Light News Dump

The government is targeting immigration lawyers, activists, and reporters, a leaked Homeland Security database confirms.
https://bostonreview.net/global-justice/lauren-carasik-government-targeting-immigration-lawyers-activists-journalists

Rotten eggs: e-waste from Europe poisons Ghana's food chain - Toxins from old computers, fridges and other electronic goods are polluting chicken eggs in an area where 80,000 people live
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/apr/24/rotten-chicken-eggs-e-waste-from-europe-poisons-ghana-food-chain-agbogbloshie-accra

The American Bumblebee Is Facing Extinction in Canada: The species has decreased by 70% within its known Canadian boundaries.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/3k3qq3/the-american-bumblebee-is-facing-extinction-in-canada

Kansas Republicans push bill to to strip new Democratic governor's powers
https://www.salon.com/2019/04/23/kansas-republicans-push-bill-to-to-strip-new-democratic-governors-powers/

Twitter shuts down 5,000 pro-Trump bots retweeting anti-Mueller report invective — Bots were tied to account formerly used for pro-Saudi messaging.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/04/twitter-shuts-down-network-of-5000-possibly-saudi-pro-trump-bots/

After years of progress, the number of Americans breathing polluted air is rising, report says. The new report says that 141.1 million Americans -- 4 in 10 -- live in counties that have air with unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone.
https://us-m.cnn.com/2019/04/24/health/polluted-air-counties-lung-association/index.htm

Khanna breaks with Sanders on voting rights for Boston Marathon bomber: 'I wouldn't go that far'
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/440404-sanders-campaign-co-chair-breaks-with-sanders-on-giving-voting-rights-to

US threatens to veto UN resolution on helping rape victims, over mentions of reproductive health
https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/04/22/politics/us-united-nations-sexual-violence-resolution/index.html

Cosmetics industry crushes bill that would have made makeup and hair products safer
https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-california-cosmetics-regulation-20190410-story.html

Dutch fence off tulip fields to stop selfie-takers crushing flowers - Barriers put up to deter ‘careless’ tourists from seeking perfect picture among bulbs
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/24/netherlands-tulip-fields-barriers-tourists-selfie-takers

Green Groups Urge Court to Stop Trump Effort to Approve 'Climate-Wrecking, Wildlife-Killing' Keystone XL - "Trump's trying to ram this dirty pipeline down America's throat, but we're not falling for it."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/24/green-groups-urge-court-stop-trump-effort-approve-climate-wrecking-wildlife-killing

Japan apologises to people forcibly sterilised under defunct eugenics law - Survivors will get payouts of 3.2m yen each for policy aimed at ‘preventing birth of poor-quality descendants’
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/24/japan-apologises-to-people-forcibly-sterilised-under-defunct-eugenics-law

China And Turkey Defy US, Will Continue To Import Iran Oil
https://www.ibtimes.com/china-turkey-defy-us-will-continue-import-iran-oil-2787220

1 million species face extinction thanks to human activity, U.N. report says
https://theweek.com/speedreads/837059/1-million-species-face-extinction-thanks-human-activity-un-report-says

Not ready for town halls? This is getting silly. Beto's held more town halls than any other candidate.
https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1120890025317732354

Trump hosted Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in the Oval Office for a closed-door meeting, during which the leader of the free world spent an inordinate amount of time complaining about lost Twitter followers, according to a source familiar with the conversation. The Twitter chief, for his part, tried to reassure the president that the company’s staff merely wants his follower count to be as bot-free as possible. Dorsey also used the meeting to promote Twitter’s efforts to fight opioid addiction, which include using a special emoji to promote National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. It is unclear how interested Trump was in discussing those efforts, at least compared to his time spent inquiring about the alleged purging of his followers.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-gets-gentle-reassurance-from-twitter-chief-jack-dorsey-over-follower-count-in-white-house-meeting

France marks first national commemoration of Armenian genocide. France’s recognition of the massacre as a genocide was enshrined in law in 2001, following a lengthy struggle that has strained relations with Turkey.
https://www.france24.com/en/20190424-france-national-commemoration-armenian-genocide