2021-02-03: News Headlines

MEE and agencies (2021-02-03). Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon. middleeasteye.net Hezbollah fires missiles at Israeli drone over southern Lebanon | Lebanese security sources say the anti-aircraft missiles failed to hit target, which returned to Israel | Wed, 02/03/2021 – 14: 35 | Naqura, south of the Lebanese city of Tyre, which is controlled by the United Nations peacekeeping force (Unifil), on the border with Israel (AFP) | Anti-aircraft missiles were fired at an Isra…

Inforum at Commonwealth Club (2021-02-03). Thursday 2/11: Islam, Immigration & Women's Rights: Ending Marginalization and Assault of Immigrant Women. indybay.org Online event…

Lola Loustaunan (2021-02-03). Fighting the "Immigrant Threat" indybay.org Milkman shows how the flux of low-wage immigrants into the U.S. workforce in recent decades is "not the cause either of the massive economic restructuring that began in the 1970s or the accompanying growth of economic inequality and labor degradation," but precisely a consequence of these developments.

Gregory Wilpert (2021-02-03). The Mixed Record of Mexico's AMLO, Two Years In. theanalysis.news Laura Carlsen talks to guest host Greg Wilpert about Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador's first two years in office, including his mixed record on the pandemic, corruption, social justice, and immigration.

Staff (2021-02-03). Immigration Advocates Welcome New "Tone" But Urge Biden Admin for More Concrete Change. democracynow.org Hundreds have been deported in the last week, even as President Biden signed several executive orders Tuesday to undo the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies. The orders include a push to reunify families torn apart under Trump's "zero tolerance" policy and a review of the Trump policy known as "Remain in Mexico" that requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their immigration cases wind through court, leaving tens of thousands waiting in dangerous conditions along the border. Reporter Aura Bogado says that despite the Biden administration's new "tone," continued deportations…

RT (2021-02-03). Supreme Court pauses Trump immigration cases, as Biden plans to overturn Trump policies & orders a review of 'kids in cages'. rt.com The US Supreme Court has canceled arguments on two Trump-era immigration and border security cases, as President Joe Biden eases Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policies. However, the controversial detention of minors continues. | The cases related to Trump's use of military funding to build his long-promised wall on the US-Mexico border, and his "remain in Mexico" asylum policy that required Central American migrants to wait in Mexico while their US asylum claims were processed. Both cases had been challenged by lower courts, and the Supreme Court was preparing to hear oral arguments in their favor until the…

Staff (2021-02-03). Immigration Advocates Urge Biden Administration for More Concrete Change. truthout.org Hundreds have been deported in the last week, even as President Biden signed several executive orders Tuesday to undo the Trump administration's hard-line anti-immigration policies. The orders include a push to reunify families torn apart under Trump's "zero tolerance" policy and a review of the Trump policy known as "Remain in Mexico" that requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their immigration cases wind through court, leaving tens of thousands waiting in dangerous conditions al…

Online News Editor (2021-02-03). Biden begins to dismantle Trump's anti-immigrant measures. laprensalatina.com Washington, Feb 2 (efe-epa).- US President Joe Biden acted Tuesday on his promise to dismantle the immigration policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, by announcing a set of orders aimed to reunite separated families, restore the asylum system and address the causes of migration with regional partners. Biden signed the measures hours after the Senate …

Rebekah Entralgo (2021-02-03). Tackling Prison Profiteers Will Take More Than Banning Private Prisons. zcomm.org To fully address profit-driven punishment, the Biden administration will need to take aim at every tendril of the private prison industry — including immigration detention centers…

The Xerces Society (2021-02-03). Western Monarch Population Closer to Extinction; Still no Federal or State Protection in Sight. indybay.org Population that winters along the California coast hit a low of less than 2,000 butterflies—a 99.9% decline since the 1980s. We must take action now to save the western monarch migration.

Amy Goodman (2021-02-03). Immigration advocates welcome new 'tone' but urge Biden admin for more concrete change. nationofchange.org Despite the Biden administration's new "tone," continued deportations of vulnerable people demonstrate "a continuation of the same practices that happened under President Trump and previously under Obama."

RT (2021-02-02). Brexit grace periods must be extended to ensure supplies reach Northern Irish supermarkets, says UK's Gove. rt.com Grace periods for new Brexit rules should be extended to give businesses more time to adapt, UK Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday, following delays on goods entering Northern Ireland due to border checks. | "We do need to make sure grace periods are extended so that supermarkets can continue to provide consumers with goods they need," Gove told MPs, adding that he would not call the disruption to imports "teething problems," as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had. | Gove's comments come amid ongoing delays in many fresh goods from the UK mainland reaching supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland…

Mark Gruenberg (2021-02-02). Catholic panel wrestles with gap between Biden, bishops on sexuality issues. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—When it comes to comprehensive immigration reform, combatting climate change, tackling endemic racism, and closing the yawning gap between the rich and the rest of us, the nation's Catholic bishops, its president who is a practicing Catholic, Joe Biden, and Pope Francis I are all on the same page. So are Biden, the bishops, and …

Staff (2021-02-02). Headlines for February 2, 2021. democracynow.org U.S. Tops 26 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Shots, Surpassing Confirmed Coronavirus Cases , Biden Takes Executive Action to Reverse Trump Immigration Policies as Deportations Continue, Senate Republicans Meet at White House to Press Far Smaller Coronavirus Relief Bill, South Africa Receives First COVID-19 Vaccines; New Variant Linked to Reinfections in Brazil, WHO Team Probes Virus Origins in Wuhan; Australia Puts Perth on Lockdown After Single COVID-19 Case, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reveals She Is a Sexual Assault Survivor in Video Recalling Jan. 6 Capitol Attack, Trump Hires New Lawyers. One Declined to Prosecute Bil…

Staff (2021-02-02). Alexei Navalny Faces "Kafkaesque" Charges in Russia for Breaking Parole While in Poison-Induced Coma. democracynow.org Russian authorities have arrested thousands of people during anti-government protests in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been held in jail since returning to Russia on January 17 after recovering in Germany from an attempt on his life in August using the nerve agent Novichok. Navalny has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind the poisoning that nearly killed him. While Navalny has emerged as Russia's leading opposition figure and anti-corruption campaigner, his political roots have links to right-wing nationalist and anti-immigrant causes. Joshua Yaffa, Moscow corresp…

Staff (2021-02-02). Biden Plans Task Force to Reunite Migrant Families Separated by Trump. truthout.org President Joe Biden is planning to sign three executive orders on Tuesday, meant to dismantle a number of actions from the previous administration that will, according to one official, make the process of migration to the U.S. more humane and fair. | Perhaps the most notable of these three orders will be Biden's call for the creation of a task force to reunite children who were separated from their families under a Trump administration policy that was called "zero tolerance." Ostensibly put into pla…

Cronkite News Arizona PBS (2021-02-02). Dreamers in Arizona Enthusiastically welcome Biden's immigration plan, but older Immigrants say it doesn't go far enough. juancole.com By Emma VandenEinde and Tyler Manion | — ( Cronkite News ) — PHOENIX — On his first day in office, President Joe Biden sent to Congress his plan to reform the U.S. immigration system. The bill includes preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, and outlines a path to permanent residence …

Zoya Teirstein (2021-02-02). Latest Trump EPA rule to get tossed? The 'secret science' ban. peoplesworld.org Former President Donald Trump will forever leave his mark on the federal government, but some of his administration's rules aren't standing the test of time. President Biden wants to reconsider and possibly scrap more than 100 anti-environmental actions his predecessor took during his term, including Trump's efforts to weaken protections for migratory birds and gray wolves and …

Laura Flanders (2021-02-02). Latinx Farmworkers Are Purchasing Failing Farms From White Owners. zcomm.org Latinx farm owners stand at the intersection of racial justice and food justice and offer new hope in the future of sustainable farming in the U.S.

Cristine (2021-02-02). Asylum For Sale. zcomm.org Review of Asylum For Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry, Edited by Siobhán McGuirk and Adrienne Pine (PM Press, 2020)…

sputniknews (2021-02-02). 'Hitting the Brakes Isn't Enough': Rights Groups Push for Biden to Tear Down Trump's Border Wall. sputniknews.com The Trump administration waved 28 different federal laws concerning environmental health, endangered species, water safety, and Native American sovereignty in order to build former US President Donald Trump's border wall pet project on the US-Mexico border.

Claire Mullen (2021-02-02). The Body, the State, the Border: On Cristina Rivera Garza. thenation.com The Body, the State, the Border: On Cristina Rivera Garza…

Rafael Figueroa (2021-02-02). Guatemalan Native Graduates Early From Tupelo High, Earns Permanent U.S. Residence. laprensalatina.com TUPELO (Daily Journal) — In the summer of 2016, 14-year-old Guatemalan native Dionicio Recinos crossed the United States border alone. In May, five years after he crossed the U.S. border, he'll cross the stage at Tupelo High School to receive his diploma. Recinos was raised in the town of Concepción Huista in the department of …

Thomas Klikauer (2021-02-02). Saxony's New Nazis. counterpunch.org Located in Germany's far eastern corner bordering on the Czech Republic and Poland lies the state of Saxony Saxony. Today the state has about four million people down from five million in 1990. To many Germans, Saxony symbolises "Dark Germany," a derogatory term Dunkeldeutschland — Dark-Germany —for those parts of the former East-Germany that have

Dan Beeton (2021-02-02). Will Biden Get Serious about Addressing Root Causes of Displacement and Migration? cepr.net President Biden is signing new executive orders today to enact reforms to US immigration policy. One that is sure to be a focus of much media discussion, and which has already emerged as a symbol of the differences between Biden's and former president Trump's respective approaches to migration from Latin America and elsewhere, is the …

Ren R, Zhang Y, Li Q, et al. (2021-02-02). Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Persons Entering China From April 16 to October 12, 2020. jamanetwork.com This population epidemiology study characterizes trends in the prevalence of asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among international entrants testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 at Chinese border checkpoints between mid-April and mid-October 2020.

RT (2021-02-01). Austria to ease Covid-19 lockdown by opening schools and shops, while tightening borders to hinder arrival of new variants. rt.com Schools and non-essential shops in Austria will reopen next week as the country loosens its lockdown, though border measures will be tightened to stop Covid-19 variants coming in, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said. | From February 8, schoolkids will have to furnish negative coronavirus test results in order to attend their classes, while shoppers will have to wear the higher-grade FFP2 face masks, which are already mandatory on public transport and in essential shops. | Austria will also reopen museums, galleries, libraries and zoos, and will switch from its current 24-hour ban on movement to overnight curfew…

Leah Douglas (2021-02-01). After enduring 'complete hell' during pandemic, food workers face obstacles getting COVID-19 vaccinations. nationofchange.org "Vaccinating our essential farmworkers will ensure the safety of their workplaces, their homes, their families, our food supply, and the vital services that they perform."

splcenter (2021-02-01). The Year in Hate and Extremism 2020: Hate groups became more difficult to track amid COVID and migration to online networks. splcenter.org &nbsp…

Jonas Ecke (2021-02-01). The Appointment of Samantha Power is Bad News for USAID. counterpunch.org For all its faults, USAID — the US Agency for International Development — will be one of the most vitally important agencies of the Biden administration. The confluence of Covid-19, global warming, famines in the Horn of Africa, forced migration and a series of unending proxy wars in the Middle East is a perfect storm that

Jonas Ecke (2021-02-01). The Appointment of Samantha Powers is Bad News for USAID. counterpunch.org For all its faults, USAID — the US Agency for International Development — will be one of the most vitally important agencies of the Biden administration. The confluence of Covid-19, global warming, famines in the Horn of Africa, forced migration and a series of unending proxy wars in the Middle East is a perfect storm that

Staff (2021-02-01). The Assassination of Fred Hampton: New Documents Reveal Involvement of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. democracynow.org Newly unearthed documents have shed new light on the FBI's role in the murder of the 21-year-old Black Panther leader Fred Hampton on December 4, 1969, when Chicago police raided Hampton's apartment and shot and killed him in his bed, along with fellow Black Panther leader Mark Clark. Authorities initially claimed the Panthers had opened fire on the police who were there to serve a search warrant for weapons, but evidence later emerged that told a very different story: The FBI, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the Chicago police had conspired to assassinate Fred Hampton. FBI memos and reports obtaine…

RT (2021-02-01). Facebook leak: Zuckerberg admits having TOO MUCH POWER but cheers new administration, seeks to WORK WITH BIDEN on key issues. rt.com Project Veritas has posted leaked videos exposing internal talks at Facebook lamenting the company's admittedly excessive power but at the same time seeking to use its influence to "work with" President Joe Biden's administration. | "These were all important and positive steps," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said of the executive orders on immigration, Covid-19 and other issues that Biden signed right after being inaugurated on January 20. "And I am looking forward to opportunities where Facebook is going to be able to work together with this new administration on some of their top priorities, starting with Cov…

Online News Editor (2021-02-01). Argentina extends anti-coronavirus measures amid slow vaccine rollout. laprensalatina.com Buenos Aires, Feb 1 (efe-epa).- Argentina on Monday extended a raft of measures aimed at combating the novel coronavirus, including the closure of its borders to international tourism. The move comes amid the nation's slower-than-projected Covid-19 vaccine rollout and concerns that the crisis will worsen with the onset of autumn in March. In a decision …

Leah Douglas (2021-02-01). After Enduring "Complete Hell" During Pandemic, Food Workers Face Obstacles Getting Covid-19 Vaccinations. commondreams.org There are still unanswered questions about how and whether the vaccines will actually get to a workforce that ranks among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/farmworkers2.jpg

RT (2021-02-01). WATCH Thai police clash with opponents of military coup outside Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok. rt.com Thai police have broken up a protest rally staged by the opponents of a military coup in neighboring Myanmar. The activists gathered outside the country's embassy in Bangkok. | Some 200 Myanmarese expats and local Thai activists gathered for a spontaneous protest outside Myanmar's embassy, the Bangkok Post reported, citing police. They held flags of Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD), whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested by the military on Monday, as well as photos of Suu Kyi. | Students were seen distributing leaflets denouncing the coup. The Myanmarese constitute the largest migrant group in…

sputniknews (2021-02-01). Biden Asks US Supreme Court to Suspend Trump Immigration Cases. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The Biden administration has asked the US Supreme Court to cancel oral arguments scheduled in the coming weeks on Trump-era cases concerning border wall funding and the so-called "Remain in Mexico" asylum program, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), court documents revealed.

Online News Editor (2021-02-01). Mexican immigration agents to be probed for potential role in massacre. laprensalatina.com Mexico City, Feb 1 (efe-epa).- Mexico's government said Monday that immigration agents will be investigated for their alleged involvement in a massacre in a rural area of the country's northeast. News of the probe comes 10 days after the charred remains of 19 people — among them Guatemalan citizens — were discovered in the state …

RT (2021-02-01). Russia ramps up natural gas supplies to China via Power of Siberia mega-pipeline. rt.com Russian energy major Gazprom pumped more gas to China in January via the Power of Siberia pipeline than it had initially planned, boosting daily supplies by as much as 2.5 percent. | "The export of gas to China through the Power of Siberia gas pipeline continues to grow. Supplies regularly exceed Gazprom's daily contractual obligations," the company said in a statement, adding that the volume of gas delivery last month "was 2.9 times higher than in January 2020." | The 3,000km (1864 mile) cross-border pipeline started official deliveries of Russian natural gas to China in 2019. The so-called eastern route's ca…

Staff (2021-02-01). Biden Is Acting to Undo Trump's Toxic Immigration Legacy. Now Congress Must Act. truthout.org Since January 20, President Joe Biden has made it a political priority to rapidly dismantle as many of Trump's signature anti-immigration policies as possible.

Gary M. Kramer (2021-02-01). In "At the Ready," teens' path to Border Patrol & law enforcement is "akin to military recruitment" salon.com Maisie Crow spoke to Salon about her new documentary that helps explain how many Latinx join the Border Patrol…

commondreams (2021-02-01). ACLU, Sierra Club, and SBCC Respond to the Biden Administration's Request to Delay Border Wall SCOTUS Arguments. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Paul Craig Roberts (2021-02-01). Biden Leads Assault on White Americans. thealtworld.com Gregory Hood explains why many Trump voters fear that they are being criminalized for opposing Biden's agendas. Hood writes that illegitimate president Joe Biden has called for "constant, unrelenting immigration." Biden said a non-white majority will be "a source of our strength." Biden also said, "English jurisprudential culture, a white man's culture" has "got to change." Racism, Biden said, has been "built into every aspect of our system." | Hood points out that Biden h…