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O.J. Simpson Case Forced Domestic Violence Into the Spotlight
Source: U.S. News and World ReportThirty years ago, as women's rights advocates worked to pass the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, domestic violence was still something of a hushed topic. Then Nicole Brown Simpson's death forced it into the spotlight. Americans riveted by the murder investigation of superstar ex-husband O.J. Simpson—who died Wednesday at 76—heard startling and painful details of the abuse she described. Her case, say experts, changed the movement nearly...
Germany Makes It Easier for People to Legally Change Name and Gender
Source: ABC News - InternationalGerman lawmakers approved legislation Friday that will make it easier for transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people to change their name and gender in official records. The "self-determination law," one of several social reforms that Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government pledged when it took office in 2021, is set to take effect on November 1. Germany, the European Union's most populous nation, follows several other countries in making the...
Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Counter Anti-Semitism in U.S.
Source: United Press International - Health NewsA bipartisan group of lawmakers from both chambers of the U.S. Congress have introduced a bill to combat anti-Semitism, which has been spiking across the nation amid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The Countering Anti-Semitism Act would create a new position of White House national coordinator to counter anti-Semitism who would serve as the president's principal advisor on countering domestic anti-Semitism and coordinate federal efforts to...
Pressure Grows for EU-Wide Ban on Forced Sterilization of Disabled
Source: U.S. News and World ReportSpanish disability rights activist Cristina Paredero grew up feeling different and was diagnosed with a form of autism aged 18. She says her parents told her she should never have children, and pressed her into agreeing to get sterilized. Paredero, who is now 31 and upset over what happened, helped draft a 2020 law banning forced or coerced sterilization in Spain and has joined other activists fighting to outlaw the practice across the European...
Biden, Trump Dig Heels in on Electric Vehicles Ahead of 2024 Election Day
Source: U.S. News and World ReportA "hoax," the advocates for which should "ROT IN HELL." A product of China, they could lead to a "bloodbath" for the U.S. economy. Or, a savior of the environment that is creating "tens of thousands of good jobs." These are, respectively, how former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden have described electric vehicles—an unlikely wedge issue in a 2024 election that's seen division on pretty much everything else.
Climate Change May Be Fueling a Rise in Stroke Deaths
Source: United Press International - Health NewsIntense weather fluctuations caused by climate change could be contributing to a rise in stroke deaths, researchers report Wednesday in the journal Neurology. The study, based on three decades of health records in more than 200 countries and territories, found over 521,000 stroke deaths in 2019 linked to temperatures that swung too low or high. Low temperatures cause a person's blood vessels to constrict, increasing blood pressure and stroke...
Trump Says Jews Who Back Biden "Should Have Their Head Examined"
Source: U.S. News and World ReportDonald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Jewish voters who support President Joe Biden and framed this year's election as a referendum on the strength of Christianity in the United States—part of his effort to secure backing from evangelical conservatives. Speaking in Atlanta ahead of a fundraiser, the presumptive Republican nominee said, "Any Jewish person who votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined."
Racial Diversity Among U.S. College Faculty Lags, Report Finds
Source: U.S. News and World ReportDespite gains in faculty diversity at U.S. universities over the last two decades, Black and Hispanic professors remain underrepresented compared to their students and to professionals with advanced degrees in fields such as law and engineering, according to a report released Tuesday. Faculty diversity can improve the sense of belonging and retention rates for students of color, said Representative Bobby Scott, who requested the government study.
Canada to Launch $500 Million Fund for Youth Mental Health
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Top Stories NewsCanada is setting up a $500-million fund to help community health organizations provide more mental health care to young people. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made the announcement Tuesday in Ottawa alongside other cabinet ministers, including Ya'ara Saks, minister of mental health and addictions. Many Canadians are facing stress due to war, climate change, and finances, Saks said, and "young people often do not have the tools that they...
Germany Rejects Accusations of Aiding Acts of Genocide in Gaza
Source: Google News - HealthGermany on Tuesday strongly rejected a case brought by Nicaragua at the United Nations' top court accusing Berlin of facilitating breaches of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law by providing arms and other support to Israel in its deadly assault on Gaza. The day before, Nicaragua urged judges to order a halt to German military aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin was enabling acts of genocide and breaches of international...
NAIA Restricts Transgender Athletes in U.S. Collegiate Sports
Source: Google News - HealthThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a policy Monday that all but bans transgender athletes from competing in women's sports at its 241 mostly small colleges across the U.S. The NAIA, which oversees some 83,000 athletes competing in more than 25 sports, is believed to be the first college sports organization to take such a step. The policy, which goes into effect in August, allows all athletes to participate in male...
American Library Association: "Gender Queer" Most Challenged Book
Source: United Press International - Health NewsGender Queer, a memoir by LGBTQ author Maia Kobabe, was the most challenged book in U.S. public libraries last year, says the American Library Association in a statement that launched National Library Week. The ALA released its Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2023 along with its State of America's Libraries Report. The report reveals the actions libraries and their workers have taken to address censorship attempts and meet community needs.
Trans Catholics Say Vatican Statement Lacks Understanding of Their Lives
Source: Google News - HealthTransgender Catholics are expressing disappointment with a Vatican document released Monday that refers to sex changes as a threat to human dignity. "Transgender people are beloved, intentional creations of God the same as cisgender men and women are," said Michael Sennett, a transgender man who is involved with an LGBTQ+ ministry. "Trans people who take hormones or have surgeries are not playing God; we are respecting and accepting our...
Vatican Says Sex Change, Gender Theory Are "Grave Threats"
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe Vatican and Pope Francis issued a strong declaration Monday condemning transgender sex change, surrogate motherhood, and abortion as "grave threats" to human dignity. "We are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created," the doctrine states. The document includes "gender theory," sex changes, surrogacy, and euthanasia in the Catholic Church's list of threats to dignity.
Nicaragua Takes Germany to World Court for Supporting Israel's "Genocide"
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe International Court of Justice opened hearings Monday over allegations that Germany is aiding genocide committed by Israel in Gaza. Nicaragua last month initiated the proceedings by accusing Germany of "facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide." Germany is a key weapons dealer for Israel, while Nicaragua has been a supporter of...
European Court Rules Human Rights Violated by Climate Inaction
Source: Google News - HealthA group of older Swiss women have won the first ever climate case victory in the European Court of Human Rights. The women, mostly in their 70s, said that their age and gender made them particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves linked to climate change. The court said Switzerland's efforts to meet its emission reduction targets had been woefully inadequate. It is the first time the powerful court has ruled on global warming.
World Failed Us in 1994, Rwanda's President Says of Genocide
Source: Google News - HealthRwanda's president said the international community "failed all of us", as he marked 30 years since the 1994 genocide that killed around 800,000 people. President Paul Kagame addressed dignitaries and world leaders who had gathered in Rwanda's capital, Kigali, to commemorate the bloodshed. "And the lessons we learned are engraved in blood," he said. On this day in 1994, extremists from the Hutu ethnic group launched a 100-day killing spree, in...
Where Does Israel Get Its Weapons for the War in Gaza?
Source: Google News - HealthWestern governments are coming under pressure to halt arms sales to Israel over how it is waging the war against Hamas in Gaza. On Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Council backed a weapons ban, with 28 countries voting in favor, 6 against, and 13 abstentions. The U.S. and Germany—which account for the vast majority of Israel's arms imports—both voted against. Israel is a major weapons exporter but is heavily reliant on imported aircraft, bombs,...
Indigenous Deaths in Custody Haunt Australia
Source: BBC News - Asia"It's a pain you can't describe," Raylene Nixon says quietly. In 2021, she watched Australian police footage of her son's death in real time, as he gasped for air and pleaded for help. "Choke him out," one officer can be heard yelling in the body camera video, before another placed Steven Nixon-McKellar in a chokehold. Soon after, the 27-year-old Aboriginal man was dead—one of 562 Indigenous Australians to die in police custody since 1991.
Sierra Leone Declares Emergency Over Drug Made From Human Bones
Source: BBC News - AfricaSierra Leone's president has declared a national emergency over the use of kush, a highly additive drug. President Julius Maada Bio called the drug a "death trap" and said it posed an "existential crisis." Because one of the drug's ingredients is human bones, cemeteries have tightened security to stop addicts from digging up skeletons. Groups of young men sitting on street corners with limbs swollen by kush abuse is now a common sight in Sierra...

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