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Young Activists Won a Landmark State Climate Trial. Now They Are Challenging Trump’s Executive Orders. (Maria)
The author writes, “Young climate activists and their attorneys who won a landmark global warming trial against the state of Montana are trying to convince a federal judge to block President Trump’s executive orders promoting fossil fuels. During a two-day hearing that started Tuesday in Missoula, Montana, the activists and their experts described Trump’s actions to boost drilling and mining and discourage renewable energy as a growing danger to children and the planet. They say the Republican’s stoking of global warming violates their constitutional rights.”
Bernie Sanders Becomes First US Senator to Say Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza (Reader Jim)
From The Guardian: “Senator Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, calling the conclusion ‘inescapable’ and becoming the first US senator to use the term. ‘Over the last two years, Israel has not simply defended itself against Hamas,’ Sanders wrote. ‘Instead, it has waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.’ Sanders had long received flak from supporters and protesters alike for avoiding the term, which he previously said made him ‘queasy’ when protesters chanted it last year during a speech in Ireland. On Monday, an independent UN commission of experts concluded that Israel’s actions ‘meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide convention.’ ‘I agree,’ Sanders wrote in a statement on his Senate webpage titled, ‘It Is Genocide. The intent is clear.’”
Exclusive: Leaked Messages From Charlie Kirk Assassin (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Trump and company portray the alleged Utah shooter as left-wing and liberals portray him as right-wing. The federal conclusion will inevitably be that he was a so-called Nihilist Violent Extremist; meanwhile, the crackdown has already begun, as I reported yesterday. The country is practically ready to go to war. ‘It’s been so terrible and seeing it from an inside perspective is so frustrating,’ a friend of Robinson’s since middle school told me. … ‘I think the main thing that’s caused so much confusion is that he was always generally apolitical for the most part,’ the friend told me. ‘That’s the big thing, he just never really talked politics which is why it’s so frustrating.’ The picture that emerges bears little resemblance to the media version.”
Brett Kavanaugh’s Shadow Docket Attack on Your Civil Liberties (Dana)
From The New Republic: “Whether motivated by animus or naïveté, the justice’s rationale for permitting law enforcement to racially profile suspects has dark implications for democracy.”
Jimmy Kimmel Pulled ‘Indefinitely’ By ABC After Charlie Kirk Comments (Sean)
From Deadline: “There will be no more Jimmy Kimmel on TV for the foreseeable future after the late-night host offered his take on the reaction to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Watch Kimmel’s comments here. ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be preempted indefinitely,’ an ABC spokesperson told Deadline [yesterday]. Following the FCC Chair weighing in earlier Wednesday, the stunning sudden dropping of Kimmel comes mere minutes after Nexstar axed his late night show on the 32 ABC affiliates it owns out of a total of 200 stations throughout the nation.”
Small Communities Left Behind as Advanced Water Treatment for PFAS Proves Broader Benefits (Laura)
The author writes, “As the US wrestles with how to deal with widespread PFAS pollution in drinking water supplies, most utilities are lacking advanced filtration systems that could protect public health from not just PFAS but an array of harmful contaminants, according to a new study. Small, rural communities are the least likely to have the advanced systems in place, the study notes. … Though a number of hazardous chemicals and other substances commonly contaminate water sources, the issue of how to tackle per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is currently a top concern. PFAS — also known as ‘forever chemicals’ for their persistence in the environment — are linked to certain cancers, thyroid disease, liver damage and immune system problems, among other health problems.”
DC’s First Phone-Free Bar Brings Surprise, Delight, and Lots of Polaroids (Russ)
The author writes, “The groom had griped about the QR code menu at the last bar, not liking the way it kept everyone glued to their cellphones. So it seemed like a bit of serendipity when he and his friends, 20- and 30-somethings in D.C. for his bachelor party, stepped into another H Street watering hole and listened as a hostess explained an unusual policy: no phones allowed. … The group of seven North Carolinians laughed and went with it. One after another, they gamely slipped their phones into magnetically locking pouches handed out at the host stand, where a red landline phone sat atop the counter. With a snap, the pouches were locked and would stay locked until released with a magnet on the way out.”