Lawmakers Fighting FDA on Genetically Altered Salmon
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) want to keep the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from making hasty decisions on whether to approve genetically modified Atlantic salmon for public consumption, according to McClatchy Newspapers. Congress should not allow “these alien fish to infect our stocks,” Young said. AquaBounty Technologies Inc., the company seeking approval from the FDA, said the genetically altered fish are safe and would not require labels distinguishing them from other salmon. Congress is currently considering either banning the fish entirely or requiring it to be labeled as transgenic.
Rebels Assaulted by Qaddafi's Forces
The New York Times reports that over the weekend, Libyan rebel troops in the town of Bin Jawwad were assaulted by military troops loyal to Qaddafi. Using tanks and helicopters, the government forces were able to push the rebel groups east, away from Libya's capital city of Tripoli. The attack began at 9:00 AM and continued throughout the day as rebels alternately fought the loyalist troops and fled heavy gunfire. Mahmoud Bilkhair, an Army second lieutenant who was fighting on the rebels' side, said, “We're trying. We're not advancing. We can't do anything about it.” He said that the rebels would return to Bin Jawwad after regrouping.
Kansas Judge Who Ruled Against Abortion Donated to Anti-Abortion Cause
Judge Jeffrey Goering, the Kansas judge who last week barred a doctor from offering abortions in her Wichita office, has previously made donations to anti-abortion group Kansas for Life, Mother Jones writes. Goering's contribution to a political operation raises questions about his ability to be impartial in cases regarding abortion. Dr. Mila Means, the physician who was barred from providing abortions, is due in court next week to respond to Goering's restraining order.
Government Faces Next Possible Shutdown
Lawmakers debating the federal budget and attempting to strike a deal over cuts and spending face a quickly approaching deadline, as the temporary resolution funding the government is set to expire March 18, The Hill reports. If another continuing resolution keeping the government running is not passed by then, the White House will shut down. The Senate is planning test votes on Tuesday to see where lawmakers stand on the Democrat and Republican spending proposals, but both votes are expected to fall short of the 60 necessary votes, showing that neither side has enough support to pass a plan.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy