Cuellar shows up at anti-abortion event

 

Yesterday, Henry Cuellar accepted an award from March for Life, an extreme anti-abortion group that opposes Roe v. Wade. That was his FIRST public appearance since his house and campaign office were raided by the FBI.

It’s bad enough that Henry Cuellar takes millions from Big Oil, Wall Street, private prisons, Big Pharma, and other corporate PACs. It’s really bad that his home and office were raided as part of an investigation led by the DOJ team that handles issues related to bribery, corruption, election crimes, and more.

And it’s despicable that Henry Cuellar continues his advocacy AGAINST abortion rights. He’s the only anti-abortion Democrat remaining in the House, he’s co-sponsored anti-abortion legislation with Republicans, and he was the only Democrat to vote against a bill to codify Roe v. Wade after Texas enacted extreme abortion restrictions in the state.

We must take advantage of this moment and help progressive fighter Jessica Cisneros defeat the anti-abortion corporate-backed Cuellar. Split a contribution between Jessica and Justice Democrats right now so we can ensure Jessica defeats Cuellar. These are the last few weeks of the campaign and your donation can make the difference.

None of this is good news for Henry Cuellar’s campaign. The FBI showing up to Cuellar’s house raises major issues for his re-election campaign and Democratic primary voters overwhelmingly support abortion rights.

Just a few days ago, things were looking very good for Cuellar’s re-election. He reported having $2.3 million in corporate-backed campaign cash — far more than Jessica Cisneros, who isn’t taking a dime of corporate PAC money.

Honestly, we were worried that we might get outspent badly and lose this race.

Now, the race is blown wide open. With the FBI raid AND Cuellar championing his anti-abortion positions, we have an opportunity to get voters to reconsider Cuellar before they start casting ballots in just a few weeks.

There is a very good chance that Jessica Cisneros can win this race if we see a huge surge in fundraising right now. So, can you split a donation to Jessica and Justice Democrats so we can send Jessica to Congress?

In solidarity,

Alexandra Rojas, Executive Director
Justice Democrats

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POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Galvin goes for the record

 

BY LISA KASHINSKY HE'S RUNNING — Secretary of State Bill Galvin will seek a record eighth term, saying he provides a "unique service" as one of the country's most senior election officials at a critical moment for voting rights. "I'm really motivated by making further progress on the election-law reforms we made [during the pandemic] and implementing them," Galvin told Playbook. "I'm really proud of my record." Galvin's announcement sets off what could be one of the cycle's blockbuster primaries. He faces NAACP Boston Branch President Tanisha Sullivan, who argues she'll bring a "fresh perspective" to the office Galvin's held for decades and go further to protect voting rights. SPEAKING OF PRIMARIES — Democrats running for governor not named Maura Healey are offering previews of how they’re angling to compete against her — in policy and in pot shots. Harvard political theorist Danielle Allen knocked Healey’s “serious re-branding” in a fundraising email and painted the two-term state attorney general as part of the Beacon Hill establishment in an interview with WBZ’s Jon Keller . While Healey’s putting an early focus on economic recovery, Allen said “housing is the number one pain point in the commonwealth.” State Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz  told Progressive Massachusetts members that “no one is entitled to” the governor’s office and that she “didn’t get into this race because I thought it would be easy, or because it was a good career opportunity.” She called to improve transportation and make housing, health care and childcare more affordable. And she emphasized that “hovering over it all is climate change.” Healey's campaign said a scheduling conflict kept her from Progressive Massachusetts' annual meeting. She spent the opening weekend of her campaign marking the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and pledging to continue her fight to ensure abortion access. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Our gubernatorial hopefuls are likely keeping an eye on the fight over abortion access taking place just across state lines. Playbook helper extraordinaire Anne Brandes dives into the latest battle over New Hampshire’s new abortion law — and how it could put more stress on Massachusetts health care providers: Weeks after a near-total ban on abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy took effect, Granite State lawmakers are weighing whether to allow the procedure in cases of rape, incest and fatal fetal anomalies, and to eliminate requiring ultrasounds. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed off on the restrictions as part of the New Hampshire budget last year, but he’s now urging legislators to create exceptions that are dividing the GOP. A GOP-led state House committee largely rejected Sununu’s calls last week. Lawmakers  voted against a Republican-backed bill that would have added the exemptions Sununu is seeking, though they did tweak the ultrasound requirement. Two bills from Democrats that would repeal the abortion law and enshrine abortion access in New Hampshire got hearings but face uphill battles in the GOP-led Senate. Lawmakers and advocates who support abortion rights are pushing to codify the protections regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court approaches Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks. While New Hampshire has a “tradition of pro-choice Republicans,” Kayla Montgomery, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, told Playbook “we have a tough rough ahead of us.” They’re also facing anti-abortion rights activists who don’t have a foothold elsewhere in New England. “Babies are people, too,” New Hampshire Right to Life president Jason Hennessey told Playbook. “Whether it’s defending the current law that protects them or trying to have additional protections, it’s human rights.” Back in the Bay State, local abortion rights advocates are warning that the New Hampshire law may trigger an influx of out-of-state patients that could further strain Massachusetts’ Covid-stressed health care system. Massachusetts codified abortion access in 2020, including after 24 weeks in certain cases. “It’s reasonable to assume that we could see New Hampshire families coming here looking for that care,” Reproductive Equity Now Director Rebecca Hart Holder said. “Later abortion care often requires a surgical setting, and we know that surgeries are being canceled here in Massachusetts. The intersection of our health care providers being stretched beyond what is reasonable and patients coming here for abortion care is something I’m very concerned about.” TODAY — Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and House and Senate leaders huddle for their weekly leadership meeting at 2 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu gives an update on employee vaccine requirements at 10 a.m. at City Hall and is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 3 p.m. Rep. Jake Auchincloss hosts an infrastructure roundtable with mayors and town administrations at noon and a student mental health roundtable at 3:30 p.m. Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark discusses federal bridge funding at 2:30 p.m. in Framingham. Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com. ON THE STUMP — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll has earned another 55 endorsements from current and former mayors, city council and school committee members, and Democratic State Committee members in her bid for lieutenant governor. They include: Governor’s Councilor Terrence Kennedy; state Rep. Dan Cahill and former state Rep. Carol Donovan; mayors Mike Cahill of Beverly, Gregory Verga of Gloucester, Ted Bettencourt of Peabody, Tom Koch of Quincy, Jeannette McCarthy of Waltham and Scott Galvin of Woburn; past mayors Joe Curtatone of Somerville, Joseph Sullivan of Braintree, and Sefatia Romeo Theken, Bruce Tobey and John Bell of Gloucester; and Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger. — NEW: Dan Koh, a former MA-03 congressional hopeful and current chief of staff to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, says he will not run for lieutenant governor. “We are living in a critical moment in history for America’s workers, and I am dedicated to helping advance the Department of Labor’s mission. As such, while I have been humbled by the outreach that I have received from supporters, I will not be a candidate in the lieutenant governor’s race.” — ENDORSEMENT RECAP: IBEW Local 103 and the LGBTQ Victory Fund have endorsed state Attorney General Maura Healey for governor. — WATCH: “Danielle Allen, Candidate For Massachusetts Governor, Calls For 'Exit Ramp' For Use Of Masks,” by Jon Keller, WBZ. — “Two candidates step up to the plate in Cape and Islands district attorney race,” by Rachael Devaney, Cape Cod Times: “[Criminal defense attorney Robert Galibois] said he will formally announce his candidacy at 2 p.m. Monday at Barnstable County Superior Court. Also, a private practice and criminal defense attorney, Republican John ‘Jack’ Carey, of East Sandwich, will vie for the district attorney position and will formally announce his intention to run Tuesday.” DATELINE BEACON HILL — “Baker seeks level funding for local road projects in next year’s capital spending plan,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “Governor Charlie Baker on Saturday announced that his next capital spending plan would again seek $200 million in funding for local road and bridge projects over the objections of municipal leaders who say spending in this area has been flat for about a decade and needs to be increased." — “Polito Forecasts $31 Mil Increase In Unrestricted Aid,” by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service (paywall): “With state tax revenues continuing to blow past projections, municipal leaders said Friday they are disappointed in Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito's forecast that cities and towns would share a collective $31.5 million hike in the pot of unrestricted local aid they receive from Beacon Hill.” — “Report: Domestic violence murders increased last year,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Eagle-Tribune: “[Danielle] Taylor’s murder was one of 15 domestic violence-related homicides in Massachusetts last year, according to a new report, which cited an increase over the previous year. In 2020, there were 10 cases, according to the state’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team.” — “Charlie Baker files legislation to update wiretapping laws, but faces some scrutiny,” by Amy Sokolow, Boston Herald: “Gov. Charlie Baker refiled legislation first submitted in 2017 to allow law enforcement more power to tap into wiretapping resources to investigate a wider range of violent crimes. … When the bill was first filed in 2017, it garnered support from Attorney General Maura Healey, as well as former Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, as the Herald reported at the time.” — “Advocates call for relief from utility payments at rally on Boston Common,” by Andrew Brinker, Boston Globe. — “Racist covenants still stain property records. Mass. may try to have them removed,” by Simón Rios, WBUR. VAX-ACHUSETTS — “Gov. Charlie Baker rebukes ‘over the top’ COVID protocols at colleges amid high vaccination rates,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Gov. Charlie Baker, who remains hyper-focused on maintaining in-person learning for K-12 public school students to protect their mental and social well-being, on Friday sternly rebuked ongoing COVID-19 protocols at universities.” WHAT CITY HALL IS READING — LET’S MAKE A DEAL: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is granting city workers an extra week to get vaccinated before they face repercussions. In the meantime, she "continues to have productive conversations with municipal unions" about the vaccine mandate, according to her office. A person familiar with the discussions tells Playbook there's a deal in the works with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association. The deal, per a draft obtained by POLITICO, could give officers in compliance with the mandate two mental health and wellness days and allow for rehiring those who resign over the mandate but then get vaccinated within a certain period of time. Wu’s office declined comment last night; she's expected to give an update on the mandate at 10 a.m. — “Firefighters union pushes back against vaccination mandate for Boston’s workforce even as vast majority of members comply,” by Danny McDonald and Naomi Martin, Boston Globe: “[O]pposition to Mayor Michelle Wu’s strengthened COVID-19 vaccination mandate continue[s] to boil, with scores of first responders protesting the policy at Dorchester’s Florian Hall and one union official vowing they would continue a legal fight against the rule.” FROM THE HUB — “Lydia Edwards to keep council seat for first three months on Massachusetts senate,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “New state Sen. Lydia Edwards will continue to serve on the City Council for more than three months, Edwards’ campaign announced in a Friday-evening-news-dump press release that didn’t say whether she’d be taking a salary from both positions." — “Number of homeless Boston Public Schools students climbs,” by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: “The number of homeless Boston Public Schools students has climbed more than 25% in four years, according to district officials, and nearly all of them are students of color.” — “Pediatric doctors speak out against Tufts Children’s Hospital closure,” by Natalie Gale, Boston.com: “Wellforce, which owns Tufts, Lowell General Hospital, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and other providers, said in a statement that Tufts’ Chinatown facility turns away hundreds of adult patients each month, and that they project that fewer children will need hospitalization in the future." PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES — “‘A lot of people are going to miss her’: Wilmington woman mourned following Friday MBTA train crash,” by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: “The family of a woman killed at a Wilmington railroad crossing Friday demanded accountability in the case Sunday, a day after investigators said a worker failed to return a safety system to its normal operation, keeping gates from lowering for an approaching train.” — “Suffolk DA will not bring criminal charges in BU professor’s death at JFK/UMass station,” by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: “The Suffolk district attorney’s office will not bring criminal charges in the death of Boston University professor David K. Jones, who died after falling through a rusted, broken section of staircase at JFK/UMass station in Dorchester in September, officials said Friday.” BALLOT BATTLES — “Costly ballot fights ahead on gig economy, income tax amendment,” by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: “The committee supporting the ride-hailing driver question, Flexibility and Benefits for Massachusetts Drivers, raised a staggering $17 million last year. … The Coalition to Protect Workers Rights, a labor-funded group formed to oppose the ballot question, has raised just over $1 million.” — “Biz groups say millionaires tax will hurt small employers,” by Christian M. Wade, CNHI/Gloucester Daily Times: “Jeffrey Sheehy’s family has spent decades building their Lawrence-based mineral processing company into a profitable, multimillion dollar business. … But Sheehy says a proposed tax on the state’s top earners, which goes before voters in the November election, would cut into profits and ‘kill the incentive to grow’ for his company and many other employers in the region and state.” DAY IN COURT — "Jasiel Correia, headed to prison in New Hampshire, asks judge to stay free until March," by Jo C. Goode, Herald News: "For a second time, former mayor Jasiel Correia II, destined to report to federal prison in a week, asked Judge Douglas Woodlock on Friday to stay out of prison — this time until March." — “Feds oppose latest legal effort to block tribe’s reservation,” by the Associated Press: “The U.S. Department of the Interior, in a legal brief filed in Boston federal court on Jan. 14, argues the court should reject a bid by opponents to reopen a federal court challenge to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s more than 300-acre reservation in southeastern Massachusetts.” IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN — “After months of delays, state approves doubling of solar energy,” by Sabrina Shankman, Boston Globe: “The state Department of Public Utilities in late December approved doubling the state’s Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, which provides incentives to make the economics of solar feasible and would create some 1,600 megawatts of electricity. But clean energy advocates fear the lengthy limbo is a bad augur for the next generation of solar development to go before the DPU." MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS — “Massachusetts marijuana excise tax revenue exceeds alcohol for first time,” by Mike Beaudet, WCVB: “Halfway through the current fiscal year, Massachusetts has collected $51.3 million so far in alcohol excise taxes. For the first time, marijuana excise taxes have exceeded alcohol's. At the same midway point this fiscal year, the state has collected $74.2 million as [of] December 2021.” FROM THE 413 — “Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Coalition leaders receive national VFW award for pandemic advocacy,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “ Paul Barabani, former superintendent of the home, and his onetime deputy John Paradis, were granted the ‘Above and Beyond Award’ for their advocacy on behalf of the nearly 80 veterans who died on the virus in 2020, their families and the staff who struggled through the worst of the pandemic.” — IN MEMORIAM: “Late Springfield state legislator Athan ‘Soco’ Catjakis recalled as political heavyweight with affinity for 2nd chances,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican. THE LOCAL ANGLE — “Where does Alex Morse go from here?” by Mark Shanahan, Boston Globe: “Given his age (32) and obvious ambition (mayor was his first job out of college), many, including his new Select Board bosses in Provincetown, have wondered if [Alex] Morse is merely biding his time before running for Congress again. But sitting in his office at Town Hall, as his goldendoodle, Oliver, noisily snarfs a Pup-Peroni treat, Morse sounds like he might be done with politics. … An indication that Morse may not, in fact, be eyeing another run for congress was his decision to close his federal campaign account.” — “Canadian ‘Spudpocalypse’ campaign targets Massachusetts as governments chop Prince Edward Island potatoes,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “A new advertising campaign warns of an impending ‘spudpocalypse,’ chipping into potato supplies and driving price spikes as Prince Edward Island tubers are hit with a moratorium on exports.” — “Mass. unemployment rate falls below 4%,” by Steph Solis, Boston Business Journal: “The Massachusetts economy added an estimated 20,100 jobs in December, rounding out the year with a total of over 222,000 jobs gained in 2021 and bringing the unemployment rate to where it was pre-pandemic.” — “With new resources, Mass. resettlement groups boost number of Afghan evacuees they'll help,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “Six resettlement groups now expect more than 2,000 Afghan arrivals to the commonwealth — double the number originally estimated in September. That estimate has slowly grown with the advent of new resources to help fund evacuees' first few months here." — “New commander of USS Constitution to blend old, new in keeping Navy showpiece ship-shape,” by Brian MacQuarrie, Boston Globe: “It was a small-town Southern upbringing for [Billie] Farrell, far from the salt water that would become as familiar to her as western Kentucky, and far from the wooden decks of the USS Constitution, where in a chilly outdoor ceremony Friday she became the ship’s first female commander in its 224-year history.” — “With new leadership, Methuen police brass calls truce with city officials,” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “In what’s seen as a new dawn for city police, members of the superior officers’ union say they want to ‘open the channels of communication and work forward together’ with the mayor and City Council. … The letter, sent to Mayor Neil Perry and City Council President D.J. Beauregard, comes after years of dissent between the city and superior officers union over a contract battle.” MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND — “R.I. Democrats scrambling to find strong candidate to replace Langevin in Congress,” by Edward Fitzpatrick and Dan McGowan, Boston Globe: “Powerbrokers within the party have spent the weekend attempting to convince state Treasurer Seth Magaziner, former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, and Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea to drop out of the crowded primary for governor in favor of a run for Congress." HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state representative candidate Roberto Jiménez-Rivera; DJ Napolitano, principal at Dewey Square Group; and Andrew Friendly. Happy belated to Jessica Spence of Rep. Jake Auchincloss’s office, who celebrated Sunday. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.   Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

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RSN: Andy Borowitz | DeSantis Betting That Republicans Want a Stupider Version of Trump

 

 

22 January 22

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Andy Borowitz | DeSantis Betting That Republicans Want a Stupider Version of Trump
Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker
Borowitz writes: "As he explores a bid for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination, Governor Ron DeSantis is betting that G.O.P. voters are looking for a stupider version of Donald J. Trump."

The article below is satire. Andy Borowitz is an American comedian and New York Times-bestselling author who satirizes the news for his column, "The Borowitz Report."

As he explores a bid for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination, Governor Ron DeSantis is betting that G.O.P. voters are looking for a stupider version of Donald J. Trump.

According to a source close to DeSantis, the Florida Governor has decided to “run to the stupid of Trump” to pick up the support of voters who now consider the former President too intellectual.

“When Trump recently said that he got the booster, that was the last straw,” the source said. “In the eyes of a lot of Republicans, Trump is basically Fauci now.”

“Trump’s surrender to science is a slippery slope,” the source added. “It’s only a matter of time before he starts flirting with geography and grammar.” As DeSantis stakes his claim to the dumber-than-Trump lane, he spoke at a fund-raising event over the weekend.

“Donald Trump believes that one plus one equals two,” the Governor told his audience. “I think the American people should be free to decide for themselves what one plus one equals.”

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'I was terrified on the operating table. I couldn't stop shaking.' (image: The 19th)

'It Was a Nightmare': Life in the US Before Legal Abortion
Shefali Luthra, The 19th
Luthra writes: "The supreme court decision in Roe v Wade was made 49 years ago, making abortion a protected right. Now, with that right under threat, people recall life before the landmark ruling."

ALSO SEE: I Was in an Underground Abortion Network Before Roe v. Wade

The supreme court decision in Roe v Wade was made 49 years ago, making abortion a protected right. Now, with that right under threat, people recall life before the landmark ruling

Saturday marks the 49th anniversary of the supreme court’s Roe v Wade decision, the landmark ruling that guaranteed the right to an abortion in the US. It could be the last anniversary before it is overturned.

During oral arguments for Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization last year, a majority of the court appeared ready to severely weaken or overturn Roe v Wade, allowing dozens of Republican-led states to acutely restrict access, or ban abortion entirely. A decision is expected this summer.

Such a reversal would be historic. Many Democratic-led states are now likely to pass laws cementing abortion protections, creating oases of access to the procedure in safe, legal settings. But options would still be far more limited.

The 19th spoke with people across the country about their memories of life before the landmark decision, as well as how things have changed in the years since.

The illegal abortion was in 1966. I had just turned 20. It was the first guy I slept with, and I did not know shit about birth control or any other thing. I was living at home with deeply conservative parents who I simply could not tell. I had a very good friend who was at Goucher College, in Townsend, Maryland. It was a girls’ school and they had a network, a pipeline to a gynecologist in Baltimore.

So I got myself to Baltimore. [The gynecologist] was a lovely lady. She gave me a little tiny folded piece of paper with a phone number on it.

I call the number and some guy answers, and the arrangements are made – it’s supposed to be $600 in cash. We agree on a date and a pickup point, which was on Utah Street in downtown Baltimore, in front of a movie theater. We pick the date and the time. And then I have to find $600. I mean, that was a lot of money in 1966.

So I borrowed $100 here and $50 there. The day before the abortion, I was $200 short. This boy was just a real prick, so I called his parents. They gave him $600 and he gave me $200 that I was short.

He did drive me to Utah Street, and I stood there waiting to be picked up. Finally, a man in a sedan with a dog in the backseat pulls up. He could have been a serial killer, but he had a dog. That’s how you knew it must be OK.

I get in the backseat, and we drive out to a farmhouse. There was a couple … they laid me down on a table and gave me a mask. I had no anesthesia. After a while somebody I presumed to be a doctor comes out wearing scrubs, and he performs the abortion. He leaves, and the people who are there give me some pills to dry up my milk, and some maxi pads.

And then the guy drives me back to the movie theater on Utah Street. I stayed with a friend. I didn’t go back to my parents at night. That was it. At the time, I had a job working on the Hill for a Maryland congressman. And I was absolutely crazed that I had done this. I had done this illegal thing, and was that going to come back and — you know? But nobody ever found out about it.

Was I scared? I was terrified on the operating table. I couldn’t stop shaking. Would I have changed my mind? No, I would have driven off a bridge before I would have had a baby. I would have been forced into a marriage with a completely unsuitable human being.

Rosalyn Jonas, 75, Bethesda, Maryland

‘She went for a coat hanger’

I graduated in 1967 from high school, and when I was 18, I went straight into nursing at Brooklyn, New York: Kings County Hospital Center School of Nursing.

I wasn’t even aware of the abortion laws in New York. I mean, you heard stories of people who were going to some back rooms or doctors. Then somebody would disappear. There was a hush she was pregnant and she’d be away. So we didn’t know whether she went to an aunt to have a baby or was pushed off somewhere to have an abortion. But everything was hush hush. We didn’t talk about it at all.

I was assigned to a 16-year-old [at nursing school]. I walk into the room, and there were like six or eight doctors standing around this beautiful looking girl. I mean, I’m 18, she’s 16. And her eyes are rolled back. She’s thrashing all over the bed. And all these docs are totally helpless.

This kid was pregnant. She went for a pill. And then she went for a coat hanger, because she wasn’t sure it was working.

She was a Catholic kid. She didn’t have anybody or anywhere to go, she didn’t know where to look for help. I’m in charge of taking temperature. The temperature is going up. It gets to 107.

Oh, it was the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life. She dies in front of all of these doctors, and they’re helpless.

I was a Catholic teen. But right then and there I thought no one, no matter what kind of mistake or goof-up or whatnot they did in their life, they shouldn’t have to suffer and die like that.

It was a nightmare. And I will for my whole life never forget it. It traumatized me. But it made me firmly in the camp that no matter what you do in your life, nobody should have to go through that.

Lorraine Saulino-Klein, 72, of Laramie, Wyoming

‘I expected to be assassinated any time’

I began to get acquainted with this issue when I was a junior medical student – this is back in 1963. Every night that I was on call in the gynecology ward, my colleagues and I were up all night taking care of the women who had either self-induced or poorly done illegal, unsafe abortions.

About that time, there was a woman who had gone to the emergency room to see if they could end the pregnancy. She was several months pregnant. When they refused, she went home and shot herself in the uterus and then drove to the hospital.

This is an example of the kind of catastrophic things that women did to themselves. They would put lye in their vagina to induce an abortion. They literally used coat hangers and knitting needles. They died.

I began studying public health. What I decided to work in was population epidemiology, and that included looking at the health effects of illegal abortion.

It became clear to me that the effects of illegal abortion and the abortion laws were visited particularly upon women who were poor or many members of minority groups. The death rate due to illegal abortion was nine times higher among Black women than it was among white women.

I was in a pre-term clinic in Washington DC in 1971, and I learned how to do an early first-trimester abortion. I wasn’t really planning to practice medicine… but then I was in Colorado in 1973, when the Roe v Wade decision came down.

There was a group in Boulder that wanted to start a private nonprofit abortion clinic. And they got my name and called me and asked me if I would be willing to help them start this clinic. I had no intention of doing something like that. But when they invited me, I accepted.

Implementing the Roe v Wade decision was extremely important. The decision itself didn’t get anybody an abortion; it was only meaningful if doctors were willing to perform the abortion.

We started performing abortions in November 1973. I immediately became the target of hatred by not only the public, but members of medical community. I was living up in the mountains in a cabin I got with my father, and I was very, very frightened. I expected to be assassinated any time.

I love seeing patients and enjoy talking with them. And they tell me their stories. And every, every single one has an important story to tell.

Most of my patients now or at least at least half of them, sometimes more, are patients who have desired pregnancies that have a terrible complication of fetal disorder, genetic disorder. And they’ve decided to end the pregnancy, even though it’s a desired pregnancy. We see a lot of patients with those circumstances.

We see patients who are extremely young, 11 and 12 years old, who’ve been raped or sexually abused. Victims of incest. These young girls should not have to carry a pregnancy to term. It’s very dangerous for them. They’re not prepared to be a parent.

But in any case, right now as we speak, we have anti-abortion fanatics in front of my office. There’s a man that comes and stalks me every Tuesday morning. And I think he wants to kill me. I have to assume that, because five of my medical colleagues have been assassinated.

Warren Hern, 83, of Boulder, Colorado

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Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces attending military exercises. (photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

90 Tons of US Military Aid Arrives in Ukraine as Border Tensions With Russia Rise
Deepa Shivaram, NPR
Shivaram writes: "Continued tensions between Ukraine and Russia have led to the U.S. providing 90 tons of military aid that arrived in Ukraine, as roughly 100,000 Russian troops remain stationed along the border."

Continued tensions between Ukraine and Russia have led to the U.S. providing 90 tons of military aid that arrived in Ukraine, as roughly 100,000 Russian troops remain stationed along the border.

The shipment is part of the additional $200 million of "lethal aid" approved by President Biden in late December and includes ammunition for Ukraine's frontline defenders, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv tweeted. Overall, the U.S. has provided $650 million in defense equipment and services to Ukraine in the last year — the most it has ever given that country, according to the State Department.

"The United States and its allies and partners are standing together to expedite security assistance to Ukraine," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet on Friday. "We are utilizing all available security cooperation tools to help Ukraine bolster its defenses in the face of Russian aggression."

And it comes after Blinken visited Kyiv and met with his Kremlin counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in Switzerland earlier this week.

"We didn't expect any major breakthroughs to happen today," Blinken said at a news conference following his meeting Friday with Lavrov in Geneva. "But I believe we are now on a clear path in terms of understanding each other's concerns and each other's positions."

Russia has continued to insist on a written guarantee that Ukraine won't join NATO. Blinken said he made the U.S. position clear, which is to "stand firmly with Ukraine in support of its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Blinken said that any military action on Russia's side would "be met with swift, severe, and a united response from the United States and our partners and allies." Russia has denied any intention of invading.

Biden clarified his message after news conference

In his lengthy news conference Wednesday at the White House, Biden seemed to complicate the message from his own Secretary of State, saying that if Russia committed a "minor incursion" there might be a divide among NATO allies on how to respond to the aggression.

"I think what you're going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades. And it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do," Biden said.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy swiftly responded on Twitter saying, "We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations."

On Thursday, Biden clarified his stance saying any invasion would be met with a "severe and coordinated" economic response.

"If any — any — assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion," Biden said. "Let there be no doubt at all that if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price."

Blinken reiterated the president's stance in a tweet Saturday, after a conversation with Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.

"We remain committed to diplomacy but are ready, in coordination with NATO Allies and partners, to impose severe costs for further Russian aggression," he said.

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Rudy Giuliani. (photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Over 3,000 of Giuliani's Communications Released to Prosecutors Following FBI Seizure
Lexi Lonas, The Hill
Lonas writes: "More than 3,000 of Rudy Giuliani's communications were released to prosecutors on Wednesday after a review of 18 devices that the FBI seized from the former Trump lawyer's possession last April."

More than 3,000 of Rudy Giuliani’s communications were released to prosecutors on Wednesday after a review of 18 devices that the FBI seized from the former Trump lawyer's possession last April.

The Washington Post reported that former federal judge Barbara S. Jones, who was chosen to lead a privilege review of Giuliani's communications, stated that there were 25,000 messages on a cellphone that dated back to 2018.

The former NYC mayor asserted attorney-client privilege over 96 items, 40 of which were granted by Jones, the Post reported. The other 56 items were released to prosecutors.

“Totally expected and in fact we want the prosecutors to see the material as it makes our consistent point that he did not do anything illegal,” Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, told The Hill.

Giuliani is being investigated by the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office over his dealings with Ukraine and suspicions that he acted as an unregistered foreign agent during his time as the former president's personal lawyer.

The Post noted that privilege reviews are relatively routine, conducted by an independent team at the prosecutor's office. Attorney-client privilege asserts that communications between a lawyer and their client are protected. However, they could be inspected if communications involve criminal activity.

In addition, another 3,000 messages that Giuliani did not assert privilege over were turned over to prosecutors, according to the Post.

Costello said that after his own review, there was no evidence of any crime.

“There’s no [Foreign Agents Registration Act] violation,” Costello said, according to the Post. “Rudy Giuliani didn’t do anything illegal or unlawful.”

The released communications come the same week Giuliani was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 House committee for his potential role in the events that occurred on that day.

“You actively promoted claims of election fraud on behalf of former President Trump and sought to convince state legislators to take steps to overturn the election results,” the committee said in the subpoena sent to Trump’s former lawyer.

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Voters at the polls in Atlanta, Georgia. (photo: Erik S. Lesser/EPA)

A Trump Supporter Was Charged With Threatening to Kill Georgia Officials During an Election
David Mack, BuzzFeed
Mack writes: "The Department of Justice on Friday charged a Texas man who allegedly posted a message on Craigslist in which he called for the murder of government officials in Georgia as a runoff election was wrapping up."

This is the first criminal case brought by a DOJ task force established in response to an unprecedented wave of threats against elections workers and officials nationwide.

The Department of Justice on Friday charged a Texas man who allegedly posted a message on Craigslist in which he called for the murder of government officials in Georgia as a runoff election was wrapping up.

Chad Stark, 54, was arrested by FBI agents on Friday morning. He is expected to appear in federal court in Austin later in the day, facing one charge of communicating interstate threats.

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

On Jan. 5, 2021, the day of the Senate runoff election in Georgia and one day prior to the Capitol insurrection in Washington, DC, Stark allegedly posted a $10,000 bounty on the Atlanta page of Craigslist that called on "Georgia Patriots" to kill three government figures.

"It’s our duty as American Patriots to put an end to the lives of these traitors and take back our country by force we can no longer wait on the corrupt law enforcement in the corrupt courts," he allegedly wrote. "If we want our country back we have to exterminate these people."

The DOJ did not identify the officials Stark was said to have threatened, but the message also made references to "corrupt" governors and judges, as well as law enforcement officers who "stop Patriot supporters."

On his Facebook page, Stark had expressed his support for Donald Trump by liking the pages "Trump 2020" and "Donald Trump Is Our President."

Stark's is the first criminal case brought by the DOJ's Election Threats Task Force, which was established in July in response to an unprecedented wave of threats nationwide against elections workers and officials.

Much of the vitriol was inspired by the former president, who lied to supporters like Stark by saying the election he lost was stolen from him.

In a call to reporters on Friday, DOJ officials declined to comment on what role Trump's rhetoric played in fueling the threats or whether they had seen evidence of foreign actors being involved.

But Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. told reporters that the task force had reviewed more than 850 similar threats against elections workers and currently had dozens of cases open for investigation.

"These unsung heroes came under unprecedented verbal attack for doing nothing more than their jobs," Polite said. "We will not tolerate the intimidation of those who safeguard our election."

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The women came to Lebanon for work under the country's kafala system, which is often compared to modern-day slavery. (photo: João Sousa/Al Jazeera)

'I Wanted to Die': Abused Migrant Women in Lebanon Face Detention
Mia Alberti and Joao Sousa, Al Jazeera
Excerpt: "Sarah and Joanna sit in front of a large red suitcase filled with blankets, clothes and cans of food: all that is left of Sarah's belongings."

Embassy ‘sit-ins’ by stranded migrant workers have become increasingly frequent during Lebanon’s devastating economic crisis.

Sarah and Joanna sit in front of a large red suitcase filled with blankets, clothes and cans of food: all that is left of Sarah’s belongings.

They are on the stairs of the Kenyan consulate in Beirut, which has been their home for the past three weeks. Behind them the word “justice” is graffitied on the stairway wall. In the lobby below, more women squeeze together on a couple of mattresses preparing for the cold night ahead.

They are part of a group of dozens of Kenyan domestic workers who have been squatting in their consulate to demand their right to be repatriated.

“They told me I would travel on January 26, but they lie every day. Before I see the flight [tickets] I won’t believe it,” Sarah told Al Jazeera as she put items in and out of the suitcase.

The women came to Lebanon for work under the country’s kafala system, which is often compared to modern-day slavery. After months of abuse or non-payment, they left their employers in hopes of returning to Kenya.

It is a scenario that has become increasingly frequent during Lebanon’s crippling economic crisis. While the demand for domestic workers in the country remains high, money to pay them is running low.

In 2020, several groups of domestic workers from Ethiopia, the Philippines and Sudan also held sit-ins in their embassies after being abandoned by their employers.

However, disgruntled workers hoping to go home face the cruelties of the kafala system, which include sponsors keeping their passports, avoiding their legal obligation to pay for their return tickets, and even accusing the workers of stealing or other crimes to avoid responsibility.

“It’s not hard to find out who the employers for these workers are,” Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told Al Jazeera. “Why aren’t there investigations? Because we have a history in Lebanon of lack of enforcement and particularly when it comes to migrant domestic workers.”

‘I wanted to die’

Sarah, 40, has been waiting for months with no answer from relevant authorities.

She arrived in Lebanon in February 2021. As often happens, she signed a contract in Arabic upon her arrival and hasn’t seen her passport since. She was abused by her employer, who banned her from using the bathroom or shower, and told her children to call her “caca” or “gorilla”.

“I used to shower when I saw she was drunk. Or when she went to sleep, I would open the door slowly and go outside put water, cold water, and shower from the balcony outside,” she told Al Jazeera.

In September 2021 Sarah’s father fell ill with pneumonia in Kenya and needed expensive oxygen to stay alive. When she asked for an advance from her pay, $200 a month to be paid at the end of her two-year contract, her employers demanded she proved her father was sick.

Sarah played the video she showed her employer: it pictures her father in a hospital bed, hooked up to an oxygen bottle.

“The doctors told us ‘you stayed too much without paying so we need to remove the oxygen’. She said she’d pay but she never paid. And this is when he died,” she said in tears.

“I felt like it was my fault,” she added. “I wanted to die.”

Under the kafala system, domestic workers are not contemplated in Lebanon’s labour laws, which leads to frequent abuse including documented cases of beatings and sexual assault.

The latest data, from 2008, shows domestic workers in Lebanon were dying of non-natural cases at a rate of one per week, according to HRW.

In November 2021, during a visit to the country, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights called for the abolishment of the kafala system in Lebanon.

At the time, the minister of labour, Moustafa Bayram, pledged to “scrutinise criteria for granting permits to recruitment agencies to prevent cases of human trafficking”, and to implement a standard unified contract that stipulates labour rights for foreign domestic workers.

The UN special rapporteur also warned “once domestic workers leave their employer, they lose their residency right and are considered to be ‘illegal’ migrants in the country, subject to risks of arrest and detention.”

‘We are not a prison’

After her father’s death, Sarah ran away from her sponsor’s house and went to the police, who took her to a shelter in Beirut run by the Catholic non-profit organisation Caritas.

The shelter protects victims of human trafficking and race-based victims, according to Caritas. However, many activists and migrant workers know the shelter as a “detention centre”.

Sarah also calls it that. She and five other women protesting at the Kenyan consulate stayed there for several months without access to a phone, little information about their repatriation case, and they say they were not allowed to leave.

Myriam Prado, a Philippine worker in Lebanon for 28 years, and co-founder of the Alliance of Migrant Domestic Workers in the country, told Al Jazeera she has heard complaints against the shelter from several different women with various nationalities.

“If you want to go inside of Caritas you have to stay there. When you’re inside, they don’t have their phone… It’s like detention, that you are inside a jail. This is the number one complaint I’ve heard from a lot of women,” she told Al Jazeera.

Several rights groups such as the Lebanese Center for Human Rights and the Anti-Racism Movement have also denounced these practices at the Caritas shelter.

Sources told Al Jazeera that Caritas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lebanese General Security bureau to use the shelter as an unofficial detention centre.

Head of the migrant department at Caritas, Hessen Sayyah, confirmed to Al Jazeera the organisation signed the MoU with General Security, but said claims the shelter acts as a detention facility “are false”.

Instead, the document details Caritas’ work at General Security’s official detention centres “to help prisoners and detainees,” and secondly, “to protect victims of human trafficking”, she said.

“[The domestic workers] are coming voluntarily and they can leave our shelter voluntarily. We are not a prison,” Sayyah told Al Jazeera over the phone.

She said residents cannot go out and return whenever they want for the protection of the other victims in the shelter.

“We can’t put in danger any of the victims who are in the Caritas shelter by providing the address or having the shelter known as a shelter. This is a shelter protecting victims of human trafficking, we have people with severe cases and high-protection risk.”

Hessen Sayyah also said month-long delays in repatriating domestic workers are common because of legal obstacles.

Kenyan consulate authorities say these include the criminal cases filed against the workers by their employers, difficulties in retrieving the workers’ passports, and fundraising to pay for their plane tickets.

‘Ungrateful’

About 100 women are currently in the Caritas shelter, including 20 other Kenyan domestic workers, according to Caritas, who should fly home before the end of January. Out of the six women who left Caritas to protest, three have been repatriated.

But dozens of other women who were not in Caritas are still demanding to go home.

During an interview with Al Jazeera, the Kenyan Honorary Consul Sayed Chalouhi said most of the protesters “don’t want to go home” and are being paid or supported by covert NGOs who only want to attract negative attention to Lebanon’s kafala system. Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims.

Protesters refused the consulate’s initial offer to provide them with shelter. Since Al Jazeera interviewed Chalouhi, 23 women accepted a plan to move into an apartment provided by the consulate. They say they have been told their repatriation cases are being analysed.

“The majority of girls run away from their employer only to work in the black market, to do prostitution or drug business,” Chalouhi said at his residence.

“Half of the ladies in front of the embassy at night, they go to do prostitution. If you go to Nairobi you will see how Nairobi is at night,” the honorary consul added.

“These people are really ungrateful,” he said, explaining how he has been personally paying for the repatriation expenses for thousands of women for years because of a lack of support from Kenyan authorities. “Most of them, 90 percent of them, they’ve been calling me ‘daddy’, ‘dad’ for years. This is how you treat me?”

Meanwhile, the Kenyan consulate remains shut because of security concerns after protesters attacked the car of one of its employees.

‘My mind is far away’

Outside the consulate, two women use a camping-gas stove to warm up tea when Jasmine, 21, arrives carrying her bags. She ran away from her employer that day, after working for three months in forced-labour conditions.

“I’m tired, I feel the body aches, I’m weak. Yesterday I told my boss my hand is painful,” she said as she showed Al Jazeera her palms riddled with bloody blisters.

Jasmine told her boss and agent she wanted to return to Kenya to care for her one-year-old son. When she was not allowed, she fled. Like Sarah, she also signed a contract in Arabic, does not know where her passport is, and has not been paid. She is also afraid to tell her agency she left in fear they will take her back to work.

“My mind is confused, my mind is far away. I’m not that OK,” she said as she put her backpack inside of the consulate lobby and prepared for the journey ahead in trying to be repatriated.

“I didn’t come here to run away. But I’m very worried because of my son. My only concern is to go to Kenya as soon as possible because of my son.”

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Researchers just discovered a new colony of gentoo penguins on Andersson Island on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula. (photo: Tomás Munita/Greenpeace)

As Climate Change Melts Antarctic Ice, Gentoo Penguins Venture Further South
Mongabay
Excerpt: "The crew of the M/V Arctic Sunrise, an icebreaker vessel owned by Greenpeace, were sailing through Antarctica's Weddell Sea this month when they saw something they didn't expect."

The crew of the M/V Arctic Sunrise, an icebreaker vessel owned by Greenpeace, were sailing through Antarctica’s Weddell Sea this month when they saw something they didn’t expect.

“One of the scientists on board, Alex Borowicz … was looking through the binoculars from the bridge of our ship,” Louisa Casson, an ocean campaigner with Greenpeace UK currently on board the Arctic Sunrise, told Mongabay in a video interview. “He spotted what he thought looked like a penguin colony, where we had seen no previous records.”

As the ship drew near, the crew discovered a colony of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) consisting of about 75 chicks living on Andersson Island on the east side of the Antarctic Peninsula, previously unknown to science. Scientists say this is the furthest south the species has ever been seen in this part of Antarctica, and posit their presence here to the impacts of climate change.

“It’s may be a cliché at this point, but they’re the canary in the coal mine for climate change because they’re so closely tied to those sea ice conditions,” Heather Lynch, an Antarctic penguin expert at Stony Brook University in New York and the remote leader of the expedition, told Mongabay in a video interview.

Gentoo penguins are generally found across the sub-Antarctic region, with the largest colonies on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. Unlike other penguin species that migrate to feed or breed, gentoo penguins will stay in the same place in both summer and winter, so conditions have to be ideal for them to survive year-round in a given location.

“They’re very opportunistic, so any chance they get, they’re going to colonize rock as the glaciers retreat,” Lynch said. “So they’re the thing that we tend to use to see how far climate change has gone in terms of turning the Antarctic Peninsula into a more sub-Antarctic or more temperate climate.”

Glacial ice around Antarctica has been melting at an alarming rate as climate change heats up the planet. A 2019 study found that Antarctica’s ice was melting six times faster than it was in the 1970s. Scientists have been keeping a particularly close eye on the Thwaites Glacier, known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” which, if it melted entirely, could raise global sea levels by several meters.

But it’s not just sea level rise that would be impacted by the melting of Antarctica’s ice — it could change ocean currents, influence weather patterns as far as the tropics, and disturb krill populations that many species depend upon, including penguins, whales and fish.

Scientists and conservationists have been advocating for the establishment of three new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Antarctic region, including East Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, which would cover about 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of the Southern Ocean, arguing that such a move is essential in helping the region withstand the innumerable impacts of climate change, as well as the additional pressure of industrial krill fishing. The international body responsible for making such a decision is the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), but it has repeatedly failed to agree upon the establishment of these MPAs.

Casson said the CCAMLR originally set itself a deadline of 2012 to set up the network of MPAs “precisely to protect penguins because they’re experiencing all of this change” — but nothing has happened in the nearly 10 years since.

“We know that marine protected areas are a really important tool in helping wildlife adapt to and build resilience to ongoing changes,” Casson said.

The Arctic Sunrise is halfway through its expedition of the Weddell Sea. In addition to surveys of gentoo penguins, it will be looking at Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) populations.

“We hope to make a stronger scientific case for why these areas should be protected,” Casson said, “and to also raise public pressure on governments so that they finally reach agreement and get the Antarctic protected as it should be, and as it should have been long ago.”

This article was originally published on Mongabay.

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