It’s back to school time, and most students are returning to remote learning. But for millions of kids who don’t have a device or internet access, remote learning is virtually impossible–especially for children who are already struggling because of low family income, language access, or racial barriers. *Every* kid deserves to have a chance at remote learning, and all school districts doing remote learning must make sure each student has a tablet or laptop with internet access.

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence is hiding information on an assassination. John Ratcliffe won't publicly reveal who his office thinks murdered Saudi dissident and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi -- even though Congress requires him to do so. And so now Ratcliffe and his office are being taken to court. The Open Society Justice Initiative is suing Ratcliffe and his team. In 2019, Congress passed a measure that requires the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to release unclassified reports on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence still hasn't done so. And the 30-day deadline is long past. To put it simply: Trump appointee John Ratcliffe and his team are violating U.S. law and ignoring the will of the U.S. Congress. And in doing so, they’re bending over backwards to protect the ruthless Saudi dictatorship. The Washington Post frames the situation well: "Mr. Trump is willing to violate U.S. law rather than publicly confirm that a tyrannical Saudi ruler was involved in the murder of a permanent U.S. resident." Please join us and help push John Ratcliffe to comply with the orders of Congress and disclose information related to the identity of Khashoggi’s assassin. U.S. intelligence should not be protecting Saudi Arabia's dictator and his killers. Sources: "Justice Initiative Sues Office of the Director of National Intelligence for Khashoggi Report," Open Society Justice Initiative, August 19, 2020. https://www.justiceinitiative.org/newsroom/justice-initiative-sues-office-of-the-director-of-national-intelligence-for-khashoggi-report "Trump defies Congress — to shield MBS from accountability on Jamal Khashoggi," Opinion, Washington Post, August 21, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-defies-congress--to-shield-mbs-from-accountability-on-jamal-khashoggi/2020/08/21/4cc19034-e3da-11ea-b69b-64f7b0477ed4_story.html

With the current changes to the USPS, there are concerns that ballots may not arrive in time if not mailed at least 1 week before (even earlier is better!). Historically, ballot drop sites were available during building hours of the city hall in smaller towns throughout Marion County. Due to COVID, those buildings are closed to the public to protect the health of city employees and the public. In May, many locations opened their doors to collect ballots, but since there is concern that the fall will bring an uptick in cases of COVID, this is concerning. No one should have to risk their life for others to safely turn in a ballot. Having permanent, 24/7 ballot drop sites in small towns increases the chances of folx turning in their ballots with the same amount of time that others have who do have the time and resources to find a ballot drop site if there is not one in their town. It’s imperative that everyone has fair, safe, and equal access to voting. Marion County Commissioners denied the request of County Clerk Bill Burgess to fund ten (10) new drop sites around Marion County before the November election. Refusing to fund those new drop sites and telling those towns and citizens that they should hold drop sites in their currently closed buildings creates barriers to those that need to wait to drop their ballots instead of mail, need to drop off at different hours than the building is open, and disproportionately affects folx that don’t have access to a permanent and reliable drop box. It’s imperative that these drop sites are created as soon as possible to ensure information about location is shared to the communities.

On Sunday, August 23, 2020, police officers reported to a scene of an alleged domestic dispute. When police arrived on the scene, they encountered Jacob “Jake” Blake, a 29-year-old father. Witnesses say Jake had just broken up a fight between two women in the neighborhood. Cellphone video footage shows Jake walking away from two police officers, both officers have their weapons drawn on him as he attempts to enter his vehicle. Once Jake opened the door of his vehicle, one officer grabbed his shirt and shot him in the back seven times. His three children were in the car. We're demanding the immediate firing and arrest of the officer who attempted to murder Jake Blake.

Every year, California’s forest fires get worse as a result of climate change and our burning of fossil fuels. As the planet gets hotter, California’s forests get drier. And when lightning strikes or humans make mistakes, the state is devastated. Tens of thousands have to flee their homes, with many becoming climate refugees. The pollution sends hundreds of thousands more indoors for weeks on end. Unfortunately, while Governor Newsom talks a good game on climate, his administration continues to approve new drilling and fracking. We can’t fix climate change if we don’t stop increasing fossil fuel production and use. Under Newsom, California’s oil and gas regulatory agency recently approved a dozen new permits for Chevron to conduct even more fracking in the state. Newsom has also approved drilling permits for more than 1,400 new oil and gas wells so far this year. This is a reversal of Newsom’s previous decision to put a pause on fracking in the state. California needs to move off fossil fuels. But Newsom is continuing our addiction. Meanwhile, California burns. Sources: Center for Biological Diversity, “With New Permits, Newsom Ramps Up Fracking in California, 360 New Fracking Events Approved So Far This Year,” July 6, 2020. https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/new-permits-newsom-ramps-fracking-california-2020-07-06/ Food & Water Watch, “Promises, Promises: Gavin Newsom Has Broken His When It Comes To Fracking,” April 16, 2020, Alexandra Nagy. https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/promises-promises-gavin-newsom-has-broken-his-when-it-comes-fracking “Newsom blocks new California fracking pending scientific review,” Los Angeles Times, Phil Wilson, November 19, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-11-19/california-fracking-permits-scientific-review-gavin-newsom (Original photo by JD Lasica. Used and modified under license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Donald Trump and his new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy have been working to undermine our U.S. Postal Service, including slowing the mail and warning states not to count on the Postal Service. This is a transparent attempt at voter suppression and rigging the election. Trump has been attacking voting by mail and has made clear that the Postal Service cuts are a way to frustrate vote by mail How are Trump and DeJoy interfering with the U.S. mail? DeJoy has ordered the removal of 671 high-speed sorting machines, stopped overtime pay, and taken other steps to slow delivery. Trump and DeJoy’s attacks on the Postal Service add up to mail delays that are so long that critical medications aren’t being received in time by patients in need, businesses are considering switching to private carriers to ward off customer complaints, and our right to vote by mail is threatened in the midst of a pandemic.

This is important to me because I not only have 3 siblings in foster care that I have not seen since I was eleven but I also have cousins in the system that are separated. I know how the system works because I was in the system and felt alone at times. I was lonely thinking I didn't have a family that cared until my father passed away and I moved with my aunt and then was taken from her. Placed in another home and then placed with my grandmother and I was scared for years that I would be lost in the system. I have been searching for my siblings since I turned 18 I tried calling the agency we were at when I was younger I spoke to a lawyer, searched Facebook, sent emails. I want to find them because they mean the world to me and I want to make sure they know that because I went through so much pain in the system to protect them and my little sister that got adopted with me. So just getting that help and finding them and stopping this from happening to other families will mean everything.

Political speeches and other activities should never be funded by taxpayer dollars. Federal employees should not be used to set up White House grounds for RNC.

BREAKING: Trump’s Secret Service was caught red-handed buying mobile phone location data on innocent Americans from a shady data-mining company -- without a warrant.[1] The Constitution is clear about banning illegal search and seizures, but Trump’s Secret Service thinks they can bypass the 4th Amendment and spy on innocent Americans (potentially including Black Lives Matter protesters) and their location data and movements. This has to stop! Sign the petition: Tell Congress to ban the Secret Service from buying mobile location data! Technically, the government cannot spy on Americans without a warrant, but intelligence agencies like the FBI and the NSA have been secretly doing this for years. It’s what Edward Snowden revealed.[2] But what Trump’s Secret Service got caught doing was a new low: brazenly stomping over the 4th Amendment by buying our mobile location data from a shadowy data-mining company. The data-mining company, Babel Street, scrapes anonymized location data from popular apps to track people’s movements in any given area. This means that most people might not have consented or even be aware that their steps are being followed, let alone that the Trump administration is buying that data outright. In today’s digital age, we have to think about our personal data like oil: “liquid gold.” Tech companies and governments alike go to grave efforts to mine our data and sell it to the high bidder. That includes selling our personal data to the Trump administration who, clearly, have no regard for our Constitution. Congress can’t continue to sleep at the wheel on technology regulations. It’s time for you to speak up and protect your privacy online. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to ban the Secret Service from buying mobile location data! Source 1 https://gizmodo.com/secret-service-bought-access-to-americans-location-data-1844752501 2 https://www.newamerica.org/oti/blog/history-fisa-section-702-compliance-violations/

Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling will worsen both the climate and wildlife extinction crises. Burning the recoverable oil estimated in the refuge could result in more than 4.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide pollution — that’s roughly equivalent to the emissions from nearly 1,100 coal plants operating for a year. While the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate — losing 13% of Arctic sea ice per decade — the climate crisis continues to ravage communities and wildlife habitats across the globe. At the current rate, the Arctic could be without ice in the summer by 2040. As sea ice is lost, so are the animals that depend on it for their survival. If Big Oil is allowed to drill into the Arctic Refuge, this wild landscape will be forever scarred. And, once drilling rights are sold, it will be much harder for elected officials to reverse course. Though the threat is high, the fight is not over. That’s why it’s up to all of us to oppose every effort to industrialize this pristine refuge. It’s time to demand the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be protected from oil drilling.

Privatized ICE detention exacerbates the mass incarceration crisis created by the U.S. prison-industrial complex. Mass incarceration allows those in power to continue to exploit, forcibly displace, abuse and profit from people who are marginalized, disenfranchised, criminalized, and silenced. As one particularly brutal wing of this privatized system, ICA-Farmville has a history of failing inspections, failing to prevent and contain disease outbreaks, and failing to treat our immigrant friends, family, and neighbors with basic human dignity. Their profit-focused management has resulted in maggot-infested food, mumps and COVID outbreaks, and repeated inappropriate and unnecessary uses of force. Join our call to tell the investors who made this operation possible that profit from pain is inhumane.

The U.S. military is targeting kids — as young as 13! — while they play video games online. The Air Force, Army, and Navy ALL advertise on Twitch, an incredibly popular video game platform that has 140 million users — 45% who are under the age of 18. Military recruiting laws prohibit recruiting anyone under the age of 16. But this insidious practice targets young people who are vulnerable to abusive online advertising. It’s a blatant violation of recruitment laws and unacceptable. And Twitch has called them out before — the U.S. Army was recently ordered to stop posting ads for a fake contest designed to get people to hand over their contact information to recruiters. These ads must be stopped.