April 20: What Really Happened Last Week

Civil society stands up, good news for trans rights, and more

Hello friends.

Seattle Art Museum

I’m a journalist with two decades of experience. Welcome to my weekly, highly curated list of top stories, bright spots, and action steps, helping you navigate the mayhem, focusing on the topics of this newsletter: caregiving, youth, climate change, human rights, mental health.

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This week:

1. Proof Of Life For Kilmar Albrego Garcia

2. Harvard, Big 10, some foundations, climate groups get in fighting stance

3. Court win for trans rights here; loss in UK

4. The coming war on regulations

5. Children are starving because of US

~~~Good news/wild card~~~

1. Proof Of Life For Kilmar Albrego Garcia

It's been a consequential week, where by many accounts we crossed over into a full dictatorship.

That's because the President told El Salvador’s Bukele to build “five more” gulags to hold American citizens. Anyone he doesn't like could be snatched off the streets and transported overseas where, the US government claims, they have no way to bring them back. (A citizen already detained on immigration charges in Florida; another held for 10 days in Arizona.)

Response:

It's a terrifying moment. But it’s a good sign that Kilmar Albrego Garcia’s Democratic Senator, Chris Van Hollen, flew to El Salvador and was able to meet with the dad, who the government has admitted was transported there by mistake. Public scrutiny may be able to save these men’s lives and ultimately secure their freedom.

It’s another good sign that the Supreme Court rushed through a dramatic and unusual ruling late Saturday night that sought to halt more flights of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.