Over the last few weeks, progressive French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon has been rising in the polls and is now widely seen as a serious contender in France’s presidential elections. Polls also show that, should Mélenchon face off against far right candidate Marine LePen in the second round of the elections, he would win by a landslide. Meanwhile, a small proportion of voters still support Socialist Party candidate Benoit Hamon, although he is now polling in the single digits. If the first round of the French presidential election were held at this writing, there are strong chances that, in the second round, French voters would face a choice between status quo corporate establishment liberalism and xenophobic right populism. This was the scenario that elected President Trump in the United States. We don't want to see this tragedy repeated in France, with terrible global consequences. It wouldn't be farce. It would just be tragedy. We urge French progressives to unite in the first round in order to guarantee that a progressive candidate goes to the second round, so that French voters won't have to choose between corporate establishment liberalism and xenophobic right populism, and instead can elect to office a candidate who opposes austerity, supports French workers and has the most far-reaching pro-environment platform of all the leading candidates. The outcome of these elections isn’t just critical for France; it’s critical for the future of Europe and the world. With a truly progressive government, France has the economic and political clout necessary to reverse the European Union’s pro-austerity, anti-worker agenda, and put it back on the path of economic and social progress. Join our call for a united progressive movement against corporatist liberalism and xenophobic populism in the first round of the French election by signing our petition. In solidarity, Danny Glover, Noam Chomsky, Eve Ensler, Mark Ruffalo, Nancy Fraser, Oliver Stone

Chairman Devin Nunes derailed the Russian investigation after the initial factually explosive House Intelligence Committee public hearing with partisan and unethical contact with the White House. Since then the hearings in both the House and Senate have lost momentum. Instead the news cycle has turned to Donald Trump "wagging the dog", first with the Syrian military engagement, and now the bellicose and dangerous exchange of military threats with North Korea. The truth about Trump's campaign ties to Russia cannot wait as we head down a path of continued incompetent governance and possible military conflict. The House and Senate congressional investigations must take center stage publicly and transparently immediately.

Yesterday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz confirmed that Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, may have committed a felony by not properly disclosing payments from Russia when applying for his security clearance. And Flynn's not the only member of Trump's inner circle who has been dishonest about his dealings with Russia. Earlier this month, Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House senior adviser, Jared Kushner, failed to report dozens of meetings with foreign agents, including meetings with Russian government agents as recently as December 2016, while completing a similar questionnaire as Flynn that is required for top-secret security clearance. This appears to be another attempt to conceal the meetings the Trump transition team had with Russian foreign agents. The American people need to make it clear to this administration that we will continue to compel them to be honest and transparent about their ties to Russia. Until such time as Jared Kushner fully discloses all relevant meetings he had with foreign agents, his interim security clearance needs to be suspended.

The citizens of Florida elected Marco Rubio to represent us in Congress. His voting record reflects that he consistently places the interests of big money donors over the best interest of his constituents. The purpose of the congressional recess is to address the concerns of constituents at a public forum, and Senator Rubio has consistently refused to do that.

The Community Safety Act is the product of years of work and compromise by Providence activists. This legislation will help protect the Providence community, specifically people of color and undocumented immigrants. Provisions include making Providence a sanctuary city BY LAW, preventing police from harassing civilians who are recording police legally, and more.

The mischaracterization of our movement as violent extremism undermines our core values of peaceful protest and inclusiveness. We seek to reach out to all people who want a fairer and just society.

Chicago Tribune's billionaire owners refuse to remove a crime victim's gruesome assault photo from its website nearly a decade after the incident. Today the graphic image is fixed at the top of page one when John's name is searched online, causing him harm every single day. The bloody photo, categorized by Google as "explicit," is the first thing any potential employer or colleague sees when John's name is Googled! This highly graphic photo is hurting John's professional life enormously, causing our entire family much distress. As of today, 107 other highly notable publications immediately took down assault photos and content upon request. Chicago Tribune is the ONLY publication that refuses to allow this victim the opportunity to heal, instead inflicting professional and emotional damage on John years after the tragedy. When several of John's family, friends, and even US Senators requested photo removal as an act of empathy for a crime victim, Tribune editors turned around and blamed the victim for the very image they had the power to remove. Tribune’s persistent refusal is a clear act of victim blaming and a flagrant disregard for a crime victim’s privacy and dignity. Crime victim experts agree that “secondary victimization” in the wake of a crime can result in exacerbating victim trauma and cause unnecessary additional harm. We would appreciate it so much if you could sign the following petition and share it widely. Tell Chicago Tribune CEO Justin Dearborn that he MUST stop harming a crime victim!

Principal Bowman has made great strides in making Parkmead better in her short tenure. She has much more to do.

As a 75 year old, Jewish lesbian from New York, I've given what I could from civil rights, health care, cultural and international peace legislation. Keep on moving us forward.

On Thursday, April 13, President Donald Trump authorized U.S. forces to drop the military's largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan. The 21,600-pound Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), nicknamed the "mother of all bombs" is GBU-43, which reportedly contains 11 tons of explosives. A week before, Trump killed 300 civilians in Mosul in one of the deadliest airstrikes in decades and, in March, he broke records for the number of bombs dropped on Syria. Politicians and pundits often ask in reference to Muslims, "Why do they hate us?" implying that Islam and Muslims are inherently violent. But rather than blaming Islam for terrorism, President Trump and Congress must stop fueling hatred and helping create radical extremists by bombing Muslim-majority countries. While Trump has escalated airstrikes in the Middle East, it is important to note that his bombing campaigns follow bipartisan policies of the two previous administrations which have targeted 7 Muslim-majority countries since 9/11.

Progressive French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon - the "French Bernie Sanders" - is now a "frontrunner" in the first round of the French presidential election. That is giving him an unprecedented platform in global media, which he has used, among other things, to attack Trump's military attack on Syria. When he addressed tens of thousands of people in Toulouse Sunday, the crowd roared when Mélenchon attacked Trump over Trump's illegal attack on Syria. "No Frenchman can accept a global gendarme who decided all by himself the good and the bad," Mélenchon said. [1] As a leader of what will soon be the only EU country with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Mélenchon has a unique ability to serve as a "check and balance" on Trump's global warmongering. It was France that led the global opposition to Bush's illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq. If Mélenchon can stand up to Trump on Syria, he can stand up to Trump on Saudi Arabia's catastrophic war in Yemen, which the Trump Administration wants to escalate. Trump Administration officials want to help Saudi Arabia and the UAE attack the Yemeni port of Hodeida, which the UN, aid groups, former US officials, and 55 Members of the House have warned would likely push Yemen into famine. [2] Urge Mélenchon to use his bully pulpit to challenge Trump's support for Saudi Arabia's catastrophic war in Yemen by signing our petition. References: 1. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/world/europe/jean-luc-melenchon-france-presidential-election.html 2. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/12/55-bipartisan-lawmakers-demand-trump-pump-brakes-military-action-yemen

My family and I have travelled coast to coast and beyond via Amtrak's long distance train service: from Charleston, SC to Portland, Oregon; from Charleston, SC to Montreal Canada; etc. Our home station in Charleston, SC is on the list of stations we'll lose if Trump's budget passes. My 7-year-old son, Jack, is particularly devastated. On our travels, we've made many friends — often people from other countries to whom train travel appeals when they're vacationing here. In short, eliminating our long-distance rail service would be a loss not only to American citizens, but also to international tourists and the tourism industry.