Source: San Diego Union-Tribune

“Texas Democrats who ended a walkout found themselves shadowed by law enforcement officers to keep them from repeating the protest that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts and fulfill President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps. Republicans in the Texas House forced returning Democrats to sign what the Democrats called ‘permission slips,’ agreeing to around-the-clock surveillance by state Department of Public Safety officers to leave the floor. However, Democratic Rep. Nicole Collier, of Fort Worth, refused and remained on the House floor Monday night. The Democrats’ return to Texas puts the Republican-run Legislature in position to satisfy Trump’s demands, possibly later this week, as California Democrats advance new congressional boundaries in retaliation.” (08/19/25)

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/08/19/texas-house-democrats-permission-slips/

Source: Common Dreams

“Launching a US Senate run to unseat five-term Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, oyster farmer Graham Platner on Tuesday made clear in his inaugural ad that beating the ‘fake’ moderate also means taking on the power-hungry billionaire class that has helped keep her in power all these years. The enemy that the vast majority of Americans and Mainers have in common, said Platner, ‘is the oligarchy’. ‘It’s the billionaires who pay for it,’ he added. ‘The politicians who sell us out. And yeah, that means politicians like Susan Collins.’ Platner … spoke in the ad about how Maine has ‘become unlivable for working people.’ ‘Nobody I know around here can afford a house,’ said Platner. ‘Healthcare is a disaster, hospitals are closing. We have watched all of that get ripped away from us, and everyone’s just trying to keep it all together.'” (08/19/25)

https://www.commondreams.org/news/susan-collins-reelection

Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]

“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has threatened to accelerate the expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal, condemning ongoing United States-South Korea military exercises as a sign of ‘hostile intent,’ according to state media. Kim, who made the remarks during a visit to a naval destroyer, called the drills ‘an obvious expression of their will to provoke war,’ according to a report published on Tuesday. He insisted North Korea must ‘rapidly expand’ its nuclear weapons programme, pointing to the inclusion of what he called ‘nuclear elements’ in the drills.” (08/19/25)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/19/kim-jong-un-pledges-to-speed-up-nuclear-build-up-over-us-south-korea-drills

Source: SFGate

“Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon are urging South American presidents meeting in Bogota this week to turn promises to protect the region’s rainforest into concrete action, and to give indigenous groups more say in the region’s future. The Fifth Presidential Summit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, opening Tuesday in the Colombian capital, brings together leaders alongside scientists and Indigenous representatives. The agenda includes public forums, cultural events and high-level meetings, culminating Friday with a joint declaration setting regional priorities on environmental protection and climate policy. Indigenous leaders hope to meet with national leaders face-to-face for the first time at such a summit. Indigenous groups from all eight Amazonian nations issued a statement Monday evening, calling the rainforest a global lifeline that provides about one-fifth of the world’s freshwater and acts as one of the planet’s largest carbon sinks, absorbing vast amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.” (08/19/25)

https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/indigenous-leaders-demand-action-from-south-20823959.php