Brett Wilkins, Author at Flux

Republicans on Supreme Court strike down race-based affirmative action in college admissions

Brett Wilkins — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 18:44:02 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in a pair of casesthat affirmative action admissions programs at two universities are unconstitutional, a decision excoriated in dissents by liberal justices including Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote that the court’s right-wing supermajority is “entrenching inequality in education.” The justices ruled that racially conscious admissions programs at the University of […]

The post Republicans on Supreme Court strike down race-based affirmative action in college admissions appeared first on Flux.

‘Huge win for tribes’ as Supreme Court preserves Indian Child Welfare Act

Brett Wilkins — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 20:33:10 +0000

In what one chief called “a major victory” for Native American tribes, the United States Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a federal law enacted to protect Indian children from being separated from their families. The justices’ 7-2 decision in Haaland v. Brackeen leaves intact the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a 1978 law passed in response to over a […]

The post ‘Huge win for tribes’ as Supreme Court preserves Indian Child Welfare Act appeared first on Flux.

In yet another escalation, the US prepares to arm Ukraine with depleted uranium shells

Brett Wilkins — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 21:08:43 +0000

The Biden administration is expected to equip Ukrainian homeland defenders with armor-piercing depleted uranium munitions (DU) for their U.S.-supplied Abrams main battle tanks, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to threaten to retaliate with DU rounds—which are linked to birth defects, miscarriages, and cancer. Citing an unnamed senior Biden administration official, […]

The post In yet another escalation, the US prepares to arm Ukraine with depleted uranium shells appeared first on Flux.

Border Patrol indifference claims the life of 8-year-old girl

Brett Wilkins — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 18:16:19 +0000

Last month a coalition of migrant advocacy groups mourned and demanded justice for an 8-year-old Central American girl who died in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody earlier in the month. The #WelcomeWithDignity campaign for asylum rights remembered Anadith Tanay Reyes Álvarez, an 8-year-old girl who came to the United States with her Honduran parents, […]

The post Border Patrol indifference claims the life of 8-year-old girl appeared first on Flux.

Donald Trump Guilty

Brett Wilkins — Tue, 09 May 2023 19:59:59 +0000

A civil jury in New York City on Tuesday found former U.S. President Donald Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming—but not raping—journalist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and awarded her $5 million in damages. The jury awarded Carroll $2 million in compensatory damages and $20,000 in punitive damages for sexual battery, and $1 […]

The post Donald Trump Guilty appeared first on Flux.

Florida to intensify war on education

Brett Wilkins — Thu, 04 May 2023 18:28:17 +0000

Civil liberties defenders on Wednesday decried yet another bill passed by Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature attacking academic freedom while calling on Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to take the unlikely step of vetoing the measure. S.B. 266 would require Florida’s Board of Education and its state university system’s Board of Governors to establish faculty committees tasked with reviewing […]

The post Florida to intensify war on education appeared first on Flux.

In an act of self preservation, Pentagon shields Russia from accountability for war crimes

Brett Wilkins — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:01:52 +0000

The Pentagon is helping to shield Russia from International Criminal Court accountability for its atrocities in Ukraine, fearing such a reckoning could set a precedent allowing the tribunal to prosecute U.S. war crimes, a report published Wednesday revealed. According to The New York Times, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III and other Pentagon brass are blocking the […]

The post In an act of self preservation, Pentagon shields Russia from accountability for war crimes appeared first on Flux.

‘A Brazil of hope’ as leftist Lula defeats far-right Bolsonaro in presidential runoff

Brett Wilkins — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 13:00:33 +0000

“A huge blow against fascistic politics and a huge victory for decency and sanity.” That’s how RootsAction director Norman Solomon described Brazilian President-Elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Sunday presidential runoff victory against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, the culmination of a most remarkable political comeback for a man who was languishing behind bars just three years ago. With […]

The post ‘A Brazil of hope’ as leftist Lula defeats far-right Bolsonaro in presidential runoff appeared first on Flux.

‘Cruel disregard for life’: Rights groups condemn Iran’s deadly attacks on protesters

Brett Wilkins — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 18:00:16 +0000

Rights groups this week condemned Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, with Human Rights Watch on Wednesday publishing a report claiming hundreds of people—including numerous children—have been killed or wounded in recent weeks. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reviewed video footage and interviewed people who either took part in or witnessed the government’s repression of nationwide protests sparked […]

The post ‘Cruel disregard for life’: Rights groups condemn Iran’s deadly attacks on protesters appeared first on Flux.

‘Gut punch’: Biden pulls student debt relief for millions as GOP states sue

Brett Wilkins — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 13:00:09 +0000

Progressives on Thursday decried the Biden administration’s decision to exclude millions of people from its student loan relief plan, a move meant to thwart legal challenges like the lawsuit filed on the same day by six Republican-led states seeking to block President Joe Biden’s proposal to cancel up to $20,000 of federal educational debt per […]

The post ‘Gut punch’: Biden pulls student debt relief for millions as GOP states sue appeared first on Flux.