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Human Rights Watch: Venezuela - Reform Needed for Rights Progress
NEW YORK, Sept. 19 [Category: International] -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news:
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Venezuela: Reform Needed for Rights Progress
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(Washington, DC) - Venezuela needs to take urgent measures and carry out institutional reforms to protect people's basic rights, Human Rights Watch said today, following its first official visit to the country since 2008.
Human Rights Watch visited Caracas this week and met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez, other government officials, human rights groups, members of the opposition, journalists, relatives of political prisoners, foreign diplomats,
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Sept. 19 [Category: International] -- Human Rights Watch issued the following news:
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Venezuela: Reform Needed for Rights Progress
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(Washington, DC) - Venezuela needs to take urgent measures and carry out institutional reforms to protect people's basic rights, Human Rights Watch said today, following its first official visit to the country since 2008.
Human Rights Watch visited Caracas this week and met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez, other government officials, human rights groups, members of the opposition, journalists, relatives of political prisoners, foreign diplomats,and others. Staff also visited Petare, a low-income neighborhood on the outskirts of Caracas. During its previous high-level visit, in 2008, Venezuelan authorities detained Human Rights Watch staff after they released a report and expelled them from the country.
"Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has overseen a pause to the most overt forms of repression in Venezuela," said Federico Borello, deputy executive director at Human Rights Watch. "But in this fragile political moment, these gains will only become sustainable with robust institutional reforms and the release of all political prisoners."
Rodriguez assumed office following the United States' capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, 2026. Since then, Venezuelan authorities have released hundreds of political prisoners, passed an amnesty law, unblocked some media websites, and announced measures to reform the judiciary.
Human rights activists, opposition leaders, and journalists told Human Rights Watch that they are much freer to carry out their work. Some said they have left their hiding places after more than a year or reported for the first time on the arbitrary arrest of their loved ones. On September 18, Venezuelan authorities closed a criminal case against Carlos Correa, executive director of the free-speech organization Espacio Publico.
However, at least 344 political prisoners remain behind bars, according to Foro Penal, a Venezuelan human rights group, and many others remain under house arrest or are experiencing other restrictions. These include people who were detained for exercising their freedom of expression and people who have been tortured or have suffered gross due process violations. Others who were arbitrarily detained have experienced extortion from judicial officials, prosecutors, and others.
Venezuelan authorities should promptly and unconditionally release all people arbitrarily detained, Human Rights Watch said.
Authorities have continued, in a small number of cases, to detain critics for short periods. On September 18, Venezuelan authorities detained Javier Oropeza, a former opposition mayor who recently returned to the country. He was released a few hours later.
Relatives of political prisoners said that some detainees are still being mistreated behind bars, in particular in the Rodeo I prison in Caracas. Human Rights Watch has documented torture and inhumane conditions of detention in Rodeo I. The closure of Rodeo I would send a powerful signal that the authorities intend to break with the government's brutal legacy of abusive detention practices.
Venezuelan authorities should ensure humane detention conditions for all detainees, Human Rights Watch said. They should also allow international experts, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), unfettered access to all prisons and other places of detention.
Venezuelan authorities should also amend or repeal laws that have enabled human rights violations, including anti-terrorism and anti-hatred legislation and rules restricting the work of human rights groups and media outlets.
As part of a dialogue process with a part of the political opposition, Venezuelan authorities have announced a process to reform the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, the country's highest court, and the Electoral Council. The destruction of judicial independence in Venezuela in the 2000s enabled widespread human rights violations and establishing an independent and impartial supreme court would be a crucial first step to a much-needed overhaul to the judicial system, Human Rights Watch said.
Over the last decade, Venezuelan authorities have also barred opposition candidates from running for office. Broader patterns of repression have also made it impossible for Venezuelans to exercise their democratic rights freely in past elections.
"Venezuelans deserve to participate in timely, free, and fair elections," Borello said. "That requires urgently allowing political opponents to take part in the political process and run for office."
Venezuelan authorities should also overhaul the country's security forces to curb their continuation of human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said. These measures should include vetting officials responsible for grave human rights violations, ensuring that intelligence agencies are not tasked with criminal investigations, dismantling clandestine detention centers, and establishing clear rules for the use of force.
On September 16, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (FFM) released a report warning that the state machinery behind repression remains firmly intact. The UN Human Rights Council should renew the mandate of the FFM for two years, Human Rights Watch said.
The humanitarian situation in Venezuela remains dire, exacerbated by the earthquakes in June that killed at least 6,300 people. According to HumVenezuela, a group of organizations monitoring the humanitarian crises in the country, over 18 million people, out of a population of 28.5 million, were already unable to meet their basic needs prior to the earthquake. People in many parts of the country experience daily hours-long electricity blackouts and days-long water shortages, and many said they are increasingly impatient.
Human Rights Watch has long expressed concern about the role of US economic sanctions in further deepening the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Since Maduro's ouster, US engagement has focused largely on advancing the Trump administration's economic goals, at the expense of a robust focus on reforms.
"The United States should use its leverage to play a leading role in pushing for meaningful human rights change in Venezuela," Borello said.
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Original text here: https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/09/18/venezuela-reform-needed-for-rights-progress-0
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FFRF Action Fund: 'Secularist' Hemant Mehta Keeps His Finger on the Freethought Pulse
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 19 -- FFRF Action Fund, an organization that says it develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, posted the following news:
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'Secularist' Hemant Mehta keeps his finger on the freethought pulse
September 17, 2026
The FFRF Action Fund is naming Hemant Mehta, better known to legions of readers as the "Friendly Atheist," as its "Secularist of the Week."
Hemant has been chosen for his extraordinary contributions to the secular movement and, in particular,
... Show Full Article
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 19 -- FFRF Action Fund, an organization that says it develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church, posted the following news:
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'Secularist' Hemant Mehta keeps his finger on the freethought pulse
September 17, 2026
The FFRF Action Fund is naming Hemant Mehta, better known to legions of readers as the "Friendly Atheist," as its "Secularist of the Week."
Hemant has been chosen for his extraordinary contributions to the secular movement and, in particular,his painstaking annual effort to document openly nonreligious candidates for public office. For years, Hemant has functioned as something close to the 24-hour news service of atheism and secularism. If a school board is pushing religion into classrooms, a politician is invoking God to justify public policy, a court hands down an important church-state ruling or a freethinker somewhere does something worth celebrating, there is a good chance Hemant has already written about it.
That relentless chronicling of the secular movement is itself an immense contribution. But one of Hemant's most valuable recurring projects is his effort to answer a deceptively difficult question: How many openly nonreligious Americans are actually running for office?
This month, Hemant published his latest annual compilation of openly nonreligious candidates seeking state and federal office in 2026. Using information from the Center for Freethought Equality PAC, along with his own readers and research, Hemant has identified nearly 200 candidates who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, humanists, nonreligious or with other labels outside organized religion. He continues updating the list as candidates and readers provide additional information.
The numbers are striking. Hemant reports that a record 12 openly nonreligious candidates are running for Congress, while more than 70 are seeking re-election to state legislative seats. His database documents candidates across the country and demonstrates something that would be easy to miss without someone doing the tedious work of finding, verifying and compiling them: Openly nonreligious Americans are already participating in public life at every level.
That visibility matters.
Nonreligious Americans remain significantly underrepresented in elected office compared with their share of the American population. And stigma remains a barrier. Gallup polling has found that only about six in 10 Americans say they would vote for a generally well-qualified atheist presidential candidate from their own party.
A spreadsheet may not sound revolutionary. But you cannot understand representation if nobody bothers to document it. Every year, Hemant does exactly that. His work creates a historical record of nonreligious political representation, makes otherwise scattered information accessible to journalists and researchers, and provides a tangible measure of how openly secular Americans are participating in American democracy.
It also connects directly to a cause Hemant has championed for years.
When FFRF honored Hemant with its "Nothing Fails Like Prayer Award" at its 2019 national convention, he devoted much of his acceptance speech to the question of atheists in politics. He argued that atheist politicians should not govern on behalf of atheists. Quite the opposite. He emphasized the symbolic importance of nonreligious Americans simply being visible in public office and demonstrating that atheism need not disqualify anyone from public service.
Seven years later, his annual candidate project is documenting that change in real time.
Hemant's contributions to freethought extend far beyond this spreadsheet. Raised in a Jain family, he became an atheist as a teenager and later founded the first nonreligious student organization at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught high school mathematics before eventually devoting himself full time to secular activism and writing. His books include "I Sold My Soul on eBay" and "The Young Atheist's Survival Guide," and he has edited "Queer Disbelief: Why LGBTQ Equality Is an Atheist Issue." He has also served in leadership roles with the Secular Student Alliance and Foundation Beyond Belief.
But through "Friendly Atheist," Hemant has become indispensable daily reading for much of the secular movement. His site continuously chronicles the intersection of religion, government and atheism -- often drawing attention to local stories long before they receive broader notice.
The secular movement needs advocates, attorneys, organizers and elected officials. It also needs people willing to chronicle what is happening, day after day, year after year, so that important developments do not go unnoticed. Hemant Mehta has been doing that work for decades. Through his annual accounting of openly nonreligious candidates, he is ensuring that an important chapter in the growing visibility of secular Americans in public life is documented as it happens.
For his tireless work as the Friendly Atheist and his diligent efforts to document openly nonreligious representation in American politics, Hemant Mehta is the FFRF Action Fund's "Secularist of the Week."
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FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.
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Original text here: https://ffrfaction.org/secularist-hemant-mehta-keeps-his-finger-on-the-freethought-pulse/
[Category: Sociological]
Children's Health Defense Issues Commentary: AI Data Centers' Growing Air Pollution Threatens Children's Developing Brains and Lungs
FRANKLIN LAKES, New Jersey, Sept. 19 -- Children's Health Defense, an organization that says it restores and protects the health of children by eliminating exposures to environmental toxins, issued the following commentary by Brenda Baletti, senior reporter for The Defender:
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AI Data Centers' Growing Air Pollution Threatens Children's Developing Brains and Lungs
Pollutants associated with the exploding data center industry are linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses and neurological and developmental damage in children. New information on health impacts is coming to light as the
... Show Full Article
FRANKLIN LAKES, New Jersey, Sept. 19 -- Children's Health Defense, an organization that says it restores and protects the health of children by eliminating exposures to environmental toxins, issued the following commentary by Brenda Baletti, senior reporter for The Defender:
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AI Data Centers' Growing Air Pollution Threatens Children's Developing Brains and Lungs
Pollutants associated with the exploding data center industry are linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses and neurological and developmental damage in children. New information on health impacts is coming to light as theTrump administration, largely through regulatory changes at the EPA, moves to weaken pollution and permitting safeguards meant to protect public health.
September 18, 2026
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Children may face some of the greatest health risks from the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, as soaring electricity demand drives increased reliance on polluting power plants, diesel generators and gas turbines, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Network (EPN).
Pollutants associated with the exploding data center industry are linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses and neurological and developmental damage in children. People living near -- and sometimes far -- from the centers are also at higher risk of cancer, heart and lung disease.
Information on health impacts is coming to light as the Trump administration, largely through regulatory changes at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), moves to weaken pollution and permitting safeguards meant to protect public health.
EPN documented "at least 30" federal actions at the EPA and in other governmental organizations since January 2025 that could increase pollution-related health risks and shift the health costs of data centers onto communities and families.
"EPA should be the public-health watchdog, not part of the industry's development team," EPN argued.
Children's developing lungs and brains face the greatest risk
Children are particularly vulnerable to data center pollution because their lungs, brains and other organs are still developing. They also take in more pollution relative to their body weight, the report said.
Air pollution can exacerbate asthma, which affects approximately 4.8 million U.S. children. Exposure to mercury and other toxic metals can damage developing brains and nervous systems. Arsenic, which can be present in coal ash and wastewater, is a known carcinogen.
The potential exposure extends well beyond communities immediately surrounding data centers.
At least 188 schools are located within three miles of proposed gas-fired power plants being developed to supply data centers, according to the report.
EPN could identify no federal accounting of the number of schools, daycare centers, playgrounds or athletic fields located near the centers themselves.
The new gas-fired plants would add new sources of pollution at a time when 33.5 million children already face pollution-related health issues -- because they live in counties with a failing grade for at least one measure of ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association's most recent "State of the Air" report.
Data center air pollution could lead to big increases in asthma, premature deaths
The U.S. has more than 3,000 operational data centers, with more than 1,500 in development. The centers use about 4.7% of the electricity generated in the U.S. and are projected to use roughly 11.8% by 2030.
Many facilities also have their own large fleets of diesel backup generators. Others have dedicated natural-gas turbines. Those sources can emit nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which form smog and fine-particle pollution.
Coal- or gas-fired power plants supplying electricity can release mercury and other toxic metals, and their coal ash and wastewater can contaminate surface water or groundwater, according to the report.
A 2026 study by researchers from the University of California, Riverside, Caltech and Rochester Institute of Technology estimated that air pollution from U.S. data centers could generate $11.7 billion to $20.9 billion in annual public-health costs by 2028.
The researchers used predictive modeling to test different scenarios. Under their high-growth scenario, the pollution could contribute to roughly 600,000 asthma symptom cases and 1,262 premature deaths.
Much of the damage came from pollution generated by the energy needed to power the centers.
In the EPN study's high-growth scenario, electricity generation accounted for about $19.3 billion of the estimated $20.9 billion in annual health costs and 1,165 of 1,262 estimated premature deaths. That means communities located far from a data center -- including in other states -- could bear some of its pollution burden.
On-site generators are also a significant source of pollution.
The researchers modeled Virginia data center generators operating at emissions equal to just 10% of their permitted levels and estimated that the resulting pollution could contribute to approximately 14,000 asthma symptom cases, 13 to 19 premature deaths and $220 million to $300 million in annual health costs.
Speedier permitting comes with fewer safeguards
The EPA's mission is to "protect human health and the environment."
"Yet Administrator Lee Zeldin has made turning the United States into the 'AI capital of the world' a pillar of EPA's work, and the agency's FY 2027 plans count making Clean Air Act requirements more flexible for AI data centers as progress," the report said.
Of the federal actions cited by the report, most explicitly target or cite AI or data centers. The remainder affect the energy sources that supply them or the environmental rules governing their development.
Among these are policies that encourage greater use of coal and other fossil fuels to meet rising electricity demand, keeping some fossil-fuel power plants operating longer, and restricting or slowing federal support for wind and solar power.
At the same time, the EPA has moved to eliminate or weaken rules limiting carbon emissions, mercury and other toxic air pollution, interstate smog, oil-and-gas pollution, coal-plant wastewater and coal ash. The agency has also proposed ending greenhouse-gas reporting requirements for most large facilities and suppliers.
Several actions directly make it easier or faster to build and power data centers. The administration has ordered agencies to speed permitting and environmental reviews for AI infrastructure.
The EPA has eased some requirements for temporary gas turbines and backup generators and proposed allowing portions of data centers and power plants to begin construction before major air permits are issued, according to the report.
Other changes could reduce opportunities for the public to learn about or comment on some air permits. The Army Corps of Engineers has also made data centers eligible for a streamlined wetlands permit that does not require project-specific public notice and comment, the report said.
Actions by EPA and the Army Corps, along with a U.S. Supreme Court decision, have rolled back water protection under the Clean Water Act.
The EPA is also prioritizing the review of new chemicals, including PFAS, needed for data center construction, some of which are known to be harmful to human health.
The federal government has also scaled back National Environmental Policy Act procedures, and EPA has directed enforcement staff to exercise greater restraint in cases involving energy production and power generation.
"The problem is not faster permitting by itself, but faster permitting with fewer safeguards. Once permits are issued, construction begins and money is committed, changing course becomes much harder," according to EPN.
The report was published amid widespread controversy over data centers. Opposition to data centers has been building nationwide as communities criticize higher electricity bills, stress on existing power grids and heavy water use.
Opposition is particularly strong in the rural areas where most data center construction is slated to take place.
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social this week to defend data centers. He said that AI and the data centers that power it "will be the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History -- Bigger than Oil, Gold, Diamonds, or even the Internet."
Most responders to his post disagreed.
Related articles in The Defender
* AI Data Center Boom Fueling 'Tidal Wave' of New PFAS Production (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/ai-data-center-boom-fueling-tidal-wave-new-pfas-production/#comments)
* Watch: AI Data Centers 'Spreading Like an Aggressive Cancer' (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/watch-ai-data-centers-spreading-like-an-aggressive-cancer/)
* Cheating the System: How AI Data Centers Bypass Water and Air Pollution Laws and Permits (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/ai-data-centers-bypass-water-air-pollution-laws-permits/)
* Trump Calls for Rapid Expansion of AI Data Centers, Including on Federal Lands (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/trump-admin-ai-data-centers-rapid-expansion-including-federal-lands/)
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Brenda Baletti, Ph.D., is a senior reporter for The Defender. She wrote and taught about capitalism and politics for 10 years in the writing program at Duke University. She holds a Ph.D. in human geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's from the University of Texas at Austin.
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Original text here: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/ai-data-centers-air-pollution-childrens-developing-brains-lungs/
[Category: Health Care]
CEO Innovation Policy Update Sept. 18, 2026
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Sept. 19 -- The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council issued the following statement on by CEO Kendalle Burlin O'Connell:
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CEO Innovation Policy Update 09.18.26
Sep 18, 2026
MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O'Connell originally posted this update to LinkedIn:
With the House now recessed until after the midterm elections, Washington's pre-election legislative window is beginning to close, though the Senate remains at work at least through next week. For biotech, the week brought plenty of activity, with MassBio on Capitol Hill and at FDA, Congress examining
... Show Full Article
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Sept. 19 -- The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council issued the following statement on by CEO Kendalle Burlin O'Connell:
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CEO Innovation Policy Update 09.18.26
Sep 18, 2026
MassBio CEO & President Kendalle Burlin O'Connell originally posted this update to LinkedIn:
With the House now recessed until after the midterm elections, Washington's pre-election legislative window is beginning to close, though the Senate remains at work at least through next week. For biotech, the week brought plenty of activity, with MassBio on Capitol Hill and at FDA, Congress examiningthe future of U.S. biotechnology leadership, and new developments across clinical trials, research policy, and global competitiveness. Here's what we're watching:
MassBio Takes Biotech Priorities to Washington: MassBio was in Washington this week meeting with congressional offices and FDA leadership to discuss how policymakers can modernize clinical trials, make FDA work better for small and emerging biotechs, and strengthen the broader ecosystem needed to maintain U.S. leadership in biotechnology.
House Science Committee Examines the Balance Between Biotech Innovation and Biosecurity: The House Science, Space, and Technology, Investigationg and Oversight Subcommittee held a wide-ranging hearing Wednesday on U.S. biotechnology leadership and biosecurity. Subcommittee Chairman Rich McCormick opened by warning that American leadership is "no longer guaranteed," while Full Committee Chairman Brian Babin argued that maintaining that leadership requires both sustained R&D and effective safeguards. The hearing ultimately extended well beyond biosecurity. Joshua Hodges of the Hoover Institution testified that the U.S. continues to lead in talent, finance, and innovation but has fallen behind China in clinical trials, manufacturing, and supply chains, telling lawmakers that "our lead is in the laboratory and our innovation" while the U.S. falls short "on the factory floor." He also urged Congress to expand outbound-investment restrictions to biotechnology. Dr. Gigi Gronvall of Johns Hopkins argued that protecting American research is not enough if U.S. policy simultaneously weakens the research enterprise, saying American science must continue "producing something worth protecting." She pointed to disrupted grants, workforce losses, and uncertainty around new high-risk research rules as competitiveness concerns. FDA and clinical trial competitiveness also surfaced repeatedly. Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren pointed to regulatory bureaucracy as one factor driving clinical trials offshore, while Hodges contrasted development timelines in China with substantially longer timelines in the United States.
USTR Opens Annual Review of Foreign Trade Barriers: The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened public comments Monday for its 2027 National Trade Estimate Report, which identifies foreign policies and practices that create barriers to U.S. exports and investment. For the biotech industry, the process provides another venue for stakeholders to raise concerns over market-access and other foreign policies that undermine the value of innovation or affect the ability of U.S. companies to compete abroad. Comments are due October 29.
FDA Seeks Input on Rare Disease Clinical Trial Design: FDA released a Request for Information focused on statistical considerations for rare disease clinical investigations, alongside a September 29 workshop hosted through the Rare Disease Innovation Hub. The agency is seeking feedback on how approaches including randomization, blinding, and more efficient trial designs can generate reliable evidence despite the small patient populations that make rare disease development uniquely challenging. Comments are due November 13.
NIH Moves Forward with Streamlined Clinical Trial Grant Application: NIH released feedback Friday on its proposal to consolidate clinical trial information into a single, semi-structured application form aimed at reducing duplication and administrative burden. Nearly two-thirds of respondents who addressed burden said they expected the new approach to reduce the effort required to prepare an application, although researchers raised concerns about page limits, complex trial designs, and fitting sufficient statistical and human-subjects information into the new structure. NIH says it is now modifying the proposal based on that feedback.
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Original text here: https://www.massbio.org/news/recent-news/ceo-innovation-policy-update-09-18-26/
[Category: Biology]
CAIR Expresses Solidarity With UK Muslims Following Ramming Attack on Cornwall Islamic Community Center
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release:
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CAIR Expresses Solidarity with UK Muslims Following Ramming Attack on Cornwall Islamic Community Center
September 18, 2026
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed its solidarity with the British Muslim community following a ramming attack on the Cornwall Islamic Community Centre near Truro, England.
According to local reports and police, suspects used a vehicle on Thursday night to cause substantial
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations posted the following news release:
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CAIR Expresses Solidarity with UK Muslims Following Ramming Attack on Cornwall Islamic Community Center
September 18, 2026
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed its solidarity with the British Muslim community following a ramming attack on the Cornwall Islamic Community Centre near Truro, England.
According to local reports and police, suspects used a vehicle on Thursday night to cause substantialdamage to the center's metal entrance gates and poured a liquid believed to be oil across the grounds and outer walls of the facility. Devon and Cornwall Police are investigating the incident as racially-aggravated criminal damage.
In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:
"We stand in solidarity with Muslims across the United Kingdom. Anti-Muslim hatred and violent intimidation have no place in any society. We urge law enforcement agencies to treat attacks on houses of worship with the utmost seriousness and to ensure that faith communities can gather and practice safely without fear of bias-motivated violence."
CAIR urged European governments to take proactive steps to ensure the safety and security of Muslim communities and of all religious minorities.
Earlier this month, CAIR expressed solidarity with the Belgium Muslim community after neo-Nazi vandals reportedly targeted the Tawfieq Mosque in Schelle, Belgium.
Last year, CAIR said that Islamophobia is "spinning out of control" in Europe.
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Original text here: https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-expresses-solidarity-with-uk-muslims-following-ramming-attack-on-cornwall-islamic-community-center/
[Category: Sociological]
Atrocious Reported Changes to the ESA Could Threaten Extinction to Park Wildlife, Wild Nature
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The National Parks Conservation Association issued the following news release:
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Sep 17, 2026
Atrocious Reported Changes to the ESA Could Threaten Extinction to Park Wildlife, Wild Nature
WASHINGTON - An internal memo reported in the New York Times reveals a plan that would drastically reinterpret the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a way that would risk the survival of the very animals and plants the law is intended to protect.
As reported, the Administration's clear misinterpretation of the term "take" would mean the law only protects against the intentional killing
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The National Parks Conservation Association issued the following news release:
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Sep 17, 2026
Atrocious Reported Changes to the ESA Could Threaten Extinction to Park Wildlife, Wild Nature
WASHINGTON - An internal memo reported in the New York Times reveals a plan that would drastically reinterpret the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a way that would risk the survival of the very animals and plants the law is intended to protect.
As reported, the Administration's clear misinterpretation of the term "take" would mean the law only protects against the intentional killingof species. As the memo lays out, "A vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it, because the vessel's course was not set against the whale." Similarly, "Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them." This approach would lead to the decline and even extinction of park species.
"It's atrocious if this memo is the confirmed new direction for how the Fish and Wildlife Service will uphold the ESA. The reported policy would drastically undermine fish and wildlife recovery across America, including in our beloved national parks," said National Parks Conservation Association Wildlife Program Director Stephanie Adams. "Protecting and restoring species is the basis of the ESA and why it remains one of our country's most successful and broadly supported conservation laws. This memo appears to suggest that it's no longer the purpose of the ESA to ensure animals such as grizzly bears, North Atlantic right whales, or Florida panthers are protected."
The reported memo follows multiple attacks on the ESA, including the July release of a final rule which alters how "harm" is defined under the law - a definition that has been in place for decades and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. This final Trump rule rescinds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's and National Marine Fisheries Service's definitions of what counts as illegal "harm" to threatened and endangered wildlife under the ESA. "Harm" has long been defined to include significant habitat modification that kills or injures species by removing necessities such as food and shelter. NPCA and other conservation groups also notified the Trump administration in July of plans to challenge two additional recently finalized rules that weaken the ESA.
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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation's most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
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Original text here: https://www.npca.org/articles/11508-atrocious-reported-changes-to-the-esa-could-threaten-extinction-to-park
[Category: Environment]
Animal Welfare Institute: Trump Administration Asserts Unprecedented Endangered Species Act Interpretation
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Animal Welfare Institute issued the following news release:
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Trump Administration Asserts Unprecedented Endangered Species Act Interpretation
September 18, 2026
Washington, DC -- The Animal Welfare Institute is appalled by the Trump administration's latest maneuver in its ongoing efforts to desecrate the Endangered Species Act (ESA). An internal memorandum from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) dated September 14, 2026, lays out an unprecedented interpretation of "take" under the ESA. The memo states that the agency no longer considers the incidental
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 -- The Animal Welfare Institute issued the following news release:
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Trump Administration Asserts Unprecedented Endangered Species Act Interpretation
September 18, 2026
Washington, DC -- The Animal Welfare Institute is appalled by the Trump administration's latest maneuver in its ongoing efforts to desecrate the Endangered Species Act (ESA). An internal memorandum from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) dated September 14, 2026, lays out an unprecedented interpretation of "take" under the ESA. The memo states that the agency no longer considers the incidentalkilling or injuring of a threatened or endangered animal to be illegal. Instead, the memo asserts the law only prohibits affirmative actions that are intentionally and purposefully designed to kill or injure a listed animal. USFWS Director Brian Nesvik claims to have adopted this reinterpretation as part of the final rule rescinding the agency's definition of "harm," which took effect earlier this week.
The prohibition on "take" of threatened and endangered species is one of the ESA's primary protective measures. This new interpretation fundamentally upends a core component of the ESA, vastly deviating from how Congress intended the law to be enforced. The statute defines "take" to mean "harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect" (or attempt to do so). Until now, industries and federal agencies whose actions foreseeably but unintentionally would result in the take of threatened or endangered wildlife were required to avoid those activities, or to seek a permit from USFWS that would allow projects to move forward, but with commonsense requirements to mitigate take to protect listed species from extinction.
If the administration's new interpretation is implemented, this vital mechanism for species protection would largely disappear, along with the very animals it was designed to protect. The memo states: "a vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it, because the vessel's course was not set against the whale. Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them." This new interpretation ignores the fact that the vast majority of take that occurs is incidental, not deliberate. And even if the take is deliberate, the memo appears to create a loophole for perpetrators: a simple claim that they did not know what species of animal they killed or collected. If carried out, this alteration would open the door to catastrophic losses of imperiled animals. With no meaningful way to protect species from activities that threaten them the most--such as logging, ship strikes, mining, and energy development--a rise in extinction rates would be inevitable.
"This new interpretation, if enforced, would reduce the ESA from the world's strongest conservation law, and a global model for imperiled wildlife protection, to little more than a toothless paper tiger," said Susan Millward, executive director and CEO of the Animal Welfare Institute. "The agency has set the stage for enforcing the ESA only when a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale is knowingly and deliberately targeted, or an Indiana bat's tree is intentionally cut down so the pups can be captured for the wildlife trade."
This memo follows the administration's recission of the definition of harm under the ESA, which allows for the destruction of habitat that is vital to listed species' breeding, feeding, and sheltering, severely diminishing species' ability to survive and recover. It also comes on the heels of two other rules eliminating automatic ESA protections for newly listed threatened species and allowing economic data to be considered when deciding whether to protect a species and their habitat, despite the law's requirement that these decisions be based only on the best available scientific data.
For over 50 years, the ESA has been credited with saving 99 percent of listed species from extinction. We cannot let that track record come to an end.
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About AWI
The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.
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Original text here: https://awionline.org/news/trump-administration-asserts-unprecedented-endangered-species-act-interpretation/
[Category: Animals]
