truth-out.org (2018-05-30). Why Was Claudia Patricia Gómez González Murdered? truth-out.org Truthout refuses corporate funding and all the strings that come attached. Instead, reader support powers us. Make a tax-deductible donation today! | Claudia Patricia Gómez González, a young Indigenous woman from Guatemala, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent on May 23 while crossing from Mexico into Rio Bravo, Texas. | Marta Martinez, who lives just a mile from the border and regularly witnesses migrants being chased down by Border Patrol, heard a gunshot that morning and witnessed the deadly aftermath. In a recording that immediately went viral, Martinez can be heard shouting: "Why do you mistreat them? Why did you shoot the girl? You killed her! He killed the girl. She's there! She's dead!" | The US Customs and Border Protection agency released a statement the same day that attempted to justify the agent's actions.

Mark Gruenberg (2018-05-30). Democracy be damned: Trump orders cancellation of union contracts. peoplesworld.org

truth-out.org (2018-05-30). Trump's Plan for Migrants Fleeing Violence: Blame Democrats and Expand Family Detention. truth-out.org The Trump administration is calling on Congress to close so-called loopholes created by protections for vulnerable migrant children and allow entire families to be held in immigration jails and detention camps while adults await to see a judge. Trump is also attempting to shift the blame for the migrant "crisis" on Democrats ahead of the midterms.An immigrant mother gives medicine to her sick child after a night's rest on an outdoor basketball court during a pause on their journey toward the US-Mexico border on April 22, 2018, in Hermosillo, Mexico. (Photo: John Moore / Getty Images) | Support your favorite writers by making sure we can keep publishing them! Make a donation to Truthout to ensure independent journalism survives. | Facing heavy criticism for a new "zero-tolerance" policy that is separating migrant children from their parents on the southern US border, the…

Staff (2018-05-30). Climate Change Could Worsen Seasonal Allergies. truthdig.com Eyes streaming in the warm weather? Does your nose run; does it itch? Do your ears hurt, do you have a general feeling of malaise? | Climate change is likely to be one of the causes of what is considered to be among the most difficult years ever in North America for those who suffer from a range of spring and summertime allergies. | An abundance of pollen in the air — leading to what specialists term an "allergy explosion" in many regions — is causing widespread discomfort and, for some, serious health problems. Severe sinusitis and what's generally referred to as hay fever are the most common manifestations of pollen allergy. | Areas in the south of the US, in the states of Louisiana and Georgia, and in central regions such as Nebraska and Kansas, are said to be worst affected.

Staff (2018-05-30). How China's Climate Change Woes Affect the U.S. Economy. truthdig.com German scientists have shown once again that climate change remains a global problem, with China's climate impact, for instance, hurting the economy of the United States. Disastrous flooding — likely to increase as the world warms, and ever more water enters the atmosphere — in one country could reverberate in ways that could harm another nation's economy. | More precisely, China alone could experience a total of $380bn in economic losses over the next 20 years: this adds up to about 5% of the nation's annual economic output. | About $175 billion of total losses could be attributed to future climate change — and as these losses are passed down the global trade and supply network, the US and the European Union could be most affected. | If so, river flooding in China alone — aside from the ever-greater extremes of heat…

Adam Scott (2018-05-30). Trudeau's Reckless Support for Kinder-Morgan. Billions of Tax Dollars to Buy an Unbuildable, Financially Doomed Pipeline. globalresearch.ca With his reckless support for Kinder Morgan and other oil pipelines, Trudeau has willingly compromised his own commitments to address climate change and pursue reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous peoples. Now he's willing to risk billions of public tax dollars as …

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza, Daily Kos (2018-05-30). Study Shows Judges Appointed by Republicans Are Way More Racist Than Others. alternet.org The study reviewed 1,400 federal judges' sentencing practices over a 15-year period. | The study was sui generis: Two Harvard Law professors, Alma Cohen and Crystal S. Yang, set out to analyze 1,400 federal judges' sentencing practices over a 15-year period affecting more than 500,000 defendants. The results were predictable but disheartening. They unearthed a stunning number of influences on sentencing, from years of experience and level of racism in a state to the party of appointment. Its major finding: Republican-appointed judges give black defendants harsher sentences than their white counterparts. "Republican-appointed judges sentence black defendants to three more months than similar nonblacks. . . . These differences cannot be explained by other judge characteristics and grow substantially larger when judges are granted more discretion. "Three months' discrepancy accounts for 65 percent of the baseline racial sentence gap, meaning the average sentence disparity between similarly. . .

Victor Grossman (2018-05-30). Confronting Germany's New Fascists in Berlin. counterpunch.org Hopes and fears compete amidst the turmoil of today's world. Fears for the worst in Korea have lessened with hopes, after a series of typical Trumpian somersaults, that the thrust of the Bolton-Haley-Pompeo line may yet give way to negotiations and diplomacy. But looming ever closer is the question of Iran, with the same cabal More

Peter Korzun (2018-05-30). US State Department Tells Syria What It Can and Can't Do on Its Own Soil. mintpressnews.com The US State Department has warned Syria against launching an offensive against terrorist positions in southern Syria. The statement claims that the American military will respond if Syrian forces launch an operation aimed at restoring the legitimate government's control over the rebel-held areas, including the territory in southwestern Syria between Daraa and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Washington is issuing orders to a nation whose leadership never invited America in in the first place! The very idea that another country would tell the internationally recognized Syrian government that it cannot take steps to establish control over parts of its own national territory is odd and preposterous by any measure. | State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said Washington would respond with "firm and appropriate measures." But does the US have any legal grounds for responding with any measures at all? What…

Global Witness (2018-05-30). Not for Sale: Congo's Forests Must be Protected from the Fossil Fuels Industry. globalresearch.ca As we have previously revealed, the Democratic Republic of Congo government is attempting to reclassify swathes of two UNESCO protected World Heritage Sites — Salonga and Virunga National Parks — to allow oil exploration to take place. In our …

Emma Fiala (2018-05-30). Poland Wants a Permanent U.S. Military Base, and is Willing to Pay $2 Billion for It. mintpressnews.com The Poles are buying what the U.S. is selling: fears of Russian aggression and a $2 billion permanent U.S. military base on Polish soil to meet it.

Intercepted (2018-05-30). White Fear: As the GOP Veers Toward Fascism, Establishment Democrats Face a Grassroots Insurgency. theintercept.com Subscribe to the Intercepted podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Radio Public, and other platforms. New to podcasting? Click here. | ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have become authoritarian shock forces, operating with impunity, ripping children from their parents' arms, and enforcing the anti-immigrant edicts of Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions. But the horrors did not start with Trump. This week on Intercepted: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former waitress, is challenging one of the most powerful Democrats in the country for his congressional seat. She is running on a platform of social and economic justice and she has called for ICE to be abolished. Ocasio-Cortez explains why she wants to unseat the "King of Queens," Rep. Joseph Crowley, who portrays himself as Nancy Pelosi's rightful successor. Princeton professor Eddie Glaude Jr. joins Intercepted to talk about white supremacy and law enforcement, the "rot" in the establishment Democratic Party, and Trump's obsession with black athletes. | Transcript coming soon.

Democracy Now! (2018-05-30). Headlines for May 30, 2018. democracynow.org Study: Hurricane Maria Deaths 70 Times Higher Than Official Count, Israel Launches Airstrikes in Gaza, Blocks Flotilla Seeking to Break Blockade, Poor People's Campaign: Hundreds Arrested Across U.S. in Nonviolent Protests, NYT: Trump Ordered Sessions to Un-Recuse Himself from Russia Investigation, GOP House Oversight Chair Says FBI "Acted Properly" Using Trump Campaign Informant, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to Resign Amid Sexual Misconduct & Corruption Scandal, ABC Cancels "Roseanne" Amid Outcry Over Roseanne Barr's Racist Tweets, Arkansas Left with One Clinic for Medication Abortions as Supreme Court OKs Anti-Choice Law, French Police Evict 1,000 Migrants as Macron Welcomes Malian "Spiderman" Rescuer to Élysée Palace, Hungary: Offering Food, Water, Legal Advice to Migrants to Become Criminal Offense, Russian Journalist Arkady Babchenko Admits Faking His Own Death | , Justice Dept. Approves $66B Takeover of Monsanto by German Pharma Giant Bayer, Canada to Buy, Expand Trans Mountain Tar Sands Oil Pipeline, New Mexico: Trans Woman Seeking Asylum in U.S. Dies in ICE Custody…

wsws.org (2018-05-30). Brazilian truck drivers reject union-government attempt to shut down strike. wsws.org The government has sought to block the spread of social unrest with a ruling Tuesday that a planned strike by oil workers is illegal.

Cody Fenwick, AlterNet (2018-05-29). Ivanka Trump Abruptly Leaves Call and Dodges Questions on Her Shady Business Deals with China: Report. alternet.org The president recently seemed to soften his stance on Chinese business after the foreign government awarded his daughter valuable trademarks. | Ivanka Trump is refusing to answer questions about the glaring conflict of interest created by her work in the White House and her ongoing business dealings with the Chinese government, reported the New York Times' Maggie Haberman on Tuesday. President Donald Trump's daughter was hosting a phone briefing Tuesday with reporters and abruptly left the call after one journalist questioned her recent acquisition of valuable trademarks for her fashion line in China. "Ivanka Trump is leading a call on a WH event on sports tomorrow," Haberman wrote. "First question is related to her business trademarks in China. WH aide on call declines to answer and redirects. A few q's later, aide says Ivanka Trump had to go to another meeting. "The Trump-China. . .

Victor Grossman (2018-05-29). On many questions, Germany nears the proverbial fork in the road. peoplesworld.org BERLIN — Hopes and fears compete amidst the turmoil of today's world. Fears for the worst in Korea have lessened with hopes, after a series of typical Trumpian somersaults, that the thrust of the Bolton-Haley-Pompeo line may yet give way to negotiations and diplomacy. But looming ever closer is the question of Iran, with the […]…

Democracy Now! (2018-05-29). Headlines for May 29, 2018. democracynow.org In Historic Referendum, Ireland Votes to Repeal Abortion Ban, Top North Korean General Heads to U.S. as Officials Try to Salvage June 12 Summit, Israeli Military Jets Bomb Gaza After Mortar Rounds Fired Toward Israel, Family of Claudia González, Guatemalan Woman Killed by Border Agent, Demands Justice, Ellicott City, Maryland, Hit by Second "Once-in-a-Thousand-Year" Flood in 2 Years, Colombia: Presidential Election Heads to Runoff as Peace Deal Hangs in Balance, Mexican Journalist Alicia Díaz González Killed, Brazil: Nationwide Truckers' Strike Shuts Down Businesses, Transportation, Schools, Pakistan Passes Historic Protections for Transgender People & Residents of Tribal Areas, European Commission Seeks to Ban Plastic Plates, Cutlery and Straws, Starbucks Closing 8,000 Stores Today for Anti-Racial Bias Training, "I'm Never Plugging That Device In Again": Alexa Records & Sends Private Conversation by Accident, NYC Taxi Drivers Mourn Apparent Suicide of Driver Yu Mein Chow…

Human Rights Watch (2018-05-29). Rising Global Support for Safe Schools. hrw.org A map depicting the 75 countries around the world that have endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration. | © 2018 Human Rights Watch | Three years ago today, representatives from countries from around the globe came together in Oslo to declare their support for the protection of students, teachers, schools, and universities during times of war. Three years later, an incredible 75 countries have joined the Safe Schools Declaration. | Support for the declaration has come from the highest levels of the United Nations, notably the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres; the human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein; and the special representative for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba. | In the past year, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union repeated its call for all its…

Whitney Webb (2018-05-28). Trump Set To Recognize Israel's Claim To Occupied Golan Heights And Its Sizable Oil Reserves. iranian.com Exporting Golan oil is problematic under international law but, were the U.S. to unilaterally recognize the Golan as Israel's, that oil could potentially be exported to the U.S. Major U.S. oil investors and lobbyists are therefore pushing hard for Trump to make that move. While President Trump has reneged on many of his campaign promises […]

Justin Anderson (2018-05-25). Media Quote Frank on Rolling Back Dodd/Frank—Not Disclosing He's Now a Bank Director. fair.org The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to roll back key provisions of the landmark Dodd/Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a 2010 law that increased regulatory scrutiny of banks following the 2008 financial crisis. | One of the many provisions of the original Dodd/Frank law subjected banks with over $50 billion in assets to annual economic "stress tests" to gauge their potential for collapse in the event of an economic crisis. The rollback bill raises that threshold to $250 billion, which would exempt at least two dozen "small" banks, including SunTrust, BB&T, Charles Schwab and American Express. By comparison, in 2008, key failed bank Countryside had only $172 billion in assets, and so would have avoided stress testing, while other financial dominos like Washington Mutual ($264 billion) and Bear Stearns ($289 billion) were close to the lower limit.

Consortiumnews.com (2018-05-25). European Earthquake as Populist Government Forms in Italy. consortiumnews.com After having fought off popular rejection of its neoliberal economic policies that serve its own interests, the European establishment has lost its first major election, as Andrew Spannaus reports. By Andrew Spannaus Special to Consortium News In Milan The revolt… Read more →

Sharon Lerner (2018-05-25). House Bill Would Let Airports Stop Using Toxic Firefighting Foam. theintercept.com While the controversy over the Environmental Protection Agency's recent " leadership summit" on PFAS chemicals held in Washington earlier this week brought attention to the cancer-causing contaminants in the drinking water of millions of Americans, Congress has quietly made an important step toward getting rid of one of the products responsible for this widespread water pollution. On April 27, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would free the Federal Aviation Administration from longstanding requirements that commercial airports use firefighting foam that contains the chemicals. | For decades, FAA policy has been to require airports to use firefighting foam that meets specifications developed by the Navy. Those standards mandate the use of fluorinated chemicals, a term that includes PFAS, all of which persist indefinitely in nature. While most of the thousands of chemicals in this class have yet to be…

Robert Mackey (2018-05-25). Ireland Asks Voters to Lift the Nation's Strict Ban on Abortion. theintercept.com Ireland has changed quite dramatically since 1983, when two-thirds of the electorate approved a constitutional amendment that imposed a near total ban on abortion by recognizing "the right to life of the unborn," which promised equal protection under the law to fetuses and pregnant women. | The contours of Ireland's gradual transformation into a more liberal country in the decades since can be traced in the results of a series of subsequent referendums that defied the teachings of the once-dominant Catholic Church. Divorce was legalized, narrowly, in 1995; same-sex marriage, overwhelmingly, in 2015. | On Friday, Irish voters go to the polls once again, this time to cast ballots in a referendum on their government's proposal to repeal the abortion ban enshrined in the Eighth Amendment to the constitution 35 years ago.Manifestation on O'Connell St. A few minutes ago.

Human Rights Watch (2018-05-25). The GDPR Comes Into Force Today. hrw.org Today marks the entry into force of the European Union's General Data Privacy Regulation, a law that will advance your rights and improve privacy protections online. Human Rights Watch has a new privacy policy that you can read here.

Justin Anderson (2018-05-23). Focus on Pruitt's Scandals Obscures Environmental Degradation Under Trump. fair.org Focusing on a $43,000 phone booth (Washington Post, 4/16/18), not on the $60 trillion that unchecked climate change is projected to cost (Nature, 7/25/13). | Scott Pruitt sure is busy these days. The climate change-denying head of the Environmental Protection Agency has been renting out a DC condo on the cheap from an energy lobbyist; installing a $43,000 soundproof booth for his telephone calls; passing out improper pay raises to aides; jet-setting around the world on first-class flights; hitting up Disneyland and the Rose Bowl with his oversized $3 million, 20-person security detail; receiving police escorts to trendy DC restaurant Le Diplomate; and even having a fancy dinner in Rome with Vatican treasurer, climate denier and recently charged child sexual abuser George Pell. | What's more, Pruitt's staffers at the EPA have continued to…

RT (2018-05-23). Work of Satan? Sinkhole opens on White House lawn, Twitter in turmoil over its meaning (PHOTOS). rt.com A sinkhole has opened up near the White House press briefing room on the north lawn, prompting a wave of derision online as social media users revelled in the unique karma of the event.
RT.com

Democracy Now! (2018-05-23). Headlines for May 23, 2018. democracynow.org President Trump Casts Doubt on June 12 Summit with North Korea's Leader, Congress Passes Sweeping Bill to Roll Back Dodd-Frank Act Regulations, Palestinian Authority Asks ICC to Investigate Israel for War Crimes, Stacey Abrams Is First Black Woman to Win Major Party's Nomination for Governor, The Guardian: Giuliani Helped OxyContin Maker Continue Drug Sales, Afghanistan: 16 Die in Explosion in Kandahar; Taliban Kill 22 Police Officers in Ghazni, Pakistan: Severe Heat Wave in Karachi Kills At Least 65 People, IACHR Condemns Nicaragua for Bloody April Crackdown Against Protesters, EPA Officials Bar Multiple Journalists from Summit on Water Contamination, 10 McDonald's Workers File Sexual Harassment Complaints, Virginia Judge Rules in Favor of Transgender Student Gavin Grimm…

Cira Pascual Marquina (2018-05-22). Venezuela Slams New US Sanctions as Washington Hints at Oil Embargo. venezuelanalysis.com The latest measures fly in the face of international concern about the living conditions of Venezuelans.

Adam Johnson (2018-05-21). Media Ignore Government Influence on Facebook's Plan to Fight Government Influence. fair.org Medium ( 5/17/18) | Facebook announced Thursday it was partnering with DC think tank the Atlantic Council to "monitor for misinformation and foreign interference." The details of the plan are vague, but Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab wrote in a non-bylined Medium post ( 5/17/18) that the goal was to design tools "to bring us closer together" instead of "driving us further apart." Whatever that means, exactly. | Behind its generic-sounding name and "nonpartisan" label, the Atlantic Council is associated with very particular interests. It's funded by the US Department of State and the US Navy, Army and Air Force, along with NATO, various foreign powers and major Western corporations, including weapons contractors and oil companies. The Atlantic Council is dead center in what former President Obama's deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes called "the blob"—Washington's bipartisan foreign-policy…

Democracy Now! (2018-05-18). Trump's EPA Doesn't Want You to Know Chemicals in Teflon Are Poisoning Waterways & Firefighters. democracynow.org The Environmental Protection Agency is facing a major new scandal after it worked with the White House to bury an alarming federal study detailing widespread chemical contamination of the nation's water supply. One Trump administration official warned release of the study would create a "public relations nightmare." The study found chemicals commonly present in Teflon and firefighting foam are a threat to human health at levels the EPA had previously called safe. We speak with Robert Bilott, the attorney The New York Times calls the "worst nightmare of DuPont," the manufacturer of Teflon. He successfully won compensation for his clients whose drinking water had been contaminated by toxic chemicals used to make Teflon. He is a recipient of the 2017 Right Livelihood Award.

Democracy Now! (2018-05-18). Headlines for May 18, 2018. democracynow.org Gina Haspel Confirmed as CIA Director, Despite Her Record on Torture, Trump Says North Korea's Kim Jong-un Could Suffer Same Fate as Gaddafi, Trump to Cut Funds to Women's Clinics, Reinstitute Abortion Gag Rule, House Farm Bill Would End Food Assistance to Over 2 Million People, Senate Intel Committee Republicans Cite Russian Interference in 2016, China Denies Trump Admin Claims of $200 Billion Trade Deal, Egypt to Reopen Gaza Border Crossing Until End of Ramadan, Congo: WHO Warns of "Urban Ebola" as Virus Spreads to Mbandaka City, Colombia Orders Thousands to Evacuate Amid Fears That Dam May Burst, In Reversal, NASA Administrator Says Humans Cause Climate Change, Republican Rep. Mo Brooks Blames Coastal Erosion for Rising Seas, New York Court Greenlights Summer Zervos Defamation Suit Against Trump, Fox News Names Longtime Roger Ailes Protégé Suzanne Scott as CEO, Hawaii: Geologists Warn Worst Could Be Yet to Come as Kilauea Erupts, New York: Calls Grow for Disbarment of Lawyer Filmed in Racist Tirade…

Democracy Now! (2018-05-17). Headlines for May 17, 2018. democracynow.org Trump on North Korean Threats to Cancel Summit: "We'll See", U.N. Human Rights Council to Review Israel's Massacre in Gaza, Under Trump, Refugee Admissions to U.S. at Lowest Level in Decades, President Trump Calls Undocumented Immigrants "Animals", DHS Sought Negative Info on Haitians Ahead of Canceling Protections, Senate Approves Bill to Restore Net Neutrality Rules, Trump Financial Disclosure Reveals Stormy Daniels Payment, WHO Ships Experimental Vaccine to Congo as Ebola Outbreak Kills 23, Chile: Thousands March Against Campus Sexual Violence, Michigan State to Settle Larry Nassar Sexual Abuse Lawsuit for $500M, EPA Chief Pruitt & White House Sought to Block Chemical Release Study, Whistleblower Says Steve Bannon Sought to Suppress Black Vote, CIA Cites Hacker Joshua Schulte as Suspect in WikiLeaks Release, North Carolina: Thousands of Teachers March for School Funding, Brooklyn Man Exonerated 27 Years After Murder Conviction…

Paul Dobson (2018-05-09). ConocoPhillips Moves to Seize Venezuelan Oil Assets as PDVSA Maneuvers to Safeguard Tankers. venezuelanalysis.com In response to the threat, PDVSA has allegedly ordered its fleet of tankers stationed in the Caribbean to return to Venezuelan waters.

Paul Dobson (2018-05-07). Venezuela: Zulia Governor Blames Illegal Crypto Mining for Continuing Regional Power Shortages. venezuelanalysis.com Sabotage, lack of maintenance, and climate change have also been offered to explain the crippling blackouts.

Paul Dobson (2018-05-03). Venezuela Offers Petro-Based Oil Discount, Denounces "Kidnapping" of Funds. venezuelanalysis.com Maduro has accused Euroclear of withholding USD$1.2bn as part of international financial sanctions against Caracas.

Paul Dobson (2018-04-26). ConocoPhillips Awarded US$2bn for 2007 Oil Field Expropriation, Venezuela Claims Victory. venezuelanalysis.com Venezuela claims the award ordered by the ICC is lower than the amount originally offered by Chavez as compensation and is only 10% of what the oil giant filed for.