“Gloria Steinem, the American writer, lecturer, activist and organizer who fought for gender equality and women’s civil and reproductive rights for more than five decades, has died, her foundation said. She was 92 years old. The co-founder and consulting editor of Ms. Magazine championed the feminist movement from the late 1960s onwards and inspired generations of women. … Steinem founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971 with former U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm and writer Betty Friedan, whose 1963 book ‘The Feminine Mystique’ ushered in the second wave of feminism. Among other groups, she also created the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Women’s Media Center, Voters for Choice, and the Ms. Foundation for Women.” (09/03/26)
“Nearly a century after the Nazis shut down the world-famous Bauhaus school of design, it has once again become a cultural battleground between Germany’s establishment and the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has called the art movement an ‘aberration of modernism.’ Founded in 1919, Bauhaus blurred lines between art and industry, influencing global design to this day. … Attacks on Bauhaus by Alternative for Germany, also known as AfD, come as Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany is about to vote in an election that could see a far-right party take control of one of the country’s states for the first time since World War II. AfD hopes to gain an absolute majority in the state legislature in the election on Sunday, an outcome that would shake German politics and possibly have repercussions for the region’s cultural freedom.” (09/03/26)
“The world has failed in its [sic] goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times, the United Nations said on Wednesday, in a sober assessment that laid out a new goal for fighting climate change that would set the world on an uncertain path. A decade ago, most of the world’s countries agreed in Paris to try to limit global temperature rise to ‘well below’ two degrees Celsius while aiming for the more ambitious target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. But Wednesday’s 141-page U.N. report warned that the world is certain to breach that mark and should focus on finding ways to limit ‘overshoot’ and eventually bring global temperatures back down.” (09/03/26)
“Brazil’s government and exporters of meat, poultry, eggs, honey and other animal products were scrambling Thursday after a European Union deadline passed, triggering a suspension of imports over concerns about the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in livestock. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s agriculture ministry said Thursday that it would consider reciprocal measures if a satisfactory solution is not reached. … The EU announced the suspension Tuesday, to become effective two days later. Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, shipped about 108,000 tons of beef worth about $1 billion to the EU in 2025, according to government figures. The bloc announced in May that Brazil would be removed from its list of countries authorized to export certain animal products to the bloc, arguing that Brazil had failed to provide sufficient guarantees that its livestock production meet EU standards against antibiotic growth promoters and other restricted drugs.” (09/03/26)
“A day after tens of thousands of Spaniards protested the government’s handling of the Ceuta border crisis, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez struggled to field lawmakers’ questions about the matter, including what role Morocco played in the deadly mass crossing in July. Five weeks after the incident, it remains unclear how 72,000 people were able to stream across the border shared by the Spanish exclave in North Africa and Morocco in the first place. While rejecting suggestions that Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the incident, Sánchez said Moroccan police ‘allowed the border to be crossed’. Sánchez said his government would release key reports about the border breach, but did not say when they would be made public or what they would entail. He also elevated the official death toll from the event to 141 people, up significantly from the most-recent estimate of a total 96 in Spain and Morocco, provided by authorities in Ceuta and Morocco’s National Human Rights Council.” (09/03/26)
“A federal judge has blocked one of President Donald Trump’s latest attempts to limit birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday barring enforcement of provisions in an executive order Trump signed last month seeking to deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to foreign parents who came in a ‘commercial transaction’ to gain citizenship or whose parents are ‘alien enemies.’ Boardman said Trump’s new order defies the Supreme Court’s ruling in June striking down the key provisions of a more sweeping directive he issued on his first day in office that sought to end birthright citizenship for children born to foreigners not in the U.S. legally [sic] or in the country on limited-duration visas.” (09/02/26)
“An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been federally charged with lying about the events leading up to his shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg earlier this year, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The charges against ICE officer Christian Castro are not yet publicly available, but a person familiar with the matter told CNN that he is facing several counts of making false statements. This is the first time the Justice Department has charged an officer for conduct that occurred on-duty during highly publicized immigration operations nationwide. Local prosecutors in Minnesota had already charged Castro with second-degree assault and making a false report earlier this year.” (09/03/26)
“Norway has seized a Russian ship in the Arctic to enforce a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, linked to Russian asset seizures in Crimea. Norway seized the ship on Wednesday, after Moscow failed to pay Naftogaz $4.22bn plus interest and legal costs to compensate for assets it seized in Crimea after a tribunal ruling at The Hague in 2023. … The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was taken off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz.” (09/003/26)
“British police have a stout task ahead: recovering 70,000 pints worth of stolen Guinness. Two trailer truckloads of the famously creamy dark beer valued at 115,000 pounds ($155,000) were stolen from a depot near Liverpool in northwest England, the Cheshire Constabulary said Thursday. ‘It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you,’ but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,’ Det. Sgt. Gary McClatchy said. ‘We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.’ The Guinness had been destined for pubs, but was snatched Monday night by two drivers who pulled up to an industrial park in Runcorn and hauled away the trailers containing about 800 barrels of stout. The value of the trailers was estimated at 50,000 pounds ($67,000).” (09/03/26)
“The U.S. Pentagon issued detailed guidance on Wednesday for a new, mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, a follow-up to a July announcement from U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The guidance, which is effective immediately, establishes standardized screening and treatment pathways for men and women that the Pentagon says are aimed at improving military readiness by identifying and managing hormonal and energy-availability issues. Hegseth, who has promoted the use of testosterone, announced the mandate last month, raising questions among experts about whether there was a scientific basis for such a policy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to hold a meeting of experts to discuss medical use of testosterone in mid-September.” (09/02/26)
