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For Immediate Release
May, 16 2019, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Gloria Mattera, Co-chair of the Green Party of the United States gmattera@gmail.com
Holly Hart, Co-chair, Media Committee media@gp.org 202-804-2758
Green Party of the United States Statement--Venezuelan Embassy
WASHINGTON
The Green Party strongly protests the arrests today of individuals inside the Venezuelan Embassy. Members of the organization Embassy Protection Collective had been staying inside the embassy since April 10, 2019, with permission of the embassy. Their objective was to help prevent a U.S. administration-aided effort by the Venezuelan opposition to take over the embassy. Several members of the Green Party were part of the organization.
The United Nations recognizes Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. It is illegal under international law for the U.S. to facilitate control of the embassy to opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has asserted a claim to the office.
The Embassy Protection Collective released a statement recently saying that eviction and arrests of the individuals, inside the embassy with the approval of the Venezuelan government, would violate international law.
"Today's action creates a horrific precedent. International law protects foreign embassies" said Margaret Flowers, Green Party of the United States Co-chair, and one of the activists arrested today as part of the nonviolent effort to prevent the takeover. "The Trump Administration is violating the Vienna Conventionby not only allowing the illegal seizure of diplomatic premises but by facilitating it. Such action raises concerns for the safety and security of diplomatic staff and embassies, including our own, throughout the world."
The Green Party platform states that "the U.S. must recognize the sovereignty of nation-states and their right of self-determination." The Green Party has called for a policy of non-intervention and for sanctions against Venezuela to be lifted.
A recent report shows that as many as 40,000 civilians have died in Venezuela since 2017.
For more information:
Green Party of the United States: Hands Off Venezuela
Statement of the Embassy Protection Collective
US sanctions violate human rights & international code of conduct, UN expert says
Statement of the Embassy Protection Collective
Embassy Protection Collective Facebook Page
U.S. Places Sanctions on Venezuela's Foreign Minister
https://popularresistance.org/tag/Venezuela/
Additional Information
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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.
(202) 319-7191LATEST NEWS
'Flashing Red Warning Sign' for Lawmakers: Poll Shows Voters Reject US-Israel Military Integration
"It is the height of absurdity that Congress is even considering a proposal to become more entangled with the Israeli military and use our tax dollars to subsidize their weapons companies."
Aug 18, 2026
A new poll of US voters published on Tuesday offers a warning for congressional lawmakers backing a plan to deepen military ties between the United States and Israel, finding that a clear majority of voters oppose the proposal—which some critics have called "treasonous."
The Data for Progress survey of 1,217 likely US voters—conducted August 3–7 for Demand Progress and the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project—revealed that 61% of respondents oppose legislation in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 that would integrate Israeli weapons companies into the Pentagon at a level exceeding that of any other country. That figure rose to 78% among Democrats and 73% among independents.
“This poll is a flashing red warning sign for any member of Congress who supports the defense authorization bill," Demand Progress senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said in a statement. "A clear majority of voters do not support further integrating the Israeli military and Israeli military companies into the Pentagon, which the NDAA is set to do."
NEW POLL: 61% of Americans - including 78% of Democrats and 73% of Independents - oppose a measure moving through Congress to integrate Israeli weapons companies into the Pentagon. Read more of the results from our poll with @demandprogress.bsky.social andconducted by @dataforprogress.org.⬇️
[image or embed]
— IMEU Policy Project (@imeupolicy.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 8:14 AM
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted last month 216-212, mostly along party lines, in favor of a record $1.15 trillion NDAA. The military spending bill contains Section 219, a provision that would create a US–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, accelerating joint defense research, development, testing, and integration of technologies including artificial intelligence, missile defense, and counter-drone systems.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) submitted an amendment to strip Section 219 from the NDAA. The measure failed to pass.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who voted against the NDAA, described Section 219 as “an outrageous threat to our country’s security and autonomy."
The Senate version of the military spending authorization bill has a related provision—Section 1217, the United States-Israel FUTURES Act—and the two chambers will need to reconcile their NDAA legislation before the final language is decided. Reconciliation is not expected to occur before November at the earliest.
“It’s time for Congress to listen to the American people for once, and not the same voices who always want to cut Israel a blank check," Kharrazian said. That "blank check" has totaled more than $174 billion in non-inflation-adjusted aid since the modern state of Israel was founded in 1948.
The new poll found that 57% of respondents believe the Israeli military and Israeli weapons companies should not receive increased access to US military systems. Fifty-one percent said Israel benefits more from the US-Israel relationship, compared with just 12% who said the United States benefits more.
Although Republican voters support the Pentagon provision by a 16-point margin, when asked about it without additional context, they are considerably less enthusiastic about the idea of granting any foreign military special access, opposing it 62%-27%.
Forty percent of surveyed voters said they believe that the US-Israeli relationship is "too close," compared with 42% who say it is "about right." Among Democrats, 56% say relations are too close, versus just 23% who say about right. Twenty-two percent of Republicans and 43% of Independents said US-Israeli relations are too close.
Asked if they think President Donald Trump is too supportive of Israel's right-wing government, 49% said yes, compared with only 33% who said the president is giving Israel the right amount of backing and just 8% who believe he's not giving the key ally enough support.
Respondents' views of Israel itself have deteriorated markedly, with 44% saying they now view the country less favorably than they did three years ago—compared with just 17% who say their views have improved amid the war of annihilation in Gaza that United Nations experts, human rights groups, and a South Africa-led case currently before the International Court of Justice call a genocide, as well as the wider Israeli occupation, colonization, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid in Palestine.
Looking only at the past six months, 41% of respondents said their view of Israel has become less favorable, versus 16% who say it has become more favorable. Among Democrats, the split is 56%-13%; among Independents it's 42%-11%.
“Israel is a nation committing genocide that just dragged the American people into a disastrous war that is still hitting our pocketbooks," IMEU Policy Project executive director Margaret DeReus said, referring to the Iran War. “Senators take an oath to do what is best for the American people above all; to uphold that oath, they must scrap this ridiculous proposal.”
"It is the height of absurdity," DeReus added, "that Congress is even considering a proposal to become more entangled with the Israeli military and use our tax dollars to subsidize their weapons companies."
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‘Breaking Federal Law. Just Like Daddy Trump’: Republican Randy Fine Caught Rifling Through Voter’s Mailbox
"Randy Fine is a menace to basic human decency," said one critic.
Aug 18, 2026
US Rep. Randy Fine, who has become notorious for his bigoted remarks against Muslims throughout his political career, was caught on camera Sunday rifling through the mailbox of a Florida voter.
A video that went viral on social media Monday shows Fine (R-Fla.) ringing the doorbell of a resident in Florida's 6th Congressional District, where he was canvassing for votes ahead of Tuesday's Florida congressional primary.
After the resident does not answer the door, Fine is seen opening up their mailbox and flipping through its contents for a few seconds.
Randy Fine just got caught committing a felony on camera. Your congressman just tried going through your mailboxes. That is a federal crime. I am calling on Randy Fine’s immediate removal from Congress & for an investigation to be opened. pic.twitter.com/UnyGquiS1S
— DannyKPolitics (@DannyKPolitics) August 18, 2026
Fine's office confirmed to TMZ on Tuesday that the Florida Republican, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump over the weekend, is the man seen in the video.
According to an article published by Legal Overview in May, opening another person's mailbox and touching their mail could run afoul of 18 USC § 1702 and result in felony charges for obstruction of correspondence.
Fine's potentially illegal actions drew ridicule from Rep. Mark Pocan (R-Wisc.), who observed in a Tuesday social media post that MAGA politicians seemingly can't stop committing crimes.
"Watch my 'colleague' Randy Fine break the law by going through someone’s mail," write Pocan. "MAGA movement’s newest hero is breaking federal law. Just like Daddy Trump. Time to throw these bums out in November!"
Former Democratic Florida US House candidate Barbie Harden Hall also mocked Fine.
"Why are you looking through someone’s mailbox while you’re out canvassing?" she asked. "Not only is it wrong, it’s creepy as fuck. Randy Fine is a menace to basic human decency."
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Iran Denounces Trump as 'Delusional' for Posting False Strait of Hormuz Map
The Iranian Parliament speaker said the strait will stay closed until the US blockade and oil embargo are lifted, and any party continuing its "aggression or threats" would face a "more severe defeat."
Aug 18, 2026
Just days after threatening to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, President Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a map on his Truth Social platform with that label over the crucial waterway—and was swiftly called out by a top Iranian diplomat.
"Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the Persian Gulf, his illusion about the Strait of Hormuz will soon be corrected—or we will correct the delusions of this delusional individual," Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, responded in Arabic on X.
Gharibabadi included a screengrab of Trump's post featuring a map that shows the strait, which is south of Iran and runs between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
Since Trump and Israel began illegally bombing Iran on February 28, the Middle East country has restricted traffic through the strait, a key shipping route, particularly for fossil fuels. That has driven up fuel prices worldwide, including in the United States, where the cost for a gallon of gasoline just hit a record high for mid-August.
Despite the economic toll at home, the range of impacts across the Middle East—where nearly six months of war have killed thousands of people—and a plummeting approval rating, Trump said last week that "I'll never apologize, I did the right thing."
That declaration and Trump's threat over the strait came in a Friday speech on Long Island, after which critics across the United States and beyond condemned the president as a "completely unhinged lunatic" and "sadistic violent menace to the world" who ought to be impeached again.
By Monday, a 60-day ceasefire deal expired, and neither side has signaled any progress on talks to end the war—which Trump claims is aimed at stopping Iran from building nuclear weapons, even though his own intelligence agencies have said it wasn't trying to do so. Trump notably ditched the Obama administration's Iran nuclear deal during his first term.
According to Palestine Chronicle, Iranian Maj. Gen. Mostafa Izadi, deputy commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Tuesday that "the enemy failed to destroy Iran's defensive capabilities and nuclear industries."
As for the strait, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that it will stay closed until the US blockade and oil embargo are lifted, and warned that any party continuing its "aggression or threats" would face a "more severe defeat."
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Trump 'Has Failed Us': US Airman Says He Accepts Cost of Speaking Out Against Iran War
"Not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans, and that is unacceptable to me," said Maj. Jason Watson.
Aug 18, 2026
Maj. Jason Watson's participation in a protest organized last month by the Removal Coalition, a group that calls for President Donald Trump's impeachment, wasn't his first foray into speaking out against the commander-in-chief.
He spent 22 days last year on a hunger strike, staying anonymous by wearing a white mask and white jumpsuit on the US Capitol grounds, next to a sign that read: “Impeach. Convict. Remove.”
But the US airman spoke Monday about what pushed him last month to go public with his protest against Trump's unprovoked war on Iran, displaying the same sign at a news conference organized by Removal Coalition, where he wore his Air Force uniform and was identified by name.
"If I don't put myself out there in a big way, it's just noise," Watson told CNN anchor Erin Burnett. "We can change what is happening in our country if we're just willing to pay a price for it."
Air Force Maj. Jason Watson tells @ErinBurnett he is speaking out against Trump knowing the potential consequences and laws governing the US military: “Nothing that is worth doing, is something that you can do for free… we can change what is happening in our country if we’re… pic.twitter.com/UtBuBM6gOA
— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) August 18, 2026
His public dissent against the broadly unpopular war could violate Article 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which mandates punishment against “any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words” against the president, military leaders, or US government officials, or Article 134, which prohibits statements "made with the intent to promote disloyalty or disaffection toward the United States."
Air Force Secretary Troy Meink has said the military is investigating the protest. Watson could face dishonorable discharge, a loss of military pay, and months in prison for violating the Uniform Code.
When considering his public protest, Watson said he asked himself, "What's the highest price that I'm willing to pay, and this is what I ultimately came up with."
He said he was "absolutely motivated" by his oath to the US Constitution and his concern for the future of the country as Trump and continues to threaten Iran and other countries in the Middle East, nearly six months after the president joined Israel in waging war on Iran.
"Any American can say, this government is intolerable and I want a better future for my children, and I want to hand them a better country than I inherited," said Watson.
After he joined the news conference on the Capitol steps last month, Watson was arrested by the US Capitol police. He was held in jail overnight and transferred to the DC Superior Court before the DC attorney general dropped the charge, but Air Force police officers then took him into custody and held him at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Air Force Major Jason Watson calls for the immediate removal of President Donald Trump and VP JD Vance from office at a press conference in front of Congress Wednesday afternoon.
He cites the numerous Constitutional violations undertaken by the Trump administration, from his… pic.twitter.com/YePHlxpLtn
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) July 2, 2026
Jessica Denson, founder of the Removal Coalition, told The Washington Post last month that Watson was "prepared for the worst-of-the-worst outcome" of his protest.
Watson said after his arrest that during his previous anonymous protest, he had been overly concerned with being identified, considering the Uniform Code.
“There was nobody paying attention because it’s just easy to ignore a lone actor, especially dressed the way that I was," he said on Denson's podcast, "Lights On."
He told Burnett Monday: "Nothing that is worth doing is something that you can do for free. Everything that is worthwhile is going to cost something."
"It's going to be hard, it's going to require sacrifice, and we are in an incredibly challenging time, and in order for us to get out of this situation we all have to have courage," he said.
On CNN, Watson doubled down on speaking out against Trump's war in Iran, which has killed more than 3,400 Iranians, including hundreds or children and women, as well as thousands of people across the Middle East as the conflict has widened, and at least 17 US service members.
The war has also worsened the affordability crisis in the US as oil and gas prices have soared, and led to a standoff over control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed in retaliation for the US-Israeli assault.
"What is happening with the Iran War is very predictable strategically, and a lot of much smarter people than me knew that it would have gone pretty poorly," said Watson. "And he chose to do it anyway."
Air Force Maj. Jason Watson, who was arrested at the US Capitol after calling for Trump’s impeachment and removal from office, says the Iran war motivated him to speak out: “What he did was unconstitutional. It was an aggressive war of choice.” pic.twitter.com/wk9n0F6G7J
— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) August 18, 2026
"At the end of the day, it's also more important to remember that what he did was unconstitutional," said Watson. "It was an aggressive war of choice that, if we saw another country do that, we would probably look to our allies and say, 'What are we gonna do about this?'"
He compared the US war on Iran with Russia's incursion in Ukraine—another "aggressive war of choice."
"He has failed us," Watson said of Trump. "Not only is he a failure as president, he is flagrantly violating the Constitution, breaking the law, engaged in rampant corruption, and is killing Americans, and that is unacceptable to me."
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ABC Hits Trump FCC With First Amendment Suit Over 'Deeply Un-American' Effort to Strip Broadcast Licenses
"At long last! A broadcast network has found a backbone," said one First Amendment advocate.
Aug 18, 2026
ABC and its parent company Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday over what it called a "deeply un-American" effort by the Trump administration to punish broadcasters for airing speech critical of the president.
The suit comes in response to an April order by the FCC requiring Disney's eight ABC stations to file their broadcast renewal requests years ahead of schedule. As the Knight First Amendment Institute pointed out, it's the first time the FCC has ordered a broadcast station to submit early license renewals in more than 50 years.
The unusual request came after President Donald Trump had repeatedly suggested that networks giving him "negative coverage" should have their broadcast licenses "terminated."
ABC has argued that the license renewal demand is part of an effort to "attack" its First Amendment-protected speech.
"Government censorship is deeply un-American," the lawsuit, filed before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, said. "Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts."
ABC specifically has found itself in the crosshairs of FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who used license authority to pressure the network to remove late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from the air briefly last year following a critical monologue about Trump and Republicans following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie
The lawsuit quotes what ABC said were blatant efforts by Carr to "coerce" the network into pulling Kimmel, including his ultimatum, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
It also notes that the request for the early renewal order was issued just one day after Trump went on another social media tirade against Kimmel over jokes he made about First Lady Melania Trump, which the president claimed inspired an assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Trump said that Kimmel should “be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Carr has defended the FCC's orders to Disney, stating that they were not about retaliation, but about ensuring that ABC stations operate "in the public interest" as they are required to do under law.
“If broadcasters don’t like that, that’s okay,” Carr told CNBC back in July. “They can become a cable channel, they can become a podcast, they can stream online. But if you want to uniquely be on the public’s airwaves, you have to comply with those obligations.”
Noting previous comments by Carr that public interest considerations should include the "political ideology” of a broadcaster's programming, Monday's lawsuit said the order "thus appears intended to broaden the scope of the agency’s review, including to impermissibly consider the content of ABC programming."
Earlier this year, the FCC also opened an investigation into the daytime talk show The View, alleging that its hosting of interviews with Texas Democratic US Senate candidate James Talarico in February may have violated a rule requiring broadcast stations to give political candidates "equal time" when appearing on air.
ABC has contended that The View has previously been ruled as a "bona fide news interview" program, which is exempt from the rule.
As part of the investigation, the FCC Media Bureau has probed ABC's editorial process, ordering it to produce internal communications among View staff, disclose the political donations of employees, and provide information about ABC's internal guidance for producing interviews
The White House, meanwhile, included The View on a public webpage listing so-called "media offenders." On this page, it singled out the program's co-hosts for the "offenses" of criticizing government officials for “visiting the Alligator Alcatraz ICE detention facility in Florida” and “claiming President Trump was overstepping his authority by constructing a White House ballroom.”
The lawsuit says the FCC's pressure has affected its editorial decision-making. It notes that since the investigation was launched, it has not booked any other congressional candidates on The View.
It also notes that, considering the "risk of resulting administration retaliation," ABC chose to broadcast a speech by Trump in July on its streaming channel ABC News Live in which he made unfounded accusations of rampant voter fraud in the 2020 election, which "it ordinarily would not have done."
Trump again called on the network to have its broadcast license stripped for not airing the speech on its main network. And Carr has said that the FCC would consider that decision as part of the review of ABC's renewal applications.
The lawsuit says the administration is seeking either to mire the company in costly legal fees and intimidate it into compliance or to rip it off the air entirely, as Trump demanded.
"In either scenario," the lawsuit says, "the administration accomplishes its goal of eliminating a perceived media critic: either it gets plaintiffs to fall in line, or it silences them if they refuse."
The lawsuit asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the FCC from proceeding with the reviews. It ultimately seeks a ruling that the license-renewal proceedings constitute unconstitutional retaliation that violates the First Amendment.
It notes that the administration has been attempting to coerce other legacy news broadcasters in the same way.
"If the administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: Tell only the stories the administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government," the lawsuit says. "In such a world, the press could in no way be described as free."
CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter described Disney and ABC's lawsuit as "one of the stiffest challenges from any American media company against the Trump administration during Trump's return to office."
Press freedom advocates welcomed the lawsuit as a sign that media outlets were beginning to fight back against the administration's strong-arming tactics rather than appeasing them.
"At long last! A broadcast network has found a backbone and is suing to stop the administration’s bullying and censorship," said Nico Perrino, the executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
“It’s about time for someone to take Carr and his FCC to court over their endless campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalism that displeases Carr’s thin-skinned boss,” said Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
"Carr knows the FCC is not the journalism police and said so regularly himself before he decided to throw away any integrity he once had to kiss up to Trump," Stern added. "Countless others whose First Amendment rights have been chilled by Carr’s antics should follow Disney’s lead.”
ABC has faced criticism for bowing to pressure from Trump in the past. In 2024, after Trump won the presidential election, the network agreed to pay out $15 million after he sued over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who stated that the president had been found “liable for rape” by a jury when he’d technically only been found liable for “sexual abuse." The president's case against the network was widely viewed as legally dubious.
That lawsuit was seen as an opening of the floodgates for Trump's efforts to coerce and control the media during his second term, and other networks, fearful of retaliation, would follow with their own concessions to avoid his wrath.
Aaron Blake, a senior political reporter at CNN, said ABC's decision to fight back against the FCC showed that "today, we're in a different situation."
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Kindergarten Vaccine Exemptions Hit Record High as US Suffers Worst Measles Outbreak in Decades
"The United States is experiencing a 35-year high for measles cases as federal officials continue to elevate misleading and disproven information about vaccines," said one medical expert.
Aug 18, 2026
Data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday showed that the rate of kindergartners with vaccine exemptions hit a record high over the last year as the nation's top health official continued to spread falsehoods about vaccine safety.
In all, CDC reported that 155,000 students, or 4.2% of all kindergartners enrolled in public schools, received vaccination exemptions in the 2025-2026 school year, an increase from the 3.6% of publicly enrolled kindergartners who received such exemptions in the prior school year.
The Washington Post noted in a Monday report on the data that "the biggest factor in the increasing exemption rate came from families seeking nonmedical exemptions," and that exemption rates now exceed 5% in nearly half of all US states.
The jump in vaccine exemptions comes as the US is dealing with the largest outbreak of measles it's experienced in over three decades.
Numbers released by the CDC last month revealed that there have been 2,318 recorded cases of measles this year, the highest number of cases recorded since the virus was declared eliminated in the country more than two decades ago.
Experts have said that this surge in measles cases is largely due to lower uptake of the measles vaccine.
Dr. James Campbell, member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases, told CBS News in an interview published Monday that the primary reason for the drop in vaccinations was the "chaos and confusion in vaccination recommendation systems in the last year or so," since the start of the second Trump administration.
Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Post that it doesn't take a very large decrease in the vaccination rate to give the measles virus an opening.
"For some diseases like measles, even a small decrease in vaccination rates can lead to more outbreaks of disease," Racine explained, "because community immunity requires over 95% of susceptible individuals to be immunized."
"This risk is real," Raccine added. "The United States is experiencing a 35-year high for measles cases as federal officials continue to elevate misleading and disproven information about vaccines, inserting unnecessary fear and confusion into families’ decision making. And we are seeing the results."
The results could get even worse if President Donald Trump's executive order calling for the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination be divided into three separate shots gets implemented.
Experts have warned that separating the vaccines means that families will be less likely to have their children get all three shots, and the CDC's own website notes that "no published scientific evidence shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots."
Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care, said surging exemptions were a direct result of misinformation about vaccines being pushed by both Trump and US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
"Connect the dots," said Woodhouse. "Donald Trump and RFK Jr. frequently spew anti-vax lies to a national audience, parents get needlessly freaked out, exemptions surge, vaccination rates plummet, outbreaks of preventable diseases shatter records, kids die. Trump’s allergy to science and reality is its own deadly virus."
Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as US surgeon general during Trump's first term, also criticized Kennedy's leadership in a Tuesday social media post.
"You can’t be the leader of all health policy in America, AND claim you’re for childhood vaccinations, AND ignore this trend/not have a clear plan to increase vaccine uptake," Adams wrote, "at least not if you’re serious about improving America’s health."
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Conservationists Back Crowley in Wisconsin Over 'Extremist Pro-Corporate Polluter' Tiffany
"Tom Tiffany has put corporate profit ahead of local communities time and again."
Aug 18, 2026
The advocacy group Wisconsin Conservation Voters on Monday endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in the state's closely watched gubernatorial contest, arguing he is the obvious choice over "extremist pro-corporate polluter" Tom Tiffany, who has recently attempted to posture as anti-data center despite his voting and fundraising record.
“The momentum across Wisconsin is clear—voters are ready for leaders who will hold corporate polluters accountable, stand up to corporate greed, regulate data centers, and protect our natural resources,” said Seth Hoffmeister, deputy director of Wisconsin Conservation Voters (WCV). “David Crowley has proven he understands the struggles of Wisconsin families. From cutting Milwaukee County’s carbon footprint in half to taking a firm stand against predatory data center growth, David is the leader we need to protect our environment and keep energy bills affordable.”
By contrast, according to WCV, Tiffany—who currently represents Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District in the US House—has shown "a consistent pattern of prioritizing corporate interests, out-of-state polluters, and special interests over regular Wisconsinites."
"Tiffany’s record is toxic," the group said. "He took $75,000 from mining interests in exchange for introducing an open-pit mining bill. He voted to defund the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program—a popular and effective bipartisan conservation program. He gutted the [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources'] scientific authority, and he voted for budget legislation that raised healthcare and electricity costs. Tom Tiffany has put corporate profit ahead of local communities time and again."
The conservation group's endorsement of Crowley came on the same day that Tiffany released an ad attacking Crowley's position on data centers, part of a broader effort by the Tiffany campaign to take advantage of widespread voter backlash against the energy-devouring facilities.
But Tiffany's critics and the Crowley campaign say the Republican nominee is obscuring his own record and misrepresenting the views of his Democratic opponent on an issue that has captured the attention of communities in Wisconsin and across the US.
Tiffany—who, like Crowley, opposes a moratorium on new data center construction—has characterized the facilities as "exciting new technology," suggested they are necessary to compete with China, and voted as a member of Congress in favor of budget legislation that included a 10-year ban on state-level artificial intelligence regulations. (The US Senate later stripped the ban from the bill.)
Tiffany pledged on Monday that, if he wins in November, every proposed data center project in Wisconsin would have to meet "strict environmental standards," despite his putrid voting record on environmental issues.
Crowley, unlike Tiffany, devotes a section of his website to data center policy.
"As governor, I will let communities decide for themselves whether they want a data center at all—and if they say no, that decision would be honored," Crowley's website states.
If a local community opts to support new data center construction, Crowley said he would require the developer to eschew non-disclosure agreements that hide the details of the project, fully cover the "costs of infrastructure and grid upgrades," build with union labor, and contribute to a fund aimed at bringing down Wisconsinites' utility costs.
“Wisconsinites are looking for practical solutions to real challenges, like rising utility rates and unsafe drinking water,” Hoffmeister of WCV said Monday. “David Crowley will put our communities first and advocate for policies that make our state cleaner, safer, and more affordable.”
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102 Rights Groups Call on Rubio to Secure Release of US Citizen Sama Safi, Imprisoned in Israel Since June
"The Israeli military had no right to take Sama in the first place, let alone repeatedly hold her in such inhumane conditions."
Aug 18, 2026
More than 100 faith-based and civil society groups are calling on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to fulfill one of his department's top obligations—protecting the security of US citizens abroad—by securing the "immediate release" of 20-year-old Sama Safi, an American psychology student who was violently detained by armed Israeli soldiers in the West Bank 77 days ago and has been held in a military prison ever since.
The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), one of the signatories of a letter sent to Rubio on Monday, emphasized that "The Israeli military had no right to take Sama in the first place, let alone repeatedly hold her in such inhumane conditions" as those she's been subjected to.
Safi, a student at Birzeit University in the West Bank, was abducted from her family's home in the occupied territory at 3:00 am on June 2, after Israeli Defense Forces soldiers broke down the door in a raid.
Safi and three other women who were abducted on the same night have been accused of "hostile terrorist activity and additional terrorist-related activities" due to alleged involvement with a student group, but Safi has not been charged with any crimes.
Despite that, the groups said, "the Israeli military has illegally transferred Sama out of the West Bank to the Damon Israeli military prison near Haifa, which amounts to a grave breach of Article 147 of the 4th Geneva Convention."
Article 147 bans the unlawful transfer, deportation, or confinement of protected persons from an occupied territory to the territory of the occupying power, and constitutes a war crime, wrote the groups, which include the Council on American Islamic Relations, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
The groups also emphasized that Safi has been arbitrarily detained for nearly three months while suffering a severe chronic complex health condition, putting her "at risk of rapid deterioration without specialized ongoing care abroad."
"Interruption of Sama's specialized care abroad places Sama at high risk of clinical deterioration, severe inflammatory relapse, progressive organ damage, hospitalization, and potentially life-threatening repercussions," said the groups.
Her condition causes "fevers up to 105°F and requires daily medication and a quarterly injection she travels abroad to receive," Drop Site News reported in June.
The letter included a statement from Safi in which she described being "shackled, blindfolded, driven around for several hours" on the night she was abducted.
"I was given no food or water for the first 24 hours," she said. "I was subjected to repeated verbal abuse... I was blindfolded, shackled, and placed in painful stress positions."
Israel's military prisons have been called a "network of torture camps" by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, and human rights groups and the United Nations have documented the widespread use of torture against Palestinians in the prisons, including sexual abuse and denial of medical care, food, and water.
According to Drop Site News, a new report released Monday by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society found that at least 10 Palestinian women at Damon prison have contracted scabies "amid overcrowding, poor ventilation, and shortages of basic supplies.
"Sama has always been fascinated by people, and her deep love for others is what led her to study psychology," reads the letter. "Sama just celebrated her 20th birthday in April. She should be focusing on building her future, not being unjustly abducted by the Israeli military and enduring this nightmare."
Nearly 10,000 "security" inmates are being held in Israeli prisons as of this month, according to the human rights group HaMoKed.
Last week, Israeli forces abducted 46-year-old Hussein Jabarin, a US citizen, from his family's home in the West Bank. He was detained for several days before being released Sunday.
Another American citizen, 16-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim, spent nearly 10 months in an Israeli prison last year after being detained for allegedly throwing rocks at vehicles. He was not permitted to speak to his family the entire time he was imprisoned.
"This is how adversaries, not allies, act," said Anthony Zenkus, a professor at Columbia University, of Safi's abduction.
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In Trump's Economy, Companies Offer 'Buy Now, Pay Later' for Utilities as Costs Surge
Lending apps are offering credit to consumers struggling to afford basic necessities, including electricity, broadband, groceries, and more as prices rise.
Aug 18, 2026
Companies that provide "buy now, pay later" loans are increasingly offering their products to Americans struggling to afford utilities and other necessities as costs rise across the US economy, with President Donald Trump's illegal war on Iran pushing up energy prices while wage growth slows.
The New York Times reported Monday that "the lending apps Flex and Zip allow customers to take out loans to pay for their broadband, electricity, health insurance, mobile phone service, mortgage, and water bills," while Affirm "has started providing some tenants loans to extend their monthly rent payment for a few weeks." On the homepage of its website, Affirm is currently promoting its product for school supplies as prices for basic items surge.
Despite Trump's pledge to cut household electricity costs in half and "bring down the prices of all goods," federal data shows electricity prices are up 18% since the start of the president's second White House term. On Monday, the average price for a gallon of gas in the US reached $4.06—the highest ever recorded for mid-August.
Recent polling by Data for Progress shows that 38% of "buy now, pay later" users have turned to the product to cover gasoline costs. Nearly half—46%—have used it for groceries, 42% for medical or dental care, 39% for utility bills, and 22% for childcare.
Last month, the advocacy group Protect Borrowers released a detailed report showing that buy now, pay later lenders are "touting shiny and oftentimes deceptive offers of zero-interest, fee-free installment loans to millions of Americans struggling with the rapidly rising costs of groceries, rent, utility bills, takeout, new clothes, medical care, and more."
"Leading BNPL lenders currently include Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay, PayPal, Synchrony, Splitit, Sezzle, and Zip, but more are popping up by the day, largely funded by private equity firms and venture capitalists looking to cash in on families’ financial desperation," the report states. "BNPL loans are packed to the brim with financing fees, late fees, and other junk fees. Many BNPL loans feature late fees of $7 to $8 per missed payment, up to an aggregate cap of 25% of the purchase price. Additional fees may be charged for financing, if the user does not set a bank account as the default method of payment, reschedules an upcoming payment, or has non-sufficient funds or a bounced payment."
The Times pointed to June Federal Reserve research showing that Americans collectively spent $160 billion through buy now, pay later programs last year, nearly twice what US consumers spent in 2023.
"That’s still a fraction of the more than $3 trillion US shoppers spend annually on consumer credit cards," the Times noted. "But the industry continues to expand by double-digit rates each year."
Jennifer Zhang, a policy analyst at Protect Borrowers, has called on the US Congress to enact "sweeping protections" that "end deceptive pricing, bring down the cost of BNPL debt, ban predatory practices that harm consumers, and empower Americans to enforce their rights under the law."
"BNPL loans are expensive and risky, and often worsen financial outcomes for borrowers who come to rely on them to make ends meet. However, millions of Americans are being driven into these debt products just as they’re trying to get by. Prices are soaring and show no signs of coming down anytime soon," Zhang wrote. "Americans need help."
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US Progressives to Challenge Trump 'Donroe Doctrine' at Pan-American Congress
“We need to build a durable and lasting coalition of progressives that can take on the right-wing forces and answer them with the necessary call of the people,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
Aug 17, 2026
A delegation of progressive congressional lawmakers and candidates is set to head to Uruguay this week to take part in a conference focused on Pan-American solidarity amid the resurgence of both US imperialism and right-wing governments in the hemisphere.
The third Pan-American Congress, to take place in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, will bring together progressive legislators from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean to discuss what organizers describe as hemispheric cooperation based on "solidarity between peoples" and "sovereignty among nations"—a vision sharply at odds with what critics have dubbed US President Donald Trump's "Donroe Doctrine" militant imperialism.
The US delegation will be led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), joined by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Democratic congressional candidate Dr. Adam Hamawy of New Jersey, and three members of Democratic Socialists of America also running for Congress: Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York and Chris Rabb from Pennsylvania.
"We need to build a durable and lasting coalition of progressives that can take on the right-wing forces and answer them with the necessary call of the people,” Jayapal said in a video posted to social media.
We need a foreign policy based on partnership, exchange, and mutual respect.I spoke with @elpais.com about joining the upcoming Panamerican Congress and the need to fight back against far-right extremism across the globe. Read more here:
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— Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (@jayapal.house.gov) August 17, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is slated to address the conference remotely. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) will not attend but expressed his support for “pushing back against right-wing radicalization, tackling the climate crisis, and addressing our joint economic crisis.”
In an interview with El País published over the weekend, Japayal called the conference "an opportunity to hear from our Latin American counterparts about what is happening on the ground: how US foreign policy is affecting them and how we can work together to build a progressive movement and combat far-right disinformation. The United States is doing a lot of pain with our Donroe Doctrine."
Jayapal is leading a letter signed by Sanders, Casar, García, and seven other progressive Democrats asking Secretary of State Marco Rubio "to answer for the regional implications of the 'Trump Corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine, and ground US foreign policy toward the Western Hemisphere on the principles of mutual respect and advancement of human rights."
"The interventions conducted under the banner of the ‘Donroe Doctrine' appear to follow a partisan playbook: the endorsement of favored candidates, the placement of political allies, the weaponization of tariffs and sanctions, and, where those fail, the application of direct military force," the lawmakers wrote. "These are tactics that destabilize our hemisphere and endanger our neighbors."
Before this year's Panamerican Congress, I'm demanding the Trump administration answer for their "Donroe” Doctrine.It follows a partisan playbook of tactics that destabilize our hemisphere and endanger our neighbors.
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— Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (@jayapal.house.gov) August 17, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Two of the letter's signatories, Reps. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), earlier this year introduced the New Good Neighbor Act, a bill inspired by the short-lived period when the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration pursued policies of nonintervention and improved diplomatic relations with Latin America in the 1930s.
Since returning to the White House just last year, Trump—who campaigned as the "peace president"—has bombed and invaded Venezuela to abduct President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, launched airstrikes against what he claims without evidence are drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and deployed troops to Ecuador as part of a joint campaign against alleged drug gangs dubbed Operation Total Extermination.
Trump has also ordered the military to plan an invasion to seize the Panama Canal, threatened to “take” Cuba, possibly attack Mexico and Colombia, invade and annex Greenland, and somehow make Canada the “51st state.”
That’s just in the Western Hemisphere. Overall, Trump has bombed seven countries around the world since returning to the White House and 10 nations over the course of his two terms—including Iran, where he launched an increasingly protracted illegal war in concert with Israel.
Just last week, Ramirez dismissed as a "cheap piece of imperialist propaganda" a video published by the State Department hailing the Monroe Doctrine, which was cited to justify numerous US wars of aggression, conquest, destabilizing invasions, the overthrow of democratically elected governments, and support for pro-Washington military dictatorships.
Issued in December 1823 by President James Monroe as Spanish colonies in the Americas won their independence, the eponymous doctrine states that European powers should not establish new colonies or interfere politically in the independent states of the Western Hemisphere. While it was partly a response to European attempts to restore colonial rule in Latin America, the Monroe Doctrine also asserted US hegemony over the Americas.
According to John Coatsworth, a historian specializing in Latin America, the US has launched at least 41 interventions that successfully overthrew governments in the Americas since 1898. The number of US military interventions in the region is much higher.
Former Colombian President Ernesto Samper, who is attending the conference, told The Hill on Monday that the resurgence of right-wing leaders, including Abelardo de la Espriella in his country, is “leading us toward a form of neofascism."
Samper said that Trump's "hegemonic aggression" in the Americas shows that the hemisphere "deserves a progressive and sensible response, which I hope will emerge from this forum."
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