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BY DR. SIMA SAMAR | As the Taliban gains ground in Afghanistan, U.S. military intelligence says if current trends hold, the Taliban could gain full control of the country in a few months. Over 1,000 Afghan civilians have been killed in the past month, according to the U.N., with atrocities against children growing “higher by the day.”

The protection of human rights and the achievements of the past two decades is a shared responsibility of the United States, the international community and human rights advocates.

BY ROXY SZAL | Trying to block the infamous GOP-led elections bill at the heart of months of protests, Texas state Sen. Carol Alvarado began her filibuster just before 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, Alvarado was still at it. She finished her speech at 9:00 a.m. CT—marking 15 total hours.

The Texas filibuster is particularly brutal: While they speak, senators cannot eat, drink, sit or lean on any surface, or use the bathroom. The senator must be continually speaking and the words discussed must be relevant to the bill.

BY MARY GIOVAGNOLI | The Senate has just passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution designed to bring to fruition many of President Biden’s campaign promises to improve the lives of families and children, including a $105 billion allocation of funds to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

The next steps are fraught with difficulty, but still, this is an incredibly important first step towards offering almost 11 million people—47 percent of whom are women—a chance at legal status and ultimately, citizenship.