June, 20 2019, 12:00am EDT
US Senate Blocks Trump Administration's Emergency Arms Sales to Saudi-UAE Led Coalition
WASHINGTON
Responding to news that the United States Senate has voted to block the $8 billion emergency arms sales intended for the Saudi-UAE led coalition and ordered by the Trump administration, Amnesty International advocacy director for Middle East and North Africa Philippe Nassif issued this statement:
"We welcome this tremendous news. The Saudi-led coalition has committed horrific human rights violations in Yemen, some of which amount to war crimes. By supplying arms to this coalition, the US government has already devastated the lives of thousands. Our own research indicates that arms manufactured in the US have been used in deadly strikes against civilians. Halting this emergency arms delivery could prevent enormous harm to families and individuals in Yemen."
"Yet there is still much more that can be done. Congress must ban all arms sales to the coalition and hold Saudi Arabia accountable for human rights abuses by passing the bipartisan Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2019."
This statement can be found at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/us-senate-blocks-trump-administrations-emergency-arms-sales-to-saudi-uae-led-coalition/
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.
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Iran Targets Qatar Base Used by US Military in Retaliation for Unprovoked Trump Attack
Sources also said Iran launched at least one missile at a U.S. base in Iraq.
Jun 23, 2025
Loud explosions were heard over Qatar's capital Doha Monday as Iran launched missiles targeting a military base in the Gulf nation used by U.S. forces and another American installation in Iraq in retaliation for last week's illegal and unprovoked bombing of Iranian civilian nuclear strikes ordered by President Donald Trump.
An unnamed Israeli source toldAxios that at least 10 missiles were launched toward Qatar and one at Iraq. The attack on Qatar targeted al-Udeid Air Base, located approximately 20 miles outside Doha. More than 8,000 U.S. troops are stationed at al-Udeid, which also hosts Qatari, British, and other forces.
Iranian officials said they launched the same quantity of missiles as the number of bombs used in the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday.
Iran fires ballistic missiles at US military bases in Qatar.Explosions seen over Doha.The US deployed THAAD systems in Qatar in anticipation of Iranian attacks.
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— Adam Schwarz (@adamjschwarz.bsky.social) June 23, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that "following the blatant military aggression of the criminal regime of the United States of America against the peaceful nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the clear violation of international law" IRCG "has targeted the Al-Udeid base in Qatar with a devastating and powerful missile attack."
An announcement on Iranian state media called the attack "a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America's aggression."
However, there have not yet been any reports of casualties or damage at al-Udeid or any other U.S. base. There have also not been any reports of U.S. military response.
The New York Times reported that Iran warned the U.S. of the imminent attack. Iran's apparently symbolic retaliation was similar to Tehran's response to the 2020 Trump-ordered assassination of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani and likely meant to give both sides a deescalatory offramp, experts said.
The Qatari Ministry of Defense said the country's air defenses "successfully intercepted a missile attack targeting al-Udeid Air Base."
Qatar, which enjoys good relations with Tehran, condemned the Iranian attack and stressed that it "reserves the right" to respond "directly" and "in line with international law."
Monday's developments came amid Israel's ongoing U.S.-backed wars on Iran and Palestine and Iran's retaliatory missile strikes on Israel.
Responding to the Iranian retaliation, Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said on X that "there is a scenario, similar to the 2020 strikes against Iraqi bases, in which both sides call it quits after one round of fire."
"But I find that scenario unstable because of the Israeli element," he continued. "Israel will continue to strike Iran and vice versa, and as long as that is the case, the Israelis will continue to put relentless pressure on Trump to join the war in various ways."
"None of this would have happened had Trump rejected the first step that Israel pushed him to take—shifting his red line to 'zero enrichment,'" Parsi asserted. "That misstep deliberately set up a cascade of events that predictably led to this current war."
"Trump's only exit out of this is to discard the Israeli red line of zero-enrichment and return to the American red line of no weaponization," he added.
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A Day Before the Election, Poll Shows Mamdani Besting Cuomo in NYC Democratic Mayoral Primary
"On the day before the election, we stand on the verge of toppling a political dynasty and winning a city we can afford," wrote Mamdani.
Jun 23, 2025
New poll results released Monday show State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani narrowly ahead of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city's Democratic mayoral primary, which takes place on Tuesday and will be conducted via ranked-choice voting.
Early voting in the race began on June 14 and has far exceeded early voting turnout from the previous Democratic mayoral primary in 2021, though that contest was impacted by Covid-19.
The final Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey of the primary race shows that Cuomo leads Mamdani 35% to 32% (within the plus or minus 3.4% margin of error) when voters are asked about their top pick overall. However, when the two face off in a ranked-choice voting simulation, Mamdani—a democratic socialist—wins with an outright majority in the eighth round with 52% to Cuomo's 48%, according to the poll. The margin of error for the final round is plus or minus 3.6%.
"On the day before the election, we stand on the verge of toppling a political dynasty and winning a city we can afford. But we can only do it with you," Mamdani wrote on Monday, referencing the poll.
The only other candidate who notched above 10% is New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who secured 12.8% when voters were asked to name their top pick in the race. Lander was recently arrested by federal agents at an immigration court in lower Manhattan while escorting an individual out of immigration court.
In New York City's ranked-choice voting system, which is used for certain elections including primary and special elections for mayor, voters rank multiple candidates on their ballots. If no candidate receives more than 50% of first choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the votes that went to that candidate are reallocated to the voters' second choice. That distribution of votes repeats in subsequent rounds until one candidate wins an outright majority or there are only two candidates remaining.
"Over five months, Mamdani's support has surged from 1% to 32%, while Cuomo finishes near where he began," said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, in a statement published Monday. "In the ranked-choice simulation, Mamdani gains 18 points compared to Cuomo's 12, putting him ahead in the final round for the first time in an Emerson poll."
Cuomo has been the consistent frontrunner in the contest, though some recent polling shows Mamdani eating into his lead or pulling ahead.
"This is an outlier: Every other credible poll in this election—including two released last week—has shown Governor Cuomo with a double digit lead, which is exactly where this election will end tomorrow. Between now and then we will continue to fight for every vote like he will fight for every New Yorker as mayor," a Cuomo spokesperson in a statement sent to multiple outlets.
In a Marist poll published last week, Cuomo broke above the 50% threshold in the seventh round of ranked-choice voting.
Mamdani has become a viable contender in the race in part because of an impressive ground game and his high number of individual small dollar donations.
"The campaign has tapped into people’s belief that things could genuinely be better. The context of [President Donald] Trump is a part of that, where people are feeling in a very dark place politically and feeling the necessity of getting involved," said one Mamdani canvasser who spoke to The American Prospect. Mamdani is “running on hope, possibility, and joy. We really could have a better society and a better city, and I think that has spoken deeply to people.”
Volunteers with his campaign have knocked on over a million doors around the city, according to his campaign website, and nearly 16,000 individual donors have contributed a donation of less than $100, according to The Financial Times. Cuomo has amassed a little over 1,000 donations from individual donors who gave less than $100, per the outlet.
Cuomo has benefited from backers supporting him through super political action committees, which are not limited in how much they raise though they are barred from donating directly to a political candidate. According to the FT, pro-Cuomo super PACS have poured an unprecedented $27 million into the race.
When it comes to high profile political endorsements, Cuomo has the backing of several establishment Democratic figures, including former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). Meanwhile, Mamdani has earned the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
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Bezos' Lavish Venice Wedding Spurs Demand for Global Billionaire Tax
"This isn't just about one person—it's about changing the rules so no billionaire can dodge responsibility, anywhere," said one Greenpeace campaigner.
Jun 23, 2025
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—the third- or fourth-richest person on the planet, depending on the list—is hosting various wedding events in Venice, Italy, this week, festivities that have drawn protests, including a massive banner on Monday.
Activists with Greenpeace Italy and the U.K. action group Everyone Hates Elon—targeting Elon Musk, U.S. President Donald Trump's close far-right ally and the wealthiest person on Earth—unfolded a banner that read, "If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax," in Piazza San Marco.
"While Venice is sinking under the weight of the climate crisis, billionaires are partying like there is no tomorrow on their megayachts," Greenpeace campaigner Clara Thompson said in a statement. "This isn't just about one person—it's about changing the rules so no billionaire can dodge responsibility, anywhere."
"The real issue is a broken system that lets billionaires skip out on their fair share of taxes while everyone else is left to foot the bill," she argued. "That's why we need fair, inclusive tax rules, and they must be written at the U.N."
Jeff Bezos pays his staff poverty wages and dodges tax. No wonder he can afford to shut down half of Venice for his wedding this week. Tax billionaires NOW.Location: Piazza San Marco, Venice@greenpeace.org #JeffBezos #TaxTheSuperRich
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— Everyone Hates Elon (@everyonehateselon.bsky.social) June 23, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Reporting on Monday's display of the banner—which features Bezos' face and is about 65 feet long and wide—Reutersdetailed:
Local police arrived to talk to activists and check their identification documents, before they rolled up their banner.
"The problem is not the wedding, the problem is the system. We think that one big billionaire can't rent a city for his pleasure," Simona Abbate, one of the protesters, told Reuters.
A spokesperson from Everyone Hates Elon similarly said in a Monday statement that "as governments talk about hard choices and struggle to fund public services, Jeff Bezos can afford to shut down half a city for days on end just to get married."
"Just weeks ago, he spent millions on an 11-minute space trip," the spokesperson added, referring to the Blue Origin flight for multiple public figures, including Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sánchez. "If there was ever a sign billionaires like Bezos should pay wealth taxes, it's this."
Bezos and Sánchez's event planners, Lanza and Baucina, toldCNN: "Rumors of 'taking over' the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality... From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city."
The details surrounding Bezos' marriage to the former news anchor have been closely guarded, but CNN reported that around 30 of Venice's 280 water taxis are thought to be reserved, the city's nine yacht ports are booked, and one source said that special permission has been granted for private helicopters.
While Venice's mayor and regional governor Luca Zaia have defended the billionaire's luxury wedding events, citing economic benefits for local businesses, "the 'No Space for Bezos' movement—a play on words also referring to the bride's recent space flight—has united a dozen Venetian organizations including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners, and university groups," according toThe Associated Press.
The Bloomberg and Forbes lists tracking global billionaires put Bezos' net worth between $223.4 billion and $231 billion as of Monday. At times in recent years, he has been believed to be the richest person in the world.
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