WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Going door to door with hidden cameras in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods, the Heritage Foundation has been creating videos that falsely claim noncitizens are voting in significant numbers in swing states, according to a New York Times report. An arm of the conservative think tank has taken tiny samples — 50 people in Georgia, 40 in North Carolina — to conclude that noncitizen voting poses a threat to the coming elections. Repeated analyses of the issue, including one by the Heritage Foundation itself and another by Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, have found no such evidence, and some of those recorded as saying they were registered have backed away from such declarations. Heritage stands by its claim. (New York Times)
The activist who engineered the conservative majority on the Supreme Court is launching a $1 billion effort to “crush” liberal America. Leonard Leo, who helped build a pipeline of conservative judges, wants to do something similar for “talent and capital” in news and entertainment. With a network of nonprofits and a $1.6 billion donation at his disposal, Leo intends to invest in a local media company. He will also support campaigns against companies, financial institutions, and public agencies that have diversity policies or socially responsible investing practices. (Financial Times — subscription)
A Texas energy magnate is pushing a $300 million lawsuit that could drive Greenpeace USA into bankruptcy. Billionaire Kelcy Warren’s Energy Transfer, an oil- and gas-pipeline provider, is suing the environmental group over its role in impeding the Dakota Access pipeline beginning in 2016. The lawsuit “alleges several Greenpeace entities incited the Dakota Access protests, funded attacks to damage the pipeline, and spread misinformation about the company and its project.” Greenpeace denies involvement in violence or property destruction, and critics of the suit say it threatens activists’ free speech. (Wall Street Journal— subscription)
Tim Ballard, who became a hero in conservative circles as the leader of an anti-human-trafficking nonprofit, faces multiple accusations of sexual assault and harassment. Ten women have told the New York Times that while they worked with Ballard, often on missions for his organization, Operation Underground Railroad, he coerced or forced them into sex acts. Sometimes those encounters included the type of people, including seemingly underage sex workers, they were supposed to be saving, some of the women said. Ballard, the subject of the hit movie “Sound of Freedom” last year, denies the allegations, which have resulted in six pending lawsuits. He stepped down from Operation Underground Railroad last year “as concerns about his conduct began percolating.” (New York Times)
Climate activism among California’s young people often springs from personal experience, ranging from pollution-linked health problems to the devastation of wildfires. Three young plaintiffs who are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over fossil-fuel pollution, for example, have suffered asthma and nosebleeds, been trapped at home amid rushing rain, and lost beloved childhood getaways to wildfires. Activism is a way not only to stem the effects of climate change but also to deal with the trauma, anxiety, and depression that experts say climate change can feed, especially among children and adolescents. (Los Angeles Times)
A group of young people who sued the federal government over fossil-fuel policies has asked the Supreme Court to examine the case, which was dismissed by an appeals court. Represented by the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust, the plaintiffs say the Justice Department has relied on procedural moves to deprive them of their day in court. The Justice Department argues that the trial court lacks jurisdiction and that a trial could not produce a “workable remedy that could be ordered or enforced.” An appeals court had ruled that the political arena, rather than the courts, was the proper venue to air the issue. (New York Times)
The country’s Catholic hospitals have strayed from their social-care mission, focusing more on fiscal issues and faith-based restrictions on care than on tending to the poor and marginalized, critics say. Catholic hospital systems make up a sizeable portion of the industry and sometimes hold a monopoly in their areas. One chain in Washington state charges rates well above Medicare’s reimbursement rates or those of other systems in the state, researchers say. Meanwhile more than three dozen Catholic systems pay their CEOs more than $1 million annually. Their defenders say they must pay well to attract the best leaders, and they dismiss research showing that the value of Catholic hospitals’ community care lags the value of their tax exemptions, saying it is incomplete. (KFF Health News)
This year is on track to be among the deadliest on record for aid workers around the world. Nearly 200 have been killed so far, compared with 280 last year. Local staff are the most frequent targets, as experts say they bear much of the responsibility for delivering aid but “usually do not have access to the same level of security, training, and protection as international staff.” The most dangerous places for aid groups are Gaza, Sudan, and South Sudan. The director of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said there has been “an erosion and disrespect of the established norms” that used to protect aid workers in conflict zones. (Guardian)
In an interview, Melinda French Gates describes her life as a series of evolutions, from getting better at giving away money, to learning how to combine philanthropy and political activism. With a limited-liability company, Pivotal Ventures, and a foundation at her disposal since her departure from the Gates Foundation, she now has the flexibility to give to, invest in, and lobby for women’s issues and says she feels “extraordinarily energized about the work ahead.” (Vanity Fair)
A Las Vegas man has admitted to running a telemarketing scam that duped people into thinking they were donating to charity, while he pocketed most of the money. Federal prosecutors say Richard Zeitlin took in hundreds of millions of dollars via call centers soliciting for charity and political action committees starting as early as 1994. From 2017 through 2020, they say up to 90 percent of the money collected went to Zeitlin’s companies. Zeitlin advised some prospective clients to operate PACs instead of charities to avoid some regulations and then instructed staff to represent PACs as charities to prospective donors, prosecutors say. He will forfeit $8.9 million of the criminal proceeds and could spend 10 to 13 years in prison under a plea agreement. (Associated Press)
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Young People: Young Futures aims to support youth-led, youth-designed solutions that give teens the agency to thrive in a tech-filled world. Young Futures’ Under Pressure Challenge is a $1 million commitment and open funding call for early-stage organizations and solutions focused on alleviating the pressures teens (ages 10 to 19) in the U.S. feel growing up in a tech driven world. Solutions can be tech driven (e.g., an app or online platform), offered online or in-person (e.g., campaign, curriculum, community, or digital platform), or feature a hybrid approach. Grant up to $1 million total will be provided to up to ten organizations.
Education: The Teagle Foundation works to support and strengthen liberal arts education in the United States. The Foundation’s Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts initiative, jointly sponsored with the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, aims to bring the lifelong benefits of a liberal arts education to students who historically have been excluded from higher education—including low-income students, first-generation students, students of color, and immigrant students. Support is provided for statewide, regional, or consortial academic partnerships between public two-year and private four-year colleges to facilitate transfer and completion of the baccalaureate in the liberal arts. Deadline for concept papers is December 1.
