#Immigrant Development Center

[saywhat-politics]

Without scientist Kseniia Petrova’s expertise, no one can fully unlock the data’s potential, putting crucial advancements in early cancer detection at risk.

April 21, 2025, 2:34 PM MST / Updated April 22, 2025, 4:20 AM MST

By Jean Lee

A groundbreaking microscope at Harvard Medical School could lead to breakthroughs in cancer detection and research into longevity. But the scientist who developed computer scripts to read its images and unlock its full potential has been in an immigration detention center for two months — putting crucial scientific advancements at risk.

The scientist, the 30-year-old Russian-born Kseniia Petrova, worked at Harvard’s renowned Kirschner Lab until her arrest at a Boston airport in mid-February. She is now being held at ICE’s Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, and fighting possible deportation to Russia, where she said she fears persecution and jail time over her protests against the war in Ukraine.

“I would call it a grinding machine,” Petrova, who spoke with NBC News from the Louisiana facility, said about being detained. “We are in this machine, and it doesn’t care if you have a visa, a green card, or any particular story. ... It just keeps going.”

[libraford]

A local organization here has released a list of books that they feel are imperative to have in the time ahead. The list was not easily shareable, so I copy-pasted it here.

There is no need to read all of these, but one thing you can do that takes little effort is call your library and see if they have them in stock.

If you are moneyed, you can buy some copies and put them in little free libraries.

EDUCATING FOR ADVOCACY BOOK LIST

All books are written by authors from that culture

BOOKS FOR ADULTS

(2024) Be a Revolution: How Everyday People are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World - and How You Can, Too by Ijeoma Oluo

Each chapter discusses how someone is advocating for oppressed populations

and has examples of how others can do the same or similar.

(2024) The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The author travels to Senegal, South Carolina and Palestine and grapples with deep questions and emotions.

(2023) Better Living Through Birding: Notes From a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

A memoir of a Black man learning to claim space for himself and others like him.

(2022) Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies about Our Past Edited by Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer

The title explains it so well.

(2022) South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry

History, rituals, and landscapes of the American South and why they must be understand it in order to understand America.

(2022) Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

Tells the story of 3 generations of a Southern Black family in Memphis.

(2021) How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

An exploration of important monuments and landmarks in the USA that show

how slavery has been foundational in the development and history of our country.

(2021) The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee

The title explains it.

(2021) The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Historical fiction telling the story of several generations of a Dakota family

(2020) The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America edited by Nikesh Shukla and Chimene Suleyman

26 authors share their stories of living in the USA.

(2020) Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how we continue to be defined in this way..

(2020) This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey from Refugee to Congresswoman

by Ilhan Omar

This title explains it.

(2019) The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah Jones (among others)

Reframes our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative.

(2019) Things are Good Now by Djamila Ibrahim

Stories of how migrants sort out their lives in foreign lands.

(2018) So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

An examination of race in America.

(2018) I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

A memoir telling her journey of learning to love her blackness while navigating America's racial divide.

(2018) If They Come for Us by Fatimah Asghar

Poetry that captures the experience of being a Pakistani Muslim woman in contemporary America, while exploring identity, violence, and healing.

(2016) Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Traces the history of Black America.

(2015) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A memoir, in the form of a letter to his young son, telling his personal experiences with racism and violence in the United States.

(2015) My Seneca Village by Marilyn Nelson

Poetry and information about Seneca Village – a multi-racial, multi-ethnic neighborhood in the center of Manhattan (Central Park ) that thrived in the mid-19th century.

(2014) An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Tells the 400+ years of US history, from the perspective of Indigenous peoples

(2013) Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Explores the place of plants and botany in both Indigenous and Western life.

(2010) The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

Follows the stories of three Black Americans’ migration journeys from Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana.

(2010) The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

By Michelle Alexander

Explains how we haven’t ended, but have redesigned, the caste system in the U.S.

(1972) Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions by John (Fire) Lame Deer and Richard Erdoes

Told by Lame Deer, a Lakota medicine man, this memoir teaches the history of Indigenous people in the USA.

BOOKS FOR GRADES K-12

GRADES 7 - 12

(2021) Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

The novel's main character is a young woman with a French mother and an Ojibwe father, who often feels torn between cultures.

(2021) The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson

Illustrated by Nikkolas Smith

Tells the story and consequences of American slavery in verse.

(2020) Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Shorter and appropriate for middle and high schoolers.

(2020) All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

Series of personal essays about the author’s life growing up as a gay, black man.

(2020) Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters Illustrated by Mehrdokt Amini

Explained in title.

(2020) Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatewood Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III

Poetry about fighting for racial justice through joy and passion.

(2020) Be Amazing: A History of Pride by Desmond Is Amazing Illustrated by Dylan Glynn

The history of Pride, with bold illustrations, focusing on the importance of embracing one’s own uniqueness and tuning out the haters.

(2020) Dear Justyce (Dear Martin #2) by Nic Stone

Continues the story of Justyce from Dear Martin in a series of flashbacks and letters.

(2020) Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

A novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated.

(2019) Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobab

The author tells the story of life as a nonbinary person in graphic novel form.

(2019) An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People original book by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz adapted by Debbie Rees and Jean Mendoza

Shorter and appropriate for middle and high schoolers

(2017) Sea Prayer by Khalad Hosseini Illustrated by Dan Williams

Written as a poetic letter, from father to son, this is a story of the journey of refugees.

(2017) Dear Martin (Dear Martin #1) by Nic Stone

A story of the realities of a Black teen living in America.

(2015) All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

From the perspective of two teenage boys, one Black and one White, a story is told with the realization that racism and prejudice are still alive and well.

(2015) Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

The author interviewed six transgender for gender-neutral young adults and lets

them tell their story.

(2011) Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

The title explains it well

GRADES 4 - 6

(2023) An American Story by Kwame Alexander illustrated by Dare Coulter

Tells the story, poetically and honestly, about American slavery

(2023) Step by Step!: How the Lincoln School Marchers Blazed a Trail to Justice

by Debbie Rigaud and Carlotta Penn illustrated by Nysha Pierce

Tells the story of a group of Black mothers and children and their two-year march to integrate an Ohio elementary school.

(2022) Say Their Names by Caroline Brewer illustrated by Adrian Brandon

A young Black girl leads a #BlackLivesMatter protest march.

(2021) Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.

Shorter, more kid friendly version of Stamped from the Beginning.

(2021) Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Traces the history of this African-American ‘Wall Street District’ and its destruction by White supremacists.

(2016). I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley

The life and work of RBG told in picture book form.

(2008) Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad written and illustrated by James Rumford

Ancient and recent history of Baghdad from the perspective of a young boy.

(2005) Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson illustrated by Hudson Talbott

Traces the history of the ‘show way’ quilt from slavery through freedom.

(2005) My Name is Bilal by Asma Mobin-Uddin illustrated by Barbara Kiwak

Muslim-American student experiencing religious prejudice.

(2005). Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee Ilustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy

An alphabet book that teaches about the extraordinary lives of 26 women.

(1978). The Other Way to Listen by Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall

Helps children learn about indigenous cultures.

GRADES PRE-K - 3

(2023) These Olive Trees: A Palestinian Family’s Story written and illustrated by Aya Ghanameh

A story of a young girl and her family in Nablus, Palestine, 1967

(2020). Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi illustrated by Ashley Lukashvsky

Teaches young children how to be an antiracist.

(2016). When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett

A young, indigenous girl learns about her grandmother’s experience in a

residential school.

(2013). A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara (board book)

An ABC book that teaches children about being an activist.

[reality-detective]

This is why Trump getting rid of FEMA is a big deal…

They were literally planning on putting US Citizens in FEMA Camps…

Did you know FEMA was developed as a Domestic anti-‘Terrorist’ Organization — Not Disaster Emergencies?

🔴 HAVE YOU HEARD OF REX 84?

• Short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a classified scenario and drill by the United States federal government intended to test the capacity to DETAIN large numbers of American citizens in the event of a “national emergency or civil unrest”.

• The exercise was designed to manage a scenario where a significant number of people would be detained, focusing on potential "national security threats."

• Rex 84 was part of a broader continuity of government plan, involving multiple federal agencies and exercises like Operation Garden Plot, which deals with civil disturbances.

• The exercise included a scenario where the U.S. Army would airlift troops from Fort Bragg to simulate an invasion in Central America, under the code name Rex 84 Night Train.

• Rex 84 Alpha focused on civil mobilization, involving 34 federal agencies, while Rex 84 Bravo was the specific scenario for mass detentions.

• The plan included the capability to detain UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS and/or Americans labeled as security threats.

• It involved the potential use of MILITARY bases as detention centers, which could be activated if a national emergency was declared by the President.

- The plan was part of a series of readiness exercises that tested various aspects of national security and emergency responses.

[secularprolifeconspectus]

BREAKING: new records expose that Planned Parenthood will sell body parts from healthy, viable babies to universities for intellectual property.

In a batch of freshly released FOIA documents, journalist David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress has pieced together a horrifying reality: Planned Parenthood harvests organs from viable, nonanomalous fetuses with documented heartbeats from abortions with labor induction for research at the University of California San Diego in exchange for IP rights. In other words, PP dissects healthy premies who are old enough to live outside the womb after making sure they are alive and delivering them intact, per their contract with UCSD, in which PP gets to keep all royalties for patents developed from experiments. And the Spanish-speaking mothers didn't give informed consent to this. In other words, and they prey on vulnerable minorities for their babies.

How do I know this is true? It's because I am the associate reporter in this video, and David emailed me the documents to read for myself.

Evidence includes:

Transfer agreement outlining the exchange of fetal tissue for ownership of research IP

Research plan approved by the UCSD Institutional Review Board requesting organ samples from nonanomalous fetuses up to 23 weeks gestation (that's nearly 6 months old; periviability begins at 21 weeks)

Same research plan calling for verification of a heartbeat immediately before the procedure to ensure the fetuses are living (this keeps their tissues fresh; the fetuses cannot be given a feticide to "euthanize" (poison) them before the procedure, because this would contaminate the tissues; this means the fetuses are either bled out or dismembered alive)

Did I mention this plan calls for up to 2,500 samples from 2,500 fetuses?

Email chain discussing the use of heavy doses of misoprostol before abortions after 12.5 weeks (forces labor contractions to deliver the baby — may result in live birth)

Donation consent forms in English which state the tissue may be used commercially, but in Spanish exclude this info entirely (San Diego has a large immigrant population, so this is racist targeting)

No, I cannot say for certain that PP actually did cut up healthy premies. But I am saying, it is documented that they were willing to do so, and that should be enough to cause alarm.

Protecting premature infants is a nonpartisan human rights issue. Everyone should be outraged about this violation of the vulnerable.

I've had folks suggest to me before that this is just a few "bad actors", but they're missing the bigger picture of how the abortion industrial complex enables these crimes. It is a natural outcome of the system, and it must be dismantled. You cannot permit elective abortion without permiting violence against premature infants. Tell your representatives to divest from Big Abortion NOW.

[erotetica]

Fuck Trump, here’s all the civil rights orgs I know:

(Most have education pages and/or socials to follow and boost if u can’t donate right now)

LGBTQ+

Trevor Project—queer crisis hotline/counseling (NOTE THAT THEY CALL POLICE IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS)

List of Crisis Hotlines/etc compiled by Inclusive Therapists .com which DON’T CALL POLICE

Point of Pride—helps trans folks having trouble accessing gender affirming healthcare

Trans Lifeline—community support/resources/financial aid for trans folks

Transactual—UK org focused on Trans adults access to medical care & legal protections, also doing work spreading awareness about Trans issues/lives and debunking misinfo.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

National Network of Abortion Funds—financial assistance/transport/childcare for people in ban states seeking abortions.

Brigid Alliance—same

Sister Song—reproductive justice for WOC

Indigenous Women Rising—helps Indigenous families access abortions/menstrual hygiene/midwifery/etc

Afiya Center—reproductive justice/HIV care for Black womxn in Texas

Abortion access orgs for Americans in the

Midwest

South

Appalachia (they also offer free emergency contraception/support services/etc)

RACIAL JUSTICE

NYU Law Center on Race Inequality—self-education resources on racism & antiblackness/how to contact elected officials/how to protest safely.

List of orgs protecting Black Americans, compiled by NYU (incl NAACP, Audre Lorde Project, BLM, Black Voters Matter, etc)

National Immigration Law Center—fighting for asylum seeking/DACA; helping immigrants access healthcare/worker’s rights/etc

American Civil Liberties Union—working on many intersectional initiatives

Southern Poverty Law Center—same

GLOBAL AID (While we Americans wait for shoes to start dropping, let’s not forget others in need, and that Trump’s atrocious foreign policies will affect everyone!)

World Central Kitchen—hunger relief

Action Against Hunger—same

War Child—supports and educates children in conflict zones, like Yemen and DRC

Medecins Sans Frontieres— medical aid

Islamic Relief USA—emergency aid

PALESTINIAN AID

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund— medical aid for kids

Anera— emergency relief & long-term development resources for Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan

United Nations Relief and Works Agency—aid for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon/Syria/West Bank/Gaza/Jordan

Palestine Red Crescent Society—medical aid

SUDANESE AID

List of humanitarian orgs working in Sudan, compiled by 500 Words Magazine

CONGOLESE AID

Panzi Foundation—supports assault survivors & their families

Eastern Congo Initiative—supports ands funds local/community-based Congolese efforts

Please reblog, & add any legitimate humanitarian organizations you know of! I love all of you!!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Edward Helmore at The Guardian:

Donald Trump and administration officials have threatened CNN over what they said was its promotion of a new app that allows users to track and try to avoid Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. Speaking to reporters in Florida on a trip to visit a new Ice detention center in Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz”, the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said her department and the Department of Justice were looking at prosecuting CNN over its reporting on the app, called IceBlock. “We’re working with Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them,” Noem said, “because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities and operations. We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them. What they’re doing is illegal.” Trump joined in, saying the news network – a frequent target of his ire – should also be prosecuted for what he said were “false reports on the attack on Iran”, referring to the leak of a Pentagon assessment that suggested US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and had probably only set the program back by months. “They were totally obliterated,” Trump countered. “Our people have to be celebrated, [and] not come home to, ‘What do you mean we didn’t hit the targets?’”

CNN defended its reporting of the app through a spokesperson, saying: “This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it. There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN”. Noem’s comments came hours after Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, also criticized CNN for its reporting on the IceBlock app. “It’s disgusting,” Homan said during an appearance on the rightwing commentator Benny Johnson’s internet show. “I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys. It’s already a dangerous job.” Homan had been asked about the app, which was created to report sightings of Ice agents in any given area. Software developer Joshua Aaron recently told CNN that he had launched the app “when I saw what was happening in this country”.

The Trump Regime’s fascistic war on the media expands to threats to prosecute CNN over its reporting on the ICEBlock app that tracks the activities of ICE goons.

See Also:

HuffPost: Trump Allies Want DOJ To Investigate CNN, Rising App That Tracks ICE Movements

Daily Kos: Noem wants to hunt down people who warn others about nearby ICE agents

[sirpuntine]

Are you aware of ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ?

"This site is a multigenerational home for the Indigenous peoples of Florida, and it is not the home of a harmful and unnecessary prison." - Friends of the Everglades

Source

“Alligator Alcatraz” is an immigrant detention center being built illegally in the Big Cypress Preserve of the Florida Everglades to house 5,000 people in tents in summer, with plans to use alligators and snakes as opposed to walls and buildings as a deterrent to the people being kidnapped, trafficked, and contained.

“State authorities project that the center will be operational at the beginning of July, with an initial capacity of at least 1,000 detainees and a gradual expansion thereafter”

As of 6/26: Construction has already started and has been connected to LOGISTIC EVENT CORPS and US TENT RENTAL. FL National Guard and Highway Patrol have been sent to “secure the perimeter and entry points of Alligator Alcatraz”. Homeland Security is largely funding it with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) using its Shelter and Service Program, which usually allocates money to governments and nonprofits to “provide migrants with temporary shelter, food and transportation”.

There are 15 Miccosukee and Seminole villages in Big Cypress, which also supplies 40% of their drinking water, but the tribes WERE NOT CONSULTED and EXPLICITLY OPPOSE construction.

The Mayor of Miami is opposing construction until environmental impact assessments are done and is reportedly considering legal action

“Levine Cava also reported that the state of Florida offered only 20 million dollars for the property, while its most recent appraisal exceeds 190 million”

DeSantis has claimed the project has zero environmental impacts, which has been vehemently denied by environmentalists:

"There will be impact because sewage will be generated, water will be used, and it will create light pollution affecting the habitat” - Eve Samples, Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades

“She also contends the state failed to follow proper procedure by skipping a required environmental review before building a federal facility. Samples raised additional alarm over the threat to endangered species, noting that Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) maps show panthers living in the area.”

“In addition to the criticisms of the immigration plan itself, construction in this region -considered ecologically sensitive- could cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem of the Everglades, one of the most important natural reserves in the United States.” [x]

In 1969, Marjory Stoneman Douglas founded Friends of the Everglades to stop construction in the same location based on the findings of the 1st ever environmental impact study done in FL and was successful

"Development of the proposed jetport and its attendant facilities will lead to land drainage and development for agriculture, transportation, and services in the Big Cypress Swamp which will inexorably destroy the south Florida ecosystem and thus the Everglades National Park."

US President Ford established Big Cypress National Preserve in 1974 In order to “assure the preservation, conservation, and protection of the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral and faunal, and recreational values of the Big Cypress Watershed”

Call Scripts:

Use these exactly, or use pieces, or base your own message on them - as long as you contact ASAP

Friends of the Everglades: “Dear Gov. DeSantis and Attorney General Uthmeier, Don’t make the same mistake Florida avoided 55 years ago. I’m urging you to STOP the reckless plan to build an “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in the heart of the Everglades. This land is critical to the future of the Everglades — that’s why thousands of Floridians joined forces to stop the Everglades Jetport from paving over this very ground in 1970. Now Attorney General Uthmeier wants to do what even President Nixon’s administration knew was wrong: open the door to development in one of America’s most fragile and iconic ecosystems, surrounded by Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. You have the power to stop this anti-Everglades proposal, and I’m calling on you to use it. NO AIRPORTS. NO ROCK MINES. NO PRISONS on this land. ONLY EVERGLADES! Sincerely, [your info here]”

Jessica Namath: “My name is (name] and I'm calling to ask that you help protect our nation's FIRST National Preserve - Big Cypress - and stop "Alligator Alcatraz". The Everglades are no place for ANY 1,000 person facility. The infrastructure can't support it, and the impacts to the indigenous community and ecosystem would be catastrophic. Please oppose this terrible idea!”

Sierra Club FL Chapter: “Dear Governor DeSantis - You have repeatedly claimed to be a defender of the Everglades. Now is the moment to back up those words with action. The proposed “Alligator Alcatraz” ICE facility would devastate a vital part of the Everglades — undoing decades of restoration progress and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars already invested in protecting this unique ecosystem. This project threatens to destroy the very heart of the River of Grass, undermining the hard work of generations of advocates and scientists dedicated to restoring Florida’s natural heritage. I urge you to listen to the thousands of Floridians who stand against this plan. Show real leadership by rejecting this harmful project and fully committing to protecting and restoring the Everglades for future generations. The time to act is now. Stop Alligator Alcatraz, and stand by your promise to protect the Everglades. Sincerely, [your info here]”

Friends of the Everglades provide this to contact DeSantis and Uthmeier. You can also email DeSantis through his website, or use the contact info below:

DeSantis Mailing Address: The Capitol / 400 South Monroe St. / Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 | DeSantis Phone: (850)717-9337 or (850)488-7146

Uthmeier Mailing Address: Office of the Attorney General / State of Florida /!PL-01, The Capitol / Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 | Uthmeier Phone: (866)966-7226

Call the companies involved and confront their complicity, demanding they stop their service

US Tent Rental (Sarasota, FL): (941)727-3311

Logistics Event Corps (SweetWater, FL): (305)232-8368

BTW DeSantis has already said he wants to build another detention center at Camp Blanding, 30 miles West of Jacksonville, in Northeast FL

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - November 22-28

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. Los Angeles becomes a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ youth and immigrants as officials reject Project 2025

“The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the “sanctuary city” ordinance, shielding queer youth who travel to the city to receive gender-affirming care from prosecution, as well as preventing city resources from being used in immigration enforcement[….]”

2. Huge deforested areas in the tropics could regenerate naturally, study finds

“Cleared or degraded tropical forests around the world covering a combined area larger than Saudi Arabia could regrow on its own, according to new research published Oct. 30 in the journal Nature. [… T]he permanence of regrown forests is critically important to the benefits it can provide to biodiversity and the climate.”

3. Minnesota tribe could soon get a solar-powered resilience hub

“A pair of developers are working to build a microgrid at an elementary school and community center on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota [… which would] provide about 12 hours worth of backup power for residents to be able to charge cell phones, power medical equipment, or stay warm in the event of a power outage.”

4. An exchange between Indonesia and Tanzania supports food security and ocean health

“Around the world, WWF helps manage […] both traditional sustainability-oriented management and science-based practices. This combination supports long-term food security and biodiversity goals. […] Local ownership and management are […] key to achieving stable fisheries and social and economic benefits.”

5. Spiky blue devils and chocolate lilies: Victorian grassland bursts with wildflowers after ecological ‘reset’

“About 70 native plant species could be found within the site, including […] four endangered species of orchid. […] Careful management, including an ecological burn in May and weed control measures to reduce pasture grasses, laid the groundwork for wildflowers to thrive.”

6. Vast forests, wetlands and lakes conserved [in Ontario]

“A vast 970-hectare area featuring thriving forests, wetlands and crystal-clear lakes northeast of Sault Ste. Marie is now protected[….] The intact forests, lakes, wetlands and shorelines support high biodiversity and are home to many threatened species[….]”

7. A New Era of Compassion: How Suncoast Humane Society is Changing Animal Welfare for Good

“Our campus includes outdoor play areas, trails, and even a small swimming pool to encourage animals to stay active, explore, and simply be themselves.”

8. Building climate resilient cocoa farming in West Africa

“[… A] promising new approach to improve climate resilience in cocoa agroforestry across West Africa […] focuses on the critical role of leaf "phenology"—the seasonal changes in leaf cycles—in trees providing shade in managing climate impacts. [… S]hade trees that lose their leaves entirely during the dry season proved especially beneficial in maintaining soil moisture[….]”

9. New Zealanders save more than 30 stranded whales by lifting them on sheets

“[The Department of Conservation] praised as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod. “It’s amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals[….]””

10. 'A really sobering moment:' English zoo fights extinction of freshwater Boxer pupfish

“Whipsnade Zoo aquarists were recently told by conservation partners that that the world's last remaining Boxer pupfish was in their care, prompting the zoo to carry out the immediate transport of all the "precious" Boxer pupfish eggs to another local conservation and education charity in the name of species preservation.”

November 15-21 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity today sued in U.S. District Court to protect the Florida Everglades from a reckless plan to create a massive detention center to confine people who are rounded up in immigration raids.

The groups are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County. Friends of the Everglades is represented by Earthjustice and Scott Hiaasen and Paul Schwiep.

“The site is more than 96% wetlands, surrounded by Big Cypress National Preserve, and is habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other iconic species. This scheme is not only cruel, it threatens the Everglades ecosystem that state and federal taxpayers have spent billions to protect,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades. “Friends of the Everglades was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969 to stop harmful development at this very location. Fifty-six years later, the threat has returned — and it poses another existential threat to the Everglades.”

The proposed plan has gone through no environmental review as required under federal law, and the public has had no opportunity to comment. Despite that, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has plowed ahead with retrofitting the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, roughly two hours west of Miami, in hopes of imprisoning up to 5,000 people there who are detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and other agencies.

“This massive detention center will blight one of the most iconic ecosystems in the world,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This reckless attack on the Everglades — the lifeblood of Florida — risks polluting sensitive waters and turning more endangered Florida panthers into roadkill. It makes no sense to build what’s essentially a new development in the Everglades for any reason, but this reason is particularly despicable.”

“This plan has had none of the environmental review that’s required by federal law,” said Tania Galloni, managing attorney for the Florida office of Earthjustice. “Cruelty aside, it defies common sense to put a mass of people, vehicles, and development in one of the most significant wetlands in the world. That’s why we’re going to court.”

The Everglades is the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, the largest continuous stand of sawgrass prairie and the most significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America. In 2010 it was designated as an endangered UNESCO World Heritage site.

[saywhat-politics]

By The Associated Press

Published: Dec. 27, 2024 at 1:13 PM MST|Updated: 6 hours ago

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is developing a cellphone app that will allow migrants to warn relatives and local consulates if they think they are about to be detained by the U.S. immigration department, a senior official said Friday.

The move is in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to carry out mass deportations after he takes office on Jan. 20.

The app has been rolled out for small-scale testing and “appears to be working very well,” said Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs.

He said the app would allow users to press a tab that would send an alert notification to previously chosen relatives and the nearest Mexican consulate. De la Fuente described it as a sort of panic button.

“In case you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you push the alert button, and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate,” he said.

U.S. authorities are obliged to give notice to home-country consulates when a foreign citizen is detained. Mexico says it has beefed up consular staff and legal aid to help migrants in the legal process related to deportation.

De la Fuente expects the app to be rolled out in January. He didn’t say whether the app has a de-activation tab that would allow someone to rescind an alert if they weren’t really detained.

The government says it has also set up a call center staffed 24 hours a day to answer migrants’ questions.

The Mexican government estimates there are 11.5 million migrants with some form of legal residency in the United States, and 4.8 million without legal residency or proper documents.

[contemplatingoutlander]

The Boston Globe: Rümeysa Öztürk: What to know about the Tufts student arrested by immigration officials

Rümeysa Öztürk is a 30 year old Turkish national. She had a valid student visa and until recently was pursuing her third year of doctoral studies at the Tufts University Elliot-Pearson Child Study and Human Development program.

Video source for gifs

Late on March 25, 2025, while on her her way to end her daily Ramadan fast with friends, Rümeysa was arrested by DHS agents (some in masks), and taken across state lines, without advance notification, despite a Massachusetts court order (although the DOJ claims she was moved before the court order).

If you haven't heard this slightly built woman cry out in fear, go watch this video. It is heartbreaking.

Rümeysa is currently being detained for possible deportation at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.

South Louisiana ICE Processing Center

Rümeysa's only "crime" seems to have been being one of four authors of a year-old op-ed in a university newspaper (The Tufts Daily) expressing dismay that the Tuft administration was being "dismissive of" some student senate resolutions calling upon Tufts "to divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel."

Yet, the Trump administration, in its haste (and incompetence) to deport immigrants, appears to have incorrectly prejudged Rümeysa to be one of the "bad people" that Trump's administration claims they are rounding up to protect Americans.

Video source for gif

TRUMP: We're getting rid of a lot of bad people…. They’re being taken out. And we hope this court system that's become so active all of a sudden in trying to protect some very, very bad uh… people of crime. Uh, they have to stop.

We already know that the incompetent and cruel Trump administration, has sent innocent people to El Slavador's horrible CECOT prison, like Andrys, a gay, Venezuelan make-up artist who was mistaken to be a member of the Tren de Aragua gang because of his tattoos.

And yet, the Trump administration, as always, denies making mistakes and Trump rails against the judges who are trying to stop innocent people like Rümeysa and Andrys from the cruel excesses of the administration's (often incompetent) deportation practices.

According to CNN, Secretary of State Marco "Rubio suggested without evidence [that Rümeysa] was involved in disruptive student protests over Israel’s military operations in Gaza." Yet, her brother Asim, claimed that aside from cowriting the op-ed, Rümeysa did NOT engage "in any provocative or aggressive action regarding the Palestine issue." And, according to The Boston Globe, people at Tufts who knew Rümeysa said "that she wasn't necessarily a leader of campus activism at Tufts, though she did support Palestinian human rights."

According to a lovely tribute to Rümeysa written by her department at Tufts, she is studying child and adolescent development, and appears to be a caring individual who is highly valued by the Tuft's community. As such, she did not deserve to be spirited away to an ICE detention facility and potentially have her life and graduate studies derailed by an unfair deportation.

video source for gifs

And to think that many of Trump's MAGA followers cheer on this cruel behavior of ICE towards law abiding legal immigrants like Rümeysa whose only "crimes" are that they have chosen in the recent past to express opinions against the needless suffering and deaths of tens of thousands of civilian women, children, and men in Gaza.

STOP THE SIMPLISTIC BLACK-AND-WHITE THINKING: Just because people don't agree with the slaughter of the Gazan people does NOT mean they are pro-Hamas, or support the horrific Oct. 7th terrorist attack against Israel. It is this simplistic black-and-white thinking that Trump's administration and Marco Rubio's State Department are using as a justification for terrorizing innocent graduate students like Rümeysa.

Under Trump, America is being led down a dark path of hate and scapegoating that is limiting the rights of due process of many people in marginalized groups. Trump loves to talk about how his deportation policies are "getting rid of a lot of bad people." But if we as a nation do not ensure due process so that innocents are not swept up and unduly punished in Trump's efforts to control immigration, then we collectively are allowing our nation to become no better than autocracies like Russia and China.

[Below the cut are transcripts of The Boston Globe "Rümeysa Öztürk" video and of the captions in the above gifs made from the The New York Times Video of "Surveillance Footage Shows ICE Arrest of Tufts Student." Below the cut is also an excerpt from a beautiful tribute to Rümeysa from her department at Tufts.]

Above is a link to a truly beautiful tribute to Rümeysa from the people in her department at Tufts. Here is an excerpt from that tribute:

Rumeysa’s presence on campus has been missed, as her genuineness and care for others have been felt deeply here at Tufts. Her fellow students put it best: “Rumeysa is usually the first to arrive on campus: she boils water in the kettle and is ready with a warm greeting. Today, she is still everywhere with us. She is in the Turkish tea that we brewed this morning; she is at the top of our inboxes, planning the pastries she would bring to our iftar tomorrow evening; she is on the wall with her byline in an article about refugee representation in children's television and in a colorful Istanbul postcard; she is in the red swivel chair that she always sits in. Even in a department focused on human development, Rumeysa stands out as someone who reminds us daily of the importance of protecting children, cultivating joy, and connecting to our own deeper humanity. We are not the same without her steady, gentle presence”.

The Boston Globe "Rümeysa Öztürk" Video Transcript

GIULIA MCDONNELL NIETO DEL RIO (NARRATOR): On Tuesday, federal immigration authorities detained Tufts PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk, who is a Turkish national here on a valid visa, according to her attorney, and took her into ICE custody. Video obtained by the Globe shows plainclothes immigration agents approaching Öztürk as she's walking on the sidewalk in Somerville. Öztürk’s attorney has filed a habeas petition in Boston Federal Court asking her client to be released from ICE custody. Öztürk’s arrest comes as the Trump administration is cracking down on illegal immigrants here on green cards or visas, who have participated in some way or another in pro-Palestinian activism on campuses. However, those who know Öztürk told the Globe that she wasn't necessarily a leader of campus activism at Tufts, though she did support Palestinian human rights. Advocates and professors who knew Öztürk said they were absolutely shocked by the apprehension of her by federal immigration authorities. Questions remain about why Öztürk was apprehended as she was here legally on a student visa. Her attorneys and community advocates are pushing to get answers.

Transcript of Captions in Gifs Made From The New York Times Video of "Surveillance Footage Shows ICE Arrest of Tufts Student"

FIRST GIF CAPTIONS: A security camera captured the moment a Tufts University student was arrested by agents from the Department of Homeland Security. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen, had a valid student visa, according to a statement from her lawyer. SECOND GIF CAPTIONS: Ozturk, who is Muslim, was heading out to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was detained. The university’s president said administrators were told that Ozturk’s visa had been terminated. The university is trying to verify whether that information is true. THIRD GIF CAPTIONS: Ozturk was listed as a co-author for an opinion essay that criticized university leaders for their stance on the war in Gaza. FOURTH GIF CAPTIONS: A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to questions about the case on Wednesday.

[collapsedsquid]

Agents didn’t need to develop target lists of immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, a longstanding practice, Miller said. Instead, he directed them to target Home Depot, where day laborers typically gather for hire, or 7-Eleven convenience stores. Miller bet that he and a handful of agents could go out on the streets of Washington, D.C., and arrest 30 people right away.   “Who here thinks they can do it?” Miller said, asking for a show of hands.  ICE agents appeared to follow Miller’s tip and conducted an immigration sweep Friday at the Home Depot in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Westlake in Los Angeles, helping set off a weekend of protests around Los Angeles County, including at the federal detention center in the city’s downtown. On Saturday, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops to Southern California, despite objections by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

[scp035sdiscordkitten]

In the SCP sedition tapes, 049 talks about an ex-apprentice Jolanda. I never really thought about her until a couple months ago, and now I'm OBSESSED WITH HER. I've written so much lore about her in my AU of the sedition tapes when all I've had to go off her was 3 minutes of 049 speaking about her. And now, since I am attached to her, I ask of you to please take 049 being a Father lore. This post specifically is about her childhood and centers around her relationship with 049. Her adulthood will have it's own separate post, and is also more heavily influenced by 035. 0-6 Years: The only child to an immigrant couple in Europe. Her childhood is fuzzy, but fine. Sickly, impoverished, and dirty, but fine. The town she lived in was large, so it was a prime target when war broke out. Her village was attacked. Everyone but her died, whether it was by murder, burning to death in the fires, or smoke inhalation, they were dead. 049 had been following closely behind the attacking armies to ensure 035 wouldn't track him down, as 035 was stalking 049 through Europe at this time, and after every raid there would also be fresh bodies to experiment on. 049 found Jolanda in the remnants of her families home. She was uninjured, but absolutely distraught mentally. 049, out of pity, took her under his wing as his apprentice 6-12 Years: Jolanda bonded to him like a duckling. She was always at his side and looked up to him. 049 was hesitant at first, only caring for her out of necessity. But the more he taught her, the more genuine love he felt for her. She was a child prodigy, and took to the craft of medicine and the pestilence as if it was in her nature. His mentor role soon turned fatherly, even though he never wanted to and never knew how to be one. For the sake of Jolanda, he learned. They travelled side by side, 049 teaching her how to spot and cure the pestilence, but also how to go about life. She considered him her father, and she his daughter, though it was always unspoken. They referred to each other by name, they didn't have to say it to know. In these years, 049 also warned her about 035, showing her drawings and telling her tales about the shit he's caused. He knew 035 would be back at any moment, and Jolanda would be his first target if he found her.

12-16 Years: Around this time, Jolanda began to develop survivors guilt for the attack on her home. She couldn't remember her family as vividly as she used to and she felt horrible, especially with how quickly she got over her fathers death and clung to 049. She confided in 049 about this, and he'd comfort her, but also feel bad. Like there was something more he could have done to save her father or that he shouldn't have stepped into that role in the first place. This put distance between them for a bit, having shame on both sides, but they were able to recover after so many talks and time away from the medical table spent together. 16-18 Years: Smooth sailing, best father daughter duo you've ever seen!! 18-21 Years: Jolanda had begun to expand her circle. Making friends, falling in love, all that fun stuff. 049 however believed she had grown uninterested in curing the Pestilence. That she would, as all his other apprentices had, go on to cure broken bones and sore throats. He told her about his growing disappointment that she wasn't spending more time studying the pestilence, which caused her to sneak out and be more curt with him. She felt unwanted and disheartened. She still believed in the pestilence and wanted to cure it, but 049 didn't seem to see that, did he. 049s old delusions were coming back to him, even though 035 had lost his track long ago. He would see 035 in the corner of his eye, or hear those whispers when he was totally alone. He and Jolanda had to keep travelling, but she didn't want to, she had now formed a community. Resentment built and built between the two of them, even though 049 tried to fix it, and it all came crashing down when 049 kidnapped the pestilence infested boyfriend of Jolanda's lady crush, tied him up, and pressured Jolanda into curing him. Jolanda jumped in to defend the guy, putting herself between 049 and him. 049s delusions came back harder than ever, and it was a blur after that, but when he came to his senses, Jolanda was half dead. He had cured her, basically killing her in the process. Out of shock, horror, and shame, he cast her into the snow and left her for dead, immediately returning to his endless run through Europe to cure the pestilence. Nothing could wash off the guilt he now bore, and it drove him even further into insanity. After being cast into the snow and abandoned, Jolanda should've died. But she didn't. Her conscious was still intact, even after having the cure inflicted on her. Half of her body was beginning to rot, and she had intense urges to find and kill anything that moved, like every other carcass 049 cured felt. But Jolanda kept it within, and she turned that urge into the need for revenge. Ty for reading I hope my yapping was enjoyed 🫶🫶🫶like I said, her adulthood will get its own post, but lord knows when that'll be.

[tanadrin]

Imagine that a century or two from now, the eastern half of the United States is conquered by the Canadian Empire, its intelligentsia deported, its land colonized by Canadian immigrants, and its remaining people mostly gradually absorbed into a Neo-Canadian identity. The West reorganizes, developing a new political and cultural center, and comes to regard itself as the "true" United States, with the remnant culture of the East (by now much changed by Canadian rule) as representing an unchanged tradition stretching back to the time of George Washington. The holdout western half is subsequently conquered by the Reformed Mexican Empire, and while most of the population remains in situ, its elite is taken to Mexico City. There, for three or four generations, they do their best to maintain their distinct American identity, focusing on the American "civil religion," the distinctive political ideals and cultural features that mark them out as Americans, and come up with a new way of interpreting their history that allows America to be a perennial idea, something not directly physically tied to the territory of the United States, which no longer exists. They compose a body of historical works based on Washington Irving's rather fabulistic approach to early American history, the half-remembered popular versions of the stories of Columbus and the Pilgrims, the First Thanksgiving, even the Revolutionary War. They don't have access to the original texts anymore--let's say this is all taking place in a post-Collapse North America where long-range travel and communication is difficult and a lot of history has been lost--but they do their best. They append to these books, or include in their text, of history a copy of the Constitution, big chunks of the United States Code, and Robert's Rules of Order.

Subsequently, the Empire of Gran Columbia invades, conquers southern and central Mexico, and its Emperor lets the captive Americans go home. They return north, mostly to California, find that the version of American history and civics that is remembered there isn't the same as the version they have (not that the Californian one is correct--the Mexican Empire has suppressed English-language education and high culture in its Aztlani provinces), and set about reforming and reorganizing the Western States (as they're now called) to be more in line with the forms they brought back from the exile. In the meantime, other bits of important literature start being kept in libraries next to copies of the received histories: some bits of early American literature, like Hawthorne, the Song of Hiawatha, some highly abridged Herman Melville, Thomas Paine--heck, even some John Locke, and quotes or fragments from Shakespeare. Some traditionalists now argue the capital of the United States has always been located in San Francisco, and that Washington, D.C. only because the capital later, under the influence of Eastern heretics.

In the following centuries, the Western States retain their independence for a time, but eventually become a secondary battleground for a lot of other empires--the Mexicans, the Canadians, the Pan-Pacific Federation, and so forth. American culture remains distinctive, insulted in part by its unique traditions, though now everybody speaks Future Spanish, and only learns English to read the old texts. In this period additional material, including later compositions, continues to accrete, forming a distinct body of sacred American scripture, although it does not exist in a single canonical form. Attempts to reconcile distinct sources, like more literal and historically-grounded accounts versus the simplified narratives of figures like Irving, produce hybrid texts that sometimes are full of internal conflicts.

Oh, and through all this, some institutions of American government like the Supreme Court still function, although their rulings only apply to Americans, and there isn't much in the way of a federal bureaucracy.

Finally the Great and Sublime Brazilian Potentate conquers most of the Americas, sets up an American client state that roughly coincides with the heartland of the old Western States (California, Oregon, most of Washington and Nevada), and allows the Americans to elect their own President (subject, of course, to Brazilian approval). During this period, an apocalyptic street preacher from Los Angeles claims to have inherited the authority and power of George Washington, and is executed by the Brazilians; his later followers point to the prophecies of Emperor Norton, and out-of-context bits of a Quebecois translation of Moby-Dick and some Mark Twain stories to say no, really, he was George Washington. Inexplicably, a version of this religion becomes the dominant faith of the Brazilian Empire before it collapses. But long before then the American state in California fails, crushed when it tries to revolt against Brazilian rule; the remnant Easterners likewise dwindle down to only a few hundred souls living in a village in Alexandria, Virginia. Centuries from now, as the descendants of the descendants of the Brazilians colonize Mars, they will point to the sacred Americanist scriptures, the Neo-Americanist narratives of their prophet's life, and the letters written by the early leaders of Neo-Americanism, and say, "all of this was written by the spirit of George Washington, and is free from contradictions." Meanwhile the remnant Americanists, who have been writing about Americanism and how it applies to their everyday lives in the centuries since, and whose commentary has formed around the copies of the last editions of the U.S. Supreme Court Reporter (SCOTUS managed to outlast the final American state by a hundred years or so) plus the thoughts of the remaining Americanist community in Mexico, continue to regard their traditions as the unbroken and unaltered practice of American culture, politics, and ideals as they existed since the Revolutionary War.

This is, as far as I can tell, approximately how the Bible was composed.

[bucktommypositivityproject]

335 Donation Drive- February Fundraiser

Disclaimer: I do my best to properly research each organization, but I'm human. If an organization is ever listed that has a negative history, please do not hesitate to let me know.

The listed nonprofits, at a glance:

Black LGBTQ+ Liberation Inc. (BLINC)- BLINC is a South Florida-based nonprofit. They focus on helping BIPOC LGBTQ+ people lead happier lives through arts, health and wellness programs, and strategic community partnerships.

The Okra Project- The Okra Project focuses on supporting Black trans people across the United States. They provide food, security, safe transportation, and mental health services. Funding has supported 10 annual programs and 279 Black trans individuals.

The Audre Lorde Project- Based in Brooklyn, The Audre Lorde Project is and LGBTQ+ organization for people of color. They focus on community organizing and nonviolent activism, including: AIDS and HIV activism, pro-immigrant activism, and prison reform.

Brave Space Alliance (BSA)- BSA is the first Black trans-led LGBTQ+ center in Chicago. Their Four Pillars of Dignity are: Health, Housing, Food, Identity. They provide essential services, develop programs for individuals and families, and advocate on issues that directly impact Trans, LGBQ+, and Black communities.

Black AIDS Institute (BAI)- BAI is dedicated to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Black community. Their vision is to see a world where Black people are free of HIV and AIDS, free of stigma and shame, and where health and well-being are paramount. They have multiple national programs which focus on educating African American communities about the science of HIV, medical advancements, and prevention methods.

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #17

May 3-10 2024

Vice President Harris announced 5.5 billion dollars to build affordable housing and address homelessness. The grants will go to 1,200 communities across all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico. 1.3 billion will go to HUD's HOME program which builds, buys, and rehabs affordable housing for rent or ownership. 3.3 billion is headed to Community Development Block Grants which supports housing as well as homeless services, and expanding economic opportunities. Remaining funds focus on building housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, Housing for people struggling with HIV/AIDS, transitional housing for those with substance-use disorder, and money to support homeless shelters and homeless prevention programs.

At the 3rd meeting of the Los Angeles Declaration group in Guatemala Security of State Blinken announced $578 million in new US aid to Latin America. The Los Angeles Declaration is a partnership between the US and 20 other nations in the Americas to address immigration, combat human trafficking, and support economic development and improved quality of life for people in poor nations in the Americas. The bulk of the aid, over $400 million will go to humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people. Inside of Venezuela over 7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance due to decades of political and economic instability. Over 7 million more have been forced to flee the country and live in poverty across the Americas. The aid will help Venezuelans both inside and outside of Venezuela.

The Department of Energy lead an effort to get the G7 to agree to phase out coal by the early 2030s. The G7 is a collection of the 7 largest Industrial economies on Earth, the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy. To avoid catastrophic climate change the International Energy Agency believes coal needs to be phased out by 2035. However this has been a sticking point with the G7 since 1/3rd of Japan and 1/4th of Germany's energy comes from Coal. This agreement to phase out represents a major breakthrough and the US plans to press for even wider agreement on the issue at the G20 meeting in November.

President Biden announced a major investment deal in Racine, Wisconsin, site of the failed Trump Foxconn deal. In 2018 then President Trump visited Racine and declared the planned Foxconn plant "the eighth wonder of the world.". However the promised 13,000 jobs never materialized and the Taiwan based Foxconn after bulldozing 100s of homes and farms decided not to build. President Biden inked a deal with Microsoft for the land formally given to Foxconn which will bring 2,000 new jobs to Racine to help replace the 1,000 job losses during Trump's Presidency in the community.

200 tribal governments and the US territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, published climate action plans. The plans were paid for by the Biden Administration as part of a 5 billion dollar Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. The federal government is supporting all 50 states, territories, DC, and tribal governments to draft climate action plans, which will be used to apply for more than 4 billion dollars in grants to help turn plans into reality

As part of marking Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), the Biden Administration announced a number of action aimed at combating antisemitism and supporting the Jewish Community. This included $400 million in new funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. The Program has supported Synagogues and Jewish Community Centers with security improvements like bullet proof windows and trainings for staff in how to handle active shooter and hostage situations. The Department of Education issued guidance to all schools districts and federally funded colleges stressing that antisemitism is banned under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These actions come as part of the Biden Administration's National Strategy To Counter Antisemitism, the first ever national strategy addressing the issue by any Administration.

USAID announced $220 million in additional humanitarian aid to Yemen. This new funding will bring US aid to Yemen over the last 10 years to nearly $6 billion. Currently 18 million Yemenis are estimated as needing humanitarian assistance, 9 million of them children, and the UN believes nearly 14 million face imminent risk of famine. The US remains the single largest donor nation to humanitarian relief in Yemen.

The Department of Interior announced nearly $150 million to help communities fight drought. The funds will support 42 projects across 10 western states. This is part of the President's $8.3 billion dollar investment in the nations water infrastructure over the next 5 five years.