United States | News & Politics

What's happening:

-Co-plaintiff, Professor Wa Ngũgĩ: “We shouldn’t be punishing the people who are calling out what clearly is a genocide”

-Eric Lee: “If democracy is going to be defended, it is not going to come from the Democratic Party.”

-Taal’s lawyer, Eric Lee: This “is a test case to determine whether the government can... put you in jail for the things you say”

-“I’m afraid it’s just leading to a fascist state” Hearing begins today on Momodou Taal’s case against Trump

-Lawyers for Momodou Taal denounce Trump administration’s deportation effort as unconstitutional political retaliation-

https://archive.is/2025.04.01-221630/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/03/31/schooled-by-trump-americans-are-learning-to-dislike-their-allies

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in Hollywood has steadfastly refused to release a statement in defense of Hamdan Ballal, co-director of No Other Land, who was brutally assaulted by Israeli settlers and soldiers in the occupied West Bank Monday night.

Precisely three weeks earlier, Ballal had stood on the platform at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles and received, along with Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the prize for Best Documentary Feature Film.

The pretentiously named Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as we have previously noted, has a thoroughly unprincipled history. It was set up in the 1920s by studio boss Louis B. Mayer to subvert the unionization of film workers. The establishment of a corporatist entity, with different branches, would—Mayer and the others hoped—induce writers and others to feel they were part of the industry and not make any unreasonable demands.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, during the Red Scare and the purges of Communist Party and other left-wing actors, writers and directors, the Academy played a rotten role.

As late as 1957, on the eve of the collapse of the blacklist, the AMPAS passed a by-law decreeing that no one who had invoked his or her Fifth Amendment rights (against self-incrimination) in front of the witch-hunting House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) could receive an Academy Award. It had also stripped award eligibility from anyone who had been a member of the Communist Party. In 1999, the Academy despicably went out of its way to bestow an honorary award on arch-informer, director Elia Kazan.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/25573398

Congratulations, Wisconsin!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27998963

Booker: "I confess that I have been imperfect. I confess that I've been inadequate to the moment. I've confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes that gave a lane to this demagogue. I confess we all must look in the mirror and say 'we will do better.'"

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3llrmvwhri62r

U.S. officials say the U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office to review and get rid of books that promote diversity, equity and inclusion

Report on use of Gmail for government communications comes after national security adviser accidentally added journalist to Signal chat on Yemen attack plans

California lawmakers have rejected two bills aimed at keeping trans kids and teens off sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Employees across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have begun receiving notices of dismissal in a major overhaul expected to ultimately lay off up to 10,000 people.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27587700

Summary

Walmart fired Dani Davis, a 6'4" cisgender woman, after a man who mistook her for transgender verbally threatened her in a women’s restroom at a Florida store.

Davis, visibly shaken, reported the March 14 incident to her immediate supervisor but was fired for not informing salaried management, allegedly creating a “security risk.”

Davis called the firing discriminatory. After viral backlash, Walmart offered to reinstate her with back pay.

Davis, a longtime employee, is uncertain about returning, citing fears of a hostile work environment.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has vowed to ‘uncover any illegal activity’ as has launched an investigation into Superior HealthPlan and its chief executive Mark Sanders

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27640385

I'm not sure if this is the correct community, but I found it interesting/terrifying and was circulating in a local discord. It's made in Tableau.