Thursday, April 16, 2026

Another big win for Democrats

                 

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Civilians are suffering and dying at the hands of the U.S.

                 

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THAT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS ADDRESSING!



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Protect Civilians and Iranians Unjustly Detained — 3X Your Impact »

Civilians are paying the price for unlawful and reckless acts of war and violence carried out by the Trump administration.

This should NEVER happen. The ongoing attacks in Iran have caused mass civilian deaths, devastated critical infrastructure, and plunged the world into widespread instability and fear.

In our extensive investigations, we found that the U.S. violated international law when it struck an elementary school — killing more than 100 children.1 Now, the Trump administration is threatening to “obliterate” energy plants in Iran.2, 3

These plants are essential for meeting the basic needs and livelihoods of tens of millions of Iranian civilians. When they collapse, horrific consequences cascade instantly. Clean water becomes scarce. Preventable diseases spread. Hospitals lose electricity and fuel. Food production and distribution collapse. Attacking them could amount to a war crime. Worst of all, civilians could suffer and die.

The crisis investigations and campaigning YOU power with your Amnesty membership are essential to demanding accountability and stopping violence.

Before our Spring Match ends, will you make another gift in this critical moment? When you give today, your support will be MATCHED $3-to-$1, and you’ll scale our most impactful efforts to defend civilians under attack worldwide.

There’s another crisis we cannot ignore: prisoners in Iran — including activists and children — are STILL looking to Amnesty to speak out to protect them and free them. With airstrikes near prisons and detainees held in dangerous conditions, they are now at even greater risk of harm.

Narges Mohammadi, a human rights defender and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was recently re-detained for her brave activism. She shared this with Amnesty:

“Inside prison, when we protest, fight for our human rights, [and] issue statements, we face harsh repressions: like losing our rights to visitation or telephone. We rely on one key difference from political prisoners of past decades: the voice of institutions like Amnesty International.

Your support gives us hope. Resistance without a voice achieves nothing, and you are our voice.”

Narges Mohammadi sitting in front of a textured, blue background with shoulder-lenght, black, culry hair, wearing a coral shirt patterned with white bows

Narges Mohammadi is a prominent Iranian human rights activist and journalist who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran. She remains imprisoned in Iran's notorious Evin prison despite facing severe health issues and Amnesty is advocating for her freedom.

We must scale our emergency response in Iran — where Narges remains held in prison — and across the Middle East, including in Gaza, where Palestinians remain under attack.

We must show up stronger for everyone whose life is at risk right now.

As part of our Amnesty Spring Match, your generous gift will go 3X as far to ensure that we can continue to:

  • Investigate attacks on civilians from the U.S. and Israel and from Iranian authorities;
  • Document and share eyewitness accounts from people on the ground to ensure that their voices are heard and not silenced;
  • Demand that all parties to this conflict uphold their obligations under international law — and hold those responsible for violations accountable when they occur.

As a watchdog organization, we won’t let any violations happen in secret. We will use our research expertise and our strength in numbers to protect civilians for as long as it takes. It’s what we do.

MAKE A 3X EMERGENCY GIFT

Thank you for driving our response. We’ll keep you updated on our investigations.

With gratitude,


Billie Hirsch

Senior Director of Online Engagement
Amnesty International USA

[1] https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/usa-iran-those-responsible-for-deadly-and-unlawful-u-s-strike-on-school-that-killed-over-100-children-must-be-held-accountable/

[2] https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/usa-iran-trumps-warning-that-usa-will-attack-irans-power-plants-is-a-threat-to-commit-war-crimes/

[3] https://www.axios.com/2026/03/30/trump-threaten-iran-oil-energy-obliterate

One of the best ways to protect human rights is by becoming a monthly supporter. Sign up as the newest member of Justice Seekers — our monthly giving community — and your first gift will be 3X matched!

 

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© 2026 Amnesty International USA

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Please don't reply to this email. You can send questions to aimember@aiusa.org.



Head Start programs face funding squeeze

                

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ENVIRO VOTE: The Senate passed its version of a $3.6 billion environmental bond bill on Wednesday – a package that would shore up vulnerable infrastructure and largely mirrors Gov. Healey’s proposed bill. Jordan Wolman has the details.  

POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: South Hadley voters shot down a massive Prop 2½ override proposal, the state auditor asks the courts to stay out of a ballot question that would expand public records laws to the Legislature, and more communities bristle about data centers. Hallie Claflin, Chris Lisinski, Jordan Wolman report. 

April 16, 2026

By Jennifer Smith

When Rickencia Clerveaux McClean's son was around 18 months old, she noticed he wasn't speaking the way she expected. He pointed instead of asking. He struggled with food textures. McClean looked ahead at his future in public school with some dread. 

Fortunately, she said, there was an opening at Head Start at Action for Boston Community Development in Dorchester – the same program her younger sister had attended years before. Now her son is three, eating applesauce with his classmates and using his words. 

"I feel like ABCD helped him navigate first before he was able to go to a public school," said McClean, whose 2-year-old daughter is enrolled there, too. "That's the best pathway for any kid who's having a difficult time on their own." 

McClean, 27, is a student at Roxbury Community College working on the requisite classes for the nursing program. Head Start, she said, is what makes that possible.  

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She is among the lucky ones these days. Massachusetts has lost 1,300 Head Start slots over the last three years, as the federal government has level-funded the program, and there is worry that more seats could be in jeopardy.  

The 60-year-old federally funded program for low-income families is navigating what advocates describe as a painful stretch of uncertainty.  

The Trump administration's fiscal year 2027 budget request, released earlier this month, includes $12.3 billion for Head Start nationally – the same level as the prior two fiscal years. While that has forced programs to reduce the number of families they serve, it is a retreat from earlier signals that the administration might seek to eliminate the program entirely. 

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"It has been an incredibly unpredictable year, from both policy changes to funding instability," said Michelle Haimowitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, which advocates for Head Start programs in the state. "Flat funding itself is a pretty sharp cut to programs every year, given increasing costs from things like health care and rent and utilities, as well as the need to continue to raise wages for our educators." 

ROMNEYCARE: Twenty years after Massachusetts passed landmark health care reform legislation that gave the state the highest rate of insurance coverage in the country, the leading players behind the law gathered in the same storied meeting hall where the 2006 bill was signed to celebrate their uncommon achievement as the state faces tremendous threats to its effort to maintain near-universal coverage. Michael Jonas has more.  

OPINION: David Mancuso says Laurie Gagnon’s recent commentary promoting locally controlled “reciprocal accountability” as a framework for a new state graduation requirement is a “seductive argument,” but would leave the state’s most disadvantaged students behind. 

BEACON HILL: The Massachusetts House released its 2027 budget proposal, a slimmer pitch than the governor’s proposal. Speaker Ron Mariano touted it as a "strong budget," but added several qualifiers, noting that it was "for a very, very difficult fiscal year, in a truly challenging economic environment." (State House News Service via WBUR) 

CANNABIS: The owner of a Boston cannabis shop says “bureaucratic insanity” led to the store’s abrupt closure, criticizing the seizure of the company's bank account by the state Department of Revenue despite a substantial grant award and downplaying hundreds of thousands of dollars owed in back taxes and legal fees. (GBH News) 

IMMIGRATION: A $5 million state initiative launched last year is providing free legal aid to immigrants. Guaranteeing legal support to people during immigration proceedings has been complicated because of the civil process and an attorney shortage. (The New Bedford Light

TRANSPARENCY: A provision in Gov. Healey’s spending bill would block the public from viewing some birth records, death certificates, and marriage notices – tightening a Massachusetts law that has historically offered easy access to these uncertified records – citing fraud prevention and privacy. (The Boston Globe – paywall) 

LAW ENFORCEMENT: Identity theft charges have been dismissed against a US Customs and Border Protection agent who filed a police complaint – citing reports of Plymouth police ignoring violations by drivers who wrapped their vehicles in Christmas lights – while posing as the town manager. (Plymouth Independent

 
 
 
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Published by MassINC




Another big win for Democrats

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