Justice

A Dutch court ruled on Wednesday that oil giant Royal Dutch Shell must cut its carbon emissions in what climate advocates say is an unprecedented decision. A district court in The Hague ordered that Shell must cut its emissions by 45 percent of 2019 levels by 2030, in line with recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius. The court ruled that the cut must come from not only the company’s own emissions but also emissions from its products. The ruling applies to the entire Shell group, which is incorporated in the U.K.

The real rumblings began last week. “The New York attorney general’s office said Tuesday that it is conducting a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business empire, expanding what had previously been a civil probe,” the Associated Press reported. The pivot from civil to criminal meant the investigations would now include the work of New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance. Attorney General Letitia James’s office also let it be known that they were squeezing the Trump Organization’s longtime finance chief and Man Who Knows Everything, Allen Weisselberg, for as much as he will give.

Former President Donald Trump is teaming up with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to craft a new document that they intend to be a blueprint for helping Republicans win control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections.

Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and president of Repairers of the Breach, says the United States needs a “Third Reconstruction” aimed at lifting 140 million poor and low-income people out of poverty. Barber worked with Congressmembers Barbara Lee and Pramila Jayapal to unveil a congressional resolution for a Third Reconstruction this week, which includes measures to expand voting rights, implement immigration reform, raise the minimum wage, establish a federal jobs program and more. “There is not a scarcity of resources,” says Barber. “What there is is a scarcity of social justice conscience.”

Over the past five decades, the Arctic has warmed three times faster than the world as a whole, leading to rapid and widespread melting of ice and other far-reaching consequences that are important not only to local communities and ecosystems but to the fate of life on planet Earth. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) issued that warning on Thursday in a new report (pdf) that summarizes the latest findings on Arctic change and projections of future transformations under different climate scenarios. The publication of AMAP’s report coincides with this week’s meeting of the Arctic Council in Reykjavík, Iceland, which brings together policymakers from countries bordering the region.

Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank were celebrating the freshly implemented ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas when Israeli police stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque and attacked Palestinian worshipers. Israeli police complicated the terms of the ceasefire when they stormed the mosque just hours after it went into effect, firing tear gas and stun grenades at the worshipers after Friday prayers. Hundreds of Palestinians had gathered at Al Aqsa Mosque to pray and celebrate the ceasefire. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the police wounded about 20 people in the attack.

In a move hailed as “a major win” by migrant rights advocates, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it is moving to end migrant detention at two county jails under federal investigation for alleged abuses including forced sterilizations and unleashing dogs on detainees.

Redistricting is the process of redrawing the maps that decide the makeup of congressional and state districts. In 42 states, it is controlled by elected state-level politicians. That means that in all but eight states, whichever party controls the state capitol will also have the final say over how congressional districts are drawn. This cycle, the stakes could not be higher.

Voters in five counties in rural areas of Oregon voted on Tuesday to support a partisan movement to join Idaho, over what appears to be complaints of having to live in a state where there are more liberals than there are conservatives.

On Sunday, many Arab, Muslim and Palestinian communities boycotted President Biden’s virtual Eid celebration. We play a statement of solidarity from legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis on Sunday for “Eid with Palestine: A Protest of the White House Eid Event.” Davis also co-wrote piece for The Nation with our guest Noura Erakat about how Erakat’s 26-year-old cousin Ahmad Erekat was shot by Israeli occupation forces after his car appeared to have accidentally crashed into a booth at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank while he was on the way to pick up his mother and sister on her wedding day. Erakat says Israel still refuses to release his body to his family. “All Palestinians are deemed a threat for their mere existence,” says Erakat. “What we see happen to Ahmad has been a pattern.”