Friends, somewhere in this world, a mother holds her daughter close, wondering whether she will grow up with the freedom to make decisions about her own body, her own life, and her own future.

An Indigenous elder stands on ancestral land, determined to preserve the language, traditions, and sacred places generations struggled to protect.

A refugee carries what little remains of a life left behind. An immigrant family works tirelessly to build a future in a country where they may have no voice at the ballot box.

A transgender child wonders whether the world will accept them for who they are. A person with a disability asks for nothing more than the opportunity to participate fully in society.

A senior on a fixed income struggles to afford groceries, housing, and prescription medications. A veteran waits for the healthcare and benefits they were promised.

A high school senior dreams of college but fears a lifetime of debt. A person battling a serious illness worries that lifesaving treatment could cost them everything.

And a worker puts in another long day, hoping their paycheck will be enough to provide for their family.

Different lives. Different dreams. Different struggles. But one undeniable truth connects them all:

Decisions made at the ballot box can shape the lives of people who may never have the opportunity to cast a vote.

Our democracy doesn’t stop at our front doors. Its impact reaches across communities, generations, and oceans.

Remember Those Whose Voices Are Silenced

Not everyone has an equal opportunity to influence the decisions that shape their lives.

Some are too young to vote. Some are excluded by citizenship requirements or legal restrictions. Others face discrimination, barriers to participation, or governments that punish dissent.

And even among those who can vote, too many struggle to have their concerns heard.

Our choices also reach beyond America’s borders. Decisions about diplomacy, humanitarian assistance, and international security can affect families in Ukraine, refugees fleeing violence, and communities thousands of miles away.

We may never know their names. We may never hear their stories. But their lives matter just as much as our own.

We cannot cast a ballot for someone else, and we cannot assume to know what they would choose. But we can remember their lives, their rights, and their futures when making our own decisions.

We Are Voting for More Than Today

No single election can end poverty, stop every war, or eliminate injustice.

But elections determine who holds power, who makes decisions about our healthcare, education, economic security, and freedoms, and who can be held accountable when those decisions cause harm.

These are not abstract policy debates. They are kitchen-table decisions, hospital-room worries, dreams deferred, and futures hanging in the balance.

Because a vote is personal, but its consequences are shared.

Today’s Call to Actions

• Vote Early!

• Find and Share Voting Information.

• Become a poll worker.

• Pledge to attend an election protection NO KINGS mobilization if needed

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  • End Fossil Fuels

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❤️ One Thing to Carry With You

Friends, democracy isn’t simply about the world we live in today. It’s also about the world we leave for those who come after us.

The children who will inherit our decisions. The families whose struggles we may never see. The people whose voices are silenced, dismissed, or still waiting to be heard.

When we exercise our right to vote, we have an opportunity to think beyond ourselves, beyond our own families, and beyond our own borders.

Not everyone has that opportunity. And that makes it worth taking seriously.

For every voice. For every generation. For a future where dignity, freedom, and opportunity belong to everyone.

Power to the people!

Freedom over fascism. Progress over fear. Power to the people!

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.

We’ve been hard at work making some exciting improvements to how we deliver independent news, connect our communities, and help you take meaningful action.

At People Power United, we believe everyone deserves access to reliable information and the power to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people. That’s why we have zero paywalls, do zero fundraising, and remain fiercely independent.

And I’m not going to lie. It’s hard work! But knowing we’re reaching people where they are, helping communities stay informed, and empowering everyday people to make a difference makes every bit of it worthwhile.

And the best part? We’re doing it without wealthy donors, corporate interests, or anyone pulling strings behind the scenes.

Our commitment is to YOU. Always.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to explore what we’ve accomplished this past week. Check out our refreshed publications, expanded news and action resources, and improvements across the People Power United network.

Whether you prefer to read, listen, watch, or take action, we’re building more ways for you to stay connected, understand what’s happening, and make your voice heard.

And friends, we’re just getting started! There’s so much more on the way, all designed to put information, opportunity, and the power to create change where they belong: in your hands.

Because that’s what people power is all about. 💙

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Power to the People News: Democracy Under Pressure. Voting rights, ICE accountability, secret oil deals, war powers, climate warnings and people-powered resistance. Today’s top 10 news stories.

Corruption Exposed: Follow the Money. DHS luxury jets, $169.7 million in White House donations, a spyware warning and a missing Kennedy Center contribution raise accountability questions.

Supreme Court Accountability: Who Controls Justice? The Supreme Court weighs online privacy, sentencing power, political advertising rules, and constitutional rights in immigration detention.

Reproductive Freedom for All: Rights & Freedoms. Idaho voters weigh abortion rights, Ken Paxton’s record faces scrutiny, and GOP candidates retreat from past abortion bans.

Protect Democracy: Democracy Under Pressure. California voting charges, Florida student ID restrictions, Justice Department independence and Texas election monitoring.

Resist Trump and Republican Fuckery: Who Holds Power Accountable? Trump ballroom donors, election-security interference concerns, and ICE warehouse activity raise urgent accountability questions.

ICEbreaker News: ICE Deaths, Use of Force, and Accountability. A death in ICE custody, a U.S. citizen injured by agents, body-camera failures, and a Supreme Court immigration appeal.

🌎 Protect Our Planet: Climate Thresholds and Places Worth Protecting. A major climate warning, Big Bend border-wall risks, post-fire flood lessons, and a major conservation commitment.

❤️ One Thing to Carry With You

Friends, here’s something worth remembering: The people in power are supposed to answer to us. Not the other way around.

I’m really proud of all of us who never give up, keep working hard to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people, and continue to have hope in our collective power.

Our tax dollars are not blank checks. Public office is not a personal kingdom. And freedom of speech is not a privilege granted only to those who agree with the people in charge.

We have every right to know where our money goes, why decisions are being made, and who benefits. We have every right to demand transparency, challenge injustice, and stand beside our neighbors when their rights are threatened.

That is what accountability looks like. And that is how democracy stays alive.

We do not need permission to ask questions. We do not owe anyone our silence. And we will not be intimidated into looking away.

So keep speaking out. Keep demanding receipts. Keep standing up for one another.

Because democracy belongs to the people, and power should always answer to us.

Freedom over fascism. Progress over fear. Power to the people!

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.

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Resist & Rising Together Weekly: Good News and Progress from the Resistance

Friends, if you need a reminder that good things are still happening in this country, I’ve got some good news for you! We had so much good news this week that we had to run two Good News pieces!

This week, Nebraska’s Supreme Court protected voting rights for eligible Americans overseas, while California advocates saved thousands of oak trees and vital wildlife habitat. In New Orleans, Planned Parenthood restored in-person reproductive healthcare. And in Los Angeles, nearly 500 Sysco workers won higher wages and stronger workplace protections after a three-day strike.

These wins remind us that progress is not just possible. It is happening right now, in communities across America, because everyday people are showing up and building power together.

There is still so much worth believing in. There is still so much worth protecting. And the people are still rising.

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🗽 Wins for Freedom Over Fascism

Nebraska Supreme Court protects voting rights for eligible Americans living overseas.

On October 16, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a state law allowing certain U.S. citizens born abroad to register and vote in Nebraska. In a 6–1 decision, the justices found that challengers had failed to establish that the law was unconstitutional in all its applications. The ruling preserves voting access for eligible overseas citizens with qualifying parental ties to Nebraska. Nebraska Examiner

Why this is a win: Every eligible voter deserves a voice. The decision protects an existing pathway to democratic participation and rejects an effort to eliminate it.

🌎 Wins for Protecting Our Planet

Community advocates save thousands of oak trees.

On October 16, environmental and recreation organizations announced a settlement over the proposed Coyote Creek solar development in Sacramento County. The agreement significantly reduces the project’s impact on mature blue oaks, with tree losses capped at 200 instead of the approximately 3,500 originally anticipated. It also includes substantial conservation protections for surrounding habitat. The Abridged by PBS KVIE

Progress worth celebrating: Clean energy and conservation do not have to be enemies. Local advocates pushed for a better approach that protects thousands of trees and important wildlife habitat while allowing a redesigned renewable-energy project to proceed. A separate tribal cultural-resources dispute remains unresolved.

💗 Wins for Reproductive Freedom for All

Planned Parenthood opens in New Orleans, restoring in-person reproductive healthcare.

On October 14, Planned Parenthood returned to providing in-person healthcare in New Orleans through its Great Plains network. The new health center restores access to services including contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, cancer screenings, and other preventive healthcare. The reopening follows the closure of the organization’s previous Louisiana operations and builds on expanded telehealth services. Planned Parenthood Louisiana

A step in the right direction: Reproductive freedom includes the ability to obtain reliable healthcare, preventive services, and information about your body. Restoring in-person care gives patients another place to receive essential medical services.

✊ Wins for Labor Rights

Nearly 500 Sysco workers secure major contract improvements after three-day strike.

On October 16, Teamsters in Los Angeles announced ratification of a new agreement with Sysco after workers held a three-day strike. Nearly 500 members of Locals 630 and 848 secured significant wage increases and protections for longstanding workplace rights. Union leaders described the agreement as one of the strongest in their history. Teamsters

Why this is a big deal: Workers demonstrated that collective action can produce real economic improvements. Their organizing resulted in a ratified agreement that protects existing rights while increasing compensation and setting an example for food distribution workers elsewhere.

There is still so much worth believing in.

Voting rights were protected. Journalists gained important safeguards. Immigrant communities saw legal protections upheld. Wildlife and thousands of trees gained protection. Reproductive healthcare returned to a community, and workers secured stronger contracts. Share this good news with someone who needs a reminder that progress is still possible.

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Progress happens because people refuse to give up.

Friends, this week’s victories remind us that progress comes in many forms.

Sometimes it is a court ruling that protects voting rights. Sometimes it is a community coming together to save thousands of oak trees and protect wildlife. Sometimes it is a reproductive healthcare center reopening its doors. And sometimes it is nearly 500 workers standing together to secure better wages and stronger workplace protections.

None of these victories happened by accident. They happened because people organized, spoke out, challenged decisions, and refused to give up.

Not every victory is permanent. Not every challenge has ended. But every meaningful step forward matters.

We are not powerless. We are not alone. And progress is still possible.

Power belongs to the people who show up, speak out, stand together, and demand accountability from the leaders and institutions that serve our communities.

Join us as we continue to champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people!

Laurie Woodward Garcia, (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests) Leader, People Power United

Friends, if you need a reminder that good things are still happening in this country, I’ve got some good news for you!

This week, communities across all 50 states came together for more than 3,000 planned No Kings: Vote Early events, showing the power of grassroots organizing and civic participation.

A federal judge protected journalists’ access to the White House, while another dismissed a lawsuit challenging New York City’s sanctuary protections. And in Ohio, school bus drivers showed what solidarity can accomplish, securing a new contract after nearly two weeks on strike.

Different communities. Different challenges. One powerful reminder: When people organize, stand together, and refuse to give up, progress is possible.

There is still so much worth believing in. And the people are still rising.

Subscribe now

🗽 Wins for Freedom Over Fascism

More than 3,000 No Kings: Vote Early events bring communities together nationwide.

On October 17, communities across all 50 states participated in No Kings: Vote Early, a nationwide mobilization focused on voting rights and civic participation. Organizers planned more than 3,000 events, including community gatherings, marches, concerts, and activities encouraging eligible Americans to vote early ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. Organizers and volunteers brought voter education and participation into neighborhoods, cities, and small towns. The New York Times

Why we're celebrating: Thousands of grassroots events demonstrated the reach of community organizing and helped make voting information and opportunities more visible. The mobilization brought people together around exercising their democratic rights.

Federal judge protects journalists’ access to the White House.

On October 14, a federal judge extended an injunction protecting journalists from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico against exclusion from the White House press pool. The court found constitutional problems with restrictions based on the administration’s objections to their reporting. The injunction preserves access while the case continues, although the government plans to appeal. NPR

Why this matters: A free press must be able to question people in power without being punished for critical coverage. Protecting independent journalists helps protect the public’s right to know what its government is doing.

🫶 Wins for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Federal judge dismisses lawsuit attacking New York City’s sanctuary protections.

On October 15, a federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit challenging New York City’s sanctuary laws, which limit how city agencies participate in federal immigration enforcement. The court concluded that the federal government had not established a sufficient legal basis to invalidate those policies. The decision preserves the city’s existing protections, although it does not prevent federal immigration authorities from enforcing federal law independently. The Guardian

What this victory makes possible: Communities should not automatically be required to turn local public employees and resources into an extension of federal immigration enforcement. The ruling protects important limits on federal power and local decision-making.

✊ Wins for Labor Rights

Ohio school bus drivers win new contract after nearly two weeks on strike.

School bus drivers represented by OAPSE Local 184 reached a four-year agreement with First Student Transportation. The drivers serve Cincinnati’s Princeton School District and had raised concerns about wages, affordable healthcare, and retaining experienced staff. Their nearly two-week strike brought attention to working conditions for employees who transport thousands of children. AFSCME

People power delivers: The drivers stood together to demand better treatment and secured a negotiated agreement. Their organizing shows that workers providing essential community services have collective power to push employers toward better conditions.

There is still so much worth believing in.

More than 3,000 No Kings: Vote Early events were planned nationwide, bringing communities together around voting rights and civic participation. A federal judge protected journalists’ access to the White House, while another upheld New York City’s sanctuary protections. And in Ohio, school bus drivers demonstrated the power of solidarity by securing a new contract after nearly two weeks on strike.

Different victories, one powerful reminder: When people organize, stand together, and refuse to give up, progress happens. Share this good news with someone who needs a reminder that progress is still possible.

Share

If this post informed you, moved you, or gave you something worth passing on, please tap ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who should see it. Every interaction helps more people find this work and helps us build people power together.

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Progress happens because people refuse to give up.

Friends, this week’s victories remind us that progress comes in many forms.

Sometimes it looks like thousands of communities coming together to defend voting rights and encourage civic participation. Sometimes it is a court protecting press freedom or upholding a city’s right to set its own policies. And sometimes it is school bus drivers standing together for nearly two weeks until they secure a better contract.

These victories did not happen by accident. They happened because people organized, challenged abuses of power, stood together, and refused to give up.

Not every victory is permanent. Not every challenge has ended. But every step forward matters, and every victory reminds us that people power can make a difference. Join us to advocate for freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

Laurie Woodward Garcia, (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests) Leader, People Power United

The No Kings movement is rising again, and our national event map now features more than 2,000 locations!

Across America, people are standing up against authoritarianism, attacks on our freedoms, rising costs, and policies that put billionaires before everyday families.

They want silence. They want fear. They want obedience.

We are giving them none of it.

America belongs to the people, not strongmen, oligarchs, or would-be kings. And on Saturday, October 17, 2026, we are showing up again for peaceful No Kings actions nationwide.

This time, we are also turning people power into voter power.

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🗺️ Find Your No Kings Event: 2,000+ Locations!

Our national No Kings map now includes more than 2,000 locations, making it easier to find an event near you.

Saturday, October 17, 2026

• 📍 Explore the national No Kings map (updated October 16)

• Find your city on our event list

• Sign up for a No Kings event on Mobilize

• Learn more about the No Kings movement

Don’t see an event nearby? Consider organizing one with your neighbors. Every community deserves a voice.

From People Power to Voter Power

October 17 is about more than showing up. It’s about protecting our rights, strengthening our communities, and helping every eligible voter participate.

Vote early where available. Know your rights. Help your neighbors make a plan to vote.

Early voting dates and rules vary by state, so check your local election information before heading to the polls. Check out our Ballot & Voting informational guide.

We don’t wait for Election Day to defend democracy. We organize now. We prepare now. We show up now.

How You Can Help

• Show up peacefully. No Kings actions are rooted in nonviolence, de-escalation, and respect for the law. Leave weapons at home.

• Wear yellow. A bold reminder that power belongs to the people.

• Spread the word. Share the event map, invite your neighbors, and use #NoKings and #NoKingsVoteEarly.

• Know your rights. Read our No Kings protest and rally guide.

• Speak out. Find your lawmakers on social media and demand policies that protect our rights, safety, and dignity.

Share this message:

❌👑 America has no kings! More than 2,000 locations are on our national No Kings map. Find an event, show up peacefully, and help turn people power into voter power. #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly

Get inspired: Watch Power to the People: We Rise

Keep People Power Growing

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Become a supporting subscriber to help keep our work accessible to everyone, and follow us on social media to amplify our message.

Fascism thrives on silence. Democracy grows through participation.

Freedom over fascism. Progress over fear. Power to the People.

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Resist & Rising Together Weekly: Good News and Progress from the Resistance

Friends, if you need a reminder that good things are still happening in this country and around the world, I’ve got some good news for you!

This week, judges stood up for voting rights, the government acknowledged that free speech cannot be used to exclude people from public events, immigrant advocates secured a meaningful court victory, and workers won contracts that put more money and protections in their hands. And the good news doesn’t stop at our borders.

These victories didn’t fall out of the sky. People organized, challenged abuses of power, stood together, and kept showing up.

There is still so much worth believing in. And the people are still rising.

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🗽 Wins for Freedom Over Fascism

Federal judge strikes down administration’s voter-roll policy.

On October 9, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled against a Justice Department policy to collect state voter rolls, compare them with federal immigration data, and seek removal of voters identified as potentially ineligible. The court found the policy violated federal legal protections and exceeded federal authority. Voting-rights advocates challenged the system because database errors could put eligible citizens at risk of removal. Spokesman Review

Why this is a win: Voters deserve accurate records, privacy, and protection against wrongful disenfranchisement. The ruling checks a dangerous expansion of federal power, although further appeals remain possible.

Government acknowledges that criticism cannot bar people from public events.

In a court filing made public October 6, federal officials confirmed that Maine activist Amanda McGonigle, creator of the CatsOnACouch social media accounts, must be treated like other registered attendees at official vice-presidential events. McGonigle had challenged her exclusion after criticizing Vice President JD Vance online. The government also acknowledged that protected political expression cannot be grounds for excluding attendees. ACLU

Why this is a win: Your First Amendment rights do not disappear because powerful politicians dislike what you say. McGonigle’s legal challenge produced an explicit government commitment protecting participation and dissent.

🫶 Wins for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Federal court restores a critical immigration application process.

On October 8, immigrant-rights advocates announced that a federal court had blocked an administration policy preventing detained immigrants from completing required fingerprinting and other biometric steps in pending immigration applications. The policy had put people seeking humanitarian protections, including survivors of trafficking and domestic violence, at risk of losing access to lawful relief. National Immigration Project

Why this is a win: People should not lose their chance to seek legal protection simply because they are being detained. The court’s order restores an important procedural pathway while the legal dispute continues. Advocates and attorneys made this protection possible by challenging an administrative barrier with real human consequences.

💗 Wins for Reproductive Freedom for All

Maryland’s new emergency pregnancy-care protections take effect.

Maryland’s new law establishes requirements for hospitals treating emergency pregnancy-related medical conditions, including circumstances in which termination of pregnancy must be available. Maryland General Assembly

Why this is a win: Patients experiencing dangerous pregnancy complications gain clearer legal protections for emergency medical care.

✊ Wins for Labor Rights

Congressional staff secure a historic union agreement.

Staff in Representative Ro Khanna’s congressional office have ratified the first long-term union contract for congressional staff. The agreement includes a higher salary floor and a mechanism for revisiting wages if the office receives increased funding. The milestone comes four years after House staff gained the right to organize. Representative Ro Khanna

Why this is a win: The people who keep congressional offices running deserve workplace protections too. This agreement shows how organizing can change working conditions even within institutions where union representation is relatively new. It provides a meaningful example for other congressional workers considering collective bargaining.

Professional soccer players ratify stronger workplace protections.

The AFL-CIO is reporting that members of the United Soccer League Players Association, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, ratified an agreement after two years of bargaining. The union identified year-round contracts, minimum wage standards, and employer-paid health insurance as central priorities of the negotiations. AFL-CIO

Why this is a win: Professional athletes are workers, and their ability to organize matters. Their solidarity helped secure an agreement intended to make careers more stable and strengthen players’ voices.

There is still so much worth believing in.

Courts are checking abuses of power. Workers are winning stronger contracts. Communities are defending clean air, land, and climate protections.

These wins did not happen because powerful people suddenly decided to do the right thing. They happened because ordinary people stood together and demanded better.

A Complete Guide: No Kings Vote Early is now available

Get the information you need to make your No Kings Vote Early voting plan, understand early voting options, and know what to expect before you cast your ballot. Make a plan, check the details, and be ready to vote early.

📢 Check out A Complete Guide: No Kings Vote Early - October 17, 2026

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

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Progress happens because people refuse to give up.

Friends, every one of these victories tells us something important.

When voters and advocates challenge unlawful policies, democracy grows stronger. When our communities insist on fair procedures, fundamental rights gain protection. When neighbors organize to defend the environment, decision-makers have to answer for their choices. And when workers stand together, they can turn shared demands into better wages, benefits, and security.

Not every victory is permanent. Not every court battle is over. And there is still so much work ahead.

But the lesson from this week is clear.

We are not powerless. We are not alone. And progress is still possible.

Power belongs to the people who show up, speak out, stand together, and build the power to hold our leaders accountable to the people they serve.

Laurie Woodward Garcia

(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)

Leader, People Power United

If this post informed you, moved you, or gave you something worth passing on, please tap ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who should see it. Every interaction helps more people find this work and helps us build people power together.

Leave a comment

Share

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🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

People power does not build itself. It grows when people choose to stand together.

Every person who joins, stays connected, shares this work, and helps carry it forward makes this movement stronger. This belongs to all of us.

Whether you subscribe for free, become a paid supporter, or gift a subscription to someone else, you help People Power United keep informing people, organizing action, speaking truth to power, and holding those in power accountable to the people they serve.

Stay connected. Bring someone with you. Help us grow this people-powered movement.

Subscribe now

More and more people are connecting with our commitment to freedom over fear, progress, accountability, and power to the people. That growth tells me something important. People are looking for a place where they can stay informed, speak out, show up, connect with others, and build power together.

And we want to keep reminding folks what makes People Power United different: we do zero fundraising and have zero paywalls. Our work is about making news, information, and opportunities to take action available to everyone.

We generally send one People Power United newsletter each day. But for members who want to go deeper on the issues they care about most, we also publish focused newsletters exploring specific topics, including our work to defend and protect reproductive freedom for all.

I’m sharing today’s newsletter from that publication so you can get a feel for what we cover. It takes a deeper look at the news and action to defend bodily autonomy, protect reproductive healthcare, and advance reproductive justice.

If that’s your passion, I hope you’ll subscribe and join us there too. It publishes once a week, and like everything we do, the goal is simple: help people stay informed, get connected, and turn concern into action.

Power to the People!

Subscribe to Reproductive Freedom

What’s Happening This Week in Reproductive Freedom for All

Reproductive freedom is being tested this week in courtrooms, voting booths, laboratories, and state capitols.

Three Republican attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court to strike down laws protecting abortion providers who legally prescribe medication across state lines. Missouri voters are being asked whether to take back reproductive rights they put into their own constitution just two years ago. With Election Day less than a month away, abortion is again emerging as a test not only of what voters support, but whether elected officials will actually respect those choices.

And beyond politics, researchers are making progress toward something women have been waiting generations to see: more responsibility for contraception placed on men.

Different stories. Same underlying question.

Who gets to make decisions about our bodies, our healthcare, and our futures?

Subscribe to Reproductive Freedom

⚖️ Republican Attorneys General Challenge Abortion Shield Laws

Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate abortion shield laws in California, Massachusetts, and New York. Those laws protect providers who legally prescribe and mail abortion medication to patients in states with abortion bans.

The states also filed a separate federal lawsuit naming 30 defendants, including telehealth providers. Shield laws generally prevent one state from helping another investigate or punish providers for care that is legal where the clinician practices. NY Times

Medication abortion and telehealth have become important sources of care for people living under abortion bans, making this dispute consequential far beyond the states involved.

Why it matters: After Dobbs, abortion policy was described as returning to the states. This case asks what happens when one state tries to enforce its restrictions against healthcare legally provided from another. The outcome could affect patients, doctors, pharmacies, and telehealth providers nationwide.

🗳️ Missouri Voters Face Another Vote on Reproductive Rights

Missouri voters added reproductive-rights protections to their state constitution in 2024. This November, they will vote on another constitutional amendment that would largely replace those protections.

The proposal would allow abortion only in limited circumstances, including medical emergencies, certain fetal diagnoses, and rape or incest before 12 weeks. It also includes restrictions involving gender-affirming care for minors. TPM – Talking Points Memo

Access remains uneven even after voters restored reproductive rights. One Missouri mother described traveling for two days because she could not obtain an appointment close to home soon enough.

Why it matters: Voters are being asked to revisit rights they approved only two years ago. The result will affect not just constitutional language, but whether patients can actually find a provider, afford travel, arrange child care, and receive care when they need it.

💊 Reversible Male Contraception Moves Forward

Researchers are advancing long-lasting, reversible male contraceptives that could give people more options for preventing pregnancy.

One approach under development temporarily blocks sperm from passing through the vas deferens and is designed to last for years while potentially remaining reversible. Other nonhormonal methods are also moving through clinical development. One company has completed a Phase 2 clinical trial and plans Phase 3 testing, with a goal of seeking FDA approval in 2028. Other approaches remain earlier in development, so approval is not imminent. The Washington Post

Why it matters: Contraceptive responsibility has historically fallen disproportionately on women. More safe and effective options for men could expand reproductive autonomy while allowing partners to share more of the responsibility, cost, and planning involved in preventing pregnancy.

💚 Good News Worth Carrying With You

California Ends Child Marriage

California has banned marriage for people under 18, becoming the 18th state to prohibit child marriage. Previously, California allowed minors to marry with parental consent and court approval, with no statutory minimum age. The new law eliminates that exception. The Guardian

Child marriage is fundamentally a bodily-autonomy issue.

A child should not be locked into a legal relationship that can shape education, finances, healthcare, pregnancy, parenting, and personal freedom before reaching adulthood.

Protecting reproductive freedom means protecting people’s ability to make life-changing decisions freely, with real consent.

This is progress worth carrying with us.

📣 Take Action This Week

🗳️ Take Action» Check your registration, polling place, and what is on your ballot

Do not wait until Election Day to discover a registration issue, polling-place change, or ballot measure you have not read. Check your information now, review the full language of measures when possible, and understand what existing law would change.

🏥 Take Action» Find verified abortion-care providers and practical support resources near you

Even people who do not need care today may want to know what services are available where they live. Laws and provider availability can change, so use current information rather than relying on something you heard months or years ago.

❤️ Take Action» Support Organizations Doing the Bans Off Our Bodies Work

Reproductive Freedom for All is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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👀 What We’re Watching

• The shield-law challenge: The Supreme Court must decide how to handle the states’ request to invalidate protections in California, Massachusetts, and New York. A separate federal lawsuit against individual abortion providers is also underway.

• Missouri’s November vote: Voters will determine whether reproductive rights placed in the state constitution in 2024 remain there. The result could also influence efforts elsewhere to revisit voter-approved reproductive protections.

• The broader ballot: Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia all have reproductive-rights questions before voters. Watch not only the measures but the officials elected alongside them.

• Male contraception research: Clinical development is progressing, but approval is not imminent. The next stages will test safety, effectiveness, reversibility, affordability, and whether these methods can become realistically accessible.

❤️ One Thing to Carry With You

Reproductive freedom is the ability to make decisions about pregnancy, contraception, healthcare, and your own body.

This week is another reminder that winning a right does not mean it will stop being challenged. Voters can speak, doctors can provide legal care, and states can protect access, yet those decisions may still face new political and legal challenges.

So we keep paying attention. We read the fine print. We vote. We organize. We protect one another.

Our bodies do not belong to the government. Our healthcare does not belong to politicians.

People deserve information, care, dignity, and real choices. And organized people can help defend those freedoms.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.

The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.

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Each week, Resist & Rising Together Weekly from People Power United shares proof that people power is alive and rising. Neighbors, workers, families, organizers, advocates, and everyday heroes are defending democracy, protecting one another, holding powerful interests accountable, and building a future rooted in dignity, freedom, and justice.

From courtroom victories and voting-rights wins to labor power, climate progress, reproductive freedom, immigrant justice, and courageous acts of solidarity, these stories remind us that America belongs to the people—not kings, billionaires, extremists, or authoritarians.

Resistance is not only about stopping harm. It is about choosing hope, building collective power, and moving forward together—one community, one action, and one victory at a time.

📖 Read the print version:

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Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

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Resist & Rising Together Weekly: Good News and Progress from the Resistance

Each week, Resist & Rising Together Weekly brings together stories of courage, creativity, and collective power from people using the courts, organizing their workplaces, protecting their communities, and building institutions that defend rights and expand opportunity.

This week brought fresh reminders that progress does not depend on one institution or one moment. Courts checked government power, immigrant-rights advocates won new protections, communities defended treasured public lands, reproductive healthcare access expanded, and workers used collective action to secure stronger protections.

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🗽 Wins for Freedom Over Fascism

A federal judge blocked the government from using anti-terrorism money to force changes to election rules. A federal court ruled September 28 that the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA could not condition public-safety grants on states and local governments adopting federal election requirements. The ruling means communities can continue receiving anti-terrorism funding without being compelled to alter their election procedures. Brennan Center for Justice

Federal judge temporarily protects nearly $56 million in housing-counseling grants. On October 1, a judge blocked the Department of Housing and Urban Development from immediately canceling grants supporting homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention, and rental counseling while a legal challenge proceeds. The order keeps the funding available for now while the court considers claims that the cancellations violated federal law and constitutional protections. NC Newsline

🫶 Wins for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Federal court strikes down ICE’s courthouse-arrest policy nationwide. A federal judge ruled October 1 against a policy that permitted civil immigration arrests in and around immigration courthouses. The ruling restores restrictions on courthouse enforcement, with limited exceptions, so people can attend immigration proceedings without the same threat of being arrested simply for appearing in court. NYCLU

A second federal judge blocks the administration’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee. On October 1, a federal judge ruled that the administration had not followed required rulemaking procedures when imposing the dramatically increased fee on new H-1B visas. The decision follows an earlier ruling against the policy and prevents the fee from taking effect while the legal dispute continues. Democracy Forward

🌎 Wins for Protecting Our Planet

Justice Samuel Alito steps aside from major Supreme Court climate case. On September 28, Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, a closely watched case over whether Boulder, Colorado, can pursue state-law claims against Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil for alleged climate-related harms. Alito gave no public explanation for stepping aside. He does not own stock in either company involved in the case, but financial disclosures show holdings in other oil companies, and advocacy groups had urged his recusal. The case could affect dozens of similar lawsuits brought by state and local governments seeking to hold fossil-fuel companies accountable for alleged climate deception and resulting costs. NY Times

Judge temporarily halts border-wall construction in the Big Bend region. A federal judge ordered a pause on construction and ground disturbance connected to border infrastructure in and around Texas’ Big Bend region after residents and environmental advocates challenged federal waivers of environmental and historic-preservation laws. The court found the challengers were likely to succeed on at least one claim and faced irreparable harm without an injunction. The Guardian

💗 Wins for Reproductive Freedom for All

California expands reproductive healthcare access through a new package of laws. Nine measures signed September 27 expand reproductive and maternal healthcare, including medication-abortion access at community colleges when funding is available, broader scopes of practice for qualified healthcare professionals, and additional support for perinatal and postpartum care. Governor of California

California strengthens protections for reproductive healthcare patients and providers. Additional legislation signed into law strengthens safeguards for sensitive health information and protections against certain out-of-state efforts targeting reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare that is legal in California. The measures take effect January 1, 2027. California DOJ

✊ Wins for Labor Rights

Unions secure a settlement reversing mass-firing orders for federal workers. Labor unions announced September 28 that they had reached a settlement resolving litigation over reduction-in-force notices issued during the 2025 government shutdown. Earlier court orders had blocked the firings and required reinstatement where employees had already been separated. The settlement withdraws the challenged firing orders. SEIU

More than 1,000 apartment-building workers reach a tentative agreement after preparing to strike. Workers represented by 32BJ SEIU in New York’s mid-Hudson Valley reached a proposed four-year contract providing a $4 hourly wage increase, continued employer-funded healthcare and pensions, and preservation of overtime protections. The agreement still requires worker ratification. Times Union

Power belongs to people who use the tools available to them: organizing, litigation, public participation, collective bargaining, and persistent community advocacy.

A Complete Guide: No Kings Vote Early is now available

Get the information you need to make your No Kings Vote Early voting plan, understand early voting options, and know what to expect before you cast your ballot. Make a plan, check the details, and be ready to vote early.

📢 Check out A Complete Guide: No Kings Vote Early - October 17, 2026

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

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Progress rarely arrives all at once. This week, it looked like courts placing limits on government power, immigrants gaining stronger protections in court, communities defending public lands, patients gaining greater access to reproductive healthcare, and workers using collective power to protect their jobs and improve their livelihoods.

These victories came through lawsuits, organizing, legislation, community advocacy, and workers standing together. Different people used different tools, but the lesson running through every story is the same: progress happens when people refuse to surrender their voice or their power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia

(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)

Leader, People Power United

If this post informed you, moved you, or gave you something worth passing on, please tap ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who should see it. Every interaction helps more people find this work and helps us build people power together.

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🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

People power does not build itself. It grows when people choose to stand together.

Every person who joins, stays connected, shares this work, and helps carry it forward makes this movement stronger. This belongs to all of us.

Whether you subscribe for free, become a paid supporter, or gift a subscription to someone else, you help People Power United keep informing people, organizing action, speaking truth to power, and holding those in power accountable to the people they serve.

Stay connected. Bring someone with you. Help us grow this people-powered movement.

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America Has No Kings. And We Are Rising Again.

This is a defining moment for our democracy. Across the country, extremist forces are trying to seize power, gut health care, starve essential programs, tear families apart, and funnel public money to billionaires while everyday people pay the price. They want silence. They want fear. They want obedience.

We are giving them none of it.

America was never meant to be ruled by strongmen, oligarchs, or would-be kings. Power does not flow from crowns or bank accounts — it comes from the people. And the people are standing up.

The No Kings movement is growing because millions of us refuse to bankroll cruelty, normalize authoritarianism, or look away as our freedoms are stripped piece by piece — while citizens are killed, our neighbors are illegally detained, and brutality is inflicted in our name. We are workers and seniors, parents and students, nurses, teachers, veterans, and neighbors — united by a belief in dignity, democracy, and the rule of law.

That’s why we are mobilizing again for the largest No Kings national day of action yet.

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
📍 Thousands of peaceful VOTE EARLY actions nationwide

We are turning people power into voter power.

No Kings: Vote Early on October 17 is our next move. We are taking the energy in the streets straight to the ballot box and making sure our communities are ready, informed, and prepared to protect the freedom to vote.

Voting early, where available, gives eligible voters another way to make their voices heard on their own time and their own terms. We do not wait for Election Day to start protecting democracy. We organize now. We prepare now. We show up now.

And this is bigger than casting a ballot. We are connecting communities with the information, training, and resources they need to understand their voting rights, recognize problems, and know where to turn for help.

October 17 is about showing up prepared, protecting every eligible voter’s voice, and demonstrating what people power looks like when communities participate together.

Every No Kings event is rooted in nonviolent action. We de-escalate conflict, act lawfully, and never bring weapons. When People Power United says “fight,” we mean fierce advocacy — never violence. Our work is grounded in peaceful protest, free speech, voting, and collective action to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

If there’s an event near you, sign up and show up. If there isn’t, step forward and organize. One corner, a few signs, a handful of neighbors can spark real change.

Fascism thrives on silence. Democracy survives through participation.

No thrones. No crowns.
Only people — and we are rising.

Subscribe now

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you. On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

• Bookmark this page (it will be updated on a regular basis)

• Sign up for an event near you on Mobilize

  • Click here to view the national map (last update 10-16-26)

  • Click here to see the list and find your city.

  • Can’t find an event near you? How about stepping up to host one?

  • Stay tuned-we will be sharing virtual event information when it becomes available.

  • Learn more about the No Kings Movement

• Amplify the movement

  • Share event links and information

  • Take photos and videos at events and share them widely on social media

  • Use the hashtags #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly and #NoKings (your city) — for example, #NoKingsHouston

• Wear yellow 🟡

  • Wear a yellow shirt, scarf, or button. Yellow is bright, bold, and hard to ignore — a reminder that America’s power belongs to the people, not kings.

• Know your rights

  • The Constitution protects all people. Exercise your rights proudly. Click here for a handy guide.

• Share our message on Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram:

  • ❌👑 Millions have joined No Kings actions to reject unaccountable power. As families face rising costs for groceries, gas, electricity, and everyday needs, every eligible voter deserves the freedom to participate without intimidation, interference, or unnecessary barriers. #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly

• Message your lawmakers on Social Media

  • Click here to find your lawmakers on social media

  • Use this message: We deserve safety, dignity, and to be heard. Pass bills that benefit the American people, not those who bow to Trump. #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly

  • Use the hashtag #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly and tag your lawmaker

Get inspired by watching Power to the People: We Rise

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Take Action

• Please consider becoming an annual or founding subscriber to help keep our work independent, accessible, and free from paywalls.

• Please follow People Power United on social media and help us reach more people by liking, sharing, commenting, and reposting our work.

  • 🦋 Follow us on BlueSky

  • 💙 Follow us on Facebook

  • 📸 Follow us on Instagram

  • ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube

  • Other channels can be found here

• Check our Take Action page for more call to actions

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

Subscribe now

America Has No Kings. And We Are Rising Again.

This is a defining moment for our democracy. Across the country, extremist forces are trying to seize power, gut health care, starve essential programs, tear families apart, and funnel public money to billionaires while everyday people pay the price. They want silence. They want fear. They want obedience.

We are giving them none of it.

America was never meant to be ruled by strongmen, oligarchs, or would-be kings. Power does not flow from crowns or bank accounts — it comes from the people. And the people are standing up.

The No Kings movement is growing because millions of us refuse to bankroll cruelty, normalize authoritarianism, or look away as our freedoms are stripped piece by piece — while citizens are killed, our neighbors are illegally detained, and brutality is inflicted in our name. We are workers and seniors, parents and students, nurses, teachers, veterans, and neighbors — united by a belief in dignity, democracy, and the rule of law.

That’s why we are mobilizing again for the largest No Kings national day of action yet.

📅 Saturday, October 17, 2026
📍 Thousands of peaceful VOTE EARLY actions nationwide

We are turning people power into voter power.

No Kings: Vote Early on October 17 is our next move. We are taking the energy in the streets straight to the ballot box and making sure our communities are ready, informed, and prepared to protect the freedom to vote.

Voting early, where available, gives eligible voters another way to make their voices heard on their own time and their own terms. We do not wait for Election Day to start protecting democracy. We organize now. We prepare now. We show up now.

And this is bigger than casting a ballot. We are connecting communities with the information, training, and resources they need to understand their voting rights, recognize problems, and know where to turn for help.

October 17 is about showing up prepared, protecting every eligible voter’s voice, and demonstrating what people power looks like when communities participate together.

Every No Kings event is rooted in nonviolent action. We de-escalate conflict, act lawfully, and never bring weapons. When People Power United says “fight,” we mean fierce advocacy — never violence. Our work is grounded in peaceful protest, free speech, voting, and collective action to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

If there’s an event near you, sign up and show up. If there isn’t, step forward and organize. One corner, a few signs, a handful of neighbors can spark real change.

Fascism thrives on silence. Democracy survives through participation.

No thrones. No crowns.
Only people — and we are rising.

Subscribe now

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you. On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

• Bookmark this page (it will be updated on a regular basis)

• Sign up for an event near you on Mobilize

  • Click here to view the national map (last update 10-1-26)

  • Click here to see the list and find your city.

  • Can’t find an event near you? How about stepping up to host one? Click here to become an event host.

  • Stay tuned-we will be sharing virtual event information when it becomes available.

  • Learn more about the No Kings Movement

• Amplify the movement

  • Share event links and information

  • Take photos and videos at events and share them widely on social media

  • Use the hashtags #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly and #NoKings (your city) — for example, #NoKingsHouston

• Wear yellow 🟡

  • Wear a yellow shirt, scarf, or button. Yellow is bright, bold, and hard to ignore — a reminder that America’s power belongs to the people, not kings.

• Know your rights

  • The Constitution protects all people. Exercise your rights proudly. Click here for a handy guide.

• Share our message on Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram:

  • ❌👑 Millions have joined No Kings actions to reject unaccountable power. As families face rising costs for groceries, gas, electricity, and everyday needs, every eligible voter deserves the freedom to participate without intimidation, interference, or unnecessary barriers. #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly

• Message your lawmakers on Social Media

  • Click here to find your lawmakers on social media

  • Use this message: We deserve safety, dignity, and to be heard. Pass bills that benefit the American people, not those who bow to Trump. #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly

  • Use the hashtag #NoKings #NoKingsVoteEarly and tag your lawmaker

Get inspired by watching Power to the People: We Rise

Subscribe now

Take Action

• Please consider becoming an annual or founding subscriber to help keep our work independent, accessible, and free from paywalls.

• Please follow People Power United on social media and help us reach more people by liking, sharing, commenting, and reposting our work.

  • 🦋 Follow us on BlueSky

  • 💙 Follow us on Facebook

  • 📸 Follow us on Instagram

  • ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube

  • Other channels can be found here

• Check our Take Action page for more call to actions

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

Subscribe now

Our family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and fellow community members being held by ICE do not surrender their humanity when they enter detention.

They do not surrender their right to medical care. They do not surrender their dignity. And they certainly do not surrender their right to live.

At People Power United, we champion progress over fear. That means we cannot look away from the people getting sick and dying in ICE custody, or from the shameful way our US government is treating human beings behind detention-center walls.

Subscribe now

The warning signs are impossible to ignore: delayed medical care, dismissed symptoms, mishandled records, interrupted medications, and emergencies met by systems that too often fail the very people who have nowhere else to turn.

This is not only an immigration issue.

This is also a medical ethics emergency, and America’s medical associations cannot look away.

ICE’s internal death reviews reveal serious systemic failures. An investigation found that 27 of 33 deaths involved care below safe standards, highlighting urgent accountability needs.1

Twenty-seven out of thirty-three. We cannot read that number and move on.

Those were people. They were loved. They had families, histories, hopes, and lives that mattered, and their loss leaves families grieving and searching for answers.

And the crisis has grown.

A joint investigation by Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights found that 52 people died in ICE custody during the first 500 days of the Trump administration’s second term, from January 20, 2025 through June 4, 2026.2 3 Their analysis found that the mortality rate in ICE custody had climbed to its highest level in more than a decade. They also warned that ICE provides so little information to Congress, families, and the public that meaningful oversight becomes extraordinarily difficult.

Think about what that means.

When our government takes someone into custody, that person becomes completely dependent on the government for medical care. Families are forced to trust that their loved ones will receive necessary medications, adequate nutrition, mental-health care, emergency treatment, and competent medical attention.

Sometimes, they do not.

People get sicker.

Some die.

And families are left grieving, searching for answers, and wondering whether their loved one could have been saved.

Medical professionals understand exactly what delayed care can mean. They know what happens when warning signs are ignored, medications are withheld or interrupted, symptoms are dismissed, nutritional needs are neglected, records are unavailable, or emergency treatment comes too late.

So we have to ask a much bigger question:

What message do America’s medical associations send when the profession they represent is built around caring for human health, yet people in government custody can be deprived of adequate nutrition, necessary medications, and required medical care and they do nothing to publicly demand answers and accountability for the patients entrusted to their members’ care.

What does it say to doctors and nurses who entered healthcare believing that every human life deserves care, dignity, and protection?

The ethical commitments at the heart of medicine cannot stop at the detention-center door.

That is why silence from America’s medical institutions is unacceptable.

Medical associations have expertise. They have credibility. They have access to physicians, researchers, specialists, and public-health professionals whose voices carry enormous weight, and they have a moral obligation to act on this knowledge.

They must use that power.

We are calling on all national and state medical associations to investigate medical care in ICE detention, publicly release their findings, identify violations of accepted standards of care, demand independent access and oversight, and use their influence to push for immediate corrective action wherever people’s health and lives are being endangered.

No vague statements.

No quiet expressions of concern.

No looking the other way.

We need public findings, public accountability, and public pressure for change.

People trapped behind detention-center walls cannot simply leave when their healthcare fails them.

They need people on the outside willing to speak.

They need medical professionals willing to demand answers.

They need institutions willing to put human life above political convenience.

🩺 Take Action» Tell Medical Associations: Investigate ICE Detention Abuses, Publish the Findings, and Demand Action

Tell America’s medical associations to use their authority and credibility to expose dangerous conditions in ICE detention, publicly report what they find, and demand immediate action when care falls below accepted medical standards.

Silence shields broken systems. Transparency empowers people to demand accountability and can save lives, making it essential for medical associations to act.

Every person deserves dignity. Every person deserves care.

And every person in government custody deserves to come home alive.

Subscribe now

Take Action

• 🩺 Take Action» Tell Medical Associations: Investigate ICE Detention Abuses, Publish the Findings, and Demand Action

• Please consider becoming an annual or founding subscriber to help keep our work independent, accessible, and free from paywalls.

• Please follow People Power United on social media and help us reach more people by liking, sharing, commenting, and reposting our work.

  • 🦋 Follow us on BlueSky

  • 💙 Follow us on Facebook

  • 📸 Follow us on Instagram

  • ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube

  • Other channels can be found here

    

• Please sign-up or host an upcoming No Kings: Vote Early event

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you. On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

More and more people are connecting with our commitment to freedom over fear, progress, accountability, and power to the people. That growth tells me something important. People are looking for a place where they can stay informed, speak out, show up, connect with others, and build power together.

And we want to keep reminding folks what makes People Power United different: we do zero fundraising and have zero paywalls. We have people power! Our work is about making news, information, and opportunities to take action available to everyone.

We generally send one People Power United newsletter each day. But for members who want to go deeper on the issues they care about most, we also publish focused newsletters exploring specific topics, including our work to expose ICE abuses and hold power accountable.

I’m sharing today’s newsletter from that publication so you can get a feel for what we cover. ICEbreaker News exposes ICE abuses, detention, surveillance, and state violence while demanding accountability and action for immigrant communities.

If that’s your passion, I hope you’ll subscribe and join us there too. It publishes three times a week, and like everything we do, the goal is simple: help people stay informed, get connected, and turn concern into action.

Power to the People!

Subscribe to ICEBreaker News

ICE’s detention system is expanding while courts, federal watchdogs, lawmakers, and communities raise new questions about how people are arrested, how long they can be detained, the conditions they face, and how billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent.

This week, a federal watchdog documented costly problems in ICE’s rapid detention expansion. A federal judge imposed permanent protections at a New York detention facility. Hundreds of federal judges have rejected the government’s broad interpretation of mandatory detention, an issue that may soon reach the Supreme Court. And senators introduced legislation that would establish new warrant and custody-review requirements. At the same time, ICE continues exploring new detention models and facilities across the country.

When government authority expands, due process, transparency, independent oversight, and accurate public information become increasingly important.

Subscribe to ICEBreaker News

When Detention Expands, Accountability Has to Keep Pace

ICE Detention Expansion Lost Millions to Abandoned Plans

A federal watchdog found that ICE’s rapid push to expand detention capacity resulted in millions of dollars in unrecoverable costs. ICE spent about $1.07 billion purchasing 11 warehouses intended for detention use, but the agency now plans to sell seven of them. The review identified $20 million in unrecoverable costs tied to warehouses the government no longer plans to use and warned that further losses are possible. PBS

Why we are watching:

Congress has provided enormous resources for immigration detention. The Government Accountability Office concluded that stronger planning is needed to reduce additional waste. Oversight of those expenditures matters because decisions involving billions of public dollars affect both immigration enforcement and the federal budget.

Judge Imposes Permanent Protections at New York Detention Site

A federal judge issued a permanent injunction requiring changes at the immigration holding facility inside 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. The court found that detainees had been held for excessive periods in overcrowded conditions and had faced inadequate sanitation, food, medical care, and meaningful access to attorneys. The ruling requires ICE to meet continuing standards at the facility. ACLU

Why it matters:

Temporary holding facilities are still subject to constitutional and legal requirements. Court orders can establish enforceable standards governing conditions, medical treatment, sanitation, and access to counsel when agencies fail to meet those requirements.

Supreme Court Could Take Up ICE Detention Without Bond

A major legal dispute is developing over the administration’s interpretation of mandatory immigration detention. More than 500 federal judges have ruled against the administration in roughly 20,000 cases, while nine of 11 federal appeals courts considering the issue have rejected ICE’s broad interpretation. The Supreme Court is considering whether to hear a case that could determine when immigrants arrested inside the United States are entitled to bond hearings. The Marshall Project

The bigger issue:

Bond hearings allow a judge to determine whether continued detention is warranted while an immigration case proceeds. A Supreme Court ruling could significantly clarify how federal immigration law applies to people who entered the country without authorization but have lived inside the United States for extended periods.

Democratic Senators Introduce New Arrest and ICE Detention Standards

Senators Dick Durbin and Alex Padilla introduced legislation that would change procedures governing some ICE arrests and detention decisions. The proposal would generally require an administrative warrant supported by probable cause, require a bond hearing within 24 hours after a warrantless arrest, and establish periodic custody reviews for people remaining in immigration detention. The Guardian

Why we are watching:

The legislation adds another branch of government to the growing debate over arrest standards and prolonged detention. Its introduction does not change existing law, but it puts questions about warrants, bond hearings, and continuing custody directly before Congress.

💔 Why This Matters

This week’s stories are about more than immigration enforcement numbers.

They are about what rules govern government power once someone has been arrested and detained.

A watchdog needs access to spending records. A detainee needs adequate medical care and a way to speak privately with an attorney. A judge needs the government to comply with court orders. Congress needs accurate information when deciding how agencies should be funded and what legal standards they must follow.

And the public needs to know what is happening.

The government has substantial authority to enforce immigration law. That authority also operates within statutory, constitutional, budgetary, and judicial limits. This week, all four were part of the national conversation as courts reviewed detention practices, investigators examined spending, and lawmakers debated arrest procedures.

Oversight is how those competing responsibilities are tested in public.

Subscribe to ICEBreaker News

⚖️ Accountability Watch

Colorado Court Demands Records on Warrantless Arrests

A federal court ordered ICE to produce documentation involving 29 warrantless arrests that the court said were conducted without first documenting a flight-risk assessment. The judge warned that ICE could be found out of compliance with an existing preliminary injunction if it failed to provide the records. Courthouse News Service

ICE Examines Mobile Detention Facilities

Documents reviewed by reporters show ICE is considering what it calls mobile detention facilities in Pennsylvania, described as vans that could follow enforcement teams making arrests. The reporting also found more than $7 billion in detention-construction contracts signed during the week. ICE did not respond to questions about standards governing how mobile detention would operate. KERA News

San Antonio Warehouse Detention Center Moves Forward

Federal officials continue plans to convert a nearly 640,000-square-foot San Antonio warehouse into a detention facility capable of holding as many as 1,500 people a day. ICE purchased the building for $66.1 million and later awarded a $17.3 million contract for renovation and operational services. The facility is now expected to open this winter. Texas Public Radio

👀 What We’re Watching

The Supreme Court and mandatory detention:
The Court could decide whether to hear a case concerning ICE’s interpretation of mandatory detention. The eventual outcome could clarify when people arrested inside the country are entitled to seek release through a bond hearing.

ICE detention spending:
Federal investigators have warned that rapid expansion without sufficient planning creates additional financial risk. We are watching how ICE responds to the watchdog’s recommendations and what happens to facilities the agency purchased but no longer intends to use.

Conditions inside detention facilities:
The permanent injunction at 26 Federal Plaza establishes specific standards in one facility. Other litigation around the country continues to examine detention conditions, attorney access, and government compliance with court orders.

New detention infrastructure:
ICE continues pursuing additional detention capacity, including traditional facilities, converted properties, and possible mobile units. Communities, courts, Congress, and watchdog agencies will continue determining what oversight applies to those projects.

📣 Take Action This Week: Immigration Reform

Immigration detention and enforcement policy is being debated in Congress, reviewed in federal courts, and examined by government watchdogs.

People who want their views represented can contact their members of Congress about ICE detention spending, warrant standards, access to bond hearings, detention conditions, and federal oversight.

• 🧊 Take Action» Tell Congress: We Need Immigration Reform Now

• 🧊 Take Action» Find your members of Congress and share your views on immigration enforcement and detention oversight

Civic participation does not require everyone to reach the same conclusion. It requires people to know what their government is doing, understand the choices before lawmakers, and make their own voices heard.

💙 One Thing to Carry With Us

This week reminded us that accountability can come from many places: courts examining detention conditions, auditors tracking taxpayer dollars, lawyers defending due process, lawmakers questioning agency power, and journalists and communities documenting what is happening.

The underlying question remains:

What safeguards remain when government power expands?

Courts review government action. Congress writes laws and controls funding. Watchdogs investigate agencies. Attorneys protect legal rights. Journalists help make government actions visible.

These institutions may disagree, which is why reliable information, transparency, and due process matter.

Accountability is not one investigation or court ruling. It is the continuing work of asking questions, demanding records, examining evidence, applying the law, and making government decisions visible to the people.

Staying informed helps us understand what is happening and decide how we want to respond.

We are championing immigrant rights in 2026!

ICE raids our communities. We expose every move. They count on silence. We refuse to be silent.

“We must stand united to protect freedom over fascism… There is no power like that of the people.” — Laurie Woodward García, People Power United

🧊 ICEbreaker News is a fearless, community-powered newsletter dedicated to exposing ICE’s abuses, demanding accountability, amplifying the voices of those targeted, and turning awareness into action. We keep watch so our communities do not have to face raids, detentions, and injustice alone.

What We Stand For

• Human dignity over deportation quotas

• Community safety over state-sponsored fear

• Accountability for every abuse committed in the people’s name

• Freedom over fascism

• People power from the bottom up

Join the Movement

Our neighbors are being taken in broad daylight while our government calls it policy. We call it what it is: wrong. Subscribe for free or support the movement with a paid subscription. Either way, you are not just a reader—you are a witness, a voice, and a force for change.

They raid in silence. We refuse to stay silent.

Subscribe to ICEBreaker News

More and more people are connecting with our commitment to freedom over fear, progress, accountability, and power to the people. That growth tells me something important. People are looking for a place where they can stay informed, speak out, show up, connect with others, and build power together.

And we want to keep reminding folks what makes People Power United different: we do zero fundraising and have zero paywalls. Our work is about making news, information, and opportunities to take action available to everyone.

We generally send one People Power United newsletter each day. But for members who want to go deeper on the issues they care about most, we also publish focused newsletters exploring specific topics, including our work to defend and protect democracy.

I’m sharing today’s newsletter from that publication so you can get a feel for what we cover. It takes a deeper look at the threats, challenges, victories, and actions shaping our democracy and our freedoms.

If that’s your jam, I hope you’ll subscribe and join us there too. It publishes once a week, and like everything we do, the goal is simple: help people stay informed, get connected, and turn concern into action.

Power to the People!

🗽 Defend and Protect Democracy

This week’s stories show how much the rules, safeguards, and institutions surrounding our elections matter. Courts intervened in disputes over congressional maps and the handling of hundreds of thousands of ballots, while new legal battles are testing whether armed federal agents can be deployed near polling places. At the same time, the United States is breaking with a decades-long practice of inviting international observers to monitor federal elections.

Together, these developments raise an essential question: Who controls our elections, and what safeguards ensure that voters remain in control of our democracy?

Subscribe to Defend & Protect Democracy

🚨 Lawsuit Seeks to Block Armed Federal Agents at Polling Places

The Key Developments:

Congressional Democratic leaders and campaign organizations filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the Trump administration from deploying armed federal agents from agencies including ICE and the FBI to polling places during the November elections. The lawsuit argues that such deployments could intimidate voters and violate federal voting protections. The White House previously denied that there was a formal plan to station ICE agents outside polling locations. Roll Call

Why This Affects All of Us:

Polling places should allow eligible voters to cast their ballots without intimidation or unnecessary interference. Questions about federal law enforcement near state and local voting locations also involve the traditional roles of state and local officials in administering elections.

Looking Ahead:

The lawsuit joins other pending cases challenging possible federal law-enforcement activity around polling places. Courts will now consider the legal limits on federal involvement as Election Day approaches.

🗳️ Supreme Court Keeps Missouri’s Previous Congressional Map in Place

The Latest:

The Supreme Court blocked Missouri from using congressional districts adopted by Republican lawmakers in 2025 for the November midterms. The decision leaves the state using its 2022 congressional map while absentee voting is already underway. Missouri’s highest court had previously ruled that the newer map could not take effect unless voters first approved it through a referendum. No justice publicly dissented from the Supreme Court’s latest order. Reuters

Why We Cannot Look Away:

Election rules matter, but so does stability. Changing congressional districts after voting has begun can create confusion for voters, candidates, and election administrators. The Supreme Court itself warned that another last-minute change could create “electoral chaos.”

The Bigger Story:

The dispute has moved repeatedly between state and federal courts. The 2025 map would have substantially reshaped a Kansas City-based congressional district, while the referendum dispute raised a separate question about voters’ ability to challenge legislation through Missouri’s constitutional process.

📦 California Court Orders More Than 650,000 Seized Ballots Returned

What happened:

California’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco violated state election law when his office seized more than 650,000 ballots from the county registrar following a 2025 election. The court ordered the ballots returned and directed the sheriff to refrain from further handling them. Bianco disagreed with the ruling and has said the investigation was lawful. CalMatters

Why We’re Watching:

Ballot security depends on clear rules governing who can possess, examine, and recount voted ballots. The court said allowing law enforcement unrestricted access to ballots outside established election procedures could create risks to election integrity.

Looking Ahead:

Bianco has said he is considering additional legal options, while California has enacted new laws restricting unauthorized seizures of ballots, voting equipment, and election records.

🌐 U.S. Breaks with Longstanding Election Observer Practice

What You Need to Know:

The United States has not invited observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to monitor the 2026 midterm elections. It will be the first U.S. federal election since 2002 without an invitation to the organization, which has observed 12 U.S. federal elections, including six previous midterms. The organization called the decision regrettable and said it departed from commitments made by participating countries. SWI swissinfo.ch

Why This Is Important:

Independent election observation provides outside scrutiny of election procedures and can help strengthen public confidence through transparent assessment of how elections are conducted.

Connecting the Dots:

Election observers do not administer American elections or determine their outcomes. Their role is independent observation. Breaking with a practice maintained for more than two decades removes one layer of outside scrutiny at a moment when election administration is already facing significant legal disputes.

Defend and Protect Democracy delivers independent, people-powered news and action to help protect our democracy, defend our freedoms, and hold leaders accountable to the will of the people.

Subscribe to Defend & Protect Democracy

🌎 The Pattern We’re Watching

Across these stories, one theme keeps appearing:

Democracy depends on clear rules, independent oversight, and the ability of voters to participate without intimidation or interference.

Whether the issue is congressional maps, custody of ballots, federal law enforcement at polling places, or independent election observers, the question remains the same:

Who has the power, and who is making sure that power answers to the people?

Democracy is protected every day by people who:

✅ Learn the facts
✅ Share reliable election information
✅ Participate in elections
✅ Protect the right to vote without intimidation
✅ Demand transparency and accountability

Small actions become collective power when millions of people show up.

We are not powerless. And we are not alone.

Now we carry that energy from the streets to the ballot box.

Voting early is one of the simplest ways to make sure our voices are counted while helping our friends, families, and neighbors create their own voting plans.

On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

✊ People Power in Action

📢 What You Can Do

Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.

🚨 Stay informed. Share trusted information with your community.

🗳️ Protect participation. Help ensure eligible voters can make their voices heard.

📣 Speak out. Democracy needs people willing to ask questions and demand accountability.

This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.

Subscribe to Defend & Protect Democracy

No Paywalls. No PAC Money. Just People Power.

Friends, I have some great news to share: People Power United is growing by leaps and bounds.

Every day, more people are finding this community and connecting with our commitment to freedom over fear, progress, accountability, and power to the people. That growth tells me something important: people are looking for a place where they can stay informed, speak out, show up, and build power together.

Subscribe now

As we welcome so many new folks, I wanted to share a few things about how People Power United works.

We do zero fundraising.

We do not take PAC money or money from special-interest groups. We are powered by people.

I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted by the flood of texts and emails constantly asking for money. At People Power United, our focus is on the work: sharing the news, creating actions, connecting people with opportunities to get involved, and helping our community stay engaged.

We have zero paywalls.

Our news, actions, resources, and organizing information are open and accessible to everyone. Occasionally, a live chat may be limited to paid subscribers, but even most of those are open to the entire community.

We believe important information should be available whether someone has $5 to spare or not.

Subscribe now

We generally send one People Power United newsletter each day.

That goes out by email and through the Substack app. Our Notes are different. Those are quick updates, breaking developments, reminders, actions, and community conversations that we share throughout the day. If you want more between newsletters, check the Notes tab on Substack.

And yes, we cover a lot.

If it touches our rights, freedoms, democracy, accountability, progress, or people power, chances are we are paying attention.

You can also go deeper by subscribing to the newsletters that cover the issues you care about most. Some publish weekly, while others publish two to three times a week.

• Resist Project 2025, Trump, and Republican Fuckery

• ICEbreaker News

• Corruption Exposed

• Defend and Protect Democracy

• Supreme Court Accountability

• Reproductive Freedom for All

• Protect Our Planet

• Power to the People News

Subscribe now

And finally, I want to give a huge thank you to our paid subscribers.

You make this possible.

We do not fundraise. We do not put our work behind a paywall. Instead, those who choose to become paid subscribers help cover the websites, technology, organizing tools, and other costs that allow us to keep this work available to everyone.

Your support helps keep the paywall down and the people power growing.

Whether you read, share, subscribe, volunteer, show up, speak out, or help financially, you are part of People Power United.

And I am so grateful you are here.

I have just three asks today:

Please consider becoming an annual or founding subscriber to help keep our work independent, accessible, and free from paywalls.

Please follow People Power United on social media and help us reach more people by liking, sharing, commenting, and reposting our work.

• 🦋 Follow us on BlueSky

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• Other channels can be found here

Please sign up to attend or host a No Kings: Vote Early event and help bring people together to show up, participate, and make their voices heard.

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

Subscribe now

In Part 1, we made an important distinction: criticizing a government’s actions is not the same as hating a people or a faith.1 In Part 2, we examined documented violence, displacement, and human rights concerns affecting Palestinian communities in the West Bank.2

Today, we are focusing on America’s role.

The United States provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance and weapons. That means Americans have every right to ask a direct question: Are U.S. taxpayer dollars and American-made weapons being used in ways that harm innocent civilians or contribute to human rights abuses?

If our government provides the weapons, funding, technology, or political support, then demanding transparency and accountability is not optional. It is part of our responsibility as citizens.

This is not about abandoning Israel or ignoring its legitimate security concerns. It is about insisting that U.S. support never become a blank check for civilian harm.

Every Israeli life matters.
Every Palestinian life matters.
And how our government uses our money and our weapons matters too.

Subscribe now

Friends,

What Kind of World Are We Building?

The hardest moments in history often ask us the same question:

Will we look away, or will we speak?

People Power United was created on the belief that every person deserves dignity, safety, and the opportunity to thrive. That belief does not stop at our borders. It does not stop because an issue is complicated. It does not disappear because speaking out may bring criticism.

Our earlier statements on Israel and Palestine were rooted in the same principle we carry into every issue:

Civilian lives matter.

We condemned the horrific attacks against Israeli civilians. We condemned terrorism. We also called attention to the suffering of Palestinian civilians and the responsibility of leaders to protect human life.

Those principles must remain consistent.

A government’s actions can be questioned without condemning an entire nation, religion, or community.

A military policy can be challenged without hatred toward Jewish people.

A demand for human rights applies everywhere.

The current debate over U.S. weapons assistance to Israel reflects a larger question facing Americans: What conditions should accompany military support? How do we ensure taxpayer-funded resources are used consistently with protecting civilians and human rights? These questions are being debated by lawmakers, human-rights organizations, security experts, and communities across the country.

Our answer cannot be silence.

Silence does not protect Israelis.
Silence does not protect Palestinians.
Silence does not create peace.

Accountability is not an act of hostility. It is an act of democracy.

It means believing that our values should guide our decisions, that human life should never be treated as expendable, and that protecting civilians must always remain at the center of our actions.

Peace requires accountability.
Peace requires security.
Peace requires recognizing the humanity of people who are too often reduced to political arguments.

This is not about abandoning Israel or ignoring the very real security concerns Israelis face. It is about ensuring that U.S. support reflects our deepest values: protecting human dignity, upholding human rights, and refusing to look away when innocent people are suffering.

Because our shared humanity is stronger than our divisions.

And if we truly believe that every life matters, then we must have the courage to speak, the compassion to listen, and the commitment to demand a world where every person—Israeli and Palestinian alike—can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.

Silence helps no one. Join us in demanding transparency, accountability, and a future where every life is valued.

• Take Action» Expose Israel’s Violence and Human Rights Abuses in the West Bank

• Take Action» Block Trump’s Sale of Bombs to the Israeli Military

• Take Action» Stop Permanent Integration of U.S.-Israel Tech

Because protecting human life is not a political trend.

It is a human obligation.

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Thanks for taking action!

Subscribe now

If this informed or inspired you, tap ❤️or share. Every interaction helps more people find this work and builds people power together.

Share

Subscribe now

Millions of us have already shown what people power looks like when we stand together. On October 17, we take the next step: No Kings: Vote Early.

Across the country, communities have filled streets and public spaces to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy. Those moments reminded us of a powerful truth:

We are not powerless. And we are not alone.

Now we carry that energy from the streets to the ballot box.

Voting early is one of the simplest ways to make sure our voices are counted while helping our friends, families, and neighbors create their own voting plans.

On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

Subscribe now

Yesterday, in Part 1, we addressed a difficult but necessary truth: criticizing a government’s actions is not hatred toward a people or a faith.1 Asking questions about U.S. military support, civilian harm, and accountability is not about choosing sides—it is about standing up for human dignity and the protection of innocent lives.

Today, we turn to the West Bank, where rising violence, displacement, and human rights concerns demand our attention. Behind every headline are real people, real families, and real lives affected by decisions made by those in power.

This conversation is not easy. But silence helps no one.

Subscribe now

Friends,

The suffering of Palestinian civilians is not limited to Gaza.

Across the occupied West Bank, international organizations have documented rising concerns about settler violence, displacement, property destruction, movement restrictions, and the impact these conditions have on Palestinian families.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has reported concerns about increased violence by Israeli settlers and security forces, including attacks affecting Palestinian communities and property. UN officials have called for action to prevent further violence and protect civilians.2

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has also documented a sharp increase in incidents involving casualties or property damage connected to settler violence in the West Bank.3

Behind every statistic is a human story.

A family worried about whether they can safely return home.
A farmer afraid to reach their land.
A child growing up surrounded by fear instead of security.

Human rights are not reserved for one group of people.

The safety and freedom of Israeli civilians matter.
The safety and freedom of Palestinian civilians matter.

Protecting one does not require ignoring the other.

This is why conversations about U.S. military support matter. The United States has influence because of its relationship with Israel, including its security assistance. Many Americans believe that relationship should include expectations around protecting civilians, following international law, and ensuring that U.S. resources are not used in ways that contribute to human suffering.

Others argue that Israel faces serious security threats and that military assistance is necessary to protect Israeli citizens. Those views are part of an ongoing public debate.

But one principle should not be controversial:

Children should not be targets.
Families should not be disposable.
Human suffering should never be ignored because the victims are politically inconvenient.

People Power United has always believed that accountability matters.

That belief guided our previous statements on Israel and Palestine. It guided our calls to condemn terrorism, protect civilians, and seek a future where both Israelis and Palestinians can live with safety, freedom, and dignity.

Speaking up for Palestinian human rights is not antisemitism.

Speaking up against antisemitism is not a reason to ignore Palestinian suffering.

We can reject hatred in all forms while demanding that governments and leaders be accountable for the choices they make.

A commitment to human dignity cannot depend on nationality, religion, or politics.

Because protecting human life is not a political trend.

It is a human obligation.

• Take Action» Expose Israel’s Violence and Human Rights Abuses in the West Bank

• Take Action» Block Trump’s Sale of Bombs to the Israeli Military

• Take Action» Stop Permanent Integration of U.S.-Israel Tech

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Thanks for taking action!

Subscribe now

If this informed or inspired you, tap ❤️, comment, or share. Every interaction helps more people find this work and builds people power together.

Leave a comment

Share

Subscribe now

Millions of us have already shown what people power looks like when we stand together. On October 17, we take the next step: No Kings: Vote Early.

Across the country, communities have filled streets and public spaces to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy. Those moments reminded us of a powerful truth:

We are not powerless. And we are not alone.

Now we carry that energy from the streets to the ballot box.

Voting early is one of the simplest ways to make sure our voices are counted while helping our friends, families, and neighbors create their own voting plans.

On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Friends,

Every time we address uncomfortable issues—whether about healthcare, housing, Israel, or Palestine—some folks walk away. That’s okay. I’m not here to comfort the comfortable. I’m here to build a future with people who believe everyone deserves to thrive—and no injustice should be ignored.

When People Power United first issued statements on the attacks in Israel and Palestine, we knew those conversations would be difficult. We condemned the terror attacks carried out by Hamas, mourned the loss of Israeli lives, and also called attention to the suffering of Palestinian civilians caught in a devastating war.1 2 3 We lost some subscribers. That happens.

But the vast majority of you stayed—and showed up.

Because you understand something important: open dialogue helps us find common ground and move toward justice, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Today, we need to talk about another difficult truth: questioning U.S. support for military actions that may harm innocent civilians is a moral step toward accountability, not hatred.

Criticizing a government’s decisions-such as military strategies or foreign aid-is not hatred toward a people. Holding military actions to standards of human rights and international law fosters understanding, not hostility. Judaism is a faith with a rich history, culture, and tradition. The actions of any government do not represent an entire people.

The same principle must apply everywhere.

When civilians are killed, when families lose homes, when children suffer, and when questions arise about whether military force is being used lawfully and proportionately, people have a responsibility to ask hard questions.

Recent reporting and human-rights investigations have documented serious concerns about conditions in Gaza and the West Bank, including civilian deaths, restrictions on humanitarian access, displacement, settlement expansion, and violence affecting Palestinian communities. International organizations have called for accountability and protection of civilians, while Israeli officials have argued that military operations are necessary for security and dispute some allegations. Recognizing multiple perspectives is essential for honest dialogue.

That is why this conversation matters.

The United States has a long relationship with Israel, including significant military assistance. With that relationship comes responsibility. American taxpayers have a right to ask how U.S. resources are used and whether those resources align with America’s stated commitment to human rights and protecting civilians.

This is not about choosing which lives matter.

Every Israeli life matters.

Every Palestinian life matters, just as every Israeli life does, because all lives are equally valuable and deserving of respect.

Every civilian life matters.

A commitment to human dignity cannot depend on nationality, religion, or politics.

That is the foundation of our conversation today and over the next few days.

The goal is a future where every person—Israeli and Palestinian alike—can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.

Because protecting human life is not a political trend.

It is a human obligation.

• Take Action» Block Trump’s Sale of Bombs to the Israeli Military

• Take Action» Stop Permanent Integration of U.S.-Israel Tech

• Take Action» Expose Israel’s Violence and Human Rights Abuses in the West Bank

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Thanks for taking action!

Subscribe now

If this informed or inspired you, tap ❤️, comment, or share. Every interaction helps more people find this work and builds people power together.

Leave a comment

Share

Subscribe now

Millions of us have already shown what people power looks like when we stand together. On October 17, we take the next step: No Kings: Vote Early.

Across the country, communities have filled streets and public spaces to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy. Those moments reminded us of a powerful truth:

We are not powerless. And we are not alone.

Now we carry that energy from the streets to the ballot box.

Voting early is one of the simplest ways to make sure our voices are counted while helping our friends, families, and neighbors create their own voting plans.

On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

Laurie Woodward Garcia leads People Power United, a people-powered news source and movement community championing our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for independent accountability news, urgent actions, and people-powered analysis of the stories shaping our rights, freedoms, and democracy.

We champion freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

We expose abuses of power, hold leaders accountable to the people they serve, and help people stay informed, connected, and ready to act.

Subscribe and be part of the Power to the People movement.

Subscribe now

1

People Power United | News & Action

STATEMENT - People Power United's statement on the Hamas attacks on Israel

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2023…

Read more

3 years ago · 5 likes · 1 comment · People Power United

3

People Power United | News & Action

📢 Starvation should not be used as a weapon. We can stop a famine from happening.

📢 Starvation should not be used as a weapon. We can stop a famine from happening…

Read more

3 years ago · 41 likes · People Power United

Stop ICE from Locking Children in Detention

Friends, I want to bring to your attention again what is happening to people, including children, inside immigration detention under the Trump administration.

The reports are horrifying. Children detained at the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, have described crying at night, struggling to sleep, feeling imprisoned, getting sick, and missing the ordinary lives they had before detention.1

Congress should be paying close attention. Congress has broad authority over immigration law and federal appropriations, including funding connected to immigration detention and enforcement. 23

In August, an analysis of federal government data found that at least 60 children had been held at the Dilley detention center for 100 days or longer.4

One 16-year-old who had experienced prolonged detention wrote:

“It is slowly killing us on the inside.”

That same investigation documented families reporting deteriorating mental health, concerns about medical treatment, and children struggling with the effects of detention even after their release.

Dr. Sural Shah, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health, put the concern plainly:

“There’s no humane way to detain a child.”

The children themselves have given us some of the most disturbing accounts.

A nine-year-old girl detained at Dilley wrote that she cried every night after arriving, had fainted twice, was having trouble sleeping, and blamed herself for being detained.5

“I felt that being here was my fault.”

Another 12-year-old child wrote that she had already spent more than 60 days detained and complained about repetitive meals and becoming sick while inside the facility.

More recently, reporting documented families at Dilley receiving outside donations to their commissary accounts so they could purchase food and other necessities. One pregnant mother said she was losing weight because she struggled to eat the facility’s food, while her young daughter barely ate and suffered from diarrhea.6

A nonprofit helping detained families was reportedly sending more than $10,000 per week to commissary accounts for food and other essentials. Its co-founder summarized what her organization is demanding:

“We are saying stop locking up children.”

The federal government disputes allegations that people at Dilley are being denied adequate necessities. DHS has said detainees receive clean water and three meals a day evaluated by certified dietitians, while the company operating the facility has said it provides necessities including bedding, hygiene products and showers and that its food and water meet applicable standards.

Those official statements deserve to be scrutinized alongside the firsthand accounts of children and parents describing what detention has actually felt like for them.

Children are telling us they are scared. They are telling us they cannot sleep. They are telling us they feel trapped. Some have remained confined for months.

Their words deserve congressional scrutiny.

Congress should examine how long children are being detained, what conditions they are experiencing, whether existing standards are being followed, and what alternatives to prolonged family detention are available.

Take Action» Demand Congress Stop ICE from Locking Children in Detention

Stop ICE from Locking Up Children

Most importantly, these children should not disappear from public view simply because they are being held behind the walls of an immigration detention facility.

Millions of us have already shown what people power looks like when we stand together. On October 17, we take the next step: No Kings: Vote Early.

Across the country, communities have filled streets and public spaces to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy. Those moments reminded us of a powerful truth:

We are not powerless. And we are not alone.

Now we carry that energy from the streets to the ballot box.

Voting early is one of the simplest ways to make sure our voices are counted while helping our friends, families, and neighbors create their own voting plans.

On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

Keep making good trouble! Go be awesome today. Do you know why? Because you are!

Laurie Woodward Garcia

(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)

Leader, People Power United

Liberty, justice, and people power belong to those who show up, speak out, stand together, and hold our leaders accountable to the people they serve.

If this post informed you, moved you, or gave you something worth passing on, please tap ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who should see it. Every interaction helps more people find this work and helps us build people power together.

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🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

People power does not build itself. It grows when people choose to stand together.

Every person who joins, stays connected, shares this work, and helps carry it forward makes this movement stronger. This belongs to all of us.

Whether you subscribe for free, become a paid supporter, or gift a subscription to someone else, you help People Power United keep informing people, organizing action, speaking truth to power, and holding those in power accountable to the people they serve.

Stay connected. Bring someone with you. Help us grow this people-powered movement.

Subscribe now

Resist & Rising Together Weekly: Good News and Progress from the Resistance

Each week, Resist & Rising Together Weekly delivers stories of courage, creativity, and collective power from people pushing back against fascism and building a better future. While authoritarians try to divide and silence us, we’re rising—community by community, action by action—to defend democracy and demand justice. Because resistance isn’t just about fighting back—it’s about moving forward.

🗽 Wins for Freedom Over Fascism

Supreme Court blocks last-minute changes to mail voting before the midterms. The Supreme Court rejected the administration’s request to enforce new Postal Service restrictions on mail ballots ahead of the November 3 election, leaving existing state voting procedures in place. The immediate result is that states and voters will not have to navigate a new ballot-delivery system just weeks before Election Day. Legal Defense Fund

California enacts new protections for ballots and election systems. A package signed September 19 creates penalties for unauthorized seizure or interference with ballots and election records, extends some vote-by-mail drop-off hours, strengthens cybersecurity provisions, and expands disclosure requirements for paid political content. The measures add new protections around election administration and transparency ahead of the 2026 midterms. The Guardian

🫶 Wins for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

Appeals court rules third-country deportation policy unlawful. The First Circuit unanimously held that people facing removal to countries other than their own must receive notice and a meaningful opportunity to raise fears of persecution or torture. The decision strengthens due-process protections for immigrants who could otherwise be sent to countries where they have no ties. The Washington Post

Federal judge orders longtime refugee released from ICE detention. Robert Tony Totpal, a stateless man who came to the United States with his family as a refugee in 1984, was ordered released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center within 24 hours; the court also required notice and a hearing before any future re-detention. The ruling reinforces that immigration detention remains subject to constitutional due-process requirements. Justia

🌎 Wins for Protecting Our Planet

Judge rules EPA unlawfully terminated the $7 billion Solar for All program. A federal judge vacated the EPA’s cancellation of grants intended to expand solar access for low-income communities, rejecting the agency’s claim that it had authority to terminate the awards. The ruling could preserve clean-energy investments designed to lower electricity costs and expand access to solar power for hundreds of thousands of households. Reuters

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova settle their legal dispute, removing uncertainty around a major offshore wind project. The companies ended their litigation and GE withdrew its attempt to terminate its involvement; all 62 turbines are now capable of producing power for more than 400,000 homes and businesses, according to the project. The settlement removes a major obstacle for one of the largest U.S. offshore wind projects after years of delays. New Hampshire Public Radio

💗 Wins for Reproductive Freedom for All

Federal appeals court keeps Washington’s abortion-coverage law in place. The Ninth Circuit upheld Washington’s Reproductive Parity Act against a constitutional challenge, preserving requirements that most state-regulated health plans covering maternity care also cover abortion. The decision maintains existing insurance access to reproductive healthcare for Washington patients. Law360

Illinois launches a statewide reproductive healthcare resource hub. The new online hub brings together information about reproductive healthcare, patient rights, finding care, and help paying for services. Centralizing those resources gives patients a clearer path to understanding and accessing reproductive healthcare in the state. State of Illinois

✊ Wins for Labor Rights

Providence nurses ratify a new contract with stronger safety and workplace protections. Nurses at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett overwhelmingly approved a new agreement that includes wage increases along with improvements involving workplace safety, break nurses, education, bereavement leave, and other working conditions. The agreement turns sustained worker organizing into concrete improvements on the job. UFCW 3000

Frontier Airlines mechanics approve a new five-year union contract. Nearly 500 Teamsters mechanics voted 93% to ratify an agreement providing wage increases, higher pension contributions, increased license premiums, bonuses, and an additional week of vacation for longtime workers. The contract shows collective bargaining translating directly into higher compensation and stronger retirement benefits. International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Power belongs to the people who show up, speak out, organize, and build the power to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

No Kings: Vote Early

Millions of us have already shown what people power looks like when we stand together. On October 17, we take the next step: No Kings: Vote Early.

Across the country, communities have filled streets and public spaces to defend our rights, freedoms, and democracy. Those moments reminded us of a powerful truth:

We are not powerless. And we are not alone.

Now we carry that energy from the streets to the ballot box.

Voting early is one of the simplest ways to make sure our voices are counted while helping our friends, families, and neighbors create their own voting plans.

On October 17, communities nationwide will come together for No Kings: Vote Early.

Whether you have joined every No Kings action or this is your first time stepping forward, there is a place for you.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

📍 Find a No Kings: Vote Early event near you

🙋 Host a No Kings: Vote Early event

Can’t find an event near you? Bring one to your community. Gather your neighbors. Help make sure every voice is heard.

Subscribe now

Progress rarely arrives all at once. This week, it looked like courts protecting due process, voters keeping access to familiar election systems, clean-energy projects moving forward, patients retaining healthcare access, and workers turning solidarity into better contracts. These wins came from people using the courts, organizing workplaces, building institutions, and refusing to surrender their voice.

Power belongs to the people who show up, speak out, stand together, and build the power to hold our leaders accountable to the people they serve.

Laurie Woodward Garcia

(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)

Leader, People Power United

If this post informed you, moved you, or gave you something worth passing on, please tap ❤️, leave a comment, or share it with someone who should see it. Every interaction helps more people find this work and helps us build people power together.

Subscribe now

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🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

People power does not build itself. It grows when people choose to stand together.

Every person who joins, stays connected, shares this work, and helps carry it forward makes this movement stronger. This belongs to all of us.

Whether you subscribe for free, become a paid supporter, or gift a subscription to someone else, you help People Power United keep informing people, organizing action, speaking truth to power, and holding those in power accountable to the people they serve.

Stay connected. Bring someone with you. Help us grow this people-powered movement.

Subscribe now