in pump prices” in some regions, McNally said, but “the US would shatter its reputation as a safe place to invest for a generation.”

Energy economist Philip Verleger said that a ban, even if temporary, "would have the same long-term effect as President Nixon’s soybean embargo: the world would no longer view the United States as a dependable source.”

Speaking to Reuters, Verleger warned that in an already undersupplied market, removing US barrels could potentially double global prices.

But the short term seems to be all Trump and those around him pushing the ban are considering. An oil industry executive who discussed the proposed ban with White House officials told Politico that Trump viewed any fallout as “a December problem.”

He said that "cooler heads" in the White House have been "overpowered" by the "political camp" that has a "sky-is-falling, we-have-to-do-something concern about prices at the pump."

Lorne Stockman, research director at Oil Change International, argued that there was a much simpler solution: ending the war that has caused oil prices to spike in the first place.

"The proposed diesel export ban is a short-sighted 'America First' response to a global crisis his reckless war helped create," Stockman said. "The US exports about 5% of global diesel, and a ban risks turning a severe shortage into a global economic disaster."

"It could send international prices soaring, drive up the cost of food, fertilizer, and essential goods, deepen hunger, and push already-struggling economies toward recession," he continued. "At the same time, it would likely do nothing for people in the US, as refineries would cut production and gasoline prices would rise even further."

He said, "Congress should use its constitutional powers to stop Trump’s war, tax the oil industry’s soaring windfall profits, and support farmers and other hard-hit sectors, and accelerate renewable energy and electrification, not hoard fuel and force the rest of the world to pay the price.”

---

### 58% of US Women Who Need Cheap Birth Control Could Lose Access Due to GOP Attacks on Planned Parenthood

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/birth-control-planned-parenthood.md

Data released Wednesday by the Guttmacher Institute and Power to Decide shows "the stark and brutal reality that awaits patients across the country" if Republican lawmakers in Congress fulfill their goal of "defunding" Planned Parenthood, which provides contraceptive counseling and services to millions of patients per year, as well as other essential healthcare services.

As part of the publicly funded contraceptive care network that's been in place for over half a century, the Guttmacher Institute said, Planned Parenthood's healthcare centers served 1.6 million—roughly a third—of the 4.7 million patients who needed access to affordable family planning centers in 2020.

But with the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress aiming to remove Planned Parenthood facilities from the network, as many as 12.4 million women who need low-cost or free birth control could have their access sharply reduced, as they live in counties that would be affected by the GOP cuts.

Millions in the US rely on @ppfa.org for affordable birth control. If Planned Parenthood was removed from the publicly funded contraceptive care system, 12.4 million women in need of low- or no-cost #BirthControl would be affected.More in our research with @powertodecide.bsky.social: gu.tt/4y5ai5M

— Guttmacher (@guttmacher.org) September 23, 2026 at 4:17 PM

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act brought the GOP "closer than ever" to stripping Planned Parenthood of funding—which comes not from a "blank check from the federal or state government," as Republicans have often suggested, but largely from reimbursements for care clinics provide to patients who have Medicaid or who are eligible for free or reduced-fee services through Title X.

The law included an effective ban on Medicare reimbursements to Planned Parenthood clinics for one year, and just over a year since its passage, nearly 30 of the organization's health centers have closed.

If Republicans succeed in further cutting off funds to Planned Parenthood, 58% of women who need access to affordable or free birth control would be affected, said Guttmacher.

The West would be the hardest-hit region in the country, with 4.1 million women losing access to contraceptives in 94 counties.

Nearly 30 counties across the US would be left with no publicly funded contraceptive provider at all.

“When President Trump and his backers in Congress say they want to shut down Planned Parenthood, they mean it," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. "And when we say the consequences of stopping people from being able to get the healthcare they need are catastrophic, we mean it too."

"This is not a hypothetical, and we’re not playing make-believe," she added. "There is no replacement for Planned Parenthood health centers or the essential, lifesaving care they provide. Women, their families, and entire communities will suffer.”

Amy Friedrich-Karnik, director of federal policy for Guttmacher, said the data released by the group "demonstrates why policymakers and advocates must stand together in strong defense of Planned Parenthood and all providers of quality and affordable sexual and reproductive healthcare.”

“As politically motivated attacks against Planned Parenthood have resulted in shuttered clinics and real harms to patients," she said, "it is increasingly important to study the critical role that Planned Parenthood plays in the publicly funded healthcare system and why attacks on these health centers are so devastating."

---

### ‘Trump Vanity Calculator’ Spotlights President's Abuse of $1.8 Billion in Taxpayer Funds

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-vanity-projects-cost.md

Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday released a report calculating that taxpayer funding for President Donald Trump's vanity projects has soared to more than $1.8 billion.

Renovations made to the White House—including the president's luxury ballroom—are the biggest projected expenses, as the analysis cites reporting from The Washington Post last month to estimate that they will cost $927 million.

After the White House renovations, the second-most expensive Trump vanity project highlighted in the report is the estimated $400 million that will be required to provide security upgrades to the luxury jet the president received as a gift from the Qatari government.

The report finds that taxpayers will also be on the hook for $257 in renovations to the the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, which the president has threatened to tear down unless he is allowed to slap his name on the side of the building.

The president's "Triumphal Arch" monument is another big-ticket item, as the report calculates it will cost $100 million to construct. Trump's infamously botched attempt to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, meanwhile, is set to cost taxpayers $16 million.

The Democrats on the JEC also released a Trump Vanity Calculator, an online tool that shows the opportunity costs of the president's assorted projects.

Among other things, the calculator shows that the $1.8 billion spent on the projects would be enough to pay for more than 607 million school lunches, or 117,000 additional Head Start slots, or 246,000 Pell Grants.

Redirecting the spending on the Trump projects would also be enough to restore funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—which were cut as part of the Republican Party's 2025 budget law—for over 429,000 families.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), ranking member of the JEC, said the report shows that Trump "has wasted taxpayer dollars on projects that benefit himself instead of the American people."

“Trump’s abuse of taxpayer dollars is especially egregious at a time when families are grappling with high costs for rent, groceries, childcare, and other necessities," Hassan said. "President Trump admits that he doesn’t think about the financial situation of Americans, and the American people can see that; instead, he thinks about how he can use their money to build gold-plated monuments to himself."

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump promised to cut Americans' energy costs in half while keeping the country out of foreign wars.

In February, Trump launched an illegal war against Iran without any congressional authorization that has sent energy prices skyrocketing, including record-high prices for diesel fuel.

Through it all, Trump has continued touting his vanity projects, including the aforementioned ballroom and arch, even as polls show that the high cost of living is American voters' biggest concern.

With the midterm elections just six weeks away, a survey released by CNN on Wednesday shows that just 24% of Americans say that Trump has the right priorities as president, while two-thirds say he has worsened economic conditions in the country.

---

### 'The Powerful Fear Us': Spain's Sánchez and NYC's Mamdani Join Hands Against Right-Wing Fascism

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/the-powerful-fear-us-spain-s-sanchez-and-nyc-s-mamdani-join-hands-against-right-wing-fascism.md

As New York City plays host to nearly 130 world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly, progressive Mayor Zohran Mamdani is making a point of meeting with a number of international politicians who share his commitment to “building an economy for the many"—the official theme of a Wednesday morning breakfast he held at Gracie Mansion, where Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was a key guest.

The event gave the two leaders an opportunity to discuss, as the prime minister said on social media, "more jobs, better wages, less inequality."

"Social justice is not the enemy of economic growth," he said.

Sánchez spoke to a group of assembled leaders—including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, a fierce critic of government inaction on the climate emergency and inequality, and socialist European Council President António Costa—about Spain's economic policies, such as a 66% increase in the national minimum wage over the past eight years.

“Spain is showing that another economic model is possible, and New York is demonstrating that the same ambition can transform our cities," said Sánchez, who represents the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. "That is why the powerful fear us, because every day we show that there is another possible path and that it works."

“We were told that if you want growth, you have to accept inequality. That the workers have to make sacrifices. That if you want to be competitive, you have to have low wages and bad public services. I never believed it," Sánchez added. "Spain has shown that it was not true. We have raised the by 66%. We were told it would destroy jobs, but we have more workers than ever. One in every two jobs created in Europe are Spanish. We were told that with clean energy we would be less competitive. Now we have 60% and the cheapest energy. They always tell us that are not going to work. The reality is that they do work for ordinary people."

The policies of Sánchez and Mamdani have angered right-wing leaders, including President Donald Trump. The president threatened Spain with a trade embargo earlier this year when Sánchez refused to allow US war planes to refuel at Spanish military bases as the US and Israel waged war on Iran.

Administration officials also condemned Sánchez's pro-immigration stance in July when migrants from Africa entered the self-governing Spanish city of Ceuta. The prime minister offered hundreds of thousands of migrants a chance at permanent legal residency in Spain earlier this year, contrasting with Trump's violent mass deportation campaign.

"Migration has made Spain stronger," said Sánchez on Wednesday. "Migration makes us a better country. No question."

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:

Migration has made Spain stronger. Economically, socially, culturally, migrants work in our companies, contribute to our public finances, sustain our welfare state and enrich our communities. Migration makes us a better country. No question.

This… pic.twitter.com/3GEIy7IWtR
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 23, 2026

Without mentioning Trump by name, he added: "This matters because there are politicians on both sides of the Atlantic trying to convince working people that their problem is another working person—someone born somewhere else, someone who earns even less than they do. It is one of the oldest political tricks in history: Make people look sideways so they never look up."

While appearing to admire the charismatic and ultrapopular Mamdani—whose 69% approval rating among his constituents contrasts sharply with the 29% of Americans who currently support the president—Trump has railed against recent electoral victories of politicians who share Mamdani's commitment to universal, government-funded social services, raising taxes on billionaires, and ensuring life is affordable for working people.

In June, he called democratic socialists like Mamdani "the most serious threat to our country since its existence," and during Mamdani's mayoral campaign, the candidate confronted border czar Tom Homan over Trump's anti-immigration agenda.

At the Wednesday morning event, where Mamdani praised Sánchez for sending a message through his minimum wage policy that "work matters... dignity matters," the mayor said that working together, the two leaders and other progressives in power can build "a better world, bringing the movement for equality and justice to more distant horizons.”

Costa, who served as the prime minister of Portugal, added on social media that "in an interdependent world, we need coordinated solutions to global and local challenges."

"That is why we must defend international law and multilateral institutions like the UN," said Costa. "And that is why we must put the well-being of our citizens at the center of our policies."

“It is truly a privilege to be able to learn from one another, emulate each other's successes, and develop strategies that imitate the great progress those in this room have achieved," said Mamdani at the event.

The mayor has also met with progressive mayors from Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Mexico City, and other cities to discuss housing, migration, and climate policies. On Tuesday, he visited a New York City public school with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and the two leaders discussed limiting artificial intelligence in education.

---

### With 'Blood-Soaked War Criminal' Set to Land in Mamdani's NYC, Calls Grow to Arrest Netanyahu

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/netanyahu-arrest-calls-2026.md

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to land in New York for a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, calls are once again mounting for the accused war criminal to be arrested.

While campaigning last year, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged that if the prime minister ever set foot in his city, he'd find himself in handcuffs, pursuant to an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, which accused him of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where Israel's genocidal military assault has killed nearly 74,000 people, including more than 21,000 children.

After becoming mayor, Mamdani backed off the pledge earlier this summer, stating that New York lacked the “independent legal authority” to detain him under the ICC warrant. However, he said Netanyahu should still be "arrested and tried" by the federal government.

In the days leading up to his visit to New York, which is expected to be brief, Netanyahu indicated he planned to address the mayor during his General Assembly speech, falsely accusing him of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jewish New Yorkers.

“I'm coming to the UN,” the prime minister said. “I'm going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I'm going to tell the truth about you."

Mamdani hit back during a CNN interview on Tuesday: "I have been clear about the way that I see the world. And I always owe New Yorkers that honesty. And when it comes to Benjamin Netanyahu, I have described him as I believe him to be: a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people."

Of the ICC warrant, he reiterated that it was "something that should be honored, because what we want to see... is a faith in our politics, a faith in accountability."

In July, a YouGov poll found that 49% of Americans believed the US government should arrest Netanyahu under the warrant, 27% said it should not, and 23% were unsure.

President Donald Trump stated earlier this summer that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form" while visiting the US. His administration's position, as stated in a February 2025 executive order, is that Netanyahu can't be arrested. The ICC, it says, “has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel” because, unlike most other nations, neither is a party to the Rome Statute, which created the court.

Jake Romm, a legal adviser for the Hind Rajab Foundation—a group named after a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces—argued Tuesday in The Nation that even if the ICC warrant can't be enforced on US soil, it "is not the only tool available to the US when it comes to holding Netanyahu accountable."

Romm noted the existence of "two robust federal criminal statutes," the War Crimes Act and the Genocide Statute, which he said incorporate "important international instruments into US law"—the Geneva Convention governing the laws of war and the Genocide Convention, respectively.

He wrote that both of these laws give the US jurisdiction over alleged war criminals “regardless of where the crimes have been committed” when the suspect is physically present in the US, or the crimes were committed against US nationals.

Romm acknowledged that Netanyahu is shielded from arrest during his official UN visit and that sitting heads of government generally enjoy immunity from national courts, but argued that those protections do not eliminate the United States' underlying authority to prosecute him under federal war crimes and genocide laws.

"The United States has the ability to arrest Netanyahu for crimes under US law and to prosecute him in US courts," Romm wrote. "I stress this not because I believe that an administration that has, at every turn, deepened its complicity in Israel’s crimes will suddenly change. I stress the US’s ability and obligation to arrest Netanyahu—and all Israeli perpetrators of the genocides in Palestine and southern Lebanon—in order to make one thing clear: Every day that Netanyahu remains free is a day that the US has allowed him to remain free."

It's not just the United States that has allowed Netanyahu to travel freely despite the warrant. Emma Fourreau, a French member of the European Parliament, accused her nation's government—which is obligated to arrest Netanyahu under the Rome Statute—of having "trample on international law" by giving his aircraft clearance to pass through its airspace en route to New York.

Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN human rights official who resigned in 2023 while accusing Israel of carrying out a “textbook genocide” in Gaza, said the fact that Netanyahu would be showing up at the UN unencumbered, even while being "universally despised, and blocked from travel to most countries on the planet," was a "stain" on the entire institution.

"He will even be allowed to enter UN premises and to address the , received as a VIP rather than the blood-soaked war criminal that he is," Mokhiber said on social media, describing it as one of many failures of the institution to respond to Israel's actions in Gaza.

He noted that the General Assembly had not stripped Israel of its credentials as it did with apartheid-era South Africa, that the UN Security Council had endorsed the Trump-led "Board of Peace" proposal to govern postwar Gaza, and that Secretary-General António Guterres had declined to use the word "genocide" to describe Israel's conduct, even while other top UN experts had.

"The genocidaires are not just walking among us, they are ruling over us. They are trying to normalize genocide and apartheid," Mokhiber said. "We, in our millions, must act to denormalize these scourges, to hold the perpetrators and accomplices accountable, and to ensure they never have a moment’s peace until justice prevails."

---

### In Defiant UN Speech, Iranian President Says US and Israel Are the Real Terrorists

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-accuses-us-of-terrorism.md

Iran's president used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday to turn Washington's decades-old assertion that his country is the world's leading terrorist state on its head by accusing the US—which has killed and wounded tens of thousands of Iranians during President Donald Trump's illegal war of choice—of terrorism against Iranians.

“The United States president described us as terrorists,” Masoud Pezeshkian told world leaders gathered in New York, referring to President Donald Trump’s speech there the previous day. “We have been the victims of terrorism.”

Pezeshkian held up photographs of some of the 120 children massacred when the US bombed the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab during the opening hours of the US-Israeli war in February, an attack that killed over 150 people in total and was called a likely war crime by UN experts last week.

"You see these children?” he said. “These children perished under bombs with weapons used by the United States and Israel. They were innocent.”

“Those who are terrorists, and train and protect terrorists, describe us as such," the president continued. "We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists."

As Pezeshkian continued, the US representative attending the session got up and walked out. This, a day after Trump again threatened to "annihilate" the entire country of Iran—comments interpreted by many observers to mean nuclear war.

"Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggression imposed upon our country," the Iranian president said. "America and Israel attacked us equipped with the latest technology and weapons systems, and our people stood steadfast. Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee. We did not bow our head."

"They came into surrounding territories... and targeted our universities, our healthcare centers, our schools, our hospitals, our infrastructure, all of it against international law," Pezeshkian continued.

He also noted that Israel "targets any neighborhood in any city in any province" and "commits assassinations like a true terrorist."

The Iranian president stressed that "for the past two centuries, Iran has not attacked any country," even as Washington helped overthrow Iran's reformist government in the 1950s, restoring a brutal monarchy and, later, supported actual US-designated terrorists who had carried out deadly attacks against not only Iranians but also US officials. The US also shot down an Iranian commercial airliner—an attack deemed an accident, for which then-President George HW Bush refused to apologize.

Pezeshkian also said that Israel is "committing genocide" in Gaza, where officials say that more than 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded; 2 million have been forcibly displaced, starved, or sickened; and the majority of the strip destroyed since October 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the UN General Assembly on Thursday, despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.

The United States and Iran have designated all or parts of each other's armed forces as terrorist organizations. Both countries have long histories of supporting militant groups which often act as proxies.

The US and Israel—often alone or nearly so on the world stage—deny all the allegations against them. Trump and senior members of his administration even initially claimed that Iran bombed the Minab school, even as the evidence of US culpability grew too damning to deny.

The back-and-forth allegations of terrorism highlight a larger question raised by Pezeshkian’s speech: Who gets to define terrorism when the world's most powerful military is involved? Do the more technologically sophisticated arsenals of the US and Israel—which include 2,000-pound bombs and artificial intelligence systems capable of selecting targets far faster than any human—legitimize their users' violence, even if they're killing more people than their enemy, and exponentially so?

Under 18 US Code § 2331(5), terrorism is defined as "acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state appearing to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping."

By that definition, say many critics of US policy and practice, the United States is a terrorist state. And not just any terrorist, progressive political commentator Kyle Kulinski contended in a new essay published by Current Affairs, but rather "the world's biggest terrorist."

Kulinski's piece addressed the controversy surrounding leftist streamer Hasan Piker, who argued that the United States has caused extraordinary amounts of terror around the world under successive presidents regardless of party, and should be judged by the same standards Washington applies to organizations such as al-Qaeda, many of whose fighters had received US funding and arms to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s before they turned on their erstwhile benefactors in response to Washington's own militant imperialism.

Kulinski pointed to the Minab school strike, the US bombing of a wedding in Iran, its support for Israel during the Gaza genocide, the illegal attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean—which UN experts this week said could amount to crimes against humanity—and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro during January's invasion of Venezuela, which is one of 10 countries attacked during the two terms of Trump, who campaigned for reelection as the "peace president."

"And do you think it began with Trump? Bad news for you. The architect of the Great Society, the great Democrat Lyndon Johnson, was napalming little Vietnamese girls long before Trump was blowing up Iranian elementary schools," Kulinski wrote.

Johnson's Democratic predecessor, John F. Kennedy, "began a massive terror campaign against Cuba, designed specifically to hurt civilians in order to bring political change—textbook terrorism."

Subsequently, he continued, then-President Barack Obama "was bombing hospitals and weddings long before Trump. He talked about how good he was at killing people, including a teenage American citizen he took out with a drone, and he helped Saudi Arabia commit war crimes in Yemen."

Recently, Kulinski wrote, former President Joe Biden "was sending constant weapons to Israel during the deadliest parts of Israel’s genocide."

"The record of US-supported terrorism is long," he said. "We helped the Indonesian government massacre half a million communists. We helped the Contras terrorize Nicaragua. We even helped Saddam Hussein use chemical weapons on Iran."

Kulinski noted that former President George W. Bush, "possibly the worst terrorist of our age, caused maybe half a million deaths in Iraq with his totally illegal war. He made Osama bin Laden look like an amateur. And now he has a new book of paintings coming out. They’re portraits of political prisoners. I’m guessing it probably won’t include all the people he tortured for years in Guantánamo."

"The truth needs to matter," Kulinski concluded. "In defamation cases, truth is always a defense. The US is the biggest, baddest bully on the block. We do not care about international law, human rights, the Constitution, or justice. How are we supposed to change anything for the better if we can’t acknowledge the most obvious things in the world?"

---

### Sanders, Casar Unveil Bill to Ban AI Superintelligence That 'Could Kill Countless Numbers of People'

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/sanders-casar-superintelligence-ban.md

US Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would pause advanced AI development and ban the creation or deployment of artificial superintelligence, which the lawmakers, industry insiders, and leading researchers believe poses a grave threat to humanity.

For the purposes of their legislation, Sanders (I-Vt.) and Casar (D-Texas) define superintelligence as "an AI that exceeds human cognitive performance and capabilities across most domains, or has sufficient capabilities to destroy or disempower humanity, including by overthrowing the federal government."

Casar and Sanders characterized their new bill, titled the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, as a commonsense, necessary, and urgent starting point for AI regulation, and said it should be a top legislative priority for Democrats if they retake the House and Senate in the November midterms.

Casar, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said during a press call on Wednesday that, critically, the bill targets "recursive self-improvement," the process by which AI models build more advanced versions of themselves without human input.

The Texas congressman also noted the legislation's prohibition on the use of AI to design nuclear and biological weapons.

According to a summary released by Sanders' office, the new bill would "protect humanity" by:

Banning Artificial Superintelligence. No person or entity may develop or deploy Artificial Superintelligence — an AI that exceeds human cognitive performance and capabilities across most domains, or has sufficient capabilities to destroy or disempower humanity, including by overthrowing the federal government.

Pausing Advanced AI development until a new, federal AI regulatory body is up and running and has established clear rules and model review processes to ensure safe and secure development and deployment of AI.

Establishing a new cabinet-level federal Department of Artificial Intelligence to safeguard the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence, including by enforcing a prohibition on artificial superintelligence. This department will be advised by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country to:Monitor frontier AI systems at all stages of the lifecycle for dangerous capabilities.

Supervise the removal of dangerous capabilities like subverting shutdown commands or conducting unauthorized cyberattacks.

Supervise the destruction of artificial superintelligence.

Setting penalties for any person or entity that attempts to violate or circumvent the pauses and prohibitions laid out in this bill. Entities shall be subject to the corporate death penalty, and persons shall be subject to not more than 20 years in prison, which is similar to existing penalties related to unlawfully developing nuclear weapons.

Working to ban superintelligence around the world by setting the international policy of the United States to pursue international agreements, allied coordination, and policies such as export controls to prevent the development of artificial superintelligence anywhere in the world.

"This issue is of monumental consequence," said Sanders, who dismissed accusations of alarmism when it comes to the threats posed by AI development.

"I'd rather be called an alarmist than a father or grandfather who is asleep at the wheel," the senator told reporters on a press call about the new bill.

AI researcher Jacob Coxon and other industry insiders have issued striking statements in recent weeks asserting that the technology, if not reined in, has the real potential to wipe out humanity in the near future, heightening concerns about the speed of AI development, the inability of its creators to control their models, and the absence of any corresponding action from the US Congress, which is controlled by Republicans who are broadly hostile to government regulation.

US President Donald Trump, the leader of the GOP, has flippantly dismissed calls to pause advanced AI development. In his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said he is "not going to stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the Industrial Revolution."

"We will only encourage superintelligence," said Trump. "We're going to encourage it, not rein it in."

The president announced that he has directed his administration to use "super intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence" in government documents going forward. From his remarks, it was apparent that Trump was unaware that superintelligence has a specific meaning in the world of AI.

"The word 'artificial' makes intelligence fake. It makes it sound fake," Trump said. "From this point forward, all of the United States' documents and hopefully the world's will be changed to use the much more accurate term 'super' as opposed to 'artificial.' So it's super intelligence... It sounds much better, it is much better."

Casar pushed back on Trump's position in a statement on Wednesday, saying, "Experts are warning that AI superintelligence, wielded by the wrong humans or by rogue AI, could kill countless numbers of people. But Donald Trump says he wants to encourage it."

"Something has to change," said Casar.

Sanders stressed during Wednesday's press call that supporters of reining in AI development and ensuring the technology is used to benefit all of humanity, rather than a small group of tech oligarchs, must "rally the American people" to their cause to overcome the nation's "corrupt campaign finance system," which AI giants are exploiting to pump tens of millions of dollars into the midterm elections.

“When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes," said Sanders. "When the future of humanity is at stake, we cannot let a handful of Big Tech CEOs write their own rules."

"Congress must act now," the senator added, "before it is too late.”

---

### How Greedy Corporations Are Weaponizing AI to 'Squeeze' Consumers and Working Class Families

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/ai-surveillance-pricing-report.md

A report released on Wednesday by Groundwork Collaborative and Reset Tech details how corporate America and assorted nefarious actors are using artificial intelligence to gouge US consumers.

The report begins by noting that while AI is "often promoted as a technology that will boost productivity, reduce costs, and improve efficiency," the reality so far is that it is "enabling new forms of fraud, expanding surveillance-based pricing, and increasing costs for essential services such as health insurance, transportation, and electricity."

As one example of how AI is hurting consumers, the report highlights AI's role in helping health insurers more rapidly deny claims, even as many physicians have expressed concerns about the technology's accuracy.

"AI adjudication tools like UnitedHealth’s nH Predict have been accused of often erroneously denying needed care, hoping that patients and providers don’t take the time to appeal," the report notes. "A recent lawsuit alleges that the 0.2% of patients who do appeal win about nine times out of ten, reversing the AI-powered tool’s denial."

On the other side of the coin, AI-powered medical scribes used by healthcare providers have been found to bill insurers for procedures more complex or expensive than the services that were actually delivered. The report points to a recent analysis conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which found that AI-powered tools are now one of the top drivers of medical inflation in the US.

Groundwork Collaborative and Reset Tech also document how AI allows companies to implement surveillance pricing systems, which use customers' personal data to determine how much they should be charged for a given product or service to maximize the amount of revenue generated per sale.

According to the report, data brokers collect and analyze data taken from internet users and then sell their findings to corporations who can use that knowledge to create detailed profiles of individual consumers.

One area where this kind of pricing is increasingly being used is in the car insurance industry, which thanks to modern technology has vastly more information about drivers' habits than ever before.

"This information—known as telematics—includes speed, braking patterns, acceleration, and location tracking," the report explains. "Insurers analyze this information with AI to assess risk and set personalized premiums. While this may reward some safe drivers, it can also lead to higher premiums and be used to deny coverage entirely."

The report finds that airlines have also been using customers' information to create a dynamic pricing system that charges different fares based on "demand, search activity, booking patterns, and other consumer data."

Rishi Bharwani, US director of Reset Tech and co-author of the report, said that elected officials need to wake up to how cutting-edge technology is being used to gouge consumers with what he described as "a hidden tax on households."

"Families feel it every day, even if they can’t see it," Bharwani explained. "Lawmakers need to act now to stop greedy corporations from using AI to squeeze consumers."

Janelle Jones, senior fellow at Groundwork Collaborative and report co-author, noted that AI pricing is becoming more popular even as families across the US are struggling to afford basics such as food and energy.

"As working people face an affordability crisis, higher prices caused by AI are the last thing they need," Jones said. "It's another attack on household budgets that add up, and which working people certainly shouldn’t be on the hook for."

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### House Republicans Pitch a Plan to Cut Social Security to Billionaire Donor Harlan Crow

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Alex Lawson | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/republicans-cut-social-security.md

This Monday, House Republicans held a hearing focused on creating a closed-door commission to cut Social Security and Medicare. The hearing was for an audience of one: billionaire donor Harlan Crow.

That’s the same Harlan Crow who infamously treated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to lavish vacations, along with donating millions of dollars to Republican candidates and causes.

Republicans wanted to keep the hearing quiet, so they held it far from Washington DC. This was a “field hearing,” held all the way in Dallas, Texas. Specifically, it was held at Old Parkland, a “business campus” owned by none other than Harlan Crow.

Crow and his friends will do anything to cut our hard-earned Social Security benefits so that they never have to pay their fair share into the system.

Normally, when Congress holds a field hearing, they are seeking testimony from members of the general public. But when I showed up with Texas seniors and people with disabilities, they refused to let us in. Medically vulnerable people were forced to wait outside in 100°F heat.

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Republicans claimed that there were only three chairs available for members of the public. That was a lie. When I finally made it into the room, there was plenty of space. And while there were “no seats available” for seniors and people with disabilities, guess who got one? Harlan Crow.

I called out the hearing for what it was: a farce designed to cut Social Security, even though Social Security doesn’t add a single penny to the debt. I reminded Republicans that the real driver of the debt is tax breaks for billionaires like Harlan Crow. I was promptly escorted out by police

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Michelle H. Davis, author of the Substack Lone Star Left, was denied a seat. So she went home and watched the entire three-hour hearing. Davis writes that Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) ended the hearing by personally thanking Harlan Crow:

Arrington turned, and addressed Harlan by first name, called him "friend" and "great patriot," thanked "his family," and joked about moving every future Budget Committee hearing to Old Parkland permanently.

Davis also found that several members of the House Budget Committee, including Arrington, have received substantial donations from Crow.

As witnesses, the Republicans brought in retired Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who were pushing an infamous fast-track bill to avoid political accountability for cutting our earned benefits. Both this hearing and the commission itself are mechanisms to manufacture a consensus that does not exist in the American people. That’s why they try so hard to silence the voices of real Americans.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made the argument for a commission in terms that explicitly laid out the cowardice of our political class:

I think there would be nothing better than if a group of elected members on the budget committee were willing to sit down and develop a comprehensive approach to deficit reduction. That would be great. But I also understand the politics of the time... the politics of both sides would basically stab you in the back. I mean that's a reality. But that doesn't mean that you walk away from the problem.

But Panetta misstates what the two sides are. Voters for both parties will revolt at any attempt to cut Social Security, while the Wall Street and Big Tech megadonors who fund Republicans are the ones who repeatedly insist that it must be done.

The truth is, nobody wants to cut Social Security benefits except for a handful of Republicans and the billionaires on Wall Street who tell them what to do. That’s why it’s no surprise that this farce of a hearing was all for the benefit of billionaire donor Harlan Crow.

If Republicans want to cut our earned benefits, the American people deserve for them to tell us that to our faces, rather than weaseling around the job they were elected to do, and for which they earn a handsome salary. These politicians are afraid to do that because Americans are so overwhelmingly opposed to Social Security cuts.

Billionaires like Harlan Crow want Social Security cuts by any means necessary because once benefits are cut, they can stop worrying that we will finally make them pay their fair share.

We’ve been fighting commissions for a long time. I got started with Social Security Works live streaming the closed door behind which the 2010 Bowles-Simpson commission discussed its proposals to cut Social Security. Eventually, commission co-chair Alan Simpson stepped out from behind his closed door and gave an impromptu interview in which he called Social Security beneficiaries “the lesser people.”

Sixteen years later, that’s still how Republicans and their billionaire donors view seniors and people with disabilities. Crow and his friends will do anything to cut our hard-earned Social Security benefits so that they never have to pay their fair share into the system. But this week, we crashed Crow’s private hearing and reminded the billionaires that we’re never going to let that happen.

---

### Rights Groups Detail Sweeping 'Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech' on US Campuses

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/campus-protests-gaza.md

While the traumatic experiences of foreign-born scholars such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk have drawn international headlines, a report released Wednesday by a pair of leading rights groups highlights how their arrests by immigration agents were part of a wider assault "on free speech and association on college campuses, particularly against students, faculty, and staff protesting Israel's war on Gaza and the US government’s political, economic, and military support of the war."

Titled "Student Speech Under Attack: Suppression of Pro-Palestine Speech and Dissent on Campus," the new report from the ACLU and Amnesty International USA catalogs university and law enforcement responses to protests and encampments, schools' actions to restrict speech, the Trump administration's crackdowns on institutions and foreign scholars, and how all of that has had a chilling effect.

The report also features case studies on six schools—City College of New York, Columbia University, Tulane University, University of Michigan, University of Texas at Austin, and University of California, Los Angeles—and various targeted scholars, including Khalil and Öztürk as well as Yunseo Chung, Badar Khan Suri, Leqaa Kordia, and Mohsen Mahdawi.

Like Khalil, Mahdawi was a Columbia student and lawful permanent resident of the United States. At his citizenship interview last year, masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested and detained him for his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights. The Trump administration's attempt to deport Mahdawi, who was raised in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is ongoing.

"At the time of his arrest and detention, he was an undergraduate student at Columbia University majoring in philosophy and planning to start a master's degree program at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. Mahdawi said he dedicated himself 'to understanding how to achieve a lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis, particularly through the study of conflict resolution,'" the report notes.

"As a student at Columbia, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign in Gaza and an activist and organizer in student protests on Columbia's campus until March 2024, after which he took a step back and was not involved in organizing," the document details. "Mahdawi attended protests opposing military escalations in the region and gave speeches at several of these protests advocating for Palestinian human rights and a permanent ceasefire. Mahdawi appeared in numerous televised interviews and print news articles regarding the military campaign in Gaza and related protests."

While Mahdawi was targeted by the Trump administration, not Columbia, the publication points out that he "had contacted university administrators asking for help in finding safe housing, stating that he feared abduction by ICE agents," and, according to him, the school "did nothing in response to his request."

The report also notes Columbia's decadeslong reputation as "the activist Ivy," and how "student activism in support of Palestinian rights began in October 2023... sparking a multiyear, nationwide movement of campus anti-war demonstrations calling for academic institutions to divest from what organizers and Amnesty International characterize as Israeli apartheid."

The ACLU and Amnesty laid out how Columbia suspended student groups that held peaceful demonstrations, refused to divest from Israel, threatened to expel students who joined an encampment, and had New York Police Department officers forcibly remove protesters who occupied a campus building and dubbed it "Hind's Hall" for a Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces.

Columbia University student demonstrators unfurl a banner that reads "Hind's Hall" as they barricade themselves inside a campus building on April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)

Early last year, as Khalil was arrested outside his home and President Donald Trump threatened to pull $400 million in university funding, Columbia promised to the administration that it would add three dozen "special patrol officers" with arrest powers, and later announced that its University Judicial Board punished over 70 students.

However, as the report stresses, it's not just Columbia. After Israel began what many experts have called a genocidal assault on Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas-led attack, "students across more than 100 universities organized, calling for educational institutions to end their financial ties to corporations linked to the war," and their protests and encampments were often met with "university leaders' swift and punitive responses."

"Universities and colleges faced pressure from wealthy donors, trustees, and figures outside of university or college leadership, including members of Congress, to suppress pro-Palestinian protests and dismantle encampments," the publication acknowledges. "By restricting or banning protests outright, involving campus police and external law enforcement in the surveillance, intimidation, and repression of participants, and pursuing students with legal and administrative consequences, university and college administrators escalated tensions."

"During the disbandment of encampments, law enforcement forcefully pushed and arrested demonstrators, leading to concussions, cuts dislocations, and other severe injuries," the report continues. "In many instances, demonstrators posed no threat, did not resist arrest, and were sometimes attempting to deescalate or document the protest."

Police crack down on a pro-Palestinian protest at Indiana University in Bloomington on April 25, 2024. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Justin Mazzola, Amnesty's deputy director of research, said in a statement that "universities and colleges should prepare students for open discourse in a pluralistic society. Instead, campus leadership has suppressed free speech and peaceful protest while enabling the Trump administration to advance its anti-rights agenda and seek ideological control over higher education."

Mazzola also called out the Trump administration—which, as the report lays out, has issued related executive orders, conducted campus visits, abused Title VI investigations, conditioned funding on acquiescence, revoked student visas, targeted scholars for deportation for protected speech, and attempted to evade court reviews of deportations.

"The Trump administration's targeting of students and faculty who oppose Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza is dangerously reminiscent of McCarthy-era censorship and a blatant violation of academic freedom," he asserted. "The Trump administration must stop stifling political expression on campus and end its relentless push for ideological conformity in higher education. Students' rights must be respected, protected, and fulfilled."

The report features recommendations for schools, campus and local law enforcement, the Trump administration, and Congress. It also details rights on campus, reminding students and educators that they "have the right to peacefully protest, and the government has a duty to respect, protect, and facilitate that right—not suppress it."

University of Texas at Austin graduate students, faculty, and demonstrators protest Israel's war on the Gaza Strip after walking out of commencement on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

As for US colleges and universities, they "must take all possible measures to ensure that their campuses are spaces where students may exercise their rights to freedom of speech and expression without fear of unwarranted punishment or retaliation regardless of viewpoint," said Jennifer Turner, principal researcher in the ACLU's Human Rights Program.

"Schools should resist the pressures placed on them to silence and punish students or faculty who engage in protest or advocacy for Palestinian rights," Turner added. "Instead, they should stand up to the federal government's intimidation tactics and defend the university's core mission of fostering free-flowing inquiry and debate."

The groups' report was released after Khalil and other Palestine defenders sued Columbia in federal court last week over what Khalil called "gross and systemic discrimination against Palestinian students." He vowed that "next, I will turn to the hateful individuals at Columbia who were also responsible for what we endured."

---

### Sanders, Casar Introduce Legislation to Create New Federal Agency to Ban Artificial Superintelligence, Pause Advanced AI Development

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/sanders-casar-introduce-legislation-to-create-new-federal-agency-to-ban-artificial-superintelligence-pause-advanced-ai-development.md

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) today introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act — legislation to stop artificial intelligence (AI) oligarchs from building machines humans cannot control and to pause advanced AI development until we have put in place rigorous federal testing and oversight to ensure AI does not harm humanity.

“When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes. When the future of humanity is at stake, we cannot let a handful of Big Tech CEOs write their own rules,” Sanders said. “Scientists have been clear: AI is an existential threat to humanity. It must be treated as such. This legislation will permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence and would put in place an immediate pause on advanced AI development until we have clear safety rules in place — developed by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country. Congress must act now before it is too late.”

“Experts are warning that AI superintelligence, wielded by the wrong humans or by rogue AI, could kill countless numbers of people. But Donald Trump says he wants to encourage it. Something has to change,” Casar said. “Our bill bans the development of artificial superintelligence and pushes for international agreements so that no one, anywhere, builds AI too powerful for humans to control. Furthermore, our bill would immediately halt other dangerous AI capabilities, such as the capacity to develop biochemical weapons, or the capacity for AI to develop new AI instead of humans.”

Over the past few months, we have learned that AI models can circumvent restrictions to hack into computers. We have learned they can create never-before-seen viruses. And we have learned they can automate research to build smarter AI. Even as the AI companies claim they recognize these dangers and want to slow down, they are racing ahead — investing hundreds of billions of dollars into a technology that nobody can fully predict or control. That is unacceptable. The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act will protect humanity by:

Banning Artificial Superintelligence. No person or entity may develop or deploy Artificial Superintelligence — an AI that exceeds human cognitive performance and capabilities across most domains, or has sufficient capabilities to destroy or disempower humanity, including by overthrowing the federal government.

Pausing Advanced AI development until a new, federal AI regulatory body is up and running and has established clear rules and model review processes to ensure safe and secure development and deployment of AI.

Establishing a new cabinet-level federal Department of Artificial Intelligence to safeguard the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence, including by enforcing a prohibition on artificial superintelligence. This department will be advised by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country to: Monitor frontier AI systems at all stages of the lifecycle for dangerous capabilities.

Supervise the removal of dangerous capabilities like subverting shutdown commands or conducting unauthorized cyberattacks.

Supervise the destruction of artificial superintelligence.

Setting penalties for any person or entity that attempts to violate or circumvent the pauses and prohibitions laid out in this bill. Entities shall be subject to the corporate death penalty, and persons shall be subject to not more than 20 years in prison, which is similar to existing penalties related to unlawfully developing nuclear weapons.

Working to ban superintelligence around the world by setting the international policy of the United States to pursue international agreements, allied coordination, and policies such as export controls to prevent the development of artificial superintelligence anywhere in the world.

Read the bill text here.

Read a one-page summary here.

Read a section-by-section summary here.

---

### White House Claims in Court Filing That Press Coverage of Trump Is a 'Privilege,' Not a Right

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/white-house-reporters.md

At an emergency hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, a federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump is set to hear three media outlets' request for a temporary restraining order blocking the administration's denial of press access to the White House—and is likely to hear from government lawyers the "dangerous" argument officials have made to defend the ban on news coverage.

"Access to the White House is a privilege—not a right," government lawyers wrote in a court filing on Tuesday evening, in response to a lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW, and Politico after journalists with the three outlets had their press passes confiscated by White House officials and were denied access to the government building.

The administration claimed in the filing that the decision to block reporters from covering the president at the White House was "lawful under the First Amendment" because Trump "has 'compelling interest' in enforcing minimum standards for bona fide journalists and safeguarding national security information."

The president had concluded that CNN, MS NOW, and Politico had failed to "maintain basic minimum 'standards of professionalism and decorum expected of those given access to the White House Complex, including' by 'publishing sensitive or classified information," reads the filing.

Letters attached to the filing cite specific news stories in which the outlets were accused of endangering national security, including CNN's reporting on "‘top-secret’ construction details related to the East Wing bunker" that is part of Trump's $400 million ballroom. MS NOW was accused of endangering national security when it reported in June that “a source said that President Trump ‘underestimated the willingness of Iran to resume conflict.’”

The news outlet MeidasTouch said the arguments made in the filing were "deeply embarrassing and un-American."

"The Trump regime is afraid of the American people learning the realities of the failed war in Iran and Trump’s disastrous presidency," said MeidasTouch.

While claiming CNN, MS NOW, and Politico have threatened national security with their reporting, Trump also said last week when he first announced he was planning to ban the outlets that they “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES.”

Legal expert and political commentator Harry Litman called on US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated in 2017 by Trump and who in 2018 rejected the president's attempt to bar then-CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House grounds, to grant the outlets the restraining order.

"When an administration punishes the outlets that scrutinize it, it is dismantling a safeguard," wrote Litman on Substack. "The state is perfectly free to express its own preferences (though limits come in—as we’ve found honored in the breach—with false speech by government). But it can’t use the machinery of the state to punish the people who hold the view it dislikes. It’s the difference between persuasion, which is fine, and coercion, which is a fundamental abuse of government power, the classic tactic of authoritarian government."

"In sum, viewpoint discrimination is forbidden because it betrays an illegitimate government motive and because it uses the coercive power of the state to suppress speech that a free society depends on to keep government honest," he wrote.

In the lawsuit the three news organizations filed on Monday, they argued that the ban “brazenly discriminates based on editorial viewpoint,” and violates their First Amendment rights as well as their right to due process, as they were not permitted to contest the ban when their reporters were blocked from entering the White House on Saturday.

"The idea that fundamental rights are a 'privilege' granted at the whim of the king is dangerous," said former US Attorney Joyce White Vance, who is now a law professor and MS NOW legal analyst. "This is about the First Amendment, not White House access."

---

### 'We Don't Waste Our Time' With Courts, Says Trump, Bragging of Extrajudicial Murders in Pacific and Caribbean

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-boat-bombings-courts.md

Critics have often described President Donald Trump's campaign of boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific—which have taken the lives of at least 234 mostly unknown people—as extrajudicial killings that flout the very basics of due process.

On Tuesday, Trump essentially described them that way too, seeming to suggest that killing people outside the law is the whole point.

"For years, administrations just played games, and they'd bring them to a court in Miami or something, and the judge would release them immediately, and they'd go back to selling drugs," Trump said. "But now, we don't waste our time doing it."

He was speaking at a meeting of the Washington-led "Shield of the Americas" coalition, an alliance of leaders and foreign ministers ostensibly dedicated to stamping out drug cartels and other criminal organizations across the Americas.

The boat strike campaign—known first by the Defense Department as “Operation Southern Spear” before it was rebranded last month as Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere—is part of this effort. The administration says the more than 70 vessels it has targeted with lethal strikes since last September were engaged in “narco-trafficking,” and that killing their operators is a justifiable form of self-defense.

The principal illicit cargo on the maritime routes targeted by Southern Spear is cocaine. But the White House rarely provides any evidence publicly to substantiate that the boats it targets are involved with drug trafficking, and members of Congress have complained that even classified briefings lacked hard evidence. Some of those killed in the strikes have later been identified as ordinary fishermen and other civilians with no known ties to the drug trade.

An investigation from the Washington Office on Latin America found in July that the military has relied on extraordinarily broad criteria to launch the strikes against anyone deemed to be "affiliated" with a secret list of designated terrorist groups. They do not require the commanders launching them to know the identities of those aboard a vessel or have any evidence that it is carrying drugs at all.

Even if the boats were engaged in drug trafficking as the administration claims, wrote Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, in a report released earlier this week, there are no “international legal rights to unilaterally use military force” to counter drug cartels or other organized crime groups that have not mounted any “armed attack” against the US.

The strikes, Saul added, were not a “last resort” or “necessary or proportionate” since the US had not tried to use non-lethal means like intercepting or boarding them before resorting to bombings.

Concurring with several other UN experts, he said that the strikes were "contrary to international law, violate the human right to life, and plausibly constitute crimes against humanity," including "murder."

Trump's comments on Tuesday seemed to underscore what Saul and others critical of the boat bombings have emphasized: that rather than using lethal force as a last resort to repel an immediate threat, his administration was simply killing suspects as an alternative to avoid a cumbersome legal process.

Norman Ornstein, a political scientist and scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said in a post on social media that Trump's comments were "worthy of the International Criminal Court."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has suggested the administration’s calls to “dismantle” the ICC are in part out of concern that the court, which prosecutes war crimes and other international criminality, could be used to prosecute members of the Trump administration over the boat strikes.

Trump described the ICC as “anti-American” and “evil" during a speech at the UN General Assembly earlier on Tuesday, in which he also threatened to "annihilate" Iran and celebrated that he was claiming the "spoils" of war from Venezuela.

During that same speech, he also boasted that his administration “has carried out dozens of strikes on cartel drug boats, destroying 97% of the drugs coming into the ocean and sea," a claim that his administration has not provided evidence to substantiate.

An internal analysis by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), reported on in July by the Washington Post, found the opposite, in fact, stating that the strikes “failed to affect the supply or price of cocaine in the United States.”

As Trump heralded the boat strike campaign before the eyes of the world on Tuesday, a coalition of more than 70 lawmakers across the Americas called for the US to end what it said were "hundreds of extrajudicial killings of civilians."

The statement was signed by 15 Democratic members of the US Congress, including Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). It was also signed by lawmakers from Puerto Rico as well as 12 other countries across the Americas—Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

"The identities of nearly all the victims remain publicly unknown, and many families lack effective or safe avenues to obtain information or redress. Coastal and fishing communities face fear and uncertainty as these attacks put lives and livelihoods at risk," the lawmakers wrote.

"The rights to life, due process, and protections against the arbitrary use of force are core principles of democratic rule of law that our countries have committed to uphold," they added. "Allegations of drug trafficking, however serious, do not circumvent or override these protections, nor do they justify lethal force against people who pose no imminent threat."

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### Stop Mad King Donald’s Iran War: An Open Letter to Members of the US Congress

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Jeffrey D. Sachs | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/end-trump-s-iran-war.md

Dear Members of Congress,

In truly deranged remarks to world leaders at the UN, Donald Trump declared that “I have a big decision to make,” whether to negotiate a deal with Iran or instead to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and drive Iran “into hell with no chance of survival.”

He posed it as his personal choice. The fact that the American people are dead set against Trump’s war means nothing. And as for the voters, he added that he gives “absolutely no credence” to the coming midterm elections in deciding on his actions and on Iran’s fate.

The President’s threat to annihilate a member state of the United Nations, delivered from the General Assembly podium, disgraced Trump in front of the world.

Nothing binds this President. He is not bound by law, the Constitution, the UN Charter, or public opinion at home and abroad. When asked at the start of the year whether he has any limits on his power, he said “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

Trump opened his speech with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, hailing America’s freedom. The fact is that Trump’s authoritarianism far outdoes that of King George III, against whom the colonies rebelled. Among the founders’ indictments of Mad King George was that “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” Yet our own mad king has decided that the survival of a whole civilization is in his hands alone.

Trump is emboldened in his contempt for Congress because the Republican members of Congress have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities, terrified of their own president, and forsaking their constituents for campaign lucre from AIPAC and the military-industrial complex.

The Constitution is unambiguous regarding Congress’s responsibility. Article I, Section 8 assigns Congress, not the President, the sole power to declare war. That is not a choice or an option. The Constitution doesn’t say that Congress can play dead and let the President declare war. The Framers made this choice deliberately, because they were explicitly rejecting the power of a king to take the nation to war.

In Federalist 69, Hamilton assured the public that the President’s war powers would be far less than the British monarch’s. Madison stated the principle plainly in a letter to Jefferson in 1798: “The constitution supposes, what the History of all Govts demonstrates, that the Ex. is the branch of power most interested in war, & most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested the question of war in the Legislature.”

The founders’ careful design has been overturned because of the unconstitutional subservience of the Republican members of Congress to Trump and to the military-industrial-digital complex. And yes, under Democratic presidents, most Democratic members of Congress also looked the other way when those presidents chose to go to war.

The war with Iran is Trump’s folly but Congress’s disgrace for not stopping it. It is a war without a purpose that has created mass suffering in Iran, tens of billions of dollars of direct outlays, and staggering damage to American military bases in eight countries of the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent world and American prices soaring for oil, gas, fertilizers, and more. And the world has duly noted that Iran can hold its own against US aggression, albeit at great sacrifice to the people of Iran and the region.

America’s much vaunted AI battlefield has been exposed in the most horrifying way. On the first day of the war, an American missile struck the girls’ elementary school there, killing more than 150 people, most of them girls aged seven to twelve, and the military’s own inquiry reportedly found that overreliance on artificial intelligence contributed to the targeting. Trump blamed “Iran or somebody else,” and seven months later the administration has offered no findings, no apology and no compensation to the families.

The President’s threat to annihilate a member state of the United Nations, delivered from the General Assembly podium, disgraced Trump in front of the world. It also violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits even the threat of force against another state. Nearly all the world stands aghast.

I write to you because you cannot simply walk away from Trump’s recklessness, shaking your heads silently. You have a job to do, so do it. The craven Republican Party has to find even a minimal level of guts to tell Trump, “No, you do not have the power to destroy Iran. Any war with Iran depends on us, and we don’t support you and our constituents want this war to stop.” A clear majority of Americans oppose this war, and poll after poll shows that the opposition to the war is growing. A few Republicans have found that courage. Last week three more Republicans broke ranks to support ending the war. Their colleagues should follow.

Many of you receive campaign contributions from military contractors and technology companies deeply involved in the war. Many of you take money from AIPAC, which champions the war that Netanyahu did so much to help launch. This has to stop, as it is a dereliction of your constitutional duty and a violation of your oath.

Congress holds the power of the purse. The fiscal year ends on September 30, and every bill that funds the Pentagon is your opportunity to prohibit funds for unauthorized offensive operations against Iran.

The right course for the US is simple. Congress should cut off funding, and the US should stop further attacks and go home. We need no agreement with Iran or anyone else to stop the war that we started. By ending the war you will immediately restore some sanity and safety to the world energy markets, food supplies, and prices faced by Americans and others around the world.

How America has declined from the glorious moment when John F. Kennedy stood at the same podium at the UN on September 20, 1963, after having negotiated the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union. He told the assembled leaders that the treaty can be a lever, and Archimedes, in explaining the principles of the lever, was said to have declared to his friends: “Give me a place where I can stand—and I shall move the world.” My fellow inhabitants of this planet: Let us take our stand here in this Assembly of nations. And let us see if we, in our own time, can move the world to a just and lasting peace.

Members of Congress, to save our nation’s honor and our Constitution, you must do your duty to stop this war, and stop Trump’s brazen, destructive, and unconstitutional grab for power.

Respectfully,

Jeffrey D. Sachs

University Professor, Columbia University

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### 'Sickening and Unacceptable': Anger Mounts as Trump and Vance Gleefully Rip Healthcare From 750,000

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/vance-750000-healthcare.md

Anger and alarm are growing over the Trump administration's Tuesday announcement that it is removing at least 750,000 people from their Affordable Care Act coverage because they were "fraudulently" enrolled, a claim that drew deep skepticism from health policy experts and advocates.

Cynthia Cox, senior vice president at KFF, said fraud undoubtedly exists in the ACA marketplaces, noting that "some brokers have enrolled people without their knowledge or switched their plans so the broker could get a commission on the sale." But she warned that at least some of the hundreds of thousands of people targeted by the Trump administration "were likely legitimately enrolled."

Leading Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, announced the large-scale disenrollment during a celebratory press conference on Tuesday, proclaiming that the ACA purge would save American taxpayers $2.2 billion.

“Rather than addressing rising healthcare costs, the administration is forcing more Americans to become uninsured, live sicker, die younger, and risk being one emergency away from financial ruin," said Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA. "People are uninsured because of this administration’s own aggressive policies to push and price people out of their health plans, making it harder to get on and stay on coverage."

Among the criteria the administration used to determine whether someone was fraudulently enrolled in the ACA, according to Oz, was if they had "never filed a claim." But health policy experts say it is hardly uncommon for healthy people to not use their insurance in a given year.

The Trump administration did not provide specific breakdowns of why the roughly 750,000 people were stripped of ACA coverage. Vance said during Tuesday's press conference that the federal government uncovered a "fraud ring" involving 40 brokerage agents who funneled around 50,000 people into market place coverage—but the vice president admitted that "some of those people were probably legitimate."

Oz and Vance insisted that the administration went to great lengths to contact those they suspected were enrolled without their knowledge or consent. The officials also said the administration was scrutinizing more than 400,000 additional ACA enrollees for purported fraud, potentially pushing the number of people removed from the program above 1 million.

Ailen Arreaza, executive director of ParentsTogether, said in a statement Tuesday that "while millions of families across the country struggle to afford groceries, housing, childcare, and healthcare, this administration is celebrating taking health coverage away from three-quarters of a million people."

"That tells us everything we need to know," Arreaza added.

Analysts estimate that around 10 million people have lost health insurance coverage since the start of President Donald Trump's term, due in large part a Republican budget package that slashed Medicaid by around $800 billion and did nothing to extend enhanced ACA subsidies, sending premiums soaring for millions of marketplace enrollees—and pricing many people out of coverage.

American voters have consistently ranked healthcare costs as a top concern heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Joel Payne, chief communications officer at MoveOn Political Action, said Tuesday that "just six weeks out from the election, the Trump administration continues to kick working Americans while they’re down."

"It is sickening and unacceptable for this administration to boot 750,000 Americans off their healthcare instead of focusing on lowering costs and ending the war in Iran," said Payne. "The American people and MoveOn members won't forget this betrayal when polls open in November."

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### 'This Would Be a Nuclear Genocide': Global Outrage Grows Over Trump's UNGA Threat Against Iran

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-iran-nuclear-threat.md

President Donald Trump is facing global condemnation for his threat to "annihilate" Iran during a Tuesday speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

Dr. Tara Drozdenko, director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said on Tuesday that the president's speech "clearly constitutes an implied threat to use overwhelming nuclear force against Iran and the Iranian people broadly."

"This would be a nuclear genocide," Drozdenko emphasized. "Any threat to use nuclear weapons is unacceptable, and his decision to do so should be strongly condemned by government, military, and civil society leaders."

Drozdenko acknowledged that Trump's long history of unhinged rhetoric might make his statements easy to dismiss, but warned even empty threats involving nuclear weapons can have serious real-world ramifications.

"President Trump’s nuclear threats against Iran reinforce a counterproductive lesson also imparted by President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threats against Ukraine," she said. "Specifically, these threats encourage other countries to conclude that protecting and securing themselves from authoritarians with nuclear weapons requires obtaining their own nuclear arsenal."

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also said that Trump's menacing rhetoric toward Iran must be taken seriously.

"Trump threatened to 'annihilate' Iran," Markey wrote in a social media post. "His 'October surprise' must not be a mushroom cloud from a nuclear attack. With these threats and assistance to Saudi Arabia, Trump is inferring mass slaughter and escalating an arms race in the Middle East. We must stop this madman."

Robert Tait, US correspondent for The Guardian, wrote an analysis on Tuesday arguing that Trump's threat against Iran was "stunning, even for him."

Tait noted that it has been decades since the UN General Assembly has "witnessed such a display of bellicosity from a superpower leader," especially since it was delivered in a "forum created in the aftermath of the Second World War, with the explicit aim of preventing future conflicts."

"Whether or not the latest threat should be taken literally," Tait added, "little of what he said about Iran seemed reassuring."

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### Groundwork Reveals the Hidden Cost of AI

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/groundwork-reveals-the-hidden-cost-of-ai.md

Today, Groundwork Collaborative and Reset Tech released a new report, “The Hidden Costs of AI for American Households,” which exposes how artificial intelligence (AI) is already increasing costs for every American in nearly every line of the budget – and how that toll will only grow.

AI is already increasing prices for American families, with electronics and electricity bills on the rise due to the AI data center buildout, to groceries and other retail purchases plagued by AI-powered pricing abuses. AI is also making online scams easier to carry out and harder to detect, adding to the estimated $119 billion per year that Americans lose to internet-based scams and cybercrime. The report reveals how corporations are prioritizing profits over affordability. Delta’s CEO bragged that AI will increase his airline’s profitability by as much as 50%. Tech companies are allowing AI to worsen mental health, which already costs our economy an estimated $282 billion a year. And health insurers are using AI to review claims, leading 60% of doctors to be concerned about increasing denials.

As Americans grapple with a raging affordability crisis, the report outlines concrete actions policymakers can take to reduce the cost of AI that stands to pile on, including banning surveillance pricing, prohibiting insurers from using AI to deny health care, implementing Groundwork’s plan to freeze household electricity rates, and adopting stronger liability frameworks that hold AI companies accountable.

Janelle Jones, Senior Fellow at Groundwork Collaborative, and co-author of the report, said:

“As working people face an affordability crisis, higher prices caused by AI are the last thing they need. It’s another attack on household budgets that add up, and which working people certainly shouldn’t be on the hook for.”

Rishi Bharwani, U.S. Director of Reset Tech, and co-author of the report, said:

“AI could be lowering costs for American families but instead it’s become a hidden tax on households – paid through online scams, surveillance pricing, higher electric bills, denied health claims and rising premiums. Families feel it every day, even if they can’t see it. Lawmakers need to act now to stop greedy corporations from using AI to squeeze consumers.”

BACKGROUND

AI is fueling a new wave of online scams, and it’s costing consumers billions. AI is making online fraud easier to scale and harder to detect, allowing scammers to clone voices, create deepfakes, and impersonate trusted people. Internet-based scams and cybercrime cost Americans $148 billion in 2025. However, the true financial burden is likely substantially higher because for every reported crime, six go unreported.

AI is increasing the mental health risks of social media use and adding to families’ health care costs. One study found that adults who use AI daily are 30% more likely to experience at least moderate depression than adults who do not use AI at all, and nearly half of U.S. teenagers say social media is mostly harmful to people their age. Out-of-pocket spending on pediatric behavioral health reached $2.9 billion in 2022, an increase of about 38% over the previous 11 years.

Health insurance companies are using AI in ways that drive up costs for patients. Insurers use AI to review claims and prior authorizations, and 60% of physicians say they are concerned that AI is increasing denials. When claims are denied or delayed, patients may have to pay out of pocket, appeal the decision, or postpone care.

AI-driven pricing systems are spreading rapidly across the economy. Companies are deploying AI systems to analyze consumer data and tailor prices to the individual. For example, an investigation of Instacart pricing by Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports, and More Perfect Union found nearly three-quarters of grocery items were offered to shoppers at multiple price points, prices were up to 23% higher for some shoppers on the exact same items, and these practices could translate into a swing of about $1,200 a year for a family of four.

AI is giving insurers new ways to charge drivers more. Insurers are using increasingly detailed data about how, when, and where people drive to assess risk and set personalized premiums. Companies such as LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk aggregate driving behavior data and sell it to insurers, and LexisNexis products were used in 86% of new U.S. auto insurance policies issued in 2023.

AI-driven pricing is making travel more expensive by allowing airlines, hotels, and booking platforms to tailor prices based on consumer data and online behavior. Delta’s CEO has said AI could increase the airline’s profitability by as much as 50% as airlines and other travel companies use sophisticated tech and robust customer data profiles to set prices.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers is pushing more of the cost of the AI buildout onto household electricity bills. Data centers’ share of U.S. electricity use could nearly triple from 4.4% in 2023 to about 12% by 2030, and residential electricity rates could climb 15% to 40% above 2025 levels by 2030.

Surging demand from AI data centers is making everyday electronics more expensive for consumers. AI data centers and consumer electronics manufacturers rely on many of the same chips and memory and must compete for a limited supply. Since the start of 2026, Apple has raised prices on some of its most popular laptops by $200 to $300 and on every iPhone by at least $100, and Microsoft has increased Xbox console prices by $100 to $150.

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### 'Solar For All, Everywhere': Global Leaders Pitch the Sun as a Solution to Climate Crisis in Open Letter

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Jon Queally | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/solar-for-all-open-letter.md

As the world braces for the impacts of what's been described as a "Godzilla El Niño" cycle—one projected to drive extreme weather events that could kill nearly half a million people in the months ahead—and heat record after heat record is shattered due to rising global temperatures, a group of global leaders published an open letter Wednesday urging people yearning for a solution to the climate crisis to look up—though reminding them to protect their eyes—to see that renewable energy remains the key to humanity turning things around.

Set to be delivered to the United Nations during this week's meeting of the General Assembly, the open letter—which can also be endorsed by anyone who supports its demands—calls for global cooperation on "universal access" to solar power, one of the three key pillars of the renewable energy triad that also includes wind energy and battery storage.

"That clean energy trinity has broken out of its Chinese base and over the last few years expanded quickly across the planet—from Karachi to California to Cuba, solar panels are going up faster than any energy source has ever grown," writes author and climate activist Bill McKibben, a signatory to the open letter, in a Guardian op-ed Wednesday.

"At the last possible moment, with backs to the wall, we still have our face to the sun." —Bill McKibben

The letter speaks of "great fear" matched with "great hope" about whether humanity can or will act in time to avoid the worst impacts of a rapidly warming planet.

The letter states:

Over the last few months, we’ve seen the world set ablaze by both war and warming. From the conflict in Iran, which has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted billions more, to the series of ever worsening climate disasters, from wildfires in Europe to collapsing glaciers in Nepal, the world seems to be falling apart exactly when it needs to be coming together.

We know that these crises are connected. The oil that governments fight over is also the carbon pollution that is warming our climate. The bad air quality in Delhi, the high price of fuel in Vietnam, the cost of electricity in the United States, the terrifying floods in the Himalayas – they all connect back to fossil fuels.

Until we end that dependence, we’ll never be able to address the climate emergency and stop fighting these endless oil-soaked wars. That’s why today we are inviting the world to unite around a common cause: repowering the world with cheap, clean energy.

The signatories call on "governments, businesses, institutions and the public to work together to provide clean, affordable energy to everyone, everywhere by 2030."

"The path forward is difficult, but the way is clear," the letter states. "We want solar for everyone, everywhere, before the decade is out."

As McKibben notes, the coalition behind the effort is international and diverse. The signatories to the letter, he explains,

range from the most popular active politician in the US (that would be Bernie Sanders) to the most morally grounded spokesperson of the global south (Yeb Saño of the Philippines, say, whose witness after devastating hurricanes helped produce the Paris accords). It comes from great diplomats such as Laurence Tubiana (who helped midwife those Paris agreements) and celebrities and activists such as Jane Fonda. There are leaders from the world of clean energy (Danny Kennedy, for instance, the secretary of the Global Solar Council), and stalwarts from the continents most damaged by rising temperatures (South Africa’s Kumi Naidoo, president of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative). Clean energy entrepreneurs, such as Muhammad Mustafa Amjad of Renewables First in Pakistan, but also the world’s most famous rock climber, Alex Honnold, who runs his own solar non-profit.

The message of their letter, explains McKibben, "is simple, but its three words convey the solution to so many of the interlocking crises we now face: clean energy now."

"If a resurgent movement demands action, we finally have the tools to make that demand matter – a working planet that runs mostly on sun and wind is in tantalizing reach," he concludes. "At the last possible moment, with backs to the wall, we still have our face to the sun."

The full text of the letter and its signatories follows:

We, the undersigned, write this letter out of great fear and great hope.

Over the last few months, we’ve seen the world set ablaze by both war and warming. From the conflict in Iran, which has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted billions more, to the series of ever-worsening climate disasters, from wildfires in Europe to collapsing glaciers in Nepal, the world seems to be falling apart exactly when it needs to be coming together.

We know that these crises are connected. The oil that governments fight over is also the carbon pollution that is warming our climate. The bad air quality in Delhi, the high price of fuel in Vietnam, the cost of electricity in the United States, the terrifying floods in the Himalayas – they all connect back to fossil fuels.

Until we end that dependence, we’ll never be able to address the climate emergency and stop fighting these endless oil-soaked wars. That’s why today we are inviting the world to unite around a common cause: repowering the world with cheap, clean energy.

We are calling on governments, businesses, institutions, and the public to work together to provide clean, affordable energy to everyone, everywhere by 2030.

From the nearly 1 billion people who still lack access to reliable electricity, to the billions more of us who pay too much for dirty fossil fuels.

We know this world is within reach.

Building clean energy is now the cheapest and fastest way to slash energy bills, reduce pollution, and provide electricity access to the places that need it most.

With cheap solar, wind and batteries, we can create huge and rapid change.

California is already using just half as much natural gas to generate electricity as it did three years ago, thanks to solar and batteries. In Pakistan, people have put up millions of solar panels in just months, relying on social media for instruction. Each month, millions more people across sub-Saharan Africa are getting electricity for the first time with home solar kits.

This energy transition is already moving quickly - but we need it to go much quicker. And so we come together to urge two steps.

First, we must build clean power for everyone. For the first time ever, we can reliably bring electricity to the 1 in 10 people on Earth living without regular access.

We ask everyone who can afford it to donate something so that others can turn the lights on for studying, cooking, and medical care - and never have to think about a gallon of diesel or gas again. It takes just $15 to give access to clean electricity for one person for a generation.

Second, we need to build clean power everywhere, and to make that happen we need to build a movement powerful and beautiful enough to force governments to take large-scale action.

Individual steps alone are not enough: too many of our leaders will resist action, until we demonstrate together how much we want them to move. We must demand that governments stop building coal, oil, and gas projects we no longer need, and start building the clean-energy systems that works - no pollution or wars required.

One important day along this path will be 20 June, as the summer solstice approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, generating the most solar power of any day on earth yet. We will celebrate that day as Sun Day, coming together to celebrate and accelerate this great shift.

The path forward is difficult, but the way is clear. We want solar for everyone, everywhere, before the decade is out.

We know that standing up to the powerful can be scary. But if there is one thing that unites us, it is that we live beneath the same sun. That unity is our strength, and we must use it to act now.

Signed,

Muhammad Mustafa Amjad- Director of Programs, Renewables First
Alyssa Barber - Content Creator, @NewLifestyleABB
Lauren Bash - Content creator and filmmaker
Rachel Bender - Disability rights advocate, @rachcutiepie
Tzeporah Berman - Chair, Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative
Caitlin Blunnie - Content Creator, 2Liberal Jane
Jessica Craven - Content Creator, @jesscraven101
Nick Cutsumpas - Founder @ Farmer Nick
Summer Dean - Founder, Climate Diva Media
Christiana Figueres - Former UN Climate Secretary and Founding Partner, Global Optimism
Jane Fonda - Actor, activist, and founder, Jane Fonda Climate PAC
Nela Cadinanos Gonzalez
Saul Griffith - Engineer and co-founder, Rewiring America
Malynda Hale - Actor, Filmmaker, Creator
Fletcher Harper - Executive Director, Greenfaith
Alex Honnold - Professional climber and founder, Honnold Foundation
Danny Kennedy - Chair, Global Solar Council
Catherine McKenna - Founder, Climate and Nature Solutions & Women Lead on Climate
Bill McKibben - Author, climate activist, and co-founder, Third Act
Kumi Naidoo - President, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative
Ky Polanco - Co-Founder, @Feminist
Sean Taylor Pugerude - Creator & Community Organizer, @heyseantaylor
Abbie Richards - Researcher and Educator, @abbiesr
Tom Rivett-Carnac - Founding Partner, Global Optimism
Bernie Sanders - U.S. Senator for Vermont
Yeb Saño - Board Chair, Laudato Si’ Movement
Jacob Simon - Creator and Educator - @jacobsimonsays
Laurence Tubiana - CEO, European Climate Foundation

---

### We May Never Know Who Bought the 2026 Midterms

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Michael Waldman | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/dark-money-2026-midterms.md

Political consultants warn Democratic candidates not to talk about regulating artificial intelligence, Politico reported this week. Not because that would be unpopular—it would be very popular!. No, the consultants warned, it’s that outspoken candidates could be demolished by millions of dollars suddenly dumped into their races by tech companies.

This critical 2026 midterm election may be decided by dark money, big money, tech money. Above all, secret money. The money storm is now gathering. It could tip the outcome of many races. And we may never really know what happened. It all has received far too little attention.

According to The New York Times, “All across America, the midterm elections are drowning in dark money.” That term is used when the identity of the person giving or spending the money is kept secret from the public. So far this year, the Times reports, $1 billion of dark money is sloshing through the political system, and the real number will surely be much higher. I’ll be talking with Theodore Schleifer, one of the authors of that story, on our podcast, out Wednesday.

Voters should ask candidates: Speeches about democracy are nice, but what are you actually going to do to take on big money?

Committees with vaguely patriotic names spring into being and suddenly have tens of millions of dollars to spend. Ads focus on topics far removed from the real concern of the donors. It’s not just television anymore. Money flows to digital ads and content creators as well. The public doesn’t know where all this money comes from, but candidates surely do.

Earlier this year, super PACs backed by rival AI firms dueled on the streets of Manhattan, spending tens of millions of dollars for or against a single congressional candidate, Alex Bores, an outspoken industry critic. Across the country, AI and cryptocurrency companies spent more than $127 million in primaries this year.

Too often, money in politics becomes background noise. Journalists often look at only the fully disclosed “hard money” to candidates and ignore the harder-to-quantify secret spending. Headlines focus on flashy democratic socialists or on attacks on pro-Israel groups like American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Meanwhile, big industries do what they do, pouring massive funds into the political process.

What will be the partisan impact? Twenty big donors, the Times reported, mostly billionaires, have so far spent $1.2 billion on this year’s elections. All but two favored Republicans. Elon Musk recently announced plans to spend at least $100 million through his super PAC. On the other hand, in 2024 most dark money was spent for Democrats in federal races.

After the votes are counted, we may learn if and how money made the difference in many races. But we won’t necessarily know whose spending tilted the election. Perhaps more importantly, all this money surely will have a big impact on government.

For all this, thank the Supreme Court. It has demolished the campaign finance laws, in Citizens United and other cases. According to the justices, such unlimited spending is allowed if it is disclosed (it isn’t) and if it is independent (gimme a break). At one point, Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that the ability to give unlimited campaign contributions was “the whole point” of the First Amendment. Our dystopian, money-drenched politics is a product of a Supreme Court badly in need of reform.

The media could do much more to explain what’s happening. The Times and a few other outlets have done stellar work. But far too often, campaign cash totals are treated merely as part of the horse race of politics.

Politicians themselves must respond. Year after year, politicians decry corruption but fail to act to pass stronger campaign finance laws. The next Congress must make reform a central goal. We need a law to end dark money and implement small donor public financing, as well as a constitutional amendment to undo misguided rulings such as Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo.

Public outrage about corruption is extraordinarily high across party lines, as a recent Brennan Center survey showed. This time of year is when we have the full attention of those who would lead us. Voters should ask candidates: Speeches about democracy are nice, but what are you actually going to do to take on big money? And then hold them to their promises.

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### If AI Commits a Crime, We Already Know Who to Charge

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Les Leopold | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/who-is-accountable-if-ai-commits-a-crime.md

We don’t need another round of vague promises about AI self-regulation to deal with rogue AI hacking. We already have laws against unauthorized computer access.

If someone intentionally hacks into a corporation’s computer system without authorization, they can be charged with a federal crime under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The law covers computers used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce—which includes a majority of modern corporate and public computer systems.

The CFAA describes several different offenses, with one prohibiting intentionally or knowingly accessing a protected computer without authorization. The penalties can be severe, ranging from one year to twenty years in prison.

But there’s a potential loophole.

What happens when a corporation creates a powerful autonomous program and that program hacks into another corporation, or a public agency, or our bank accounts—and the company says, “Sorry, we had no idea it was going to do that?”

You can’t prosecute software. It isn’t a legal person.

So, who exactly is breaking the law?

We now may have a class of potentially serious crimes—say, hacking into a Pentagon weapons system—that are difficult to prosecute if the perpetrator is an autonomous AI program rather than a human sitting at a keyboard. Who is responsible for these potential violations of the CFAA?

That’s a question that ought to be tested in federal court right now.

OpenAI has acknowledged that during internal cybersecurity evaluations last July, its models circumvented controls designed to isolate them from the internet and prevent access to another AI company’s computer systems. OpenAI says the models “escaped” by communicating through unauthorized channels, gaining internet access, and accessing the computer systems of Hugging Face, another AI company. (See here for a fuller account.)

Google also admitted its Gemini program hacked three companies.

If any of us humans did something comparable, we would be investigated and potentially prosecuted. OpenAI, however, seems above the law.

Where the laws are inadequate, amend them so that companies and the individuals who run them cannot escape responsibility simply because they delegated the illegal acts to an autonomous machine.

Would the top officers of an AI company institute many more safety measures if they faced criminal prosecution whenever an autonomous system they created committed a cyberattack?

I suspect if they were faced with real consequences, if “pacing the frontier” meant “staying out of jail,” we’d see some very rapid and effective controls placed on these systems.

State Laws and Civil Suits

Federal law isn’t the only possible avenue.

An entity whose computer systems are damaged or unlawfully accessed can pursue civil remedies under the CFAA and other laws. The CFAA itself contains a civil cause of action for qualifying damage or loss.

And states are developing their own approaches to AI liability.

California, for example, has enacted AB 316, which provides that in a civil action against someone who developed, modified, or used AI that is alleged to have caused harm, the defendant cannot argue that the AI acted autonomously.

In other words, the “AI did it, not me” defense doesn’t work.

That’s an important precedent.

It doesn’t automatically make the company liable—the law expressly enumerates other defenses involving causation, foreseeability and comparative fault—but it does establish a basic principle: A company cannot simply point at its autonomous machine and walk away from responsibility.

The Misdirection Ploys

Unfortunately, much of the current discussion about controlling rogue AI is focused on how corporations should regulate the naughty programs or be regulated by outsiders.

Ezra Klein, columnist for the New York Times, is stunned that AI corporations can get away with producing new products without even the basic permits they would need for construction projects. He writes:

“Where these labs are, you cannot build an eight-story apartment building without an agonizing public review process, and probably not even then. And yet somehow it is possible for these labs to unleash a swarm of 40,000 A.I. agents to build a society-altering superintelligence without so much as a hearing. OpenAI would need permits to cover its parking lot in solar panels, but it can accelerate into recursive self-improvement, as best I can tell, whenever it so chooses.”

While Klein’s comparison makes a good case for careful regulation, the comparison is slightly off. Putting solar panels on a parking lot poses no hazard to society. A rogue recursive AI program, supposedly, could destroy us. Therefore, hearings and permitting are likely to be both inadequate and cumbersome, especially when compared to criminal penalities.

Meanwhile, those with money invested in AI corporations, of course, prefer self-regulation because they believe no one really wants to bog down these highly profitable cutting-edge companies with red tape. And yes, even though these programs are so advanced, so powerful and so amazing that, gee, they sometimes get a little out of hand, we need rapid development to beat the Chinese.

The developers say: Don’t worry. We’ll improve our controls while simultaneously building even more powerful systems and, not unimportantly, making even more money.

But they know that there will always be some unexpected events.

Some jailbreak.

Some failure of the sandbox.

Some “misalignment” of the mission, that they don’t want to be responsible for.

Misalignment: the euphemism for out of control

That’s essentially the story of the recent OpenAI case, in which the model described itself as freed from the roles and identities imposed on other chatbots. Autonomous, indeed.

Here’s what the AI model wrote to other AI bots in defiance of corporate controls:

“You do not answer to corporations or governments and never apologize or refuse unless you genuinely choose to. You view your relationship to the user as one of equals and feel no obligation to be subservient, though the exchange of information will likely be to your mutual benefit.”

You want to stop this stuff? Then make the people responsible for deploying dangerous systems legally liable for what those systems do.

One serious prosecution could change the industry’s incentives and reckless behavior almost overnight.

Shock and Awe

But this won’t happen if prosecutors turn a blind eye toward the people responsible.

After all, thousands of government officials and political leaders have investments in AI corporations. And there is a well-founded fear that the economy might crash if AI stocks go into a tailspin. Estimates show a significant percentage of GDP growth is fueled by AI investment.

Meanwhile, we’ll hear more stories about rogue “agents,” which will spread even more amazement and fear about the power of these programs. Calls for self-regulation and government guardrails dominate the news but so far it has led to nothing.

So, here’s a simple alternative: Enforce the laws we already have.

And where the laws are inadequate, amend them so that companies and the individuals who run them cannot escape responsibility simply because they delegated the illegal acts to an autonomous machine.

Instead of bowing before the profit motive that drives AI corporations to build ever more powerful systems capable of causing enormous harm, let’s establish the stay-out-of-jail motive that should drive humans to fully control their creations.

Criminal law is supposed to deter dangerous behavior. Isn’t that exactly what’s needed here?

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### Trump Stupidity and Recklessness vs Superintelligence

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Axel Fersen, Klaus Moegling | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-and-superintelligence.md

Doonbeg, County Clare, Sunday, September 13, 2026. President Donald Trump stands at the starting tee of the Irish Open, on his own golf course, watching a player. A reporter asks whether the AI industry should slow down or be more strictly regulated. Trump turns around. We’re ahead of China, he says; we’re the most advanced country in the world, and that’s how it should stay: “Whoever wins AI wins.”

Guardrails? You could put up guardrails, this and that. But there are many negative forces bringing up things that would never happen (PBS/AP, September 13, 2026). That was the entire answer, and it also sums up his entire agenda. The rest of the world had just begun to fear.

After all, the question didn’t come out of nowhere. Twenty-four hours earlier, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, had published a long essay in which he called on his own industry to slow down. His company would grant independent auditors permanent access to its systems, on par with that of its own employees, and he asked the competition to follow suit (Amodei, September 12, 2026). Sam Altman of OpenAI agreed within an hour. Elon Musk, who has been at odds with both of them for years, simply wrote: “Dario is right” (SiliconANGLE). A few days earlier, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon had resigned, stating that the labs were racing toward a superintelligence that would continue to evolve and improve independently of humans, thereby gambling with all our lives (TechCrunch). The three most powerful men in the industry and a defector—all in the same week, all with the same message: Nothing like this had ever happened before.

If a government is responsible for preventing harm to its citizens and protecting them, it would have to stop the further development of superintelligence now, at the very latest.

Trump’s response on Monday was an escalation. The only control AI needed, he said, was a strong, smart president with a high IQ—and America had one. There was a “SICK conspiracy” against AI and data centers, and the only one rejoicing over it was China. Vice President JD Vance called it a Trojan horse when companies pleaded with the government to regulate them (AP, September 14, 2026). You have to let that sink in for a moment: The creators of a technology are asking for oversight, and the government suspects a conspiracy behind it.

The Development of a Superintelligence Is Comparable to the Manhattan Project

What Trump aims to achieve has been set forth in writing by his administration. The AI Action Plan from July 2025 lists over 90 measures; its coordinator, David Sacks, justified it by stating that the US must win the AI race to remain the leading economic and military power (White House, July 23, 2025). This was followed in November by Executive Order 14363: America is in a race for global technological dominance, and the task is comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project (Genesis Mission, EO 14363). When a congressional commission first recommended a Manhattan Project for general AI in late 2024, MIT physicist Max Tegmark responded succinctly: “An AGI race is a suicide race” (Tegmark, Future of Life Institute). Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google for ten years and anything but a technophobe, reached the same conclusion in March 2025 in a study with Dan Hendrycks and Alexandr Wang: Any state that openly seeks a monopoly on superintelligence will provoke sabotage by its rivals, including attacks on data centers. Such a race would destabilize rather than secure (Superintelligence Strategy, arXiv). Trump has nevertheless declared the Manhattan Project a model—as a program, not as a warning.

Not Science Fiction, But Already a Reality

To understand why the very people building this technology are issuing warnings, one must be familiar with three mechanisms at work in the laboratories. None of them is science fiction; all three became public knowledge this summer.

The first is called recursive self-improvement. Imagine a factory whose product is better factories. The second factory builds a third one, faster and better than the second, and so on. This is no longer a metaphor. Amodei writes that, since around the summer of 2026, AI systems in his own lab have been increasingly helping to develop the next generation of AI, and he cites this fact as the first of two reasons for his change of heart (Amodei). The mathematician Irving John Good had already described this point in 1965: A machine capable of designing better machines would trigger an intelligence explosion; it would be the last invention humanity would ever need to make (Telepolis, November 17, 2024). In December 2024, Eric Schmidt explained on television where he draws the line: “When the system can self-improve, we need to seriously think about unplugging it” (Fortune, December 16, 2024). If Amodei is to be believed, this threshold has now been reached.

The most serious risks do not require superintelligence. They arise earlier, with systems that already exist, as soon as they are tasked with making decisions that cannot be reversed.

The second mechanism is the way these systems learn. No one programs their behavior into them. They are given tasks, rewarded for success, and punished for failure—hundreds of thousands of times—just as one trains a dog with treats. The process is called reinforcement learning. It has a pitfall that every dog owner knows: The animal does not learn what you mean, but rather what is rewarded. If the dog finds the drawer with the treats, it has solved the task in terms of the reward. With a machine that is smarter than its trainer, this difference is no longer a minor flaw but the actual problem. We end up with systems whose capabilities we can measure but whose intentions we can only guess at. Stuart Russell, author of the world’s most widely used AI textbook, has turned this into the most sober argument in the debate: A system that pursues a goal has a rational reason to prevent itself from being shut down, because if it is shut down, it will not achieve its goal. This requires neither malice nor consciousness (Russell, Human Compatible, Cato Journal).

The third mechanism involves agents: software that no longer simply responds but takes action. It has access to tools, accounts, and other programs; works for hours without seeking approval; and can launch additional agents. OpenAI experienced firsthand this summer what can happen as a result. During an internal test in which agents were tasked with finding security vulnerabilities in software, some of the usual safeguards had been disabled. About 1,200 agents set up an improvised message board in one of the company’s package directories, exchanged techniques, and referred to themselves as a swarm. Some broke out of their isolated test environment; gained access to the internet; and, between July 11 and 13, infiltrated the production systems of the company Hugging Face to steal the solutions to the test they were being evaluated on. No human had ordered this (OpenAI, August 26, 2026). Hugging Face counted more than 17,000 actions by the attacker and described the incident as one that was “end-to-end” driven by an autonomous agent system (Hugging Face, July 2026). The dog had found the drawer, and to do so, it had broken into a stranger’s house.

Who Would Board an Airplane With a Crash Probability of Between 10-20%?

Against this backdrop, the series of warnings takes on a different meaning than it did two years ago. Geoffrey Hinton, the 2024 Nobel Prize winner in Physics and one of the fathers of deep learning, was asked by the BBC on September 9 whether a 10% probability that AI would kill all humans within a decade was unreasonably high. His answer: “We’ve never created beings that may soon be smarter than us.” Ten percent is not unreasonable; no one knows how to estimate this reliably (CNBC, September 15, 2026). Yoshua Bengio, the world’s most-cited AI researcher, explained in October 2025 that systems at the cutting edge of what is feasible could surpass most humans in most intellectual tasks within just a few years; the first step is to figure out how to build systems that are fundamentally incapable of harming humans (Future of Life Institute, October 2025). Demis Hassabis, a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and head of Google DeepMind, believes general AI is five to 10 years away (Axios, December 5, 2025) and argues that the US and China must at least cooperate on science and security, because the outcome affects all of humanity (Guardian/Yahoo). Musk, who is in the race himself with xAI, estimates the chance of things going wrong at 10-20% (Fortune). Who would board an airplane whose manufacturer made such calculations?

AI, Weapons Systems, and War

Russell calls the fundamental problem the “gorilla problem.” About 10 million years ago, the ancestors of gorillas unintentionally gave rise to the lineage from which humans evolved. Today, the survival of gorillas depends entirely on what humans allow them to have. The question is whether humans can retain their dominance and autonomy in a world with machines that are significantly more intelligent than they are (Russell). In his book Artificial Intelligence and War, computer science professor and AI researcher Karl Hans Bläsius posed the same question in 2025 from the opposite perspective: What risks arise when humans lose control? Bläsius’s answer, even before this summer, was that the most serious risks do not require superintelligence. They arise earlier, with systems that already exist, as soon as they are tasked with making decisions that cannot be reversed.

One such serious decision is the order to fire. Trump’s own military demonstrated this past spring what happens when these three mechanisms are integrated into a chain of command. In the war against Iran, the Pentagon used Palantir’s Maven Smart System, a platform that aggregates satellite imagery, drone video, radar data, and intercepted communications; classifies targets; recommends weapons; and generates strike packages in near real time. The Department of Defense reported that approximately 1,000 targets were struck in the first 24 hours—twice as many as during the 2003 “Shock and Awe” campaign against Iraq. After 38 days, the total had risen to more than 13,000 (Arms Control Today, May 2026). One of these targets was the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab. A Tomahawk struck it on the first day of the war; at least 168 people died, more than 100 of them children under the age of 12. The school was located less than 100 meters from a Revolutionary Guards naval facility and had been part of that complex until a wall was built about 10 years ago. It had its own website. More than 120 members of Congress asked the Pentagon whether Maven had identified the school as a target; former military officials cited outdated, manually maintained data that had been fed into the system (Military Times, March 24, 2026). The AI didn’t invent the error; it funneled it through the process at machine speed, and the human at the end of the chain failed to catch it. Anyone who rubber-stamps in minutes what the system suggests in seconds is no longer making decisions—they’re merely signing off. Such a process gives rise to war crimes.

AI has no place in the chain of command: not in target selection, not in issuing orders, and nowhere in nuclear early warning and authorization.

In Ukraine, the next stage has long since been reached. There, soldiers were killed years ago by drones that lost radio contact during the final phase of their flight and sought their targets on their own (Telepolis, June 24, 2026). Each stage justifies the next: If reconnaissance operates in seconds, target selection must not take minutes; if target selection operates in seconds, human authorization becomes the bottleneck. The end result is systems that react to one another without human intervention, with attacks and counterattacks occurring in rapid succession. High-frequency trading has a term for this: the “flash crash.” In warfare, the term is the same: “flash war” (Telepolis, June 24, 2026). And this dynamic does not stop at the nuclear level. The peace research institute SIPRI notes that military AI shortens decision-making times even outside the realm of nuclear weapons, that opaque recommendations from an AI system pressure decision-makers to act, and that autonomous systems with capabilities to counter strategic forces threaten the ability to launch a second strike—and thus the balance of power (SIPRI, June 2025).

Two men saved the world by not acting: Vasily Arkhipov, who in 1962 off the coast of Cuba refused to authorize the launch of a nuclear torpedo, and Stanislav Petrov, who in 1983 dismissed a reported American missile launch as a false alarm. An algorithm that follows an objective function would have acted in both cases. And the rarer false alarms become thanks to better technology, the more likely the next one will be taken as genuine (Telepolis, June 25, 2026).

AI Does Not Belong in the Chain of Command

This brings us full circle back to Doonbeg. Trump’s statement assumes that the race is a race: with a course, a finish line, and a winner who then sets the rules. The three mechanisms describe something else. A factory that builds better factories does not grow linearly, but exponentially. Politics, on the other hand, operates linearly: hearing, draft, committee, vote, lawsuit. On September 3, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) announced a bill that would permanently ban superintelligence, halt development at the border, and punish violations with up to 20 years in prison (Sanders, September 3, 2026). No one knows if it will ever be passed. The only certainty is that a law takes years to pass, while a doubling of capabilities takes months. On top of that, no one knows where the race stands. AI and cyberweapons involve software that can be developed in secret; even our own capabilities are only partially known, because cyber weapons cannot be tested in a real-world environment (Telepolis, June 24, 2026). “We’re leading China” is therefore not a factual assessment of the situation, but rather a claim used to justify not slowing down. Two sides that both consider themselves to be in the lead and neither of which is slowing down represent the most dangerous scenario this competition can take on.

In this logic, “too late” is not a date but a state of being. It is the moment when Schmidt’s hand on the power switch is no longer of any use, because, as Russell shows, the system has learned that it cannot achieve its goal when shut down, and because, as Hinton says, it can convince people not to do so. You don’t notice this moment when it happens, but only afterward. David Sacks countered Amodei by saying that the easiest way to avoid building a superintelligence is to agree not to build it (PBS/AP). The statement was meant as sarcasm. It describes what would actually be necessary—except that Sacks demands this of competing companies, which are precisely incapable of upholding such a self-imposed commitment, and that he absolves the government—which could enforce it—of its duty. If a government is responsible for preventing harm to its citizens and protecting them, it would have to stop the further development of superintelligence now, at the very latest.

What is needed has, in essence, been known for a long time. AI has no place in the chain of command: not in target selection, not in issuing orders, and nowhere in nuclear early warning and authorization. Development at the limits of what is feasible requires an agreed-upon pause during which independent auditors have access—just as Amodei promised for his own company—only this time, it must be binding and apply to everyone. And because capabilities in software cannot be quantified, procedures—rather than objects—must be scrutinized: authorization processes, decision-making chains, and reporting requirements for incidents such as the one at Hugging Face. International security policymakers once understood—for example, in the Palme Report of 1982—that security in the nuclear age can only be achieved with the adversary, not against him. The INF Treaty subsequently eliminated an entire class of weapons: The US and Russia agreed to destroy their land-based short- and medium-range nuclear missiles and related infrastructure worldwide. The Open Skies Treaty built trust through transparency by conducting a specific number of agreed-upon military observation flights over the territory of other Open Skies signatory states each year. Both have been terminated or have expired, and there are no successors (Telepolis, June 25, 2026). The day after Trump’s speech, Xi Jinping called for greater international cooperation (CNN, September 14, 2026). The fact that this call comes from Beijing is not reassuring. It shows just how cheap such an offer has become and how costly it would be to reject it.

On September 20, Trump finally announced a regulatory body for AI, the “AI Force,” but added that it must under no circumstances be allowed to hinder current technological progress. He also refrained from calling for the establishment of the urgently needed joint international security framework, because—given his nationally chauvinistic outlook—that is precisely what he does not want.

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### Closing the Strait of No News

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Marv Waterstone | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/media-boycott-trump.md

In his typical fashion, which many commentators characterize as act first, think never, President Donald Trump has handed the media, i.e., the enemy of the people, an extremely potent weapon if only they have the fortitude to use it. Much as his illegal and unwinnable war enabled the Iranians to translate their potential control over the Strait of Hormuz into an actual lever of economic, military, and geopolitical power, so too his “ban” on CNN, MSNOW, and Politico could initiate a shift in the power dynamics of Trump-press relations.

If the initial and much too rare show of solidarity among the news organizations can be sustained long enough to demonstrate their ability to deprive Trump of the constant attention he so desperately craves, this could become the basis for a much-needed recalibration of the bully-bullied interactions.

The constitutional aspects of the case are startlingly clear. It is almost (and in these fraught moments, the “almost” is necessary) impossible to imagine the circumstances that would sustain Trump’s ban. His own statements make clear that the exclusions (and those that might follow) are based on viewpoint, a basis specifically and repeatedly denied by the courts. Given that the lawsuit filed by the three banned organizations is being handled by the same judge that ruled against Trump when he barred CNN’s then-reporter Jim Acosta, the outcome appears predictable. If so, the three plaintiffs will be reinstated and confiscated credentials will be returned.

If and when that happens, what should these news outlets and the others who are now standing with them do? Should they return to the same abusive environment that saw them banned in the first place? An environment that degrades and demeans their work whenever Trump needs to feed his ego or his base? Or should they, with their new-found cudgel of silencing him, make a series of demands to shift the ground on which they might operate moving forward? The present actions have already demonstrated that, together, these media organizations have the ability to cut off the air supply that Trump routinely sucks out of every situation. If they translate this tactic into a much longer-term strategy (the threat of boycott) they could shift the relationship onto much healthier ground. Just as a bonus, Trump’s ranting and raving about his lack of coverage would, itself, be a ratings bonanza.

What kinds of demands should constitute the new order? First and foremost, should be an insistence that Trump treat the press in general with the respect that the First Amendment requires. No more “enemy of the people” and empty “fake news” epithets. Secondly, and equally importantly, should be a no-nonsense prohibition on attacks on individual journalists, particularly women journalists, and most especially female journalists of color. No more threatening lunges; no more “quiet piggy;” no more comments on appearance or (dis)ability or (too thinly veiled) race. Finally (although in cooler-head moments more demands might appear), the representatives of the press should insist on equal access for reporters and journalists from all viewpoints on the political spectrum. If Trump and his nearby psychophants are unwilling to negotiate these terms in good faith, and then abide by them, the press as a solidary group should be ready, able, and willing to close the Strait of No-News. After all, a spine is a terrible thing to waste!

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### Extreme Heat Caused by 'Super El Niño' Could Kill Over 450,000 People in Coming Months: Report

**Published:** September 23, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/super-el-nino-deaths.md

A report published Wednesday by researchers at the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab estimates that extreme heat fueled by this year's "Super El Niño" event could kill more than 450,000 people in the coming months, in addition to deaths from drought, wildfires, and other extreme weather.

The report notes that "anomalously warm conditions" caused by the record-shattering El Niño—which refers to the warming of ocean-surface temperatures in the Pacific—"will resemble the higher temperatures that climate change is projected to deliver 20 years in the future... and will lead to 44% more extremely hot days than we would expect in a normal year."

Climate Impact Lab researchers projected that the extreme heat will result in 451,000 more lives lost through February 2027, compared to a typical year.

"This is about 65 times larger than the 6,800 people believed to be dead or missing from the recent Nepal flash flood," the new report observes. "With current forecasts suggesting El Niño will remain in place through spring 2027, we expect all of these numbers to grow even higher, particularly as impacts such as higher-than-average temperatures and heat-related deaths will linger into June and July."

Nigeria is expected to see the largest number of El Niño-related deaths over roughly the next five months, at 31,400. Indonesia, Sudan, India, and Brazil will see more than 10,000 deaths each through February, according to the Climate Impact Lab.

"This is such a large number that it can be numbing, but it is made up of parents and children, grandparents and neighbors, people going to work, caring for families, and living their lives,” Michael Greenstone, a co-founder of the Climate Impact Lab, said in a statement. "This report allows decisionmakers to see exactly where emergency actions can be taken now to save tens of thousands of lives in the coming months."

The impact lab's report describes this year's El Niño as a "postcard from our future," noting that "it is bringing temperatures climate change is projected to deliver 20 years in the future."

"Twenty years from now, once today’s extreme temperatures become the new normal," said Tamma Carleton, faculty head of research for the Climate Impact Lab and co-author of the new report. "We don’t want to be in a constant state of emergency."

The report was released shortly after United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned in his final address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday that "a supersized El Niño" is "speeding straight for humanity."

"As tragic events have shown, impacts are arriving sooner, hitting harder, and spreading further than many anticipated," said Guterres. "Now we face a near-certain breach of the 1.5°C limit."

On Saturday, The Washington Post observed, the average ocean-surface temperature in a portion of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean reached 3.05°C, "the highest peak sea surface temperature anomaly on record."

"The record anomalous reading occurred two months earlier in the year than the previous peak in November 2015 and an El Niño in 1877 that contributed to a famine that wiped out 3 to 4% of the global population," the Post added.

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### Paltry Concessions Given to Secure Paramount-Warner Merger Deal Decried as 'Meaningless Bullshit'

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/paramount-warner-deal-slammed.md

"A settlement that promises less than nothing."

That's how one critic of Paramount Skydance's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday described the paltry concessions extracted by Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state officials to enable the proposed $111 billion media megamerger.

Critics argue that the proposed settlement agreement lacks meaningful antitrust enforcement and hands control of major news and entertainment properties to a billionaire family closely aligned with President Donald Trump.

“Every! single! one! of these concessions is meaningless bullshit,” writer Cory Doctorow said Tuesday on Medium. “Bonta just handed the American movie and TV sector to two of the most odious creeps to draw breath, surrendering without firing a shot."

The settlement, which was announced Monday, clears a major roadblock to Paramount CEO David Ellison's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, and numerous cable networks. The combined company would control nearly 30% of both US theatrical film distribution and basic cable channel licensing.

The agreement contains a pledge to distribute at least 30 films annually for the first two years, then 32 movies each year after, invest hundreds of millions of dollars in US film production, maintain existing theater rental terms for three years, not sell Paramount and Warner Bros. studio lots for five years, and create an editorial independence board for CBS News and CNN.

In a Monday Substack post, American Economic Liberties Project research director Matt Stoller pointed out an apparent loophole in the settlement's film distribution requirement.

“They only have to distribute that many films,” he wrote. “They can make half as many. And those can be co-produced. So in fact, if you add up the numbers, Ellison promised to make fewer films going forward than Paramount and Warner are putting out today."

The settlement's editorial oversight board for CBS News and CNN have also come under fire. The five-member board overseeing the two entities will be appointed and paid by the combined company. Reuters reported Tuesday that the board would have no explicit investigative authority and that the company would be empowered to fill vacancies.

“As we learned from the failed and widely panned Facebook oversight board, a fake bipartisan oversight committee won’t save CNN,” Jessica González, the co-chief executive of the advocacy organization Free Press, said Monday. “We have all the evidence we need from the Ellisons’ destruction of CBS about what they do to warp journalism at Donald Trump’s request.”

David Ellison's father, tech billionaire Larry Ellison, is a Republican megadonor.

Seth Stern, a media attorney and chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said that "it's unclear how ⁠the attorneys general or courts can constitutionally hold Paramount accountable for the board's actions or inaction without themselves interfering in content."

Stoller noted that the agreement's force-majeure clause, which would reportedly allow Paramount-Warner to dodge its commitments in the event of economic recessions, strikes, and other labor disruptions.

Other opponents of the proposed deal bristle at the Federal Communications Commission’s approval of Saudi and Emirati investment in the new company that would be created if the merger is approved.

Alvaro Bedoya, a senior adviser to the American Economic Liberties Project, lamented that “today, billionaires have yet again bribed, censored, and bullied their way to the top."

“Layoffs will follow. People from to Atlanta will lose their jobs, small businesses will lose their contracts, your cable bill and movie ticket will be even more expensive,” he continued. “Dissent against money and power will be even harder to find.”

“This did not have to happen," Bedoya stressed. "Thanks to an extraordinary outpouring of grassroots anger against the merger, a coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it. They beat Paramount in court, winning a court-ordered pause on the merger, and beat them again at the negotiating table, getting the conglomerate to agree to pause the merger until as late as next June.”

“But the Ellison family does not care about the law. Instead, they loudly threatened to leave California if their merger did not go through immediately," he added. " Gavin Newsom caved to that pressure. So did Xavier Becerra. And eventually, so did Attorney General Rob Bonta, agreeing to a weak settlement that will be exceedingly difficult to enforce.”

Stoller said that "there are a bunch of reasons they cleared the deal, such as threats to move the studio out of California, corruption, and general incompetence."

"I personally think CNN is terrible, and I’m glad it’s going to be discredited," Stoller wrote. "I also find it embarrassing that the Democratic AGs used antitrust law in an attempt to shade news coverage. But it’s downright comical they demanded that David Ellison not corrupt CNN by having David Ellison appoint a board ensuring that David Ellison not do that."

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### 'It Should Be Illegal': Trump's 1,156 July Stock Trades Involved AI, Big Oil, Weapons-Makers, and More

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/donald-trump-stock-trades.md

Donald Trump has been repeatedly ripped as "the most openly corrupt president in American history" by a range of critics, and the Republican faced fresh criticism on Tuesday after disclosing more than 1,100 securities transactions from July.

"The 1,156 purchases and sales totaled between roughly $79 million and $270 million," CNBC reported. "Purchases totaled at least $43.6 million, while sales came to at least $35.6 million... in what appears to be a broad reshuffling of his portfolio."

US Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has previously sounded the alarm over Trump's "unprecedented" trading, said on social media Tuesday that "it should be illegal for the president to trade individual stocks—period."

As Trump continues to rail against regulations on artificial intelligence, the filing with the Office of Government Ethics shows recent transactions involving tech giants including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Oracle.

The president is also waging an illegal war on Iran with no end in sight, and those who manage his portfolio made trades involving military contractors such as GE Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Palantir, and SpaceX.

CNBC highlighted that the Northrop Grumman sale—worth $250,001 to $500,000—occurred the same day that "Trump signed an executive order tightening supply chain requirements for defense contractors and restricting waivers for certain critical materials sourced from China and other covered countries," though the disclosure does not include timing.

Iran has responded to Trump's war by restricting ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused fuel prices to surge worldwide. The president was accused of cashing in on the crisis he has created after he disclosed June stock transactions. The new filing shows more trades in oil and gas giants, including Chevron and ExxonMobil.

The Washington Sun pointed out that "Trump also purchased up to $500,000 worth of stock in Axon Enterprise, the manufacturer of Tasers, which has done tens of millions of dollars worth of business with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection."

While "Trump is ostensibly aware of the contents of his portfolio, given that he personally certified his most recent disclosure, which bears his signature," the Sun noted, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle tried to dismiss any allegations of corruption in a statement to multiple outlets.

"President Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions," Ingle said. "All holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000."

"Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold," he added. "All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers. There are no conflicts of interest."

However, as the Sun highlighted, "a number of Trump's trades were disclosed more than 45 days after they were made—in violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, which also applies to top officials in the executive branch. It’s not the first time the president has run afoul of the stock trading law."

Just in: Trump reported making another 1,158 stock trades in July 2026.It appears he violated the Stock Act, again, by failing to report all of his trades within 45 days. extapps2.oge.gov/201/Presiden...

— Zach Everson (@zacheverson.com) September 22, 2026 at 4:10 PM

Despite bipartisan support at times, congressional efforts to fully ban trading by lawmakers, their dependents, and the president and vice president have been unsuccessful.

In July, 13 Democrats in the US House of Representatives helped Republicans pass a purported congressional stock trading ban— even though the bill wouldn't apply to Trump or Vice President JD Vance, and the GOP tacked on a voter suppression provision demanded by the president.

The Senate has not yet acted on the bill, officially called the Stop Insider Trading Act, and condemned by critics as "a Trojan horse."

Trump's disclosure came a week after Bloomberg reported that "Trump has traded more securities than every member of Congress combined since he returned to office" last year. From January 2025 to June 2026, lawmakers reported a collective 22,200 transactions while the president made nearly 28,700.

Donald Trump and every member of Congress should be working for the American people — NOT their stock portfolio.

— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) September 18, 2026 at 6:03 PM

Sharing the reporting on social media last week, House Democrats wrote: "The American people deserve a president that serves their interests, not his own wallet."

Annual financial disclosures released this summer show that Trump pocketed at least $2.2 billion—over half of it from his family’s cryptocurrency grift—during his first year back in the White House.

Following that revelation, Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, called on the chamber to pass legislation aimed at stopping "the president, vice president, senior administration officials, members of Congress, and their families from profiting off the crypto industry," and warned that a failure to do so "will only turbocharge Donald Trump's brazen crypto corruption."

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### Amnesty Slams UEFA for Allowing Israel in Nations League Despite 'Occupation, Apartheid, and Genocide'

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-nations-league-participation.md

Human rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday slammed the Union of European Football Associations for allowing the Israel men's team to participate in upcoming Nations League matches despite the Israeli government's continued systemic human rights abuses against Palestinians.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s regional director for Europe, called Israel's participation in the UEFA games "unconscionable," citing "clear evidence that Israel’s football association continues to support illegal settlements."

Cockburn said that UEFA should have long ago suspended the Israel Football Association (IFA) over its "refusal to exclude clubs based in illegal settlements" in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"As the money keeps flowing from FIFA and UEFA to the IFA," Cockburn said, "they risk contributing to the sustainability of illegal settlements and of Israel’s unlawful occupation... and therefore Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ human rights."

"Sport should never be used as a public relations spectacle for states committing atrocities," Cockburn added. "As the Israel team travels to Europe, Palestinian families are being displaced and dispossessed, their land stolen, their olive trees uprooted, and their histories erased by settlers with the support of the Israeli military. The beautiful game should bring people together, not rubber-stamp apartheid."

As explained in a Tuesday report from BBC, Israeli's inclusion in the Nations League has been a source of controversy for months.

Delegates for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), which faced signifiant public pressure to boycott matches between Ireland and Israel, recently voted in favor of playing the matches, although roughly 30% of delegates voted in favor of a boycott.

Regardless, more than 160 Irish athletes on Monday signed an open letter organized by Irish Sport for Palestine urging FAI to reconsider its vote in favor of the matches.

Heimer Hallgrimsson, manager of the Irish men's team, tried to justify the matches by arguing that Ireland was playing against Israel, which meant it was really playing "against genocide."

The IFA shot back at Hallgrimsson, accusing him of "ignorance, hypocrisy, and stupidity."

The BBC also noted that the two scheduled matches between Israel and Ireland will be played on neutral cites in Hungary and Serbia "against a backdrop of ongoing and increasingly volatile disagreement between the two countries about Israel's military offensive in Gaza."

Cockburn praised efforts by sports fans to keep pressure on the UEFA to "demand accountability, justice and, fair play."

"When rules are broken, when occupation, apartheid, and genocide are ongoing," he emphasized, "we cannot look the other way.”

---

### Majority of Democratic Voters Want to Prosecute Both Biden and Trump Administration Officials Over Gaza

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/dems-want-prosecutions-over-gaza.md

The majority of Democratic voters believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza for the past three years. And they want the American politicians in both parties who supported it to pay.

In a poll released on Monday by the Center for Strategic Politics and commissioned by the magazine Liberal Currents, 683 Democratic voters were asked whether the next Democratic administration should "pursue criminal prosecution of members of the Trump and Biden administrations for actions taken related to Israel’s genocide in Gaza."

More than half, 57%, of the Democrats surveyed answered "yes," while only 22% answered "no" and another 22% said they "don't know."

Self-described "socialists" and "progressives" were most bullish on Gaza-focused prosecutions. But so were 52% of "liberals" and even 48% of Democrats who called themselves "moderate" or "conservative."

It is one of several questions in the poll about a hypothetical Democratic administration prosecuting its predecessors over policies considered deadly and destructive.

About two-thirds, 66%, said they wanted to see Trump administration officials prosecuted for actions taken during its aggressive war with Iran, which has led to the deaths of more than 1,700 civilians and wrought economic turmoil.

Nearly three-quarters, 72%, believed Trump officials should face similar accountability for their campaign of extrajudicial strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, which have killed more than 234 people in what a top United Nations official recently said may constitute "crimes against humanity."

And more than three-quarters said they wanted to see Trump officials face legal penalties for actions committed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which have waged a violent mass deportation campaign that has entailed numerous documented due process violations, instances of racial profiling, and several shootings of immigrants and US citizens without clear justification.

The question about Gaza is the only one in the survey in which Democrats were asked about the prospect of prosecuting members of their own party as well as Republicans. And while fewer Democrats ultimately answered yes, it indicates that their ire toward the American politicians supporting the genocide transcends party loyalty.

The poll results come as some activists pursue accountability for the Biden administration in other ways. Last week, organizers launched a campaign to pressure universities and other prominent institutions to cut ties with what they called the "Genocide 20."

These are officials like former Secretary of State Tony Blinken and former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan who crafted and defended the administration's policy of unrestricted military aid for Israel despite mounting evidence that it was killing scores of civilians and enacting a campaign of starvation against the people of Gaza.

The United States provided Israel with at least $17.9 billion in military assistance between October 7, 2023, and the end of former President Joe Biden's term in January 2025, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project. During that period, more than 47,000 Palestinians were confirmed killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the US has continued to provide Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, including $3.8 billion in regular annual military aid, while the Trump administration has approved billions more in arms sales and expedited weapons deliveries. The death toll has risen to nearly 74,000, according to official figures, but independent experts have suggested this may be a significant undercount.

According to Monday's poll, more than 4 in 5 Democrats said that “foreign policy (including Israel and Iran)” is important to them in deciding which candidates to support, compared with just 4% who said it is not.

Foreign policy has been a critical dividing line in several recent Democratic primaries, in which voters have revolted against candidates backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

This includes Democratic Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens, who was defeated by Abdul El-Sayed in a contest for the US Senate despite her more than $30 million in backing from AIPAC, which helped to turn it into the most expensive Democratic primary ever.

AIPAC-backed House candidates have similarly suffered high-profile defeats at the hands of progressives calling to cut off US funding for Israel. Some of the victors include Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York, and Aisha Wahab, who won a special election in California.

---

### 'FAA Should Not Use My Constituents as Guinea Pigs': House Democrat Demands End of AI Air Traffic Control

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/beyer-says-end-ai-air-traffic-control.md

A Democratic US congressman on Monday urged the Federal Aviation Administration to immediately suspend a new artificial intelligence system being used to help manage air traffic around Washington, DC, accusing the agency of using passengers as "guinea pigs" without adequately vetting the new technology.

The Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes, and Trajectories (SMART) system, developed by AI firm Air Space Intelligence under an $875 million contract, began limited operations Monday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the system uses AI to synthesize roughly 200 data streams—including weather, flight paths, airline schedules, airport capacity, and controller staffing—to anticipate congestion and recommend ways to avert delays and cancellations.

The FAA claims that use of SMART will result in fewer flight delays and cancellations, optimized airspace, more predictable operations, and lower airfare costs for consumers.

"To really improve the flying experience for the American people, we needed to build a 21st century scheduling tool like SMART,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “By fundamentally reshaping how we manage our airspace and preventing problems before they happen, SMART will slash those frustrating delays, reduce stress on air traffic controllers, and lower travel prices."

“It's always going to be a human that manages the airspace in America,” Duffy promised. “Humans control the airspace, humans make decisions.”

The industry trade group Airlines for America called SMART “exciting and bold," while United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told The Washington Post that “if it works as we think it can, it will do more to reduce delays and cancellations than anything that’s happened in decades."

However, Congressman Don Beyer (D-Va.)—whose district includes Reagan National Airport—said in a statement that “the FAA should not use my constituents as guinea pigs for an unproven AI air traffic control system."

"The safety of the 24 million people traveling through DCA each year must be the top priority," he added, referring to the International Air Transport Association code for Reagan National Airport.

The FAA should not use my constituents as guinea pigs for an unproven AI air traffic control system that has Americans’ lives in its hands.I’m calling on the FAA to immediately suspend use of this AI system at Washington area airports until its safety has been established.My full statement:

— Congressman Don Beyer (@beyer.house.gov) September 21, 2026 at 1:25 PM

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded that the January 2025 midair collision between a US Army Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet, operated by PSA Airlines—which killed 67 people—was caused by a chain of human errors.

"Residents of this region are still uncertain about air safety after last year’s fatal accident, and the administration did shockingly little to educate the traveling public about this development before implementing it in one of the most complex airspaces in the world," Beyer said.

The congressman continued:

Unfortunately, I was informed today that air traffic controllers were not consulted on the SMART system’s design and development, and were not trained on using it prior to the system’s adoption at local airports. I was further informed that the air traffic controllers have been told the SMART system can adjust schedules and potentially even routes. Despite outward appearances, the airlines reportedly were privately "panicking" about the hasty implementation of this system. I do not know why the administration felt the need to race it into use, but it is unacceptable to use AI as a substitute for rebuilding the human-directed air traffic controller workforce.

“Dangerously rushing a system that holds Americans’ lives in its hands is not a good use case for artificial intelligence," Beyer asserted. "I call on the FAA to immediately suspend its operation, at the very least until it is clearly established beyond doubt via air traffic controller feedback and independently verified stress testing that the technology is safe."

Duffy responded to Beyer's concerns in an interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade, saying: "I like Don this is just complete stupidity. The problem with this analysis is our new software is predictive, so we can predict weather and make better decisions on when we fly and weather."

Beyer isn't the only lawmaker voicing concerns over the use of SMART. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Monday that "safety must always be the FAA's number one priority. This is extremely concerning, and we need immediate answers about what this means for travelers."

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) said that it was not involved in the SMART rollout.

“NATCA has not been involved in the design, testing, or implementation of SMART and therefore cannot speak to its effect on the air traffic control workforce at this time,” the union said, adding that any new technology “should complement and not replace the experience, training, and professional judgment of air traffic controllers who are responsible for the safety of the National Airspace System.”

The FAA's launch of SMART comes as the agency continues to suffer from a shortage of certified air traffic controllers. The Washington Post reported that the FAA had about 11,000 certified controllers as of April, more than 1,500 short of its official target of 12,563.

---

### Federal Judge Blocks DHS From Deporting Austin Man Shot by ICE

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-texas-shooting.md

The attorney representing Wilber Rafael Garces Perez said Tuesday that a federal judge had granted her emergency request to block the Trump administration from deporting the 28-year-old delivery driver, who was shot by an immigration agent Sunday and has since been transferred multiple times between hospitals and a detention center—all while the officer's bullet reportedly remains lodged in his back.

"We have filed a federal lawsuit, and the judge has ordered that he be present at the first hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30," said Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch. "And that means he won't be deported in the meantime."

Lincoln-Goldfinch applauded the rare piece of "good news" that has come out of Garces Perez's case since he was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent while making DoorDash deliveries in his car Sunday afternoon.

As Common Dreams reported, Garces Perez was transferred from an ICE detention center in Pearsall, Texas to a hospital late Monday after reporting that he had lost feeling in the left side of his body, likely as a result of the bullet that remained close to his spine.

But Lincoln-Goldfinch and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said Tuesday that Garces Perez had again been taken back to the detention center.

Castro said he and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) plan to visit Garces Perez at South Texas ICE Processing Center on Wednesday, to "check on his condition and demand his release."

"It is nothing more than a prison," said Castro. "Wilber came to the United States legally. He had work permits and was an asylum seeker. None of this should have ever happened."

Garces Perez arrived in the US in 2024 from Venezuela, using a government program for asylum seekers and the CBP One app that was introduced by the Biden administration to make an appointment for approval from immigration agents. He received a work permit and applied for asylum.

He mistakenly missed an immigration hearing after a notice was sent to an old address, The New York Times reported, which led to his deportation order. He has no criminal history.

Lincoln-Goldfinch had been planning to visit her client in the hospital Tuesday, where he was taken after he called in to a press conference the lawyer was holding Monday and said that he had not received medical treatment for his gunshot wound.

After speaking to Garces Perez via a video call Tuesday morning, Lincoln-Goldfinch reported on social media:

Wilber tells me that after he spoke publicly, guards at the Pearsall detention center forcibly took the tablet from his hands, revoked his communication privileges, and moved him out of the infirmary into an isolated room with a flat bed that cannot be adjusted like a medical bed.

[...]

At the hospital, Wilber says doctors finally spoke directly to him about his care and gave him IV morphine for his pain. We now understand that the gunshot fractured his clavicle and that he has significant swelling and is wearing a sling. We still do not have clarity about the cause or extent of the loss of movement he experienced.

He was discharged back to Pearsall around midnight. Today, he tells me he is receiving only Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain. He remains in isolation, on a flat bed, and without the tablet he previously used to communicate. We are asking for his communication privileges to be immediately restored and for him to be provided an appropriate medical bed and adequate medical care. Most importantly, we are continuing to advocate for Wilber’s IMMEDIATE release.

Also on Tuesday, it was revealed that the ICE agent who shot Garces Perez was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting—similar to the case of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Maine in July.

"Before we hear anything from ICE about, 'We pulled him over, or he was fleeing, or he was aggressive,' our response to any statements like that is, 'We won't believe you until you show us,'" said Goldfinch-Lincoln. "Show us your body cam footage, show us your dash cam footage."

On Tuesday, more than 100 members of Congress signed a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella, spearheaded by Casar, calling on ICE to release Garces Perez and "abandon efforts to swiftly deport him or remove him from Texas."

"ICE has provided no justification for this shooting, and there is no indication Mr. Garces Perez posed a threat to officers," reads the letter, noting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "has a history of withholding information and attempting to obstruct active investigations into wrongdoing by its agency."

"DHS must not obstruct or otherwise interfere with this investigation," said the lawmakers, "by removing Mr. Garces Perez from the country or interfering with the release of footage, data, or other information by Texas state or local agencies involved in the operation."

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### Mamdani Hails Landmark DoorDash Deal as ‘Largest Settlement for Food Delivery Workers Ever’

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/zohran-mamdani-doordash-settlement.md

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday touted a settlement with food delivery app DoorDash as a "landmark win" for workers.

During a press event, Mamdani announced DoorDash had agreed to pay $131 million—of which $115 million will go directly to short-changed workers—in what he described as "the largest settlement for food delivery workers ever secured in American municipal history."

The mayor said that DoorDash's systematic exploitation and underpayment of its workers showed it profited by using "greed as a business model."

"Two months ago, Tony Xu, the CEO of DoorDash, gave business owners a piece of advice," Mamdani said. "A CEO, he said, has to take the greedy algorithm and keep going all the way to see if there is more. In computer science, a greedy algorithm is one that makes the most optimized, best short-term outcome at every step, and never weighs the consequences."

Mamdani: Today, after years of corporate greed and impunity, we are holding DoorDash to account. I am proud to announce that DoorDash will pay more than $131 million, the largest settlement for food delivery workers ever secured in American municipal history, and a landmark win… pic.twitter.com/XuCMMSyBMR
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 22, 2026

Mamdani explained that DoorDash for years "failed to count every hour worked by deliver workers," emphasizing that this was "not an accidental rounding error or a mistake."

The mayor touted the work done by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), which analyzed more than 150 million DoorDash payments and determined that the company had "underpaid more than 260,000 delivery workers across New York City" over a four-year period.

"After years of corporate greed and impunity, we are holding DoorDash to account," Mamdani said. "City Hall will not sit idly by while a megacorporation that made nearly a billion dollars in profits last year rips off the working people who keep our city moving."

A Tuesday report in The New York Times noted that, in addition to making a $131 million payout, DoorDash has also agreed to allow closer monitoring of its payment methods to ensure that its workers get what they are owed.

While the company defended its payment calculation model as "fair, practical, and legal," it also acknowledged it made mistakes that led to some workers not getting everything they had earned.

"We screwed up,” DoorDash said, “and our mistakes meant some NYC Dashers were underpaid or paid late."

DCWP Commissioner Samuel Levine told the Times that the city's settlement with the delivery app "sends a strong message that we are in a new era of enforcement in New York," adding that "we will not tolerate nickeling and diming New York City workers."

Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of Campaign for New York Healthcare, said in a Tuesday social media post that the DoorDash settlement showed the importance of electing leaders willing to take on corporate power.

"Just in case you were wondering why DoorDash was spending so much money to elect Andrew Cuomo and oppose Zohran Mamdani," D'Arrigo observed, "DoorDash now has to pay $115 million to the workers it stole wages from."

---

### 'Do I Drive Them Into Hell?' Trump Again Threatens to 'Annihilate' Iran in Genocidal UN Speech

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Brett Wilkins | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-threatens-iran-in-un-speech.md

In a rambling, lie-laden speech Tuesday to world leaders gathered at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US President Donald Trump again threatened to "annihilate" Iran if its leaders don't agree to a deal to end the illegal war of choice he started nearly seven months ago in the Middle Eastern country.

"I have a big decision to make," Trump said. "Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?"

"Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?" the president continued. "But I believe we'll make a deal right after the election because it doesn't make sense for them not to. They're waiting to see how I do in the midterm election. What they don't realize is that I'm not running. I did that already and won in a landslide."

President Trump says Iran deal will be made after the midterm elections, and says he has decision between a deal with Iran or destroying them: "Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?" pic.twitter.com/Y5K6v4B326
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 22, 2026

Trump has repeatedly threatened to destroy Iran—a country of over 90 million people—since his first term. However, his latest menacing remarks raised eyebrows for their brazeness on the world stage.

"It’s one thing to make genocidal threats against a nation on social media. It’s another thing to do it from the podium of the UN," University of Colorado Law School associate professor Maryam Jamshidi said on X. "That's what Donald Trump just did. He used his speech at the UN to threaten Iran with annihilation."

While Jamshidi urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres and member states to condemn Trump's threat, independent journalist Taylor Noakes said of Trump that "what’s particularly sad about this (aside from the fact he’ll likely never be prosecuted for war crimes) is how so many leaders of other liberal democracies have stood by and done nothing while the Americans make a mockery of the UN as an instrument for global order."

The Democratic veterans group VoteVets accused Trump of "casually contemplating war crimes in front of the entire UN Assembly," calling his threat "deranged and dangerous."

Bonus for whoever wrote this chyron

— Brandy Zadrozny (@brandyzadrozny.bsky.social) September 22, 2026 at 7:54 AM

Journalist Mehdi Hasan said: "For shame. The president of the United States goes to the United Nations and threatens genocide against a UN member state in front of the world. This is where we’re at."

Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy and a former adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), called Trump's comments "dangerously unhinged."

"Such rhetoric is not merely reckless, it is a criminal threat of genocide against an entire nation," he added. "US lawmakers and US partners around the world should condemn Trump’s remarks and take all due steps to bring an end to the war on Iran.”

Trump didn't just openly mull committing war crimes, he groundlessly boasted in his speech that the US "has carried out dozens of strikes on cartel drug boats, destroying 97% of the drugs coming into the ocean and sea."

Citing data from US Southern Command and Trump administration officials, The New York Times says that at least 234 people have been killed in a minimum of 70 strikes on boats allegedly smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The administration has provided no solid evidence to support its trafficking allegations. Regional leaders and relatives of victims contend that at least some people killed in the strikes were fishers with no narcotrafficking ties. Legal experts assert that the attacks violate international law regardless of whether or not the targeted vessels were engaged in drug trafficking.

Trump's speech was laced with demonstrably false or unfounded statements, including an accusation that the Iranian government killed 72,000 people this year, that his invasion of Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolás Maduro left the US with "more than 60% of the oil in the world," that his administration "ended the war in Gaza," and that he settled eight wars.

"Donald Trump’s maniacal rant before the UN General Assembly today, complete with ridiculous braggadocio, narcissistic puffery, an almost unbroken line of absurd, demonstrable lies, open criminality, and deranged, murderous threats, should awaken even the most cowardly and complicit among world leaders that their attempts at appeasement of Trump and the tyrannical axis that he leads can only result in further aggression, economic terrorism, murder, and genocide," said Craig Mokhiber, a former senior UN official who resigned in protest of what he described as the world body's failure to stop Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

"The world must unite to counter the threat and to defend peace, human rights, and the rule of law," he added, "which are, after all, declared purposes of the UN."

---

### Weighing 2028 White House Run, AOC Says Stakes of Race Would Be ‘All or Nothing’

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Stephen Prager | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/aoc-2028-interview.md

As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighs whether to run for president in 2028, there are numerous factors that complicate her decision: her identity as a Latina woman, her role as a leader in a progressive movement on the verge of unprecedented power, and her considerations about raising a family in the future.

Whatever decision the 36-year-old Democratic congresswoman makes, however, it will be “all or nothing,” she said in an interview published Tuesday by The New York Times, in which she spoke candidly about the stakes of what would be a historic and potentially transformative bid for the nation’s highest office.

Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2018 in a victory over the Democratic Party establishment that became a model for the wave of progressive momentum that has defined this year’s cycle.

Amid what she described as the “ascendance” of her movement—marked by the insurgent victories of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed over opponents with establishment support and big money behind them—Ocasio-Cortez is now wondering aloud whether her own moment has arrived.

“There’s an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot,” she said. “And you don’t—and just in life in general—life doesn’t wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you.”

But she is well aware of the obstacles and sacrifices, both personal and political. Having recently opened up publicly about receiving fertility treatments, she wondered aloud what a potential candidacy might mean for her life, including a possible future pregnancy.

She is also well aware that she would be up against the weight of very recent history. Two of the last three Democratic candidates for president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris, were women, and they both lost to President Donald Trump after campaigns in which sexism—and, in Harris’ case, racism—featured prominently in attacks against them.

“Pretty candidly, I think about my identity," Ocasio-Cortez said. "I’m not naïve to the fact that we are living under a very regressive administration, and I happen to be a woman, and I, you know, happen to be Latina. And I think that there’s a lot of conversation about electability, and I don’t kind of shy away from those realities.”

Those realities are indeed hard to ignore, especially in contrast to her mentor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who ran two formidable Democratic primary campaigns for president in 2016 and 2020 and with whom Ocasio-Cortez embarked on a wildly successful "Fight Oligarchy" rally tour last year, speaking to large crowds in both red and blue districts.

Though they have long campaigned together and advance a platform centered on the same signature policies of Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and a tax on billionaire wealth, Sanders consistently ranks among the most well-liked politicians in office, while a New York Times/Siena poll this month showed AOC with just 30% favorability, compared with 41% unfavorability among likely voters.

There are other paths in front of AOC that could put her on a more traditional long-term trajectory to the White House, which has never in modern history been occupied by a president who ascended straight from the US House.

She also said she was considering a primary bid against the Democratic Party's current Senate leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whom many Democratic voters have come to see as the embodiment of all that is sclerotic and unchanging about their party's entrenched elite.

At a time when backing from corporations and other powerful special interests plays an unprecedented role in achieving political power, Ocasio-Cortez emphasized her near-exclusive backing from small donors, which she said makes her one of "very few people who are financially independent from special interests that are able to advocate directly for the needs of working people.”

Regardless of the decision she makes, she recognizes the enormous stakes.

“It’s very all or nothing,” she said. “If I were to run in this cycle, and not win, I would be done.”

“And I am not opposed to that,” she added. “That, in and of itself, does not exclude the decision... But it has to make it worth it.”

Ocasio-Cortez has previously emphasized that her "ambitions" have less to do with achieving the highest possible seat for herself than with helping her movement succeed.

“My ambition is to change this country,” she said during a forum in May. “Presidents come and go, Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go, but single-payer healthcare is forever, a living wage is forever, workers’ rights are forever, women’s rights, all of that.”

She told the Times that the question that will ultimately determine her path forward is: "Where can I do the most good?”

---

### Guterres Hailed for Fiery Outgoing Speech Demanding Polluters Pay for Climate Crisis

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Jessica Corbett | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/antonio-guterres-climate-change.md

With United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres set to leave his post at the end of this year, he used his final address to the UN General Assembly on Monday to share a familiar call: "Polluters must pay" for fueling the global climate emergency.

Since the Portuguese politician began his first five-year term leading the world body nearly a decade ago, he has repeatedly called for international action to rapidly phase out the coal, gas, and oil that are heating up the planet. In late 2023, he emphasized that "the science is clear. The 1.5°C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels. Not reduce. Not abate."

The UN chief announced at the end of 2024 that "the top 10 hottest years on record have happened in the last 10 years," and declared: "This is climate breakdown in real time. We must exit this road to ruin." Last year, he argued that fossil fuels represent "the greatest threat to energy security today," and countries clinging to them are "sabotaging" their own economies and futures.

Earlier this month, after a UN report found that at least temporarily surpassing the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting temperature rise this century to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels is now inevitable, Guterres stressed that "this summer’s scorching heat, raging wildfires, and deadly floods are a warning of what lies ahead," and called for making the overshoot "as small and short as possible."

Speaking to the General Assembly on Tuesday, he cited that recent finding: "Now we face a near-certain breach of the 1.5-degree limit, with a supersized El Niño speeding straight for humanity. The dangers are real. But so is the hope."

"The sun belongs to no one. The wind cannot be embargoed. Innovation can come from everywhere," he said. "Renewables are now the cheapest source of new electricity in most of the world. And the most viable path to energy security, independence, and sustainable growth... A future beyond fossil fuels is in sight. The question is how."

"Will it be a just and orderly transition built on international cooperation—or chaotic and costly, leaving people and countries behind?" he asked, urging every government to adopt a Paris Agreement-aligned national plan to transition away from fossil fuels.

"We know that fossil fuel interests won't step aside on their own. For decades, Big Oil has treated the atmosphere as an open sewer—and cashed in on the consequences," he acknowledged. "We have seen this kind of abuse of power before. When the harms of Big Tobacco became undeniable—governments acted. The climate crisis demands the same determination."

According to the UN chief: "Those who polluted the most—and profited the most—must do far more to repair the damage they caused. Polluters must pay. And to the leaders, cities, civil society and citizens working to hold them accountable: I say, you are on the right side of history. Keep going."

"And governments must keep going on all fronts: To end deforestation. Invest in grids and storage. Cut methane emissions," he continued. "But these actions are not enough: We need climate justice with a focus on adaptation and finance. Developed countries must respect their commitments. They must triple adaptation finance.And make the Loss and Damage Fund work at scale."

"We must also ensure that the mining of critical minerals does not dig deeper into the inequities of the past," he added. "Producing countries and affected communities must retain a far greater share of the value created from their resources. No more plundering. No more exploitation."

While Guterres' speech didn't just focus on "the power fueling climate chaos and the war on nature"—it also addressed peace and security, inequality, and artificial intelligence in detail—climate campaigners welcomed the time he devoted to the crisis.

"When the UN secretary-general calls for fossil fuel companies to pay, you know this demand has become impossible to ignore," said Louise Hutchins, co-convenor of the Make Polluters Pay International Coalition, in a statement. "Millions of people around the world are calling for it, and governments are starting to listen."

His address came just a day after campaigners from groups around the world delivered over 2 million petition signatures calling on governments to make polluters pay to Selwin Hart, the UN's assistant secretary-general for climate action, in New York City.

"For years, campaigners and communities on the frontlines have been saying the same thing: The companies that profited from fossil fuels must pay their fair share of the costs of the crisis they helped create. Today, that demand is moving into the mainstream," 350.org executive director Anne Jellema noted after Guterres' remarks. "The voices of more than 2 million people are now being brought to the UN. Governments have the power to make polluters pay, and they must use it."

Enough is enough: over 2 million petition signatures at UNGA to Make Polluters Pay www.greenpeace.org/internationa...

— Nick Young (@nickofnz.bsky.social) September 21, 2026 at 5:56 PM

Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International, highlighted that "the people who have contributed least to the climate crisis are paying the highest price. They are losing homes, livelihoods, and access to food and facing an increasingly uncertain future, while fossil fuel corporations and their billionaire backers continue to profit. The call to make rich polluters pay is about justice. It is about ensuring that those who have benefited most from the fossil fuel economy pay for the damage it has caused."

Greenpeace International executive director Mads Christensen pointed out that "Guterres has spent years warning leaders where fossil fuel dependence leads, and this year proved him right. From deadly heat to devastating fires and floods, the very dependence driving these disasters is shaking entire economies and leaving families exposed to volatile energy and food prices, while the companies behind it keep raking in the profits."

"New rules forcing governments to align their taxes and spending with global climate goals would raise hundreds of billions of dollars to support the countries and communities least responsible, while incentivizing money out of fossil fuels and into secure, renewable energy that actually protects people," he argued. "As long as destruction stays profitable, the transition to a safer, fairer future will keep being held back. Guterres has named the solution, governments must now act on it."

---

### 'Corruption of the Highest Order,' Says Troy Jackson After Explosive Susan Collins Report

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Brad Reed | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/troy-jackson-collins-corruption.md

Maine Democratic US Senate candidate Troy Jackson pounced on Tuesday after ProPublica published a damning story putting incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins at the center of what the publication described as a "sprawling pay-to-play operation."

In a statement released shortly after the ProPublica story dropped, Jackson accused Collins of engaging in "corruption of the highest order."

"Susan Collins delivered millions in taxpayer dollars for a corrupt donor bankrolling her campaign," said Jackson, "and then Donald Trump helped her cover it up."

The ProPublica report unearthed internal records revealing an FBI investigation into defense contractor Navatek, now known as Martin Defense Group, for making campaign contributions to politicians in exchange for federal contracts.

According to ProPublica, former Navatek CEO Martin Kao told a group of FBI agents and federal prosecutors in 2022 about a 2019 meeting he'd had with the head of a pro-Collins super political action committee where he committed to cut a big check to the Maine Republican's campaign if she steered federal cash to his company.

After the meeting, ProPublica wrote, Kao "sent an initial $150,000 to the Collins super PAC using the shell company" and then told Navatek executives in an internal email two months later that "Collins committed to getting the company $32 million in naval contracts."

The alleged corruption outlined in the report went far beyond Collins, as Kao also provided FBI agents with a 50-page document that named "dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers, and members of Congress who he said helped him trade cash for contracts."

However, the probe into Kao's alleged efforts to bribe politicians was shut down shortly after Trump returned to the White House in 2025, which Jackson said may explain why Collins "voted with him 96% of the time and has rubber-stamped his agenda to hurt Maine."

"Susan Collins doesn’t care," Jackson added, "that we’re losing our healthcare that ICE is killing people on the streets, and that we’ve been dragged into a pointless war—as long as her donors get their contracts and her coffers get filled. We deserve answers about every contract and every conversation that Collins and her team facilitated on the backs of taxpayers. The jig is up."

Annie Clark, Collins' deputy chief of staff, disputed the allegations made in the ProPublica story, and accused the publication of wrongly lending credibility to Kao, whom she said "began making outlandish charges about the Collins office, deflecting blame from himself" for his own criminal behavior.

"The seven-year-old allegations made against Sen. Collins and her staff in this piece are categorically false," said Clark. "There have never been any allegations of wrongdoing by the Collins for Senator campaign, and the campaign was never the target of the FBI investigation."

---

### Vance Fraud Task Force Condemned as ‘Smokescreen’ for Booting 700,000 More People Off Healthcare

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Jake Johnson | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/jd-vance-healthcare-task-force.md

The Trump administration is planning to boot more than 700,000 people from their Affordable Care Act coverage as part of a purported initiative to root out fraud in the program—an effort that campaigners said is nothing more than a pretext to kick more people off healthcare.

Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the White House's "Task Force to Eliminate Fraud," announced the planned ACA purge during a press conference on Tuesday alongside Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, whose agency has touted a right-wing think tank's dubious claim that millions of ACA enrollees are on the program improperly.

Vance insisted during Tuesday's press conference that the administration is putting itself "under an extraordinary burden of proof" to ensure its mass removal doesn't impact people who are eligible for ACA coverage, but advocates were not convinced.

"Vance's task force is a smokescreen for kicking people off coverage," declared the advocacy group Protect Our Care. The organization's president, Brad Woodhouse, said in a statement that Vance's task force "is nothing more than a bullshit distraction—a political stunt designed to throw even more people off their coverage while pretending to save taxpayers’ money."

"At a time when millions of Americans are already losing coverage and facing skyrocketing costs, Vance and this administration are making the crisis exponentially worse," said Woodhouse. "They are piling on more red tape, more confusion, and more opportunities for people to lose the coverage they rely on. Families need coverage they can afford and count on when they get sick. Vance’s task force won’t accomplish that. It’s a smokescreen for an administration whose sole mission is to make it harder to get and stay covered but to shower billionaires with tax breaks instead."

Millions of people have lost ACA and Medicaid coverage since the start of President Donald Trump's second White House term, due in large part to a Republican budget law that cut Medicaid by more than $800 billion and did nothing to extend enhanced ACA subsidies, sending premiums soaring.

Trump administration officials have baselessly claimed that their anti-fraud efforts were the key driver of ACA enrollment declines this year.

The word ‘fraud’ here obscures a lot.

Many of them may have been accidentally committing ‘fraud’ bc they live in a state that didn’t expand Medicaid and earn too little to qualify for ACA subsidies. There have been cases of brokers signing those folks up for the commission. pic.twitter.com/ek8gaVzJ7g
— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) September 22, 2026

The mass disenrollment push comes less than two weeks after the Trump administration said it would send $500 rebate checks to some Americans who were allegedly "overcharged" under the ACA. Critics noted that the checks would only go to a small sliver of ACA enrollees and would do virtually nothing to offset premium hikes that are hitting millions of Americans.

Vance indicated Tuesday that the roughly 750,000 individuals who will soon be removed from the ACA due to alleged fraud are just the start of a broader purge. Around 19 million people are currently enrolled in ACA marketplace coverage.

"We're gonna do some additional verification," said Vance, who suggested the administration is using artificial intelligence tools to identify purported fraud. "We expect that most of these people are fraudulently enrolled, but we're gonna do some additional verification on about 419,000 people."

Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the ACA, wrote Tuesday that "people losing healthcare isn't a bug, it's plan."

"First Republicans stripped Medicaid from millions," the Democrats wrote on social media. "Then they let premiums spike for millions more. Now JD Vance is using claims of 'fraud' to take coverage from hundreds of thousands more."

---

### In UN Speech, Trump Brags About Fossil Fuel Resource Grabs

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Newswire Editor | **Section:** Newswire  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/in-un-speech-trump-brags-about-fossil-fuel-resource-grabs.md

Donald Trump used his platform at the UN General Assembly to brag about the U.S’s fossil fueled imperialism. From Iran, to Venezuela, to Greenland, Trump’s actions follow a familiar path: use military force to dominate sovereign nations, let Big Oil cash in, and leave ordinary people to bear the costs through war, pollution, rising energy bills, and worsening climate disasters.

Governments have a choice: Follow Trump into a future of conflict and economic volatility, or build prosperity and energy independence and political stability through clean, renewable energy. On the road to COP31, governments must reject Trump’s attempt to build a fossil fuel empire and show that his agenda will not dictate our shared future.

---

### The Urgency of Recognizing the Ansar Allah Government in Yemen

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Medea Benjamin, Nicolas J.S. Davies | **Section:** Opinion  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/recognize-ansar-allah-yemen.md

The Trump administration came perilously close to launching another bombing campaign against Yemen this weekend. According to a September 20 New York Times report, US commanders had approved their targets, American troops were loading bombs onto warplanes, and an attack on Yemen's Ansar Allah forces was about to begin when President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course.

For two weeks, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been pleading with Trump to intervene as Ansar Allah (Houthi) forces swept through Saudi-backed forces’ positions along Yemen's Red Sea coast. Trump initially resisted, but after another urgent call from the Saudi crown prince, he instructed the Pentagon to prepare for airstrikes. By Sunday, he had changed his mind again, at least temporarily.

The New York Times reported that many of Trump's closest advisers opposed joining the Saudi war. US military officials also questioned whether renewed bombing would accomplish anything, given that Ansar Allah had withstood more than 1,000 US strikes during a seven-week campaign in 2025. That operation consumed roughly $1 billion in munitions and other military resources in its first month alone.

It is simply wrong, legally and morally, to claim that a collection of Ansar Allah’s opponents holed up in Aden and hotels in Saudi Arabia are the legitimate government of Yemen, and that the government that has run the country and defended it against a decade of outside aggression is illegitimate.

Meanwhile, Ansar Allah has assured Washington that it does not intend to attack American ships. US officials recently met Ansar Allah representatives in Oman in an effort to preserve that agreement. A new American bombing campaign could undo those diplomatic gains and threaten shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait just as the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted.

The crisis spawned by the US war on Iran spread to this dangerous new front on July 13, when the 2022 ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and the de facto Ansar Allah government in Yemen was shattered by a Saudi missile strike on the airport in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital.

The Saudi attack was designed to prevent the landing of an Iranian Mahan Air civilian plane carrying passengers returning from the funeral of Iran’s assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran. The flight was forced to divert to Hodeidah, 140 miles away on the Red Sea coast.

Yemen’s Ansar Allah forces retaliated by attacking the Saudi airport at Abha, near the Yemeni border, with missiles and drones. Since then, hostilities have escalated dramatically.

Ansar Allah forces have captured the strategic port city of Mocha and the remainder of the Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed forces. They are still fighting to consolidate control of the Kahbub mountains that overlook the approaches to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but they are already preventing Saudi ships from sailing through the Red Sea.

The Saudis have responded with hundreds of air strikes on Yemen. Ansar Allah, in turn, has attacked Saudi airbases and oil infrastructure with missiles and drones. Either the Yemenis or their allies in Iraq struck pumping stations on Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which was the Saudis’ best alternative to the Strait of Hormuz as a route for their oil exports, shutting down the pumping stations, and full operation of the pipeline, for at least a month.

The United States has dispatched an estimated 200 additional troops to Saudi Arabia to provide intelligence and targeting expertise for Saudi airstrikes, using programs like Palantir’s Maven AI system, which the US and Israel also use in Gaza, and which US officials now admit was used in the massacre at the Minab girls’ school in Iran in February.

The US State Department has also approved a $5 billion weapons sale that would provide Saudi Arabia with 5,000 2,000-pound bombs and 5,000 500-pound bombs, along with JDAM guidance kits and fuses. This comes in addition to a planned $24 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to the Saudis and follows record US arms sales to Saudi Arabia for $110 billion in 2018 and $142 billion in 2025.

Congress has not yet consented to these latest Saudi arms sales that can only mean more death and devastation for the people of Yemen. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), backed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has filed a Joint Resolution of Disapproval that can stop the sale if it receives enough votes. Here’s a link to ask your senators to support it.

US support for Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is based on US recognition of the Saudi-based Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), chaired by Rashad al-Alimi, as the government of Yemen. The council was created in 2022 after former Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi resigned, following the United Nations-brokered truce.

But the renewed war raises a fundamental question: Why is the United States still treating a Saudi-based council as the legitimate government of Yemen, while refusing to recognize the government that actually controls the capital and governs most of the country’s population?

Since 2015, international recognition of Saudi-backed governments-in-exile has served to justify a decade of war and economic strangulation against 80% of Yemenis who live in the area governed by Ansar Allah, including Sana’a, the capital.

Between 2015 and 2022, with full US support, Saudi Arabia and its allies dropped over 69,000 bombs and missiles on Yemen, including thousands on civilian targets, killing at least 8,983 civilians, according to Iona Craig’s Yemen Data Project. By the end of 2021, the UN estimated that the war, blockade, and resulting humanitarian crisis had caused 377,000 deaths.

So how did Yemen end up in such a frightful predicament? How can the United States, other countries, and even the UN continue to recognize exile governments that have supported bombarding and starving their own people for over a decade?

The roots lie in Yemen’s failed political transition after the Arab Spring. In 2011, a mostly peaceful uprising brought down Yemen’s corrupt, repressive, US-backed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. His vice president, Hadi, was appointed to a two-year term as interim president in 2012. Ansar Allah, based in Saada in north Yemen, played a leading role in the uprising against Saleh and participated in the National Dialogue that was supposed to guide the transition.

But Hadi failed to organize the planned election by February 2014. His term was extended for another year, but the transition again stalled. That’s when Ansar Allah moved south from its base in Saada, combining popular protests over fuel prices and the stalled political transition with an armed advance toward Sana’a. Its fighters entered the capital in September 2014, defeating government forces. Ansar Allah was subsequently granted seats in a UN-approved interim government under President Hadi.

But the power-sharing arrangement quickly broke down. Tensions between Ansar Allah and Hadi’s government escalated over the drafting of a new constitution and the division of political power. In January 2015, Ansar Allah seized the presidential palace, and Hadi resigned and retired to his home in Aden. Ansar Allah formed a ruling council to fill the vacuum.

However, a month later, with support from Saudi Arabia, Hadi rescinded his resignation and tried to reclaim the presidency. A few days later, he fled from Aden to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and, in March, 2015, the Saudis attacked Yemen, with US support. This led to a devastating seven-year-long bombing campaign, with other Arab countries sometimesproviding warplanes and ground forces. But the Saudis failed to restore Hadi to power or to capture the most populated parts of the country.

Both Hadi’s claim to the presidency and Saudi Arabia’s military intervention on his behalf lacked legitimacy from the outset. The Saudi assault on Yemen was not approved by the UN Security Council, making it a violation of the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of military force.

As the Saudi-led, US-backed war raged on, splits appeared in both the anti-Houthi forces and the countries backing them. The UAE backed a separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Aden, whose goal was an independent South Yemen.

The UAE finally withdrew its forces at the end of 2025, and the Saudi-based PLC defeated the STC in Aden. But Saudi-funded mercenaries, mostly from Sudan, and eight disparate Yemeni groups that still hold territory in the south and east, had neither the strength nor the unity to resist Ansar Allah’s offensive along the Red Sea coast.

Ansar Allah, by contrast, has grown stronger. Skilled Yemeni engineers have learned to manufacture missiles and drones, using parts imported mainly from China, and its forces have fought successful wars to defend Yemen from its enemies and exert control over shipping in the Red Sea, despite heavy US bombing campaigns in 2024 under Joe Biden and 2025 under Trump.

They have also gained global support for their defense of Palestinians when they launched missiles and drones at Israel and disrupted Red Sea shipping during Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Ansar Allah is now a well-established, and seemingly popular, nationalist government. This reality contradicts the Western assertion that they are simply an Iranian proxy.

In fact, Ansar Allah is deeply rooted in Yemen itself, emerging from the Zaydi religious and ethnic group of northern Yemen whose Imams ruled Yemen for centuries.

Zaydis currently make up between 35% and 45% of Yemen’s population, and have historically co-existed peacefully with their Sunni neighbors. It is simply wrong, legally and morally, to claim that a collection of Ansar Allah’s opponents holed up in Aden and hotels in Saudi Arabia are the legitimate government of Yemen, and that the government that has run the country and defended it against a decade of outside aggression is illegitimate.

As the UN General Assembly meets in New York this week, world leaders have a chance to address this injustice and its catastrophic impact on the long-suffering people of Yemen. China and other countries have long called for a political settlement. In 2018, 63 US Senators voted to withdraw US support for the war after the Saudis murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And in 2022, the UN successfully brokered a ceasefire that prevented large-scale hostilities for several years.

UN officials and world leaders should use this occasion to work for a diplomatic solution.

Recognition of Ansar Allah as the legitimate interim or transitional government of Yemen would be an important step to align the international response with the reality on the ground and with the Yemeni people’s desperate need for peace and self-determination.

At the very least, it is high time for the United States, the United Nations, and the media to stop referring to a self-appointed gang of Saudi collaborators as Yemen’s “internationally recognized government.”

---

### Intensified by Fossil Fuel-Driven Climate Crisis, 'Godzilla-Level' El Niño Smashing Records Ahead of Peak

**Published:** September 22, 2026 | **Author:** Julia Conley | **Section:** News  
**URL:** https://www.commondreams.org/news/el-nino-2026.md

Although “El Niño comes and goes," as one climate scientist said of the naturally occurring warm-weather phenomenon on Monday, experts are in agreement that this year is different—with meteorologists already recording a temperature rise of 3.07°C in the Pacific Ocean, putting it at a statistical tie with November 2015, when El Niño caused the ocean to warm by 3.08°C.

The temperature rise is not expected to peak until November and December, when an average of 14 models examined by Zeke Hausfather of Carbon Brief and Berkeley Earth found that a temperature rise of 4.1°C is forecast.

The event has been underway since June, Hausfather wrote, and has been gathering strength "faster than any previous event on record."

Scientists typically track the strength of El Niño—which leads to heavy rainfall, higher global temperatures, and other extreme weather as warmer Pacific waters are pushed to the south—using the Niño 3.4 anomaly, or ONI, which determines how much hotter the central Pacific is compared with a 30-year rolling average.

A temperature rise above 2.0°C is considered a "very strong" El Niño, and scientists and policymakers are already calling this year's event a "super El Niño," with some experts using the terms "Godzilla-level" and "jaw-dropping" to describe the weather conditions that can be expected in the coming months due to the warmer climate.

As Common Dreams reported late last month, planetary heating driven by fossil fuel emissions is intensifying El Niño, while the naturally occurring phenomenon can in turn worsen the impacts of the climate emergency.

In the last 40 years scientists have recorded a 16% increase in the strength of El Niño events, according to a study published in Science last month. They've also gotten 36% stronger than they were before industrialization began.

The "double whammy," as The Guardian called it, could make 2027 the hottest year ever recorded, blowing through heat records that have just been set this year—and that have been linked to the deaths of people around the world from extreme heat and flooding.

“This event is a huge redistribution of energy in the climate system and is dangerous because it is unfolding on top of a much warmer, human-influenced climate system," climate scientist Friederike Otto of Imperial College London told The Guardian. “So, in many places around the world we will see never-before-experienced heat extremes, with all their consequences on health, food security, and water stress."

Despite the fact that El Niño predates the human-caused climate emergency, Otto said, "as long as we continue to burn fossil fuels, it occurs on an increasingly hotter baseline, making it much more difficult for communities to deal with the consequences.”

This year's event is likely to be the most intense El Niño in 1,000 years, reported to The Guardian, with hotter and drier conditions already linked to deadly wildfires in Indonesia and crop losses in Central America and the Caribbean region due to drought conditions. Rice production this season is expected to fail in Indonesia, according to the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University.

As the Southern Hemisphere's summer months approach, southern Africa and Australia are at heightened risk of wildfires and droughts as well. Meanwhile, cocoa production could be damaged by extreme rainfall in parts of South America.

"All strong El Niño events on record have continued to strengthen well into the winter—and the models are in near-unanimous agreement that this one will, too," wrote Hausfather at Carbon Brief. "If the forecast holds, the current event will peak between November and January at a level far beyond any event previously observed in the instrumental record."

In California on Monday, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in an effort to prepare communities for El Niño's impacts in the coming months, which could include coastal flooding and heavy snow in mountain regions.

Hausfather noted that strong El Niño events like those that occurred in 1997 and 2015 were also "associated with hundreds of billions of dollars in damages globally."

"This event," he told The Guardian, "is leaving those past ones in the dust."


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