Australia Bushfires
​In November, after dozens of bushfires erupted in New South Wales, Australia, the national government declared a state of emergency. Since then, the bushfires have spread across the continent, burning an area about the size of South Korea, and forcing many people to evacuate from their homes. At least 27 people are dead and roughly 2000 homes have been destroyed thus far. And even those who retain their homes are unsafe — Vox reports that breathing the air in Sydney is as bad as smoking 37 cigarettes. And due to Australian wind climate, the bushfires are only supposed to get worse throughout the rest of January and early February. The bushfires have been most devastating to Australian wildlife, with over 1 billion animals dead thus far. Scientists say that the wildfire crisis — directly associated with climate change, which has been causing extreme wildfires of greater frequency and size in recent decades — will cause long-term damage for ecosystems across Australia, generating a continent-wide heat wave, and endangering many animal and plant species. Online, videos of koalas with skin burns being rescued from the fires have emerged across social media platforms, and shocking photos of a continent immersed in smoke have moved many to action. Here’s what you can do to help those affected by the bushfires across Australia:

• Donate to organizations who are on the ground in Australia helping families who have lost their homes and supplies:
  • The Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund is sending volunteers to communities affected by the fire and providing support to displaced families
  • GIVIT is an Australian organization that matches donated goods with items requested by fire victims, such as car batteries or gas pumps​

Impeachment in the House: Before we jump into this, we're going to link you to our previous impeachment updates in chronological order, just to cover all the background:

• The Impeachment Explainer breaks down the process of impeachment, its definition, etc. It also covers how this all started with Trump.
• Quid Pro What Now? from Nov. 12th explains Quid Pro Quo, the whistleblower, and all the pre-testimony stuff.
• Pumpkins and Primaries from Dec. 1st covers some of the results of the testimonies.

So back to now: The House of Representatives has officially impeached President Trump on two articles of impeachment! The House Judiciary Committee voted last week to send the articles to a floor vote and the vote occurred this Wednesday, December 18th. It happened along party lines, with only a few Democrats voting against it and no Republicans voting for it.
The first article is abuse of power. Trump asked the government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival of Trump’s. Trump threatened to withhold a White House meeting and $391 million of military aid from Ukraine if these investigations were not announced. The article claims that these interactions with Ukraine were detrimental to national security and formal U.S.-Ukraine policy. Since Trump put his own interests above those of the United States, he abused his power for personal and political gain. 
The second article is obstruction of Congress. This means that Trump hindered the ability of Congress to exercise their Constitutional power of impeachment. Trump told executive agencies and officials to defy the subpoenas issued to them by House committees. Those that refused to comply with their subpoenas include the Department of State, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense, as well as nine executive bureaucrats including the White House Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney. According to the article, Trump’s interference in the impeachment process was a violation of his Constitutional responsibilities to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, faithfully execute the office of President, and take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
The Senate will hold a trial in early 2020 to determine whether Trump should be removed from office. Two thirds of the present Senate members would have to vote to convict for him to be removed. Since the Senate is controlled by Republicans, Trump’s political allies, it is more likely that Trump will be acquitted. 
The articles of impeachment are available to read here. 

What You Can Do: 

• If you support Trump’s removal from office, call your senator and urge them to vote to convict. However, it's of note that the vote will likely happen along party lines again. While that outcome would be disappointing, it's still highly valuable to be investigating Trump in this way and laying out all of his wrongdoings, especially before an election. 
• Remember that, even if Trump is removed from office, it is still just as important to vote in the 2020 presidential election. ​

Antisemitic Shooting in Jersey City:  On Tuesday, December 10, 2019 six people in Jersey City, NJ were shot and killed by an assailant. The assailant first opened fire at Bay View Cemetery, where police officer Detective Joseph Seals was shot and killed.  The shooting, according to officials, began when Detective Seals approached one of the gunmen at Bay View and asked about a separate homicide investigation, and was shot dead.  From this point the gunmen escaped in their truck and then went to a nearby kosher market, where they then opened fire on both police officers and local residents.  A firefight ensued and could be heard throughout the area for most of the next hour, and local schools were put on lockdown. At the kosher market, three bystanders were shot and killed: Mindy Ferencz, who was tending to the store when the assailants entered, Moshe Deutsch, and Miguel Rodriguez. One of the assailants, David N. Anderson, first approached the store and opened fire almost immediately, and was followed by Francine Graham. Both suspects were carrying rifles.  A fourth person was shot inside the market but survived and is not being publicly identified. At first, officials thought that the choice to open fire at the kosher market was random, but after investigation, it became clear that the choice to go to a popular Jewish space was not accidental.  Four guns were found inside the assailants' U-Haul, two of which were bought in Ohio.  A live pipe bomb was also found inside the truck, along with a "brief and rambling" manifesto that tipped off authorities to the antisemitic motivation of the shooting. The shooters were found to have ties to the Black Hebrew Israelites fringe movement, which has been characterized by brash antisemitism but, until now, had not posed a violent threat. 
What You Can Do:

• Ask your Senator to cosponsor Chris Murphy's Background Check Expansion Act. You can check to see if your Senator is already cosponsoring it here (spoiler alert: a lot aren't!). If your Senator is already cosponsoring, ask them to prioritize it.
  Script: Hi, my name is _____, I'm from _____, and I'm calling to ask you to cosponsor/prioritize/support S. 42, the Background Check Expansion Act. The recent shooting in New Jersey was only one example of the epidemic of gun violence in our nation. We need to ensure that guns are not getting into the hands of people who could use them for destruction. I urge you to use your conscience in making this decision. Thank you.
  Number: 202-224-3121 and get connected to your Senator.
• ​Stand up against antisemitism. You can look in our Index by the Issue page for all of our work that has covered the topic and all the resources we have about fighting it. It's an ancient hatred that is all too capable of destruction and violence. 

News from the 2019 Election: Tuesday, November 6th was election day for several states. 
In Virginia, Democrats won a trifecta (control of the governor and both chambers of the state legislature) for the first time in 20 years! Now Democrats can pass a wide array of progressive legislation, from gun control to raising the minimum wage to education reform, and can make sure racially gerrymandered district lines are redrawn to ensure fair elections in Virginia for decades to come. The flip of VA has also led to new discussions about potentially ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.
In Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear seems to have won a narrow victory over Republican incumbent Matt Bevin in a state that gave Trump 62% of the vote in 2016. 
In New York City, voters passed five ballot measures, one of which established ranked-choice voting as the system that will be used in future primary elections. New York is the largest city in the US to adopt the system, which many see as more democratic and has been shown to help more candidates of color gain office. 
In Mississippi, Republican Lt. Governor Tate Reeves won against centrist Democrat Jim Hood. This is definitely a disappointment, but the lesson to take away from this is not that historically deep-red states like Mississippi are unwinnable. (Case in point - Kentucky!)
​
Progressive victories in these off-year elections are really important and really encouraging. Not only does it mean that Democrats can pass progressive legislation -- it’s also a huge indicator of the way the political winds are blowing prior to the 2020 nationwide elections. 
Trump is scared, and he has reason to be. He spent much of the weeks before Tuesday’s elections holding rallies and writing tweets in support of Republican candidates. He knew that victories for Democrats like Andy Beshear would send a very bad message about his reelection prospects -- and that’s exactly what happened. 
Democratic candidates in many districts received a greater share of the vote than their district’s partisan lean. In English, that means that more people are voting for Democrats than they would in a neutral political environment -- that people are more excited about Democrats now than they are normally. And people are excited about voting in general! Turnout was through the roof in the 2019 elections, and the same is expected for 2020. 

What You Can Do: 
This is all really good news, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Let’s get excited, too -- to work hard. Trump and his Republican cronies, from Washington to our local governments, absolutely can’t gain or retain control in 2020. We need to elect more progressive candidates who can help our country confront the immense challenges we face -- from the climate crisis to deeply embedded racism, sexism, and inequality --  and help us create the world we envision. 
The 2019 elections have come and gone, which means we’re even closer to 2020. It’s not too early to start planning how you’ll help bring a brilliant, progressive and diverse crop of candidates into Washington next November. 

1. Voter Registration. While there is still almost a year until ballots are cast in the 2020 elections, the time to register to vote is now. Start close to home; remind your friends, family and members of your community to make sure they’re registered. Then, check out Michelle Obama’s fantastic organization When We All Vote for plans and resources to get even more people registered. 
2. Learn about candidates and make a plan for how you’ll support them. 

Some things you can do right now: 

• Sign up to write letters to voters through Vote Forward. You can write them now and send them closer to the election. 
• Learn about candidates in districts near you so you can be ready to support them in a few months. 

Stay tuned for plenty of election-related resources, guidance, and big plans from Teens Resist, put together just for teenagers like you. Get excited!! ​

The Murder of Atatiana Jefferson

​Around 2 a.m. on October 12th, 2019, Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old African American woman living in Texas, was shot and killed in her own home by a Fort Worth police officer. According to the Fort Worth Police Department, a non-emergency call was made for a wellness check after a neighbor reported that her lights were on and her front door was open. Based on the body-cam footage, the police officer dispatched, Aaron Dean, entered Jefferson’s backyard, unannounced, and shot her through her bedroom window. Jefferson was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew at the time of this occurrence, and she stood up due to concerns over noises in her backyard caused by the officer. Dean did not notify Jefferson about his presence or give her time to respond after yelling “Put your hands up. Show me your hands!” before shooting and killing her. Emergency medical care was provided immediately after the shooting, but Jefferson died on scene with her nephew in the room. 

Since the incident, Dean has resigned and refused to cooperate with the police investigation. Prosectors in Tarrant County, Texas, have charged the former Fort Worth police officer for murder, and trial updates will later be released as the investigation progresses. The tragic death of Jefferson juxtaposes the same murder of Botham Jean, a black man who was also killed in his living room by a police officer who allegedly thought he was an intruder when she walked into the wrong apartment. Many notable figures have spoken out about these cases and over the issue of police brutality and anti-black violence, but police departments across the country have yet to change. Funeral arrangements for Atatiana Jefferson are still being organized, but in the meantime, here are things you can do to help:

Impeachment’s official definition is to charge a public official with a crime or misdemeanor. Our country more commonly knows it as the indicting of charges against a president. Recently, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has declared her inquiry into the impeachment of Donald Trump. However, it’s important to understand what that really means. Impeachment doesn’t remove the president from office, but rather states the charges that will be used in an attempt to further convict said president. This power traditionally lies within the House to start the process and investigate. The Senate is responsible for trying the official, according to Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Once impeachment is passed, meaning there are charges able to be pressed, a two-thirds vote allows the president to be convicted of these charges. If a two-thirds vote is not reached, the charges are dropped. If the official is convicted, he is only removed from the office. Any other consequence is inapplicable. 
    However, presidential impeachment followed with conviction has never happened and is very unlikely to. In fact, only two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Both were never convicted by the Senate. Another famous case was Richard Nixon, but he resigned before he could be impeached. The Constitution states that “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” are what’s allowed to be the basis for impeachment. This list of criteria is one of the main reasons why impeachment is so difficult since there is no specification for what high crimes and misdemeanors refer to. Alexander Hamilton gave his opinion in Federalist 65, stating that even if an act isn’t necessarily prosecutable, as long as it’s disloyal to the country, there is a ground for impeachment. In this sense, impeachment is implied to be more of a remedy for the constituents rather than a punishment for the official.​

Fires in the Amazon: 
The Amazon Rainforest is on fire. The months of July and August mark the dry season in the Amazon and the 2019 dry season has been the driest since 2013, with an 83% increase since 2018 according to INPE, Brazil’s space research center. The agency has detected a record number of fires so far this year (almost 75,000), due in part to the extremity of this dry season. Reuters reports that the fires have been contributing to growing concern about the Brazilian President, ultraconservative Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policy. Bolsonaro took office in January with the promise of developing Brazil for mining and farming, which requires the burning of forest land to clear it. Cnet reports that President Bolsonaro believes these fires were started by non-governmental organizations in response to reductions in their funding; others believe Bolsonaro gave the orders to start the fires. The Atlantic confirms that they were definitely human-induced and could not have been purely natural. Brazilian warplanes have begun dumping water over the forest in attempts to control the fires. 
This tragedy was receiving minimal media attention until there was a public outcry on social media. #ActForTheAmazon was trending on Twitter, with information (and misinformation) spreading around many platforms. 
The Amazon Rainforest has often been referred to as the Earth's Lungs because of the high amounts of oxygen it releases. Beyond that, it contains some of the world's most diverse ecosystems and is home to a variety of indigenous peoples whose lives are threatened by the fires.
Here's a great article explaining the links between Bolsonaro's government and the fires.
What You Can Do:

• Donate! Here are some organizations who are doing super important work to protect the Amazon along with some information from their respective websites:
  • Protect an Acre: “Protect An Acre (PAA) grants support grassroots leadership and local organizations in forest regions to protect threatened forest lands and to protect the human rights of communities that have co-existed with and depended on these regions for generations.”
  • The World Wide Fund for Nature: “With the money raised, our Amazon teams along with local organisations will carry out urgent work on the ground including: Supporting key local and indigenous communities’ needs for medical support, fire fighter training and security; Working with local governments where possible on procedures for fighting fires and deforestation; Campaigning for stronger action from the government.”
  • Amazon Conservation Association: “Protecting the Amazon means safeguarding millions of species of animals, plants, and insects who call it home. It means allowing indigenous communities and locals whose livelihoods depend on the forest to thrive. It means stabilizing our planet's climate and protecting 20% of the oxygen production of our world. It means a lot.”
• Reduce your intake: beef production and paper production are both linked to deforestation. By reducing the amount of beef you eat and paper you use (and by encouraging those around you to do the same), you can contribute to ending deforestation.
• Use Ecosia.org: It’s a search engine which plants a tree for every 45 searches you place through their engine!
• Sign this petition started by Greenpeace telling President Bolsonaro and his government to protect the Amazon.
• Continue to fight against fascism and climate change in big ways through governmental change. Head to our Index by Issue page to look at more of our coverage on Bolsanaro and climate change.
• Listen to the indigenous Amazonian activists who are speaking out about the fires-- they are the people whose lives are most affected by this destruction and also the people who know best how to take care of the rainforest.

Trump's Trade War with China: ​As the 45th Group of Seven (G7) Summit is taking place right now, economic pressure is increasing for President Trump. The reason for this? While he’s boasted about America’s economic boost during his presidency, economists all around the world are disagreeing. Instead, some economists are even predicting an economic recession heading its way to us in 2020. The root cause of this is Trump’s ongoing trade war with China. G7 leaders are especially concerned about this because, despite considerable warnings, Trump is still continuing the trade war headstrong, with China retaliating with equal force. 
In fact, this past Friday, Beijing announced that they are going to impose new tariffs on $75 billion worth on American goods. Trump responded, saying he plans to raise tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from 25 to 30% as well as a tariff raise of 10 to 15% on an additional $300 billion of Chinese goods. Another tariff on automobiles is simultaneously being set to start this year on December 15th, which will be 25%. In short, trade is becoming too tense for comfort. 
The greater problem is that this tensity has tangible impacts on our economy. The more tariffs grow, the more investors lose faith in the economy. What’s frightening is that this has been a precedent for every recession in the past 50 years. The significance of the US-China trade relationship isn’t anything to be taken lightly, either. In 2018, $700 billion worth of goods were traded between the two, not to mention that America is currently China’s largest foreign creditor. This massive relationship shows its importance both quickly and vastly. Just with last week’s raised tariffs on China’s side, the Dow Industrial Average has shown to plunge 2.4% so far. With the way things are looking, it’s unfortunate to say that it’s safe to assume we can be expecting more of these economic plunges in the near future.
What You Can Do:

1. With the 2020 presidential elections just around the corner, you can most definitely help the situation by looking into the candidates running against Trump and see what their ideas are to improve the economy. Follow along with our upcoming 2020 campaigning resources.
2. Talk to the adults around you. Not only can you learn more about the US-China trade war with discussions, you can also help to let them know what President Trump is actually doing, despite his campaign approach of boasting about the economy booming. Whether it’s your parents or even new voters that are upperclassmen, you can notify them that when they vote, they should keep in mind what each candidate is willing to do about the trade war and the economy in general.
3. Scott Kennedy, director of the project on Chinese business and political economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies champions that one of the largest problems about the trade war is that Democrats and Republicans are disagreeing and not seeing the devastating effects and potential impacts. The best we can do is to talk about this on social media, political clubs, etc. to help get everyone educated on this!
4. Leave a note on the White House Comment Line telling Trump that this trade war needs to end. 
   Number: 202-456-1111
   Head to our Basics page for script help.
   

Hawaii Telescope Protests
Plans to begin construction of a telescope at the peak of Mauna Kea, a sacred summit in indigenous Hawaiian tradition (and also the tallest peak in Hawaii), have encountered a roadblock in the form of protests at the base of the mountain this past week. So far, hundreds have joined in peaceful protest blocking the one road leading to the summit, and at least 33 kupuna (elders) have been arrested.  

​Plans for the Thirty Meter Telescope, which would join 13 other telescopes on the peak of Mauna Kea and produce images twelve times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope, have been in the works for a long time. 

Eric Garner Ruling
5 years ago, Eric Garner died at the hands of Staten Island police, sending shockwaves of sadness and anger through NYC and America and helping to catalyze the Black Lives Matter movement. Attorney General William Barr recently announced that there will be no federal charges for the N.Y.P.D. officer primarily involved in his death, Daniel Pantaleo, ending a yearslong internal debate in the Justice Department. The infuriating decision was immediately condemned by the Garner family and their supporters, and the pressure has shifted: one of the only people who has the power to do anything now is Mayor de Blasio, who could fire Officer Pantaleo (he doesn't have direct power to do so, but he has immense sway over the Police Department, which does). Countless high-profile figures in New York City's government have called for de Blasio to take action, who has declined to pass judgement, saying that he respects Officer Pantaleo's right to due process.

What can you do?

• Support the Black Lives Matter movement in any and every way you can (the link to take action is here).
• Call Mayor de Blasio at 212-NEW-YORK or reach him through his contact page here and demand that he take action to fire Officer Pantaleo.