State Department orders nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications

The U.S. State Department has ordered certain public libraries nationwide to cease processing passport applications, disrupting a long-standing service that librarians say their communities have come to rely on and that has run smoothly for years.

The agency, which regulates U.S. passports, began issuing cease and desist orders to not-for-profit libraries in late fall, informing them they were no longer authorized to participate in the Passport Acceptance Facility program as of Friday.

“We still get calls daily seeking that service,” said Cathleen Special, executive director of the Otis Library in Norwich, Connecticut, where passport services were offered for 18 years but ceased in November after receiving the letter. “Our community was so used to us offering this.”

A State Department spokesperson said the order was given because federal law and regulations “clearly prohibit non-governmental organizations” from collecting and retaining fees for a passport application. Government-run libraries are not impacted.

The spokesperson did not respond to questions as to why it has become an issue now and exactly how many libraries are impacted by the cease and desist order. In a statement, they said, “passport services has over 7,500 acceptance facilities nationwide and the number of libraries found ineligible makes up less than one percent of our total network.”

https://apnews.com/article/passport-libraries-rubio-nonprofit-0a800e2661c1a07c6a81a40f3801af2f

And this is an issue now exactly WHY??????

Great quote from an immigration attorney in Virginia

“We can tell somebody what the law is, but if the government is not following the law, it’s kind of anyone’s guess what they’re going to do.”__Miriam Fisher, Richmond immigration attorney and CEO of Las Abogadas RVA

Sex workers at Nevada brothel fight for the first unionization

Nevada is the only state where people can legally purchase sex, and now sex workers at one of the state’s oldest brothels are fighting to become the nation’s first to be unionized.

“We want the same things that any other worker wants. We want a safe and respectful workplace,” said a worker at Sheri’s Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, who goes by the stage name Jupiter Jetson and asked that her legal name not be used for fear of harassment.

Prostitution is legal at licensed brothels in 10 of Nevada’s rural counties. That doesn’t include Clark County, home to Las Vegas, though Sheri’s Ranch is about an hour’s drive away. The majority of the brothel’s 74 sex workers submitted a petition to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board last week under the name United Brothel Workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America.

Jetson said the drive was spurred by a new independent contractor agreement issued in December that would give the brothel power to use the women’s likeness without permission, even if they no longer work there.

“This is how you end up the face of a Japanese lubricant company without ever having signed a document,” Jetson said. “This is how you end up finding yourself on a website offering AI companionship without ever seeing a penny.”

https://apnews.com/article/nevada-brothel-sex-workers-unionizing-eacf41f41bee5cfe5c13d3dfc4a1887c

I've long been in favor of legalizing sex work and licensing sex workers, with mandatory medical check-ins. CWA seems like an odd choice though---maybe the Service Workers' Union wouldn't accept them?

Not One More--A song for Alex Pretti by The Midnight Republic

Minnesota Anthem---Together We Rise

We Are Vikings---A Message for tRump

The warning for AIPAC in Tom Malinowski's primary loss

When the American Israel Public Affairs Committee decided to spend big in the New Jersey special election to fill the U.S. House seat Mikie Sherrill vacated when elected governor, it was following a familiar strategy. By punishing a politician the group viewed as an apostate, it might get a friendly vote in the House; if nothing else, the race would be an object lesson: Cross AIPAC and you’ll come to regret it.

But things didn’t work out that way. The race turned out to be a lesson in AIPAC’s diminishing power and the rapidly changing politics around the America-Israel relationship.

Former Rep. Tom Malinowski, the early favorite in the crowded Democratic primary, conceded on Tuesday to Analilia Mejia, a progressive who garnered endorsements from the likes of Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Through the United Democracy Project, its affiliated super PAC, AIPAC poured more than $2 million into attack ads targeting Malinowski, though they didn’t mention Israel, making it a stealth effort.

In his previous two terms in Congress, Malinowski supported Israel. But AIPAC targeted him because he now says we should condition that support on some basic respect for human rights. “I committed one sin in their minds,” Malinowski said in January. “I was not willing to tell them that I would unconditionally, unquestionably, blindly support any request for assistance that Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel might make.”

That was too much for AIPAC, which maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward any cracks in U.S. support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Clearly, the group hoped that knocking out Malinowski in the primary would help a candidate it might find more reliable. But Mejia is poised to be a stronger critic of Israel than her opponents would have been, and other politicians may be a little less afraid of AIPAC going forward. As they should be.

https://www.ms.now/opinion/aipac-new-jersey-special-election-malinowski-majia-israel

It's about damn time.

I think we can now give Pam Bondi a new name

After yesterday, instead of addressing her as "Madam Attorney General", she should simply be addressed as "Madam Screech". I rest my case.

Bill would hold data centers responsible for energy costs and environmental protections

After passing a series of landmark environmental bills in Illinois over the last few years, advocates and legislators are hoping to use that momentum to push through a new law that would regulate the growing data center industry in the state, ensuring efficient energy and water use and protections for ratepayers from rising utility bills.

“We cannot afford to be complacent now. As new industries emerge, we must continue strengthening regulations,” Lucy Contreras, Illinois state program director for GreenLatinos, said at a Wednesday news conference.

The growing use of artificial intelligence has drawn water-intensive data centers to regions where the resource is abundant, such as the Great Lakes, where experts say not all communities have the capacity to sustainably support the industry. The facilities also use massive amounts of energy that are driving electricity rates up for neighbors and nearby residents.

The POWER Act, introduced in collaboration with the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, would incentivize data centers to obtain power from local renewable energy sources and batteries, increase local accountability by setting water and electricity reporting requirements and water efficiency standards, and ensure community engagement.

“This is not too much to ask,” state Sen. Ram Villivalam, the bill’s House sponsor and a Democrat from Chicago, said at a news conference. “By establishing policies that ensure data centers, not consumers, bear the increasing energy costs and critical protections for our environment and sustainable water use, we can work towards a future built for technology to support our daily lives, not deplete our resources and price us out of our homes.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/11/illinois-data-centers-energy-environment/

I hope other states, and eventually the US government, will pass similar legislation. Of course states like Texas probably will not....

Loyal dog who lived by owner's grave for 10 years inspires new law in Brazil

A dog who spent 10 years living in the São Paulo cemetery where his owner was buried has inspired a new law permitting the burial of pets with their families in the Brazilian state.

Nicknamed Bob Coveiro - meaning "gravedigger" in Portuguese - the loyal dog brought comfort to mourners and became a fixture at the graveyard until his death in 2021, when he was buried alongside his guardian.

The law named after the canine came into effect on Tuesday and recognises the "emotional bond" between pets and their human families, the state government said.

One of its authors, representative Eduardo Nóbrega, wrote on social media: "What began as a story of love and loyalty has turned into public policy."

Bob attended his owner's funeral at the cemetery in Taboão da Serra and refused to leave thereafter, Brazilian media reported - even returning when family members tried to take him home.

He was given a green dog house to live in and was known to accompany funeral processions at the site, where he was eventually buried with his owner after being hit by a vehicle in 2021.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89kvqjyx4ko

I'm not crying, you're crying.