Author: Common Dreams

Nearly 50 million people were trapped in forced labor or forced marriage on any given day in 2021, according to a new report published on September 12, the latest reminder that “the scourge of modern slavery has by no means been relegated to history.” The International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that the number of people around the globe living in slavery — defined as a situation of “exploitation that a person cannot refuse or cannot leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuse of power” — increased by 9.3...

Republican Senator Ron Johnson, facing a tough reelection contest in November, said during a recent meeting with constituents that he opposes a bill to codify same-sex marriage rights into federal law as the Senate Democratic leadership plans to hold a vote in the coming weeks, warning the protections are under threat from the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. Speaking at a Common Sense Citizens of Washington County meeting last week, Johnson said his comment in July signaling that he saw “no reason to oppose” the Respect for Marriage Act was issued just to get reporters to stop pressing him. “I...

Ex-President Donald Trump was accused of inciting domestic terrorism following a September 3 rally speech, in which he called President Joe Biden an “enemy of the state” while threatening a “backlash the likes of which nobody has ever seen.” The statements came in response to the federal investigation into his possession of classified documents. Making his first public appearance since the FBI’s August 8 raid on his Florida resort home, Trump addressed supporters at a “Save America” rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he stumped for Republican gubernatorial candidate and “Big Lie” supporter Doug Mastriano and U.S. Senate hopeful and...