Monday, August 4, 2025
■ Today's Top News
However, experts said the warrants are effectively unenforceable, given that the lawmakers fled to Democrat-controlled states.
By Brett Wilkins
Republican state lawmakers in Texas voted Monday to issue what are likely unenforceable arrest warrants for Democratic colleagues who traveled to other states in order to thwart a vote on a GOP-grerrymandered congressional map.
"I have signed the civil arrest warrants," House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-83) told reporters following Monday's vote, adding that Republicans would work with the Texas Department of Public Safety "to locate members."
However, Chad Dunn, a longtime Texas election and voting rights lawyer, told Democracy Docket that "a warrant issued by the Texas House is not effective out of the state unless another state chooses to domesticate it and enforce it under that state's laws."
Many of the more than 50 absconding Democrats are in Illinois, whose Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters Sunday that "we're going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them."
Other Texas Democrats went to Democrat-controlled states including Massachusetts and New York, where Gov. Kathy Kochul said Monday that she is open to retaliatory redistricting in order to "fight fire with fire."
"I have newsflash for Republicans in Texas. This is no longer the Wild West," Hochul said during a Monday news conference. "We're not going to tolerate our democracy being stolen in a modern day stagecoach heist by a bunch of law breaking cowboys."
"If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they're leaving us no choice, we must do the same," she added.
A analysis published Friday by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee found that the congressional map proposed by Texas Republicans "packs voters of color into as few districts as possible in some areas and cracks them across several districts in others, effectively reducing the overall number of districts where Black and Latino voters are able to elect candidates of their choice."
The gerrymandered Texas map would eliminate the seat currently held by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, who would likely be forced into a primary battle with Rep. Lloyd Doggett. On Monday, Casar called for an emergency march and picket outside the mansion of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who on Sunday threatened to remove Democrats who left the state from office.
The proposed map is meant to create five more Republican-leaning districts in Texas ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In addition to Hochul, Democratic governors including Gavin Newsom of California have expressed openness to redrawing their states' maps to create more districts likely to swing Democratic.
"It's incumbent upon Democrat governors, if they have the opportunity, to respond in kind," outgoing Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Friday at a Democratic Governors Association meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. "I'm not a big believer in unilateral disarmament."
"This is a monumental mistake, both morally and strategically," said one Israeli critic. "This will not bring our hostages home, only endanger them further."
By Brett Wilkins
In what one peace group described as "a direct assault on international law," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, at least one senior member of Israel's government told multiple media outlets on Monday.
"We are moving to occupy the strip—the decision has been made," an unidentified "senior official in Netanyahu's office" told Israel's Channel 12. "Hamas will not release more hostages without complete surrender, and we will not surrender. If we do not act now, the hostages will die of starvation—and Gaza will remain under Hamas control."
A person described as "a source in the prime minister's office" told The Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza—has reached a decision to fully occupy Gaza.
The Israeli news site Ynet cited "senior officials" in "Netanyahu's circle" as saying, "The die is cast, we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip."
Responding to the news, Israeli author Hen Mazzig said on the Bluesky social network: "This is a monumental mistake, both morally and strategically. This will not bring our hostages home, only endanger them further."
German journalist Claas Gefroi wrote on Bluesky: "It's so clear. Netanyahu wants an endless war, a permanent state of emergency—and thus many more years in power."
On Monday, Israel's High Court of Justice issued an injunction blocking Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a domestic criminal corruption trial, from firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is prosecuting him.
After nearly 22 months of fighting a war whose stated purpose is the defeat of Hamas and the return of all Israeli and other hostages taken on October 7, 2023, Hamas remains undefeated and 20 hostages are believed to be alive inside Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel's 667-day assault and siege on Gaza has left more than 220,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing and at least hundreds of thousands more starving through a famine that's killed at least 181 people, over half of them children, according to local officials.
Multiple Israeli hostages also appear to be starving in recently released images. The Palestine Chronicle reported Monday that Abu Obeida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades—Hamas' military wing—said that "prisoners are not deliberately starved, they eat what our fighters and our people eat."
Hamas responded to Monday's reports by saying that "Israel's threats are repetitive, worthless, and have no influence on our decisions," according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Virginia-based peace group World Beyond War said on social media that "Netanyahu's decision to fully occupy Gaza is a direct assault on international law."
"The world must reject endless military domination and demand recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state—its people as full citizens with rights, dignity, and safety," the group added.
More and more nations have been moving to formally recognize Palestinian statehood. Last month, France became the first Group of Seven member to announce it will officially recognize Palestine. Last week, Canada said it would also do so, with conditions attached, and the United Kingdom threatened recognition if Israel does not take "substantive steps" to end its obliteration of Gaza.
Although the Israel Defense Forces are winding down Operation Gideon's Chariots, the campaign to occupy all of Gaza and expel its Palestinians—possibly to make way for Jewish recolonization—without achieving any of the mission's objectives, observers note that Israel is still seeking to ethnically cleanse the strip. It is doing so through forced starvation, one of the alleged crimes for which Netanyahu is wanted by the ICC. Israel's weaponized starvation is also cited in the South Africa-led genocide case against currently before the International Court of Justice.
In March, Israel's Security Cabinet created a new Defense Ministry directorate tasked with the euphemistically described "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the new agency would be run "in accordance with the vision of U.S President Donald Trump," who earlier this year said that the United States would "take over" Gaza after emptying the strip of its more than 2 million Palestinians and transform the coastal enclave into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Channel 12 reported Monday that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recently pitched occupying all of Gaza as an alternative to a plan favored by Netanyahu to force Palestinians into a concentration camp—he calls it a "humanitarian city"—to be built over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah. Zamir has reportedly dismissed the "humanitarian city" as "unworkable."
Echoing international law and voices like U.N. Palestine expert Francesca Albanese, Palestinian-Canadian neuroscientist Afif Aqrabawi noted Monday on social media that "Gaza is already occupied."
"This new move isn't some shift—it's just the next phase of extermination," he added.
Anxiety about grocery prices is particularly strong among Americans earning $30,000 or less per year, as nearly two-thirds of them described paying for groceries as a "major source of stress."
By Brad Reed
Polls have shown that U.S. President Donald Trump owes his 2024 election victory in good part to voters' concerns about the rising costs of groceries.
However, an Associated Press poll released on Monday shows that voters are still extremely anxious about food prices at a time when the president's tariffs on imports are threatening to raise prices of staple consumer goods such as coffee and chocolate.
In all, the poll found that 53% of Americans believe the cost of groceries is a "major source of stress," which is higher than the percentage of Americans who say the same thing about the cost of housing, healthcare, and childcare.
Anxiety about grocery prices is particularly strong among Americans earning $30,000 or less per year, as nearly two-thirds of them described paying for groceries as a "major source of stress." However, even Americans earning more than $100,000 weren't immune from the stress of grocery prices, as 40% of them also singled them out as a major stressor.
The poll also highlights the use of "buy now, pay later" plans that 3 in 10 Americans report using to pay for groceries, as well as for entertainment and restaurant meals.
"An increasing share of 'buy now, pay later' customers are having trouble repaying their loans, according to recent disclosures from the lenders," notes the AP. "The loans are marketed as a safer alternative to traditional credit cards, but there are risks, including a lack of federal oversight. Some consumer watchdogs also say the plans lead consumers to overextend themselves financially."
The AP poll was released on the same day that CNBC reported that small businesses across the United States are at their breaking point when it comes to efforts to keep prices down in the wake of Trump's tariffs.
Melanie Abrantes, an Oakland, California-based business owner, told CNBC that she'll likely have to raise prices by the end of the year and warned that "everything is about to get really fucking expensive" thanks to the tariffs.
CNBC also cited a report from economists at Wells Fargo that projected retailers' power to keep a lid on tariff-related price hikes is rapidly weakening.
"While inventory front-running has mitigated the need to raise goods prices, it will become increasingly difficult for businesses to absorb higher import duties as pre-tariff stockpiles dwindle," wrote Wells Fargo. "We expect core goods prices to pick up further in the second half of the year as a result."
"Do you know how many working families are chased out of New York City every day because they can't afford housing, they can't afford groceries, they can't afford groceries?" said the Democratic senator.
By Julia Conley
Before joining New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani at an event focusing on childcare in the largest city in the U.S., Sen. Elizabeth Warren appeared on CNBC where she feigned concern for New York's richest residents—those who aren't being centered in Mamdani's campaign focused on making housing, groceries, and other essentials more affordable for the city's working class.
"Oh dear, are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry?" the Massachusetts Democratic senator asked anchor Dan Faber when he inquired whether raising taxes on the richest residents is how Mamdani's far-reaching economic justice initiatives should be funded.
Faber responded that rich New Yorkers will leave the city if Mamdani becomes mayor and succeeds in establishing city-owned grocery stores and universal childcare by raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5%—the rate that already exists in neighboring New Jersey and that would raise $5 billion—and instituting a 2% tax on households earning above $1 million annually.
"Do you know how many working families are chased out of New York City every day because they can't afford housing, they can't afford groceries, they can't afford groceries?" Warren asked Faber.
She later added that billionaires have repeatedly threatened to leave the city at various times. Real estate brokers have expressed doubt that wealthy New Yorkers like Gristedes magnate John Catsimatidis and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman will follow through on their threats, and state tax data has shown that recent shocks like the coronavirus pandemic and tax code changes have not pushed the rich away.
Data also backs up Mamdani's warnings that more and more families in New York are having an increasingly hard time affording life in the city, with Columbia University and the anti-poverty group Robin Hood reporting earlier this year that 1 in 4 New Yorkers can't afford essentials like housing and food.
"You want to have a workable city?" asked Warren. "You want to have a city that's vibrant, you want to have a city where the streets are full, where there are things for sale 24 hours a day, then you need people who can live here and work here."
Warren's comments preceded her appearance with Mamdani, currently a state assemblymember who represents parts of Queens, at the headquarters of District Council 37, the city's largest public employees union, where they spoke about childcare challenges for families in New York. Parents in the city pay nearly $3,000 per month on average for full-time childcare, and more for an infant.
"We know that it is our responsibility to move beyond the broken politics of the past, of our city and our state, and start to offer an alternative across this country to what it could look like to be a people that fight for the families that raise us," said Mamdani at the event.
The progressive candidate has pledged to make childcare free for all New York City families with children aged 6 weeks to 5 years.
Warren said at the event that following Mamdani's surprise victory against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary in June, the city "is the place to start the conversation for Democrats on how affordability is the central issue, the central reason to be a Democrat, and that delivering on it in meaningful, tangible ways that will touch working families is why we're here."
The senator endorsed Mamdani days after his primary victory—a step that powerful establishment Democratic figures in the assemblyman's home state, such as U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Gov. Kathy Hochul—have yet to take.
"The way I see it, Zohran ran a campaign that inspired people, that actually got people on their feet," said Warren on Monday. "And the issue he focused on? Affordability."
Mamdani's primary success, said Warren, raises the question: "Why are billionaires and Wall Street CEOs pouring millions of dollars into a race to stop Zohran?"
In an article in Rolling Stone, the senator noted that Mayor Eric Adams—who is running as an independent and is currently in fourth place in general election polls, with just over 12% of the vote compared to Mamdani's 35%—"raised $1 million in a single night from donors with ties to big law firms, commercial brokerages, and big real estate developers who could lose their iron-fisted grip on New York in a Mamdani administration."
Ackman has also played Cuomo and Adams against each other, she wrote, holding "back-to-back meetings" so the candidates could "tap dance for the 'hundreds of millions of dollars' he has said he will spend" to defeat Mamdani.
"In a democracy, billionaires should not be able to buy our elections and control our politicians," wrote Warren. "Elected officials should work for their constituents, not use their government offices to hand out favors to a well-connected few."
Mamdani, she said in a video posted on social media, is "not afraid to take on the billionaires and the giant corporations to make New York more affordable."
"These are realities no mother should ever have to face," said one Save the Children official.
By Brad Reed
Save the Children on Monday released a report outlining the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
The organization said that 43% of pregnant and breastfeeding women who showed up to its clinics in Gaza last month were malnourished, which represented a threefold increase since March, when the Israeli military imposed a total siege on the area.
"Since April, staff at Save the Children's two primary healthcare centers operating in Gaza have reported monthly increases in the number of pregnant and breastfeeding women found to be malnourished, with food, water and fuel almost entirely unavailable," said Save the Children. "Poor nutrition and malnutrition during pregnancy can cause anaemia, preeclampsia, hemorrhage, and death in mothers, lead to stillbirth, low birthweight, stunted growth, and developmental delays for children."
Instead of breastfeeding, said Save the Children, many mothers are resorting to giving their babies water mixed with ground chickpeas or tahini, which the organization noted were poor substitutes for breast milk or baby formula.
"Mothers are arriving at our clinics hungry, exhausted, and terrified their babies won't survive," said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children's regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. "Some are asking for formula so their baby can still be fed if they die. These are realities no mother should ever have to face."
Alhendawi went on to say that "extreme stress can disrupt breastfeeding" and that "displacement and hunger in Gaza are taking a devastating toll on all mothers" in the region. Save the Children then called upon the Israeli government to lift its blockade of aid supplies into Gaza and give international humanitarian organizations license to help millions of people currently facing acute starvation and other health threats.
Save the Children is not the first organization to point out the crisis facing pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders last month similarly reported that "the number of people enrolled for malnutrition" at its Gaza City clinic "has quadrupled since May 18, while rates of severe malnutrition in children under 5 have tripled in the last two weeks alone." In all, Doctors Without Borders estimated that 25% of children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women at the clinic were malnourished.
Amande Bazerolle, the Doctors Without Borders head of emergency response in Gaza, accused the Israeli government of deliberately inflicting starvation on the people living there.
"What we are seeing is unconscionable; an entire population being deliberately cut off from food and water, all while the Israeli forces commit daily massacres as people scramble for scraps of food at distribution sites," Bazerolle said. "Any shred of humanity in Gaza has been wiped out in the ongoing genocide."
"Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognized danger to human and planetary health," says a new study published in The Lancet.
By Jake Johnson
As world leaders prepared to take part in the final round of plastics treaty talks in Geneva this week, a study published in The Lancet on Sunday estimated that plastics are responsible for more than $1.5 trillion in "health-related economic losses" worldwide per year.
"Plastics are a grave, growing, and under-recognized danger to human and planetary health," reads the study, which was released two days before the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), a body tasked with developing a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.
The new study, a review of recent research on plastics, notes that the "principal driver" of the global plastics pollution crisis is the "accelerating growth" of production, which has surged "from 2 megatonnes (Mt) in 1950 to 475 Mt in 2022 that is projected to be 1200 Mt by 2060."
"Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1.5 trillion annually," the study states. "Yet, continued worsening of plastics' harms is not inevitable. Similar to air pollution and lead, plastics' harms can be mitigated cost-effectively by evidence-based, transparently tracked, effectively implemented, and adequately financed laws and policies."
Treaty proponents see the talks set to begin in Geneva on Tuesday as the "last best chance" for nations to strike an agreement that requires cuts to plastic production. More than 99% of plastic is made from fossil fuel chemicals, according to the Center for International Environmental Law, which explains why oil and gas giants and petrostates are leading the opposition to any treaty proposal that caps production.
"There is enough information on trends in plastic production to recognise that in the absence of intervention, they will get worse."
Politico reported Sunday that "big oil producers are preparing to fight for the future of plastic production at a global summit in Switzerland this week, facing off against greener adversaries including the European Union."
"But this time, the pro-plastic camp—led by Saudi Arabia—has a formidable hitter in its corner: President Donald Trump's America," the outlet added.
Reuters similarly reported that efforts to curb plastic production "are threatened by opposition from petrochemical-producing countries and the U.S. administration under Donald Trump."
"A source familiar with the talks said the U.S. seeks to limit the treaty's scope to downstream issues like waste disposal, recycling, and product design," Reuters reported.
The new Lancet study describes "inadequate recovery and recycling" as a secondary driver of the plastic pollution crisis, which is damaging oceans, waterways, and communities around the world. But the "first and most fundamental" driver is rising plastic production, the study argues.
"It is now clear that the world cannot recycle its way out of the plastic pollution crisis," the study says. "The plastic crisis is not inevitable. Although there is much we still do not know about plastics' harms to human health and the global environment, and more research is certainly needed, we have enough data now to know that these harms are already considerable, and there is enough information on trends in plastic production to recognise that in the absence of intervention, they will get worse."
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