United Staes (EFF) – President Donald Trump’s blocking of people on Twitter because they criticize him violates the First Amendment, a federal judge in New York ruled today in a resounding victory for freedom of speech and the public’s right to communicate opposing political views directly to elected officials and government agencies. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute alleging the president and his communications team violated the First Amendment by blocking seven people from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account because they criticized the president or his policies. The seven individuals include a university professor, a surgeon, a comedy writer, a Read More

Syria (Sputnik) – According to the SANA News Agency, US-led Coalition Air Forces struck several positions of the Syrian army in the eastern Syrian desert. According to Reuters and AFP, the strikes allegedly took place near an energy installation located near the Iraqi border, about 100 km (60 miles) west of the Euphrates river where the US-led Coalition is fighting against Daesh militants. “Some of our military positions between Abu Kamal and Hmeima were hit this morning in an aggression by American coalition warplanes,” a Syrian military source was quoted as saying by AFP citing state news agency SANA. The attack was first reported by the press office of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant movement, an ally Read More

United States (OW) – About a month ago, my life changed practically overnight. I’ve had migraines nearly every day since 1995. There are all kinds of other quirks about my body too. I needed at least 10 hours of sleep, and I couldn’t get up before noon. I was hungry all of the time. I had (and still have) random aches and pains that no doctors could figure out or solve. Plus a lot more. Among other things, my various maladies made it hard to hold down a job. It made difficult to have friends, and impossible to date or Read More

United States (Sputnik) – The National Football League (NFL) adopts a policy this year that fines players who disrespect the American flag and national anthem, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced on Wednesday. “A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem,” Goodell said in a statement. He added that the series of protests last year that saw players taking a knee during the national anthem depicted the league as unpatriotic. NFL players have knelt during the national anthem to protest against what they call the US justice system’s unfair treatment of African-Americans and Read More

World WIde (OpenDemocracy) – The portrayal of abortion in the media can sway public perception in a major way, and can even influence policy agendas. When this media focus is honest and accurate, it has the potential to arouse global outrage at violations of women’s rights. We saw this amid media coverage of Savita Halappanavar’s death in 2012, after she was refused an abortion in Ireland despite life-threatening pregnancy complications. Public outrage over this case helped to mobilise people in their demands for a referendum on Ireland’s restrictive abortion law, which is now set for next month. More recently, Brazil’s Congress was Read More

(Conversation) – The horrific mass murder of innocent pedestrians in Toronto on April 23 triggered a mixture of torment and grief. The pain many of us experienced for the innocent lives lost in the traumatic act of violence and brutality was heartbreaking, fear-inducing and life-changing. Yet the possible misogynist and sexist motives are not surprising in a world that constantly violates women, girls and boys and the sexually diverse, (dis) abled, poor, Indigenous and racialized. For many of us, this reality brings up anger and memories of murdered women, men and children. The praise given to the Toronto police Read More

Palestine (Tasnim) – Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Tuesday submitted a request asking the International Criminal Court to investigate human rights violations linked to Israeli settlement policies. The application goes further than a 2015 request for prosecutors to examine alleged crimes in the region and could fast-track the process to a full investigation. About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem (al-Quds). Last Monday, tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied near Israel’s border fence to protest a blockade of their territory Read More

New York, United States (Sputnik) – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has reportedly directed NYPD officers to stop arresting people using marijuana in public and instead issue them a police summons. The new directive makes use of pot in public on par with possession of small amounts of the drug, The Hill reported Monday. A New York City Hall aide reportedly tipped CNN off about the development. De Blasio has been on a reform kick as of late, announcing last week in Washington that he would be overseeing the “overhaul and reform” of the city’s marijuana policies. “We must and we will end unnecessary arrests and end disparity Read More

United States (GUM) – Rosie Carney is a music industry veteran at the tender age of 20. Leaving school in Ireland at 13, she set out to find representation as a singer-songwriter in the US. Grappling with mental illness throughout her early career, Carney has always been open about her struggles with depression, anxiety, and anorexia, which she detailed in a short documentary for VIVUS. Her music functions as a much-needed release from her own dark emotions, and it’s equally calming for those of us who are no strangers to the darkness. As she embarks on an extensive North American and European Read More

Arizona, United States (Cronkite) – Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday submitted more than 10,000 signatures in his bid to qualify as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Arpaio joined a crowded field to replace Sen. Jeff Flake, who is not seeking re-election. Arpaio will face off against fellow Republicans Rep. Martha McSally of Tucson and former state Sen. Kelli Ward in the primary. The winner will likely face Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, in the general election. “I know there’s been a lot of word out there – subtly or not – that I’m not going to Read More