Freedom
Supreme Court case about ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ highlights debate over truthful advertising standards
Supreme Court case about ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ highlights debate over truthful advertising standards The Supreme Court case First Choice Women’s Resource Centers Inc. v. Platkin revolves around whether crisis pregnancy centers can protect their donor records from disclosure to state authorities, despite being accused of deceptive practices. Crisis pregnancy centers are Christian nonprofits that appear […]
📰 News
Research breakthroughs often come through collaborations − attacks on academic freedom threaten this vital work
Research breakthroughs often come through collaborations − attacks on academic freedom threaten this vital work Academic freedom is under threat worldwide, with many researchers facing funding cuts due to their perceived ideological bias, leading to a decline in global research collaborations and scientific discovery. The “collaboration dividend” – where global research collaborations optimize human and […]
🔬 Science
First Amendment in flux: When free speech protections came up against the Red Scare
First Amendment in flux: When free speech protections came up against the Red Scare The First Amendment’s free speech protections have not always been enough to safeguard individual rights, as seen during the Red Scare of the 1940s and ’50s. In 1947, the Hollywood Ten screenwriters and directors were subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities […]
🏛️ Politics
Supreme Court soon to hear a religious freedom case that’s united both sides of the church-state divide
Supreme Court soon to hear a religious freedom case that’s united both sides of the church-state divide The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on November 10, 2025, in the case Landor v. Louisiana, which involves a Rastafarian inmate’s right to sue for monetary damages after his religious rights were violated by the warden. […]
📰 News
Washington state settles controversy over child abuse law that tested the limits of ‘priest-penitent’ privilege
Washington state settles controversy over child abuse law that tested the limits of ‘priest-penitent’ privilege Washington state has settled a controversy over its child abuse law that tested the limits of the “priest-penitent” privilege, which protects clergy from revealing information learned during confidential sacred rites. The law, SB 5375, required clergy to report child sexual […]
📰 News
ICE is building a social media panopticon
ICE is building a social media panopticon ICE is expanding an online surveillance system to track millions of users on social media platforms. The agency has paid $5.7 million for an AI-powered platform called Zignal Labs, which can ingest and analyze vast amounts of publicly available data. The platform provides “real-time intelligence” that could potentially […]
📰 News
Gender is not an ideology – but conservative groups know learning about it empowers people to think for themselves
Gender is not an ideology – but conservative groups know learning about it empowers people to think for themselves Conservative groups are launching attacks on teaching about gender in colleges and universities, which they claim is an ideology that empowers people to think for themselves. However, experts argue that this is part of a larger […]
🏛️ Politics
New Pentagon policy is an unprecedented attempt to undermine press freedom
New Pentagon policy is an unprecedented attempt to undermine press freedom The Pentagon has introduced a new policy that could curb journalists’ ability to report on military actions without government approval, threatening press freedom. The initial policy change required journalists covering the Defense Department to sign a contract stating that department information must be approved […]
📰 News
Banning abortion is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes
Banning abortion is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes Banning abortion has become a hallmark of authoritarian regimes around the world, including countries like Poland, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. The US is mirroring this pattern, with restrictions on reproductive rights leading to increased death and suffering for women and their families, as well as erosion of […]
🏛️ Politics
10 effective things citizens can do to make change in addition to attending a protest
10 effective things citizens can do to make change in addition to attending a protest Pro-democracy groups successfully organized large-scale protests across the US, demonstrating that “together we are choosing democracy,” despite GOP leaders’ attempts to discredit them. Democracies that have suffered setbacks vary widely, but practices used globally to fight democratic backsliding or topple […]
🏛️ Politics