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For Immediate Release
May, 15 2019, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Alissa Manzoeillo, National Abortion Federation
amanzoeillo@prochoice.org
Alabama Passes Attack on Roe v. Wade
Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, Interim President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), on Alabama's passage of a blatant attack on Roe v. Wade:
WASHINGTON
Statement of The Very Reverend Katherine Ragsdale, Interim President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), on Alabama's passage of a blatant attack on Roe v. Wade:
"In passing this atrocious bill, Alabama's state legislators have shown their complete disregard for the U.S. Constitution and the needs of their constituents. Anti-choice politicians have once again demonstrated that they would rather advance their extreme personal agenda than ensure the safety and well-being of their constituents. They are playing games with people's lives and their constitutionally-protected rights.
No health care provider should ever fear jail time for providing the safe health care their patients need. No one wants health care providers to have to decide if their patients are close enough to death to risk up to 99 years in prison. This demonizing of abortion providers only emboldens anti-abortion extremists, knowing they have outspoken allies in elected office.
We and our members will continue fighting to ensure people needing access to abortion care are able to obtain the compassionate health care they need.
Governor Ivey must put her constituents' health and rights first and veto this bill."
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.
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'Corruption Starts at the Top': US Soldier Arrested for Profiting Off Bets on Maduro Abduction
One House Democrat said the soldier charged with placing successful bets using classified information was "probably just copying what he's seeing elsewhere."
Apr 24, 2026
The US Justice Department announced Thursday that an American special forces soldier has been arrested and charged for pocketing over $400,000 by betting, on the basis of classified information, on the timing of the Trump administration's illegal abduction of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke, an active-duty soldier in the US Army who was involved in planning and executing the operation to kidnap Maduro in early January, was charged with "unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and making an unlawful monetary transaction," the Justice Department said in a statement.
Van Dyke placed a total of 13 bets worth roughly $33,000 on the prediction platform Polymarket. All of his bets took the "yes" position on questions pertaining to whether US forces would invade Venezuela and remove Maduro before the end of January.
The unsealing of the Van Dyke indictment came amid mounting concerns that insiders at the Trump administration—which experts and watchdogs have deemed the most brazenly corrupt administration in US history—are profiting off nonpublic knowledge.
"This soldier was probably just copying what he’s seeing elsewhere," said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.). "The culture of insider trading and corruption starts at the top and is permeating everywhere and everything. This is what people hate about our government now."
One expert gestured at the absurdity of a soldier who placed bets on the Venezuela operation being arrested—but not those in charge of ordering the operation itself, which was a flagrant violation of international law.
"I hear someone was arrested in connection with the patently illegal invasion of Venezuela," wrote Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group. "Can't wait to see who is going to be held accountable for this lawless use of military force..."
President Donald Trump, who has profited massively from his second term in the White House, told reporters on Thursday that he wasn't aware of the charges against Van Dyke. The president then asked, "Was he betting that they would get [Maduro] or they wouldn't get him?"
"That’s like Pete Rose betting on his own team," said Trump, referring to the Major League Baseball player and manager who was banned for gambling on games. "Now, if he bet against his team, that would be no good."
Reporter: There was a special forces soldier involved in the capture of Maduro who was arrested on suspicion of insider trading. Are you concerned that federal employees are betting on these reduction markets and potentially getting rich?
Trump: Well, I don't know about it. Was… pic.twitter.com/zmPNGuVL1s
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 23, 2026
Suspiciously timed bets on both the Maduro abduction and the US military assault on Iran have sparked alarm about potentially widespread, lucrative insider trading at the Trump administration and among those in the president's orbit.
Last month, The Financial Times reported that Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth's broker tried to make a multimillion-dollar investment in weapons stocks in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
"The Iran War has become a corruption racket for the people close to President Trump," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the lead Senate sponsor of legislation that would prohibit "wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome."
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Groups Issue World Cup Travel Advisory Over ‘Deeply Troubling Human Rights Landscape’ in US
The coalition cited the Trump administration’s "racist immigration policies, mass detention and deportation, and attacks on freedom of expression and peaceful protest."
Apr 23, 2026
A coalition of more than 120 US-based civil society groups on Thursday issued a travel advisory ahead of the upcoming FIFA Men's World Cup over what the ACLU called the "deteriorating human rights situation" in the United States amid the Trump administration's deadly anti-immigrant crackdown, suppression of free speech, and more.
Citing the "absence of meaningful action and concrete guarantees from FIFA"—world soccer's governing body—"host cities, or the US government," the coalition published a warning urging "fans, players, journalists, and other visitors traveling to and within the United States" for the tournament to "have an emergency contingency plan."
The US, Canada, and Mexico are jointly hosting the tournament, which is set to kick off with group stage matches in Mexico City and Guadalajara on June 11 and Los Angeles and Toronto the following day.
"World Cup games will be played in 11 different cities across the United States, which, like many localities, have already been the target of the Trump administration’s violent and abusive immigration crackdown," the coalition wrote.
BREAKING: We're joining over 120 organizations issuing a travel advisory to warn anyone visiting the U.S. for the 2026 FIFA World Cup of possible civil and human rights violations.FIFA must pressure the Trump administration to protect the people traveling to and working at the games.
— ACLU (@aclu.org) April 23, 2026 at 7:12 AM
"While the Trump administration’s rising authoritarianism and increasing violence pose serious risks to all," the advisory continues, "those from immigrant communities, racial and ethnic minority groups, and LGBTQ+ individuals have been and continue to be disproportionately targeted and affected by the administration’s policies and, as such, are most vulnerable to serious harm."
According to the groups, those harms potentially include:
- Arbitrary denial of entry and risk of arrest, detention, and/or deportation of non-US nationals—even those with prior authorization from the US government;
- Expanded restrictions and limitations on travel and entry into the United States, given the Trump administration's ban or severe restriction on entry of people from 19 Global South nations;
- Invasive social media screening and searches of electronic devices as part of admission to the United States;
- Violent and unconstitutional immigration enforcement, including racial profiling and other discrimination by law enforcement;
- Suppression of speech and protest and increased surveillance; and
- Serious risk of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and in some cases, death, while in immigration detention facilities or custody.
The coalition—which includes groups like the ACLU, Amnesty International USA, Center for Constitutional Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Human Rights First, Legal Defense Fund, Mijente Support Committee, NAACP, National Lawyers Guild, and Southern Poverty Law Center—is urging prospective World Cup attendees to take steps to protect themselves. These include knowing their rights, securing their electronic devices, and informing trusted people about travel plans.
Visitors are also advised to download Human Rights First's ReadyNow! mobile app "to notify trusted contacts in case of possible detention."
Journalists covering the tournament are urged to "consult resources from the Committee to Protect Journalists or Reporters Without Borders for information on how to keep themselves safe while entering the US and while reporting inside the country."
Daniel Noroña, Americas advocacy director at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement Thursday that “fans, journalists, and others traveling to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup risk encountering a deeply troubling human rights landscape, shaped by the Trump administration’s racist immigration policies, mass detention and deportation, and attacks on freedom of expression and peaceful protest."
ACLU human rights program director Jamil Dakwar said that “FIFA has been paying lip service to human rights while cozying up with the Trump administration, putting millions of people at risk of being harmed and their basic rights violated."
“The Trump administration’s abusive actions continue to threaten our communities, tourists, and fans alike—and it’s past time that FIFA use its leverage to push for meaningful policy changes and binding assurances that will make people feel safe to travel and enjoy the games," Dakwar added.
FIFA faced worldwide ridicule for awarding President Donald Trump its first-ever Peace Prize last December amid his administration's illegal high-seas boat-bombing spree, and just ahead of his bombing of Nigeria, kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, launch of the US-Israeli war of choice against Iran, and threats to attack several other countries.
Despite US bombing that's killed thousands of its people—including hundreds of children—and FIFA's refusal to relocate its matches outside the United States, Iran, which easily qualified, is planning to take part in the tournament.
On Thursday, Iran's embassy in Italy decried what it called a "morally bankrupt" effort by US Special Envoy for Global Partnerships Paolo Zampolli to ban it from the tournament and replace its bracket slot with Italy, which is reeling from missing its third consecutive World Cup final.
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Democrats Keep Trying: Jayapal Introduces War Powers Resolution to Stop Trump's Illegal Iran War
"This is not what the American people want, it is a violation of our Constitution, and Congress must step up to end it."
Apr 23, 2026
"Congress alone has the power to declare war—it's that simple," US Rep. Pramila Jayapal proclaimed Thursday, introducing yet another resolution aimed at ending President Donald Trump and Israel's unauthorized assault on Iran.
"Trump has recklessly and thoughtlessly thrown us into another forever war that is threatening US service members' lives, civilians' lives in Iran and Lebanon, and is costing billions of taxpayer dollars every single day," said the Washington Democrat.
"This is not what the American people want, it is a violation of our Constitution, and Congress must step up to end it," Jayapal stressed, nodding to Article I, Section 8, which gives the federal legislature the power to declare war.
Jayapal, chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is the third CPC member to introduce a war powers resolution about Trump's illegal war on Iran this week, following Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) on Wednesday and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Tuesday.
Khanna said that he introduced the bill in coordination with CPC "just so that we can continue to have options to have votes," according to Punchbowl News reporter Anthony Adragna. He and Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) previously introduced the first of three failed Iran war powers resolutions in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.
There have been five failed votes in the Senate—which is also controlled by Republicans—most recently on Wednesday. In response, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that "if Donald Trump won't dig us out of this hole, Congress must step into the breach and exercise its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace."
"Democrats will continue to force votes on our resolutions every week until Senate Republicans see reason," Schumer vowed.
The vote results have largely fallen along party lines, though Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has joined Democrats in backing the bills, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has been the lone senator from his party to oppose the war powers resolutions on Iran.
However, as Center for International Policy senior fellow Sina Toossi noted on social media Thursday, "a very unpopular, costly war is starting to shift GOP politics."
Toossi pointed to Politico reporting that "several GOP senators are warning the president could face growing pushback, including them not supporting military action against Iran after the conflict hits the 60-day mark at the end of the month, if he doesn't articulate his plan."
On Tuesday, Trump extended a two-week truce for his and Israel's war on Iran, while also insisting that the US will continue its naval blockade against the country. After that announcement, Toossi stressed that "trust between the sides remains at zero and renewed war could break out at any time."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israel is "prepared to resume the war" in Iran and is "awaiting a green light from the United States."
Meanwhile, following talks at the White House on Thursday, Trump announced that Israel and the Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah have agreed to extend a related ceasefire by three weeks.
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