Progressive U.S. representative Summer Lee defeats centrist primary challenger. “With most of the [Democratic Party primary] vote counted, Lee leads Bhavini Patel with a blowout margin. The race was a test of the politics of Israel-Palestine, as Lee is among the Squad members who called for an early ceasefire and whom AIPAC had been hoping to take out. ….Patel was boosted by massive super PAC support from Republican donor Jeff Yass, a Pennsylvania billionaire. Yass is a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and financed his controversial effort to take over Israel’s judiciary. ….’Our campaign was built on a record of delivering for our democracy, defending our most fundamental rights, and expanding our vision for what is politically possible for our region’s most marginalized communities,’ Lee said in a statement on Tuesday night. ‘Our victory is a rejection of right-wing interests and Republican billionaires using corporate Super PACs to target Black and brown Democrats in our primaries—be it AIPAC or Moderate PAC or any other MAGA billionaire in Democratic clothing.'” https://theintercept.com/2024/04/23/summer-lee-primary-win-aipac/
209 protesters arrested at Brooklyn rally in support of Palestinians. “More than 200 people were arrested during a protest at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn. ….The protesters laid a banner reading ‘Stop Arming Israel’ in the middle of the street. They also gathered outside the home of Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and blocked traffic. The protest was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, which describes itself as the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.” https://abc7ny.com/more-than-200-people-were-arrested-during-a-protest-at-grand-army-plaza-in-brooklyn/14725687/
U.N. human rights official calls for investigation into mass grave at Gaza hospital. “The mass graves contained some people stripped naked with their hands tied, raising concerns over potential war crimes, the U.N. said, describing the bodies as ‘buried deep in the ground and covered with waste’. ….’Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law,’ U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said Tuesday. ‘And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are ‘hors de combat’ (incapable of engaging in combat) is a war crime.’ Türk said any investigation into the mass graves should be independent of the Israeli government ‘given the prevailing climate of impunity,’ adding that he was ‘horrified’ by the reports.” https://thehill.com/policy/international/4616720-un-calls-for-investigation-into-mass-graves-found-at-gaza-hospitals/
FTC votes to ban non-compete restrictions on employees who leave. “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 3-2 on Tuesday to ban noncompete agreements that prevent tens of millions of employees from working for competitors or starting a competing business after they leave a job. From fast food workers to CEOs, the FTC estimates 18 percent of the U.S. workforce is covered by noncompete agreements — about 30 million people. The final rule would ban new noncompete agreements for all workers and require companies to let current and past employees know they won’t enforce them. Companies will also have to throw out existing noncompete agreements for most employees, although in a change from the original proposal, the agreements may remain in effect for senior executives.” https://thehill.com/business/4615452-ftc-votes-to-ban-non-compete-agreements/
Labor Dept. raises eligibility ceiling for overtime pay. “The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday unveiled a new rule that will extend overtime pay to salaried workers who earn less than $1,128 per week, or $58,656 annually. Previously, only workers who made $684 or less each week, or $35,568 annually, were eligible for OT. Businesses are required to pay workers 1.5 times their pay if they work more than 40 hours a week, but that protection has been limited to hourly workers and lower-earning salaried employees. Because of the salary cutoff, many salaried workers were performing the same duties as their hourly coworkers, but weren’t able to qualify for overtime, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said in a statement. ‘This rule will restore the promise to workers that if you work more than 40 hours in a week, you should be paid more for that time,’ she said.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-labor-department-overtime-pay-expansion-who-qualifies-cbs-news-explains/
Another UFO whistleblower comes forward. “… [Jason] Sands asserts he has direct knowledge of the US government’s clandestine program aimed at reverse-engineering UFO technology and claims to have even engaged in telepathic communication with an extraterrestrial entity…. He alleges that during his 22-year tenure with the USAF, he was privy to top-secret information. Part of his role, he claims, involved working with [a program to reverse-engineer conventional military] technology seized in various terrestrial conflicts mastering and countering weapons systems used by hostile groups and governments on our planet. Yet, he reveals, there was a more ‘exotic’ aspect to his duties which entailed trying to [protect] technology obtained from ‘non-human intelligences’. Sands was a member of a ‘Red Team’ tasked with overseeing the scientists’ communications and preventing any information breaches. During this time, he overheard the researchers discussing interactions with multiple extraterrestrial species. ….Furthermore, he disclosed that there were facilities scrutinizing materials gathered from UAP crash sites, although he declined an invitation to join one of the recovery teams. Initially, a skeptic regarding alien encounters when he entered the program, Sands has since undergone a complete transformation in belief. While acknowledging that many specifics of the program remain under wraps, he shared: ‘I can tell you that we’re not alone. We do have some contact [with aliens].'” https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/air-force-insider-claims-offered-32658962 Most of the discussion is here, except the first part where he describes his military service and work duties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eNortGxPrM This is the first part, and there’s a fair amount of overlap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh_gKekHmVE
Only three Senate Democrats voted against additional military aid for Israel. “…the U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved a sprawling foreign aid package that includes $17 billion in unconditional military assistance for the Israeli government as it ramps up its catastrophic assault on the Gaza Strip. The final vote on the $95 billion package, which also included military aid for Ukraine and Taiwan, was 79-18, with just three members of the Senate Democratic caucus—Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)—and 15 Republicans opposing the bill. Sanders called Tuesday ‘a dark day for democracy’, condemning the upper chamber’s refusal to even allow a vote on his proposed amendment to cut offensive military aid to Israel from the legislation. ‘I voted no tonight on the foreign aid package for one simple reason: U.S. taxpayers should not be providing billions more to the extremist Netanyahu government to continue its devastating war against the Palestinian people,’ Sanders said in a statement following the vote.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/senate-israel-aid
Unions condemn Columbia University’s anti-protest rules. “More than four dozen labor unions across numerous industries on Tuesday signed a letter expressing solidarity with students who have been suspended and arrested in recent days for protesting at Columbia University, including members of the on-campus labor group Student Workers of Columbia. ….In their letter, the unions on Tuesday warned that ‘the repression and criminalization of activists, students, professors, and academic workers across the country are violations of our elementary rights to free speech and protest. The right to protest is necessary for every struggle, and the direct attack on this right is an attack on labor as well,’ said the unions, ‘An injury to one is an injury to all—if the Columbia students can be repressed for protesting, Columbia workers and all workers could be too. Workers stand in full solidarity with this student movement.'” https://www.commondreams.org/news/unions-columbia-solidarity
Judge allows man’s ‘excessive force’ lawsuit against Shasta county officers to advance. “A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Northern California animal control officer and a sheriff’s deputy must face excessive force claims after they falsely arrested a man for selling baby chicks and driving without proper registration. Jimmy Gettings claims that he suffered a broken wrist after being handcuffed too tightly following his arrest stemming from multiple run-ins with Shasta County Animal Control. U.S. District Judge Daniel Calabretta ruled to advance Getting’s excessive force claims against the Shasta County officers based on his broken wrist. ‘A broken wrist is a demonstrable injury and handcuffing that is tight enough to cause such an injury is more than sufficient to constitute excessive force, especially where there appears no indication that such force was necessary to satisfy any government interest,’ Calabretta wrote. ….Gettings also filed claims for unreasonable search and seizure, malicious prosecution and deliberate fabrication of evidence.” https://www.courthousenews.com/shasta-county-officers-must-answer-for-breaking-mans-wrist-after-falsely-arresting-him/
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