News Briefs

United Methodist church lifts anti-LGBTQ bans. United Methodist delegates have begun making historic policy changes on sexuality, voting without debate to reverse a series of anti-LGBTQ policies. The delegates voted to delete mandatory penalties for clergy conducting same-sex marriages. They also removed their denomination’s bans on considering LGBTQ candidates for ministry and on funding for gay-friendly ministries. The actions follow a historic schism in what was long the third-largest denomination in the United States. About one-quarter of U.S. congregations left between 2019 and 2023, mostly conservative churches dismayed that the denomination wasn’t enforcing its longstanding LGBTQ bans.

Marijuana poised for lesser classification in U.S. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country. The White House Office of Management and Budget will review the Justice Department proposal. It would recognize the medical use of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some other drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s signature throws the full weight of the Justice Department behind the move.

Ten years after individual states began legalizing marijuana, signs of a shift in perspective surface.

Federal judges block new Louisiana congressional map. A new Louisiana congressional map giving the state a second majority-Black House district has been rejected by a panel of federal judges. The 2-1 decision on April 30 fuels new uncertainty about district boundaries as the state prepares for fall congressional elections. Challengers of the new map said it amounted to an unconstitutional gerrymander designed specifically with race in mind. However, another federal court has already ruled that an earlier map with only one mostly Black district likely violates the federal Voting Rights Act. The new ruling likely will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida abortion ban takes effect. Florida’s ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy has gone into effect, and some doctors are concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to needed health care. The May 1 ban affects not just women who want to terminate viable pregnancies because of personal choice, but also nonviable pregnancies for women who want to have babies. Voters may be able to enshrine abortion rights in Florida’s constitution after a separate state Supreme Court ruling allowed a proposed constitutional amendment to be on the November ballot.

Leaving abortion to states increases the stakes for the 2024 election – and roils Republicans over how to respond.

Antony Blinken meets with Israeli leaders in cease-fire push. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders on May 1 in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas to impress on them that “the time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war. He said that Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to achieve a deal. A truce could avert an Israeli incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering. 

With Gaza talks being conducted in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar, there is a sense of hope in the Middle East for what diplomats are calling a “last best chance” for a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement.

Hundreds of student protesters arrested in New York. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says about 300 people were arrested in police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and City College on May 1. Hours earlier, police burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring other campuses to act. After scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators lasted several hours at UCLA, police wearing helmets and face shields slowly separated the groups and quelled the violence.

For protesters, the tactic of occupying buildings at Columbia University and beyond has historical echoes. But it also creates new risks for campuses and for the protesters themselves.

Trump fined by hush money trial judge. Donald Trump has been held in contempt of court and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, and some others connected to his New York hush money case. The judge warned that Mr. Trump could be jailed. Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. The decision is a rebuke for the Republican former president, who insisted he was exercising his free speech rights. The ruling came at the start of the second week of testimony.

World plastics ban. The world’s nations finished a round of negotiations early on April 30 on a treaty to end plastic pollution and made more progress than they have in three prior meetings. The talk shifted in Ottawa, Ontario, from sharing ideas to negotiating treaty language. Limiting how much plastic is manufactured globally is on the table. Work on the treaty will continue between now and the next meeting. Many traveled to Ottawa from communities affected by plastic manufacturing and pollution. Negotiators aim to finalize the treaty this fall. 

Four police officers killed in North Carolina. A shootout that killed four law enforcement officers and wounded four others in North Carolina began as officers approached a home to serve a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm, police said. It was the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since five officers were killed by a sniper during a protest in Dallas in 2016. A second shooter began firing on a second wave of officers rushing to the aid of the downed officers. The wanted man was killed.

Columbia University students protesters take over building. Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York April 30, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window. Protesters on Columbia’s Manhattan campus locked arms in front of Hamilton Hall and carried furniture and metal barricades to the building, one of several that was occupied during a 1968 civil rights and anti-Vietnam War protest, video footage showed. While the university didn’t call police to roust the demonstrators, school spokesperson Ben Chang said suspensions had started but could provide few details.

On university campuses in the Vietnam era, opposition to the war galvanized a mass movement. But the conflict over Gaza involves two groups with passionate and personal views on a complex political issue.

Nine states sue Biden administration over Title IX protections. Nine Republican-led states and several conservative groups on April 29 filed lawsuits challenging new Biden administration regulations that bar schools and colleges that receive federal funding from discriminating against students based on their gender identity. The states and advocacy groups filed the lawsuits in federal courts in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas challenging new U.S. Department of Education regulations that extend Title IX sex discrimination protections in federal civil rights law to LGBTQ students. 

Israeli security units committed human rights violations. The United States found five units of Israel’s security forces responsible for gross violations of human rights, the State Department said on April 29, though it has not barred any of the units from receiving U.S. military assistance. Israel has conducted “remediation” in the cases of four of the units in compliance with U.S. law, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said. The incidents in question took place outside of Gaza before conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, Mr. Patel said.

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Haiti chooses next prime minister amid gang violence. Haiti’s transition council on April 30 named Edgard Leblanc, the former senate president, to head the body instated last week as it seeks to bring security back to the violence-wracked Caribbean nation. In a ceremony, the council – formed by seven voting members including Mr. Leblanc and two non-voting observers – also named Fritz Belizaire, former youth and sports minister, to be prime minister. Leaders of the gangs who have exerted increasing control are clamoring for political influence and amnesties and threatening violence if their demands are not met. 

Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, resigns. His resignation triggers a leadership contest as the governing Scottish National Party seeks to heal internal divisions and strengthen its position ahead of U.K.-wide parliamentary elections expected later this year. Mr. Yousaf’s pro-independence party has been weakened by a campaign finance scandal and divisions over transgender rights. He was brought down by his decision to oust the Green Party from his governing coalition because of differences over climate change goals. He resigned after being unable to cobble together a majority in Scotland’s devolved regional parliament.

Spain’s prime minister will stay in office. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he will continue in office “even with more strength” after days of reflection. Mr. Sánchez shocked the country last week when he said he was taking five days off to think about his future after a court opened preliminary proceedings against his wife on corruption allegations. The legal complaint against his wife Begoña Gómez was filed by a well-known far right-wing legal platform that says Ms. Gómez used her position to influence business deals. 

Georgia “foreign agents” bill stirs protests. Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on April 29, as protests grew against a bill on “foreign agents” that the country’s opposition and Western countries have said is authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Georgia’s parliament said it would hold the bill’s second reading on April 30, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass protests against its expected passage. If passed, the draft law would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” or face fines. 

Polls show that 85% of Georgia’s citizens want a West-facing future – and membership in the European Union. But since the Georgian Dream party won democratic elections in 2012, there has been backsliding in anti-corruption, press freedom, and justice.

Kenya dam collapses in heavy rain. A dam in Kenya collapsed following heavy rains sending waters sweeping through house, cutting off a major road, and killing at least 40 people, local police reported. The Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, collapsed April 29 and water spilled downstream, carrying mud, rocks, and uprooted trees. Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has already killed nearly 100 people and postponed the opening of schools.

World Central Kitchen will resume Gaza aid. World Central Kitchen (WCK) said it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on April 29, a month after seven workers of the U.S.-based charity were killed in an Israeli air strike. Prior to halting operations, WCK had distributed more than 43 million meals in Gaza since October, representing by its own accounts 62% of all international nongovernmental organization aid. The charity said it had 276 trucks with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing and will also send trucks into Gaza from Jordan.

As international aid agencies pulled back in Gaza after the drone strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy last month, a heavier burden fell on local humanitarian workers. Their determination to save lives helps them persevere.