Trump Threatens To Close Southern Border
Trump White House presses threat to close U.S.-Mexico border this week. WaPo: "The White House doubled down Sunday on President Trump’s threat to close the U.S. border with Mexico, despite warnings that the move would inflict immediate economic damage on American consumers and businesses while doing little to stem a tide of migrants clamoring to enter the United States. Sealing the border with Mexico, America’s third-largest trading partner, would disrupt supply chains for major U.S. automakers, trigger swift price increases for grocery shoppers and invite lawsuits against the federal government, according to trade specialists and business executives. 'First, you’d see prices rise incredibly fast. Then... we would see layoffs within a day or two,” said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas in Nogales, Ariz. 'This is not going to help border security.'"
Migrants Held Under Bridge In El Paso
Holding pen under El Paso bridge closed, for now. NYT: "Federal immigration officials appear to have cleared out an enclosure under a bridge in El Paso where they were detaining hundreds of families of asylum seekers, following an outcry over the conditions at the site. But authorities appeared to have shifted some processing of migrants to another site on the other side of the bridge, using a military-style tent near an existing processing facility operated by Customs and Border Protection. A smaller number of migrants could be seen at that site late Sunday afternoon. Criticism over the bridge enclosure had been building all week, with reports of children sleeping on trash-strewn gravel at the site under the Paso del Norte bridge. Some migrant families stayed inside a military tent set up at the site; others remained outside even as nighttime temperatures dipped into the 40s. The American Civil Liberties Union said on Sunday that the detention of migrants in outdoor pens was 'an unprecedented and extreme violation.'"
Sears Kills Retirees' Insurance, Gives Exects $25m Bonus
Sears condemned for ending retirees' life insurance after handing executives $25 million in bonuses. Common Dreams: "The retail giant Sears came under fire Saturday following reports that the company is ending life insurance benefits for an undisclosed number of its 90,000 retirees—just months after handing executives over $25 million in bonuses. 'It's the last benefit that retirees had,' Ron Olbrysh, chair of the National Association of Retired Sears Employees (NARSE), told CBS News. Sears filed for bankruptcy last October, but earlier this year a bankruptcy court approved billionaire Sears chairman Edward Lampert's bid to buy the company through his hedge fund. Progressives responded with outrage to reports of Sears' move, which fits a pattern of corporate giants rewarding top executives while average employees face benefit cuts and layoffs."
Progressive Pension Funds Join Fight Against Climate Change
Investors ramp up pressure on Exxon over climate change. Axios: "The New York public pension fund and Church of England’s endowment have filed a resolution for consideration at Exxon’s annual meeting in May calling for the company to disclose such targets. The oil giant has asked the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, which governs the process, to throw it out. A decision is expected imminently. While resolutions pushed by shareholders are non-binding, they’re symbolically significant. Companies usually comply with proposals if they get more than 50% support from investors during votes at annual meetings, most which occur during the springtime. A group of investors representing $9.5 trillion in assets under management — roughly 10% of the entire world’s investment dollars — sent a letter last month to the SEC supporting the resolution. These two players have been successful in the past. DiNapoli and the Church of England were behind a 2017 resolution urging Exxon to write a report disclosing the risks climate regulations pose to its bottom line. A surprising 62% of shareholders supported it. Exxon issued the report last year."
Break The Law To Make The Law
Importance of protest for climate justice. The Hill: "From the Standing Rock mobilization to ongoing direct action campaigns against fossil fuel infrastructure in Louisiana, Minnesota and the Sunrise movement calling for a Green New Deal, protesters facing arrest have been shining a light on the growing costs of fossil fuels and their unequal impacts. And they’ve often been successful in their immediate goals: Protesters have stalled or stopped the Keystone XL Pipeline, Shell drilling in the Arctic, oil and gas leasing in parts of Utah, along with a number of other fossil fuel projects. This sustained activism has only grown over the past decade as Washington’s focus on climate change has waxed and waned. By targeting infrastructure development and the financial backing of the fossil fuel industry, direct action has also made clear that the transition away from fossil fuels is as much about economic control as it is about science. Climate activists understand that the post-carbon transition requires that we make fossil fuels unprofitable and that we assert public control over energy management. We also understand that to build the sort of public support needed to achieve these goals, we need to confront the powers that be, show that large industry not invincible and offer an alternative. That’s the function of civil disobedience."
