5 vital stories to know this week [5/26]
From the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israel and Hamas leaders, to Harrison Butker's sexist commencement speech, here are five stories you need to know this week.
ICC issues arrest warrants for Hamas and Israel Leaders
On May 20, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it has applied for arrest warrants for five Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the first time a Western-allied state has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the ICC. If the application is accepted, states that recognize the ICC’s authority will be required to arrest the Israel and Hamas leaders if they enter their country.
The U.S. response: President Biden denounced the ICC’s ruling, rejecting the idea that there is “genocide” going on in Gaza, despite human rights organizations' plea. Republicans are planning to invite Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak to Congress in response to the ICC’s ruling.
Blinken called "war criminal" by protesters during hearing
Protesters from groups like CodePink distributed a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday, where Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was giving a testimony regarding the Israel-Hamas war. With blood on their hands to symbolize the 35,000 Palestinians who have been killed directly and indirectly by Israeli forces, the protesters called Blinken a “war criminal, the secretary of genocide,” and “bloody butcher Blinken.”
“What has our country come to?” said Medea Benjamin, American activist and CodePink’s founder, as she cried outside the halls of Congress. “I don’t want to live in a country that supports genocide.”
Context: Israel has killed at least 35,903 Palestinians — including babies, children, and women — and wounded 80,420 in its 232-day war on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker says a woman should be a 'homemaker' in college commencement speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker spoke at Benedictine College’s commencement address, where he gave an anti-abortion rant and spoke about how women need to accept their family roles.
“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker said, speaking to hundreds of graduates. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”
At other moments, Butker lamented people who push “dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America” and seemed to reference LGBTQ+ Pride Month as “the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.” He also referred to “the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion” and said abortion, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy “stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.”
ADHD diagnoses are rising. 1 in 9 U.S. kids have gotten one, new study finds
1 in 9 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with AHDH, according to the CDC, which is calling attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder an "expanding public health concern." That jump in diagnoses was not surprising given that the data was collected during the pandemic, per Melissa Danielson, a statistician with the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and the study's lead author.
Danielson notes that other studies have found that many children experienced heightened stress, depression, and anxiety during the pandemic, saying, "A lot of those diagnoses... might have been the result of a child being assessed for a different diagnosis, something like anxiety or depression, and their clinician identifying that the child also had ADHD.”
Remembering our soldiers and veterans this Memorial Day
This Memorial Day, we honor the soldiers who perished in sacrifice for freedom and democracy for our country. We also remember the veterans who are suffering from the consequences of war and urge lawmakers to do more for veterans’ mental health illnesses and equity.