Activists hope pope’s approval of same-sex blessings could ease anti-LGBTQ+ bias and repression

Vicar Wolfgang Rothe, left, blesses the couple Christine Walter, center, and Almut Muenster, right, during a Catholic service with the blessing of same-sex couples in St Benedict’s Church in Munich, on May 9, 2021. 

(Felix Hoerhager/dpa via AP, File)

By ASSOCIATED PRESS | ap@dfmdev.com
PUBLISHED: December 19, 2023 a
By NICOLE WINFIELD

ROME — Pope Francis’ green light for Catholic priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples is in many ways a recognition of what has been happening in some European parishes for years. But his decision to officially spell out his approval could send a message of tolerance to places where gay rights are far more restricted.

From Uganda to the United States, laws that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people or even criminalize homosexuality have increased in recent years, leaving communities feeling under attack. Pastors in some conservative Christian denominations, and the Catholic Church in particular, have sometimes supported such measures as consistent with biblical teaching about homosexuality.

In Zimbabwe, a country with a history of state harassment of LGBTQ+ people and a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, news of Francis’ approval was met with cautious optimism among activists.

But Chesterfield Samba, director of Zimbabwe’s GALZ association, which represents LGBTQ+ people, said same-sex unions would likely remain taboo regardless of the pope’s stance.









 Same-sex couples take part in a public blessing ceremony in front of the Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, on Sept. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

“Christians here are of the view that they are devoid of sin and cannot be aligned with LGBTQ+ people,” Samba told The Associated Press.

By contrast, a Catholic priest in the United States — Alex Santora of Hoboken, New Jersey — was elated by the pope’s declaration, hoping it would clear the path for him to bless a same-sex couple who had been part of the parish throughout his 19-year tenure there.

The Vatican says gays should be treated with dignity and respect but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Francis hasn’t changed that teaching, but he has spent much of his 10-year pontificate offering a more welcoming attitude to LGBTQ+ Catholics.

The Vatican statement Monday marked a new step in Francis’ campaign, explicitly authorizing priests to offer non-sacramental blessings to same-sex couples. The blessings must in no way resemble a wedding, which the church teaches can only happen between a man and woman.

The Rev. Wolfgang Rothe, a German priest who participated in open worship services blessing same-sex couples in May 2021, said Tuesday that the approval essentially validated what he and other priests in Germany have been doing for years. But he suggested it would make life easier for homosexual couples in more conservative societies.

“In my church, such blessings always take place when anyone has the need,” Rothe said.

But “in many countries around the world there are opposing moves to maintain homophobia in the church,” he added. “For homosexual couples living there, the document will be a huge relief.”

In Nigeria, authorities arrested dozens of gay people in October in a crackdown that human rights groups said relied on a same-sex prohibition law.

Nigeria is among 30 of Africa’s 54 countries where homosexuality is criminalized with broad public support, though its constitution guarantees freedom from discrimination.

Uganda’s president this year signed into law anti-gay legislation that prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other vulnerable people.

In the United States, the Human Rights Campaign has identified an “unprecedented and dangerous” spike in discriminatory laws sweeping statehouses this year, with more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced.

“Given the homophobic and transphobic climate created by many bishops in the United States, the average same-sex couple likely still won’t feel comfortable presenting themselves to their local bishop or priest to ask for a blessing,” said Jamie Manson, a lesbian and president of Catholics for Choice.

Starting from his famous “Who am I to judge” comment in 2013 about a purportedly gay priest, Francis has evolved his position to increasingly make clear that everyone is a child of God, is loved by God and welcome in the church.

In January, Francis told The Associated Press: “Being homosexual is not a crime.”

Raul Pena, a spokesman for Crismhom, Madrid’s main Catholic LGBTQ+ association, said small-town, conservative dioceses in rural Spain could benefit from Francis’ message.

“If the priest from your town talks about gays being the devil in his sermons each Sunday, which some priests do, now you have the pope signing a document saying that homosexuals who live as a couple can be blessed,” he said. “It’s a fundamental step for those hierarchies and for those people who are in places where being LGBT is difficult.”

Santora, pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Grace in New Jersey, said the pope’s declaration would be welcome in a parish that celebrates an annual Pride Mass and has many LGBTQ+ parishioners.

“This is a very important step, people realizing the church is finally recognizing the goodness of their lives,” he said.

Santora wants to set a date soon to bless a same-sex couple that has been part of the church for many years. Santora recently learned that they had yearned for his blessing but feared getting him in trouble.

“So this comes at the right time,” the priest said. “It’s a new way to set a date.”

Santora worries, though, that some gay and lesbian Catholic couples in the U.S. won’t be so fortunate.

“There are priests, many of them young, who are behind the times — they won’t do this,” he said. “It’s going to cause more hurt in some communities.”

Gary Stavella, a 70-year-old retiree, helps lead the LGBTQ+ outreach ministry at Our Lady of Grace.

He said he was happy about the pope’s declaration, particularly on behalf of LGBTQ+ Catholics in countries where homosexuality is criminalized.

“There are a lot of anti-LGBTQ cardinals in those countries, and in ours,” Stavella said. “For their boss to say, ’You can’t condemn them, you should bless them’ is a sea change. It can save lives.”

Antonella Allaria, who lives in New York City with her wife, Amanda and their six-month-old son, said the pope’s decision is a positive step for her family and the church as a whole.

“I’m gay and it’s OK to be a person and to be gay. Where before yesterday, in the Catholic Church, it was not that OK,” she said. “I feel things are getting normalized. And it’s about time.”

Kimo Jung of Pittsburgh, a lifelong Catholic, met his future husband 34 years ago when they both attended a New York parish. Jung, 60, sees the Vatican declaration as monumental for the church, but less so for himself and his husband, whom he married in a civil ceremony in 2016.

“I would certainly ask my friends who are priests to convey such a blessing, but I wouldn’t approach any other church official to demand a rite to be blessed, because I already know God has blessed my relationship.”

Associated Press reporters David Crary and Luis Andres Henao in New York; Peter Smith in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Farai Mutsaka in Harare, Zimbabwe; Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin; and Ciaran Giles in Madrid contributed.

POPE FRANCIS AND LGBTQ+

Southern Californians react to Pope Francis’ same-sex blessing news
Pope Francis approves blessings for same-sex couples in certain situations
Pope Francis slams some US conservatives as ‘backward’
Pope urges parents to ‘never condemn’ their gay children
‘Being homosexual isn’t a crime,’ says Pope Francis

Brazil sues meatpackers over Amazon deforestation

The companies are accused of buying direct from illegal cattle operations


A river borders an area that has been illegally deforested by land-grabbers and cattle farmers in an extractive reserve in Jaci-Parana, Rondonia state, Brazil, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Meat processing giant JBS SA and three other slaughterhouses are facing lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in environmental damages for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in the area. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: December 19, 2023
By Fabiano Maisonnave | Associated Press

Rubens Valenta | Agencia Publica

JACI-PARANA, Brazil — Meat processing giant JBS SA and three other slaughterhouses are facing lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in environmental damages for allegedly purchasing cattle raised illegally in a protected area in the Brazilian Amazon.

The lawsuits, filed December 5 to 12 by the western Brazilian state of Rondonia, target the exploitation of a protected area known as Jaci-Parana, once rainforest but now mostly transformed into grassland by decades of misuse by land-grabbers, loggers and cattle ranchers. Despite a law forbidding commercial cattle in the reserve, some 216,000 head now graze on pasture there, according to the state animal division.

The lawsuits contain a type of evidence that is getting the attention of deforestation experts and veterans of Brazil’s illegal cattle trade: transfer documents showing cows going straight to the slaughterhouse from protected areas, with the information apparently provided by the illegal ranchers themselves.

“In two decades fighting illegal cattle-raising in the Amazon, I had never encountered a transit permit with the name of a conservation unit on it,” said Jair Schmitt, chief of environmental protection at Brazil’s federal environmental agency, Ibama.

This article was produced as part of a collaboration between Brazilian news organization Agencia Publica and The Associated Press.

Of the 17 lawsuits, three name JBS, along with farmers, who allegedly sold 227 cattle raised in Jaci-Parana. The suits seek some $3.4 million for “invading, occupying, exploiting, causing environmental damage, preventing natural regeneration, and/or taking economic advantage” of the protected lands.JBS declined to answer questions from The Associated Press, saying it “has not been summoned by the court, which makes it impossible to conduct any analysis yet.”

Three smaller meatpacking companies are also accused of causing environmental harm by buying cattle from the reserve. Frigon, Distriboi and Tangara did not respond to questions.

Frigon has ties to influential people in Rondonia politics and is accused of buying the largest number of cattle — almost 1,400 head from eight illicit ranches. The state’s attorney is seeking $17.2 million from Frigon and those farmers.

Both Frigon and the two JBS plants allegedly involved have exported meat to the U.S., as well as to China, the largest buyer of Brazilian beef, Hong Kong, Russia, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and others, according to data from Panjiva, a company that uses customs records to track international trade.

The lawsuits aim to put a price on the destruction of old-growth rainforest, a difficult task given that it is virtually irreplaceable except over decades. A court filing pegs damages in the reserve at some $1 billion. It is unclear whether the hundreds of other invaders in Jaci-Parana will also be sued for compensation.

“The invaders and their main business partners – loggers and meatpacking companies – make the profits their own while passing on to society the costs of environmental damage,” the lawsuits say.

In one indication of the potential seriousness of the new lawsuits, a court officer trying to serve an eviction notice to one of the illegal farmers in the reserve said he was threatened with death.

Deforestation is a major concern in the Amazon rainforest, where many seek to profit from its vast resources through mining, timber harvesting, agriculture and more. Besides harming a critical biosphere, the development pressure also threatens a critical carbon sink for a planet that’s warming dangerously from climate change. Two-thirds of Amazon deforestation results from conversion to pasture, according to the government.

Rondonia, on the border with Bolivia, is the most badly deforested state in the Brazilian Amazon.

The creation of Jaci-Parana Reserve and other state conservation areas was funded by the World Bank in the 1990s as a kind of atonement, the bank says. Years before, it had financed the construction of highway BR-364, a road that brought thousands of settlers into the forest from southern Brazil. In five decades, about 40% of it was gone, according to Mapbiomas, a Brazilian consortium of nonprofits, universities and technology startups.

Other conservation units were also invaded by land-grabbers, with little objection from authorities. Some Brazilian administrations even encouraged it. In 2010, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in his second term, reduced the Bom Futuro National Forest, adjacent to Jaci-Parana, by two-thirds. Land grabbers eventually gained title to what was supposed to be protected forest.

In 2019, far-right Jair Bolsonaro was elected president, as was his ally Marcos Rocha as governor of Rondonia, on campaigns promising to legalize illegal land holders. Land-grabbers plowed onto conservation lands.

With the political promises, 778 land invaders were induced to come forward and register the property they were occupying as well as their cattle for health inspection.

“It reveals the contradiction between public agencies, with the animal health agency validating cattle that are illegally raised,” said Paulo Barreto, a senior researcher with Imazon, a non-profit that monitors cattle in the region. “It also reveals the fragility of JBS’ control system.”

The potential money to be made was irresistible. Privatization of Jaci-Parana would have meant adding swaths of public land to the real estate market. The 151,000 hectares (583 square miles) converted to grassland would be worth around $453 million, according to geographer Amanda Michalski, a researcher at Rondonia Federal University. And the new owners would have gotten that land for free.

In its statement, JBS declined to comment on its operations in Rondonia but said in the Amazon as a whole, 94% of purchases are of legal cattle, quoting an audit published in October by Brazil´s Federal Prosecution Service, which regularly scrutinizes cattle sales to counter deforestation caused by the meat trade.

Yet the same audit found that 12% of cattle purchased by JBS in Rondonia came from illegally deforested areas.

And those audits only examine direct purchases. They don’t track the vast trade in cattle laundering in Brazil, transferring cows from an illegal area to a legal farm before selling to slaughterhouses, deliberately muddying traceability.

In November, a report by Imazon called JBS the company most likely to purchase cattle from illegally deforested areas based on a variety of factors, including where slaughterhouses are located and their buying areas.

“Companies must boycott cattle areas at high risk for illegal activity and lack of enforcement,” Barreto, co-author of the study, said. “By purchasing cattle from these areas, companies endorse predatory and illegal behavior and strengthen the political power of these actors.”

Last July, AP journalists visited Jaci-Parana and saw on the ground what satellite imagery detected from space: the only forested areas left were along two rivers. With almost 80% destroyed, it’s the most ravaged conservation unit in the Brazilian Amazon.

Jaci-Parana is designated an extractive reserve, a type of protection in which forest communities are allowed to live their traditional ways without logging, protected from land-grabbing and cattle-ranching.

But the opposite happened. Dozens of families who once made their living by tapping rubber trees inside the reserve and harvesting Brazil nuts have been expelled by force. The few remaining live along the riverbanks — most afraid to be interviewed for fear of being attacked.

Lincoln Fernandes de Lima, 45, whose family has lived in the area for three generations, described land-grabbers who “remove all the timber and Brazil nuts trees. They get to the water source, already having cut down the trees around it, and keep cutting, cutting,” he said in an interview in July. “When the residents leave their houses to do something in the forest, they shoot up the pots and pans. And many, many times the houses are cut down with a chainsaw.”

In September, two men carrying guns paid a visit to de Lima, claiming their boss had acquired the area. They gave him 24 hours to leave. He took it as a death threat and complied — the third time he had been forced out of the reserve.

Five days later, his neighbor, rubber tapper Efigenio Mota da Silva, had his home burned down.

They fled to Jaci-Parana village, where scores of families of expelled subsistence gatherers have sought shelter. The village has also been the home of Rosa Maria Lopes. She was born 1952 in a rubber grove inside the reserve. Her family lived in the same area for over a century, but was also driven out by cattle farmers. Where she grew up is now pasture.

“There’s nothing left there,” she told the AP on the porch of her daughter’s home. “No one talks about Brazil nuts, copaiba oil trees or rubber anymore. There’s no talk about corn, pumpkin, or whatever is served on the table. It’s only cattle, farms, and pasture. Are we only going to eat grass?”

Valente reports for Agencia Publica. Maisonnave is the Associated Press correspondent for the Amazon basin. AP journalist Camille Fassett in Seattle contributed to this report.

Turning Concern into Action: Understanding Climate Change Attitudes in Pakistan

JUAN D. BARÓN
SAHER ASAD|
WORLD BANK
DECEMBER 19, 2023

Photo credit: Curt Carnemark / World Bank

Pakistan is grappling with the profound impacts of climate change, such as shifting weather patterns and catastrophic floods (Baron et all, 2022). Unfortunately, these impacts are projected to escalate, with forecasts suggesting that climate-related events, environmental degradation, and air pollution may cause Pakistan's GDP to shrink by 18-20% by 2050. This alarming statistic underscores the need to address climate change and mitigate its effects on people and their livelihoods. Even though developing countries like Pakistan may not be the primary contributors to climate change, acknowledging and confronting its fallout is indispensable, especially for combatting pressing local issues like air pollution and smog.

The necessity to adapt and the implications of actions for local issues make it essential to understand people's prioritization of addressing climate change, their trusted sources of information, and the motivating factors behind their actions. To answer these questions, we conducted a phone survey of a random sample of 2,000 parents in Pakistan who have access to a cell phone and have school-aged children using random digit dialing. The key findings have been released in a recent policy note.

The results of the survey show that most people, regardless of gender or education level, are highly concerned about the impact of climate change on children, with over 80 percent expressing concern. The survey shows that although people are worried about climate change and its effects, it is not always their top priority. When asked to choose the top three issues facing Pakistan, less than a quarter of participants chose climate change. This suggests that while people are worried about climate change, it may not be their priority issue.

In the survey, when a random subset of people were presented with economic issues first, there was a 4-percentage point (statistically significant) rise in the likelihood of individuals considering climate change among top three issues of Pakistan, compared to when social issues were presented first. This prioritization of climate change when seen as an economic issue is more pronounced among individuals with higher educational attainment (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: People give higher priority to climate change as a top issue when economic issues are ordered first

How knowledgeable are people about climate information and whom do they trust?

The survey looked at people's knowledge of and trust in different sources of information about climate change. Those with higher levels of education are more informed about climate change. For example, only 47 percent of illiterate people believe that the earth is getting warmer due to human activity, compared to 60 percent of those with higher education or above. Findings also show significant distrust overall in traditional sources of information, with the least educated being the most likely to distrust these sources. Among these sources, news media leads as the most important source of information while less than 1/5 trust scientists. This highlights the lack of trust in traditional climate change leadership, including the possibility of misinformation from the media. This poses a significant challenge to educating people about climate change.

Figure 2: Traditional sources of information about climate change are least trusted

How are people addressing climate change in Pakistan?

Families want their children to learn about climate change, but they are relying on the schools to fulfill this role. Almost all households in the survey said they support education about climate in schools. However, less than half talk about it at home. This shows that schools could play a role in promoting conversations and educating families about climate change.

The survey reveals that, despite frequently adopting money-saving measures such as turning off lights (76%) to combat climate change, people exhibit less enthusiasm for endorsing more impactful actions like using public transport (36%) or cutting down on meat consumption. Reducing the disconnect between concern and action requires understanding people's beliefs e.g. education and awareness campaigns highlighting practical benefits, like savings or health improvements.

Three crucial insights emerge from the survey findings for policymakers. Firstly, economic aspects drive people's concern about climate change. Secondly, skepticism exists, especially among less educated individuals relying on traditional information sources. Lastly, even concerned individuals might not act due to inconvenience or lifestyle changes. Policymakers should focus on removing barriers and offering economic incentives to encourage active participation in climate action.

Authors

Juan D. Barón
Senior Economist, Education Global Practice, World Bank Group
MORE BLOGS BY JUAN

Saher Asad
Economist, South Asia
MORE BLOGS BY SAHER

Mexico's president and Texas governor clash again over immigration

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador accused Abbott of signing a harsh immigration law in order to be in the running as a Republican vice presidential candidate.

Dec. 19, 2023
By Suzanne Gamboa

Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for signing a law that allows peace officers to arrest people they think entered the country illegally, accusing him of just wanting to be the Republican nominee for vice president.

López Obrador, often referred to as AMLO, dispensed the harsh criticism of Abbott at a news conference on Tuesday. He also lectured him on history.

“He wants to be the Republican Party’s vice presidential candidate. In the United States he wants to gain popularity with these measures,” López Obrador said after he was asked about the new Texas law. Abbott signed the law on Monday.

“You are not going to win anything,” he warned Abbott. “On the contrary, he will lose sympathy because in Texas there are many Mexicans, many migrants. He forgets that Texas was from Mexico, like 10 states of the American Union.”

López Obrador vowed to defend "our countrymen and migrants" and said Mexico already has a challenge to the law under way.

ACLU of Texas suing state for law allowing arrest of migrants who illegally cross border

The new law makes illegally entering the country a state crime, a misdemeanor. A peace officer, which is broadly defined and can include such people as local police officers and security officers of the state medical board, can inquire about a person's citizenship and immigrant status if they think they have entered the U.S. illegally. If so, a magistrate can order them out of the country.

López Obrador said that Abbott has forgotten that the U.S. was "consolidated and strengthened" thanks to migrants of the world. He also admonished Abbott on religious grounds.

"He forgets that in the Bible it says that you should not treat strangers badly ... This man knows what he has done," he said.

He added more criticism, chastising Abbott for busing immigrants to New York, Chicago and the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C., in winter and without coordinating with the cities that have been accommodating of the immigrants, many of whom have pending asylum requests.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate, also signed hard-line immigration laws that led immigrants, workers and their families — some of them U.S. citizens or legal residents — to leave that state.

López Obrador warned Abbott that he will face the same political fate as DeSantis, also a Republican.

"He (DeSantis) was ahead in the polls. He was not ahead of Trump, but he was in second place and he started with those measures and fell," he said.

Trump has been polling ahead of all other GOP candidates heading into the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses. DeSantis was once considered Trump's strongest challenger, but his campaign has faltered and his bid is at risk if he does not have a strong showing in Iowa.

"This is what will happen to the governor of Texas with those decisions," López Obrador said.

Abbott has been running his own immigration operation in Texas for years, using Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, the state's highway patrol, to police the border, stop drivers to check for people illegally here and arrest people for criminal trespassing when they cross private land.

He has been holding those arrested in prison units converted to state immigration jails. Those held are turned over to federal officials for deportation, but authorities have been forced to release many of the migrants after counties failed to charge them within the period of time dictated by law. In some cases, they have been sent for deportation despite pending immigration or asylum claims.

Abbott had to back down from another confrontation with Mexico recently. He was forced to remove giant buoys he ordered placed in the Rio Grande as a crossing deterrent. Experts showed they were in Mexico's territory.

In addition to the illegal entry arrest law, Abbott has signed a law providing $1.5 billion to build more border wall, adding to some $10 billion already spent on his state-run border-immigration operation.

Groups challenge law as unconstitutional

Abbott has been criticized for usurping immigration enforcement authority that pertains to the federal government; the illegal entry law, as well as parts of his operation, are seen as an attempt to test that federal authority in court.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the law as unconstitutional.

The complaint argues that the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by authorizing Texas judges to order a person's deportation, regardless of whether a person is eligible to seek asylum or other humanitarian protections under federal law, the ACLU said in a statement.

Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the law is dangerously prone to error and will disproportionately harm Black and brown people regardless of their immigrant status.

Hispanics in Texas outnumber whites, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The law also may run into obstacles in some communities. Some counties and law enforcement agencies have said enforcing the new law could be costly to their communities.

In Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth, the police department said that the federal government is better equipped to handle immigrants and that immigration remains a federal issue, The Associated Press reported.

Groups sue over Texas law that lets police arrest migrants suspected of entering U.S. illegally


Migrants wait to climb over concertina wire after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas.
(Eric Gay / Associated Press)

BY ACACIA CORONADO
ASSOCIATED PRESS

DEC. 19, 2023 1:25 PM PT

AUSTIN, Texas —

Civil rights organizations on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally and permit local judges to order them to leave the country.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, argues that the measure that is set to take effect in March is unconstitutional because the federal government has sole authority over immigration.

The American Civil Liberties Union, its Texas branch, and the Texas Civil Rights Project sued less than 24 hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the measure during a ceremony on the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville.
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The civil rights groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of El Paso County and two immigrant aid groups seeking to block enforcement of the measure, known as Senate Bill 4, and declare it unlawful. “S.B. 4 creates a new state system to regulate immigration that completely bypasses and conflicts with the federal system,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit was filed against the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, or DPS, whose troopers could arrest migrants, and the El Paso County district attorney, whose office would potentially prosecute cases in that border community.


Texas governor signs bill that lets police arrest migrants who enter the U.S. illegally

A DPS spokesperson declined to comment in an email Tuesday, citing the pending litigation. Abbott’s office did not return an email seeking comment and the district attorney’s office had no immediate comment.

Abbott and other Texas Republicans who support the measure say President Biden’s administration isn’t doing enough to control the border.



According to the lawsuit, DPS Director Steve McGraw told lawmakers that his agency estimates approximately 72,000 arrests will be made each year under the measure.

The new law allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Those who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.

Opponents have called the measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law — denounced by critics as the “Show Me Your Papers” bill — that was largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Texas lawsuit cites the 2012 Supreme Court decision on the Arizona law, which stated the federal government has exclusive power over immigration.

“The bill overrides bedrock constitutional principles and flouts federal immigration law while harming Texans, in particular Brown and Black communities,” Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, ACLU affiliates in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, Texas, and San Diego and Imperial Counties in California issued a travel advisory warning of a possible threat to travelers’ civil and constitutional rights violations when passing through Texas.

Other steps Texas has taken as part of Abbott’s border security efforts have included busing more than 65,000 migrants to cities across America since August 2022 and installing razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande.

Israeli troops raid one of last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza

BY LAUREN IRWIN - 12/19/23 

Israel’s military is continuing its ground campaign in Gaza, raiding one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza and launching more airstrikes in the south, The Associated Press reported.

Israeli forces raided the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City overnight, according to the church that operates it. One of the hospital’s facilitators, a pastor, said just two doctors, four nurses and two janitors were left to tend to wounded patients without running water or electricity, per the AP.

The attack on the hospital, which left 28 Palestinians dead, comes just a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he discussed with Israeli officials a transition to more “surgical operations.” It also follows White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed ways Israeli forces could lower the intensity of the war.  

The air and ground war in Gaza was launched by Israel in response to the Oct. 7 surprise attack by militant group Hamas. In response to the initial attack, Israel has killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians and displaced 1.9 million in a counteroffensive that has destroyed much of northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Rafah, the southern part of Gaza where Palestinians were told to seek shelter, has been repeatedly hit in recent days. Israel has struck militant targets across the area, often killing large numbers of civilians in the process, according to the AP.

In response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea, causing major shipping companies to suspend trade and travel in the area. The Pentagon announced an international task force Monday that will aim to defend the ships.

Austin’s remarks signaled that the U.S. would continue shielding Israel from a growing number of cries for a cease-fire, the AP reported.

The Biden administration is growing increasingly critical of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war. Netanyahu has said the strikes will not stop until the remaining hostages — around 100 people — taken by Hamas in early October are released.

U.S. officials said they have not put a deadline on the scaling back of military operations but have talked with Israel’s leaders about taking a different approach.

Israel Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said in a press conference with Austin that Israel wanted to operate “at different levels of intensity” and allow civilians to return to certain areas.

Protesters calling for ceasefire in Gaza arrested inside U.S. Capitol

By Associated Press - Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Dozens of protesters unfurled a large banner and held up signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as they gathered inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda Tuesday.

The incident happened while the demonstrators were on an official tour of the U.S. Capitol. Moments after they arrived beneath the dome of the Capitol they pulled out signs and started chanting “Ceasefire now.”

The group set out dozens of children’s shoes on the floor to symbolize the thousands of civilian casualties that have taken place since the war began between Israel and Hamas.

The protesters also called for taking down barriers along the U.S. southern border as Senate Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate border and immigration policy changes in a $110 billion package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and other security priorities.

U.S. Capitol Police intervened and separated journalists from the demonstrators.
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After approximately 20 minutes, the protesters had their arms zip-tied and were led out of the Rotunda by police without further incident.

Journalist who uncovered decomposing babies in Gaza is shot, injured

Hajar Harb, Miriam Berger and Niha Masih

Dec 19 2023

AL MASHHAD NEWS
TV journalist Mohammed Balousha, working for Emirati-owned Al Mashhad channel, was shot and injured in Gaza on Saturday.

Television journalist Mohammed Balousha filmed a report about the communications blackout in Gaza on Saturday afternoon, working near his home in Jabalya in the north.

But as he turned to return home, he suddenly fell. He was shot in his thigh, he told The Washington Post by phone on Sunday.

Balousha, who works for the Emirati-owned Al Mashhad channel, was wearing a helmet and press badge. He said he thought an Israeli sniper hidden in a nearby residential building shot him. The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Israel-Gaza war has been devastating for journalists, with at least 64 killed and 13 wounded, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The risks are gravest for Palestinian reporters based in Gaza, who must keep themselves safe while also dealing with the loss of their homes, families and colleagues

A day before Balousha was injured, elsewhere in Gaza, an Israeli drone strike killed Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and injured correspondent Wael al-Dahdouh while they were out reporting, the Qatari channel said. It accused Israeli forces of preventing rescue workers from reaching Abu Daqqa, who was "left to bleed to death for over 5 hours."

In response, the IDF said it "has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists."

Countering Al Jazeera's claims, the IDF said it approved a "safe route" for ambulances to reach the journalist, but the vehicles took a different route and were unable to pass through a damaged road. "When the army became aware of the obstruction, a tractor and troops were dispatched to open the road, but unfortunately, it had already been too late," the IDF said in a statement.

Al Jazeera said it will refer the case to the International Criminal Court.

In late November, Balousha broke the story that four premature babies left behind at al-Nasr Children's Hospital after Israel forced the staff to evacuate without ambulances had died, and their bodies had decomposed. Balousha was interviewed by The Post for a story about the incident.

Shani Sasson, a spokesperson for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), had earlier told The Post that Israeli forces neither directed al-Nasr's staff to evacuate nor operated inside the facility, but declined to answer whether COGAT or the Israeli military had been told about the babies or taken any action to care for them.

After he was shot on Saturday, Balousha said he fell to the ground and lay unconscious for about 20 minutes.

When he awoke, he struggled to reach the second floor of his house, where he keeps a first-aid kit. "Due to the severity of the pain and bleeding, and because my left foot was twisted behind me, it was not easy for me to climb the stairs," he said.

It took Balousha six hours to make it to the second floor. A video he took of his injuries showed heavy bleeding from his left leg.

He bandaged his wounds and tried to stop the bleeding as best he could. About 4 a.m., a friend called him by chance, but it took his friends two hours to reach him amid the threat of fighting.

"They transferred me onto a wooden board attached to a wheelchair and we walked a kilometre" to a local clinic, Balousha said. Medical volunteers there changed his bandages, gave him an injection and transferred him by ambulance to another health centre.

The doctor told Balousha that his thigh had a double fracture. He needed surgery, which could only be done at al-Ahli Hospital, the last functioning operating facility in northern Gaza.

The ambulance headed out but had to turn back because Israeli tanks blocked the way to the hospital, Balousha said. With no other option for surgery in Jabalya, he returned home.

Balousha accused Israel of directly targeting him as a journalist. "I was wearing everything to prove that I was a journalist, but they deliberately targeted me, and now I am struggling to get the treatment necessary to preserve my life," he said.

Al Mashhad TV said in a statement that it "holds the Israeli government responsible" for Balousha's safety and that the agency was trying to evacuate him from Gaza.

A CPJ report published in May, on the cases of 20 journalists whose deaths it attributed to the Israel Defense Forces since 2001, highlighted a pattern in Israel's response: No one has been held accountable for them.

Evan Hill contributed to this report.

At least 100 elephants die in drought-stricken Zimbabwe park, a grim sign of El Nino

Farai Mutsaka, Dec 20 2023

PRIVILEGE MUSVANHIRI/AP
In this photo supplied by IFAW, an elephant lies dead metres from a watering hole in Hwange National Park.

At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Authorities warn that more could die as forecasts suggest a scarcity of rains and rising heat in parts of the southern African nation including Hwange National Park. The International Fund for Animal Welfare has described it as a crisis for elephants and other animals.

“El Nino is making an already dire situation worse,” said Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

El Nino is a natural and recurring weather phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific, affecting weather patterns around the world. While this year’s El Nino brought deadly floods to East Africa recently, it is expected to cause below-average rainfall across southern Africa.

That has already been felt in Zimbabwe, where the rainy season began weeks later than usual. While some rain has now fallen, the forecasts are generally for a dry, hot summer ahead.

Studies indicate that climate change may be making El Ninos stronger, leading to more extreme consequences.

Authorities fear a repeat of 2019, when more than 200 elephants in Hwange died in a severe drought.

“This phenomenon is recurring,” said Phillip Kuvawoga, a landscape program director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which raised the alarm for Hwange's elephants in a report this month.


PRIVILEGE MUSVANHIRI/AP
At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought.

Parks agency spokesperson Farawo posted a video on social media site X, formerly Twitter, showing a young elephant struggling for its life after becoming stuck in mud in a water hole that had partly dried up in Hwange.

“The most affected elephants are the young, elderly and sick that can’t travel long distances to find water,” Farawo said. He said an average-sized elephant needs a daily water intake of about 200 litres.

Park rangers remove the tusks from dead elephants where they can for safekeeping and so the carcasses don't attract poachers.

Hwange is home to around 45,000 elephants along with more than 100 other mammal species and 400 bird species.

Zimbabwe's rainy season once started reliably in October and ran through to March. It has become erratic in recent years and conservationists have noticed longer, more severe dry spells.

“Our region will have significantly less rainfall, so the dry spell could return soon because of El Nino," said Trevor Lane, director of The Bhejane Trust, a conservation group which assists Zimbabwe’s parks agency.

He said his organisation has been pumping 1.5 million litres of water into Hwange's waterholes daily from over 50 boreholes it manages in partnership with the parks agency. The 14,500-square-kilometre park, which doesn’t have a major river flowing through it, has just over 100 solar-powered boreholes that pump water for the animals.

Saving elephants is not just for the animals’ sake, conservationists say. They are a key ally in fighting climate change through the ecosystem by dispersing vegetation over long distances through dung that contains plant seeds, enabling forests to spread, regenerate and flourish. Trees suck planet-warming carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

“They perform a far bigger role than humans in reforestation," Lane said. “That is one of the reasons we fight to keep elephants alive.”

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Black Santa Claus surprises children with Christmas cheer in Brazil

A Black Snta Claus visited children in Rio de Janeiro’s Cidade de Deus favela on Monday. The NGO hosting the event, Favela Mundo, invites Black artists to portray Santa Claus to reinforce the importance of representation for children in their communities. #shorts #BlackSanta #Brazil #representation