Top news stories and must-read articles.

Congress to vote on net neutrality

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted last year to repeal net neutrality regulations that protect free internet. In accordance with this vote, the regulations are set to expire on June 11^th. However, a bipartisan group of senators, including Senator Collins of Maine, are trying to pass a resolution that would override the FCC’s decision to end net neutrality.

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Secretary Carson decides not to enforce Fair Housing Act

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, has decided to end an Obama-era regulation that worked to address racial inequality in housing. The rule was designed to help enforce the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by promoting the desegregating of communities. In response to this rule change, the ACLU and partner organizations have filed suit against Ben Carson.

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NC voters reject anti-immigrant sheriff

A local sheriff in North Carolina has been helping deportations sore in Mecklenburg county. However, in a primary this week, the people of Mecklenburg County voted overwhelmingly to defeat this sheriff. This defeat shows that Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda is not a winning strategy. 

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Worrisome signs in NSA report

The NSA released its annual transparency report this week. The report, which the agency is required to release each year, detailed numerous troubling actions. The agency collected 530 million call records last year – three times more than the previous year. The agency has also increased its surveillance of foreigners and has failed to report certain numbers.

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Top news stories and must-read articles.

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Proposed AUMF gives Trump broad war powers

A bipartisan group of senators have proposed a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). The constitution vests the power to declare war in Congress. With this legislation, Congress would yield its authority and gives President Trump broad un-checked power to take military action at his discretion.

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Trump’s ‘faith initiative’ worries LGBTQ advocates

Trump signed a new executive order that he says will work to protect religious freedom. The executive order works to help faith-based organizations and allow them to exercise their ‘deeply-help beliefs’. While religious freedom is important, the language in this order may allow for discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

Parents and children continue to be separated at border

A new report reveals that approximately 700 children have been separated from their parents along the nation’s southern border. Under the Trump administration, families arriving at the border have been routinely separated.

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Latest push to confirm Haspel

The CIA has been selectively declassifying documents this week that look to help Gina Haspel as she tries to get confirmed as CIA director. Haspel was intimately involved with Bush-era torture programs. Haspel’s full record needs to be released so the public can see the extent of her involvement in torture black sites.

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