US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza The Trump administration has announced it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.

This is truly outrageous. So agree with my former @hrw.org colleague Liz Everson: this decision is "actually all about silencing a U.N. expert for doing her job-speaking truth about Israeli violations...and calling on governments and companies not to be complicit.” apnews.com/article/fran...

And for more on why Israel's attack on Iran, and now the US attack too, is unlawful, see this @adhaque.bsky.social @justsecurity.org post, and others on the site, www.justsecurity.org/115010/israe... which also offers alternative views.

This short @hrw.org statement has answers for de-escalating Israel/Palestine conflict. Instead US launches major unlawful attack against Iran. These 2 things are connected. Trump laid out his vision for a new Middle East which includes "moving" Palestinians. Believe him. www.hrw.org/news/2025/06...

Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’

If I was the betting type, I’d put serious money down on prospect of Trump settling the cases with these guys and putting cash directly in their pockets. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...

Such an important report. This will be the future for even more people, unless we get ahead of it by supporting labor rights and empowering workers.

1/ After nearly 3 years of research, our @hrw.org report "The Gig Trap" is finally out. It documents how companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, Favor, and Amazon Flex created a business model that undermines labor rights & deepens inequality in the US. A 🧵https://hrw.org/node/391214

151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin A very quick breakdown of Friday afternoon's quietly significant ruling slapping down the lower courts in the Northern District of Texas Alien Enemies Act litigation—and what it means going forward.

Indispensable, speedy, analysis, yet again, from @stevevladeck.bsky.social Thank you.

151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...

The US just arrested Mahdawi. It’s now US policy to terrorize people who oppose terrorism. This has nothing to do with antisemitism. The media should stop framing it in that context.

This is what judges should be doing right now.

If the Trump administration is going to insist that it can’t bring back anyone once they’re removed, then federal judges should put the brakes on any and all removals until the *full* legal process—to ensure the removals are valid—has run its course.

Rural internet program on hold as Musk’s satellites get new consideration The new administration has frozen a $42 billion plan to get broadband into rural areas as it shifts toward satellite service from Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’s Kuiper.

Rural internet program on hold as Musk’s satellites get new consideration.

Such blatant corruption. This has to end. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Musk’s SpaceX Could Secure Billions in New Contracts Under Trump Elon Musk’s role in the White House allows him to cancel contracts and influence policy, potentially benefiting his companies. Supporters say he has the best technology.

And the US calls other governments corrupt? We have entered a new era from which it is getting harder and harder to exit. Becoming dependent on Musk not a smart move, 5 alarm fire territory. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...

100% agree. Warned about this during a podcast back in November podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w... and now it’s very much happening. Important read @bernardharcourt.bsky.social and @tadurkin.bsky.social

Glad to see so many stepping up in defense of the CFPB. The consumer protection bureau is government at its best: working to protect people from corporate power, abuse, and unfairness. We need more of the CFPB and agencies like it to improve our democracy, not less.

So important. Hoping Zephyr will migrate over to Bluesky soon but in the meantime…

x.com/zephyrteacho...

Ukraine rejects initial Trump request for half its mineral wealth Ukraine is hoping to reach a deal on a counter-offer, but the opening proposal rippled through European diplomatic circles not only for its audacity but because the war-ravaged country appears ready t...

US now will only support Ukraine if it’s allowed to extract half its most valuable resources? That’s reprehensible after all the US has promised and not delivered on, and then giving away the store to Putin last week. US burning bridges left and right here. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Führerprinzip.

Pay Less Attention to That Man in Front of the Curtain Musk’s machinations and Trump’s daily outrages are meant to be mesmerizing—and paralyzing. But there are plenty of ways to fight back effectively—starting with not panicking.

Focus on what he is doing, not saying, the harms caused, and make sure the people most impacted by those harms are out in front. Good guidance here.

www.thenation.com/article/poli...

Trump administration directs agency heads to fire most probationary staff Terminations should happen within two days, according to four people familiar with internal conversations.

There are ways to improve government efficiency without causing total chaos. These moves are intended to generate headlines not actually improve things. Dig into whether his moves are actually generating cost savings and you’ll get the real story. They are not. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Important report authored by a brilliant fellow I worked with while at @hrw-fr.bsky.social, Abbey Koenning-Rutherford.

The US is allowing companies to extract lithium and other minerals from sacred land it stole from indigenous people, in violation of rights and at a huge environmental cost.

Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits In a warehouse in the East African port of Djibouti, USAID estimates there’s roughly 40,000 metric tons of food aid procured from American farmers worth about $40 million at risk of spoiling in the he...

So much for government “efficiency.” What a disasster.

Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Read below article and watch synopsis video here: www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol... Hard to understand how anyone, except those doing the exploitation, could support the policies that allow this. Do they just not realize how abusive and exploitative they are?

So outrageous, fundamentally at odds with the public good. I don’t understand how anyone, even those who supported Trump, can think dismantling the CFPB is a positive development.

Federal Financial Watchdog Ordered to Cease Activity In an email to staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency’s acting director ordered workers to cease “all supervision and examination activity.”

Woah. Horrific. This agency only protects consumers and guards against financial crisis. So insane. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/u...

Opinion | Samantha Power: Killing U.S.A.I.D. Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere The attacks on the agency are cruel and counterproductive.

Unless these cruel immensely counterproductive actions are reversed future generations will marvel that it wasn’t China that paved the way for Beijing’s dominance around the world but an American president and a billionaire he unleashed to shoot first, aim later: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/o...

U.S. Citizens Were 89% of Convicted Fentanyl Traffickers in 2022 Instead of attacking immigrants, policymakers should focus on effective solutions that help people at risk of a fentanyl overdose.

And here’s an updated @Cato report with similar findings. Prior report from 2022, this one from 2023.

Don’t believe the Trump/Musk hype. They’re taking you for a ride and ripping you off.

www.cato.org/blog/us-citi...

Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers Reducing deaths requires figuring out the cause, not jumping to blame a group that is not responsible.

Purported reason for Trump tariffs a sham:

See @CatoInstitute report. “Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers”

DHS says between Jan-Dec 2024, 88% of all confiscated fentanyl intercepted at US official entry points.

www.cato.org/blog/fentany...

Opinion | As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles (Gift Article) After the Bobcat fire, the area no longer felt safe.

A beautifully written, poignant, tragic, op-ed. Beyond time to listen. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/o...

Good to be on WHMP’s “Talk the Talk” again, this time to discuss two important new reports from @amnesty.org and @hrw.org on Gaza. Link: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1565…

Opinion | Samantha Power: The Humanitarian Legacy of Jimmy Carter Jimmy Carter viewed his embrace of human rights as a means of restoring faith in America.

A powerful tribute highlighting many unknown contributions.

"As we mourn...remember that in...elevating attention to the plight and dignity of individuals in US foreign policy and then living those values until his final days--he changed our world for good." www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/o...

Opinion | A low, low point for ABC News ABC News not only settled a defamation suit with Trump. It paid out $15 million. What?

Maybe there was something in the case we dont know about, but on its face, most important point is at the end of this piece — that Trump would have had to prove actual malice. There doesn’t seem to be any of that here. Have to wonder why ABC agreed to settle. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...