Warren's Plan to Abolish Student Debt Came From Grassroots Pressure

Wednesday, April 24, 2019 [| 1 day left to help Truthout tell stories of struggle |]( [Warren's Plan to Abolish Student Debt Came From Grassroots Pressure]( Alexis Goldstein, Truthout Elizabeth Warren's new public higher education proposal, which calls for the cancellation of student loan debt for 95 percent of Americans, taps into the movement that gained momentum during Occupy Wall Street. Supported by Bernie Sanders and other presidential candidates, the proposal is the result of tireless work by activists whose demands for loan abolition were mocked not long ago. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Without Impeachment, We're Lowering Standards for All Future Presidents]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout If impeachment proceedings are not undertaken against Donald Trump in the face of such overwhelming criminal evidence, a partisan attorney general and a partisan Republican majority in the Senate will have set the standard of conduct for all presidents to come so low as to be utterly unrecognizable and thoroughly unenforceable. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [New Report Shows How World Bank Enables Corporate Land Grabs]( Alnoor Ladha, Truthout A new report from the Oakland Institute shows how the World Bank -- which recently elected former Trump adviser, David Malpass, as president -- pushes countries to turn land into a "transferable asset." By offering preferential access to aid and foreign investment, the Bank pressures countries into removing barriers to privatization, such as laws protecting commons and seeds, to facilitate land grabs for big agribusiness. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We only have until the end of tomorrow to raise the $17,000 Truthout still urgently needs. If you value media that is more than a megaphone for corporate-crafted talking points, please donate today! [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Being in Prison Should Not Take Away Your Right to Vote, Says Sanders]( Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now! Sen. Bernie Sanders said at a town hall Monday that he believed in restoring voting rights for prisoners, sparking a national discussion about re-enfranchisement for the more than 2 million Americans behind bars. Prisoners are currently counted in the U.S. census in the counties where they are incarcerated, despite not being allowed to vote in most states. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Right-Wing Border Militias Are the Troops of Trump's Authoritarian Regime]( Chauncey DeVega, Salon Last week, the United Constitutional Patriots militia "detained" 300 asylum seekers in New Mexico. The militia is not an outlier -- it is one of many such right-wing paramilitary groups operating along the U.S.-Mexico border. These groups are prepared to escalate their political violence in order to protect Donald Trump if he is forced to step down from the presidency by Congress or is not re-elected in 2020. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump Reportedly Considered Detaining Kids at Guantánamo]( Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Earlier this year, the Trump administration reportedly considered detaining migrant children at Guantánamo Bay, the 17-year-old U.S. prison in Cuba. Human rights advocates have long called for the closure of Guantánamo, and called the Trump administration's proposal "beyond appalling." [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Right-Wing Legislator Offered to Help Enact Violence Against Constituents]( David Armiak, PR Watch Washington State Rep. Matt Shea has been exposed for sending and receiving messages through the Signal app proposing acts of violence against and surveillance of left-wing activists. The revelation comes less than six months following the leak of Shea's outline for holy war, which advocated for the killing of all males if his radical agenda could not be achieved peacefully. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why Federal Student Aid Should Be Restored for People in Prison]( Andrea Cantora, The Conversation Congress is thinking of lifting a longstanding ban on federal student aid for those serving time in prison. The Restoring Education And Learning Act of 2019 seeks to reinstate federal Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals, which would make about 463,000 people in prison eligible for the grants. Such an investment will yield benefits not only for individuals behind prison walls, but also for society as a whole. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Critics Say State "Hijacked" Isle de Jean Charles Tribe's Resettlement Plan]( Julie Dermansky, DeSmogBlog After helping the Louisiana Office of Community Development win a $98 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Isle de Jean Charles Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe no longer wants to be associated with the state's project, which included $48 million earmarked to relocate the tribe, because the state's plan doesn't allow the tribe control over its own resettlement. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [States Are Trying to Stop Cities From Raising Minimum Wage]( Mike Ludwig, Truthout The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved raising the city's minimum wage this month, but the resolution will likely be nixed by the Republican state legislature. Conservative state legislatures nationwide have been preventing local governments from passing reforms and regulations. As of 2018, 28 states prevented local governments from raising the minimum wage, and 23 states had laws preventing cities from requiring employers to provide paid sick and maternity leave. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Bernie Sanders Made a Lot of Money -- and He Wants It Taxed]( William Rivers Pitt, Truthout Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote some good books and made some good money from them. Now, filthy rich Republicans and their media enablers are having a field day questioning his integrity because of his bank account. The filthy rich and their collaborators get the joke: It's a takedown, not an argument. I have three words in reply: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We still need 52 people to sign up for a sustaining, monthly donation to Truthout by the end of tomorrow. Will you be one? It's as easy as choosing "monthly" when you make your gift. [Donate Now →]( Connect With Us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Donate]( Truthout is a reader-supported, nonprofit organization; donations are tax-deductible. Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047. Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages. [Subscribe]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy](