Newsflash 02/04 – 02/18

Trump calls for “retribution” over this weeks SNL opening skit with Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of Trump. Trump’s demand for retribution was met with a wave of reminders that the First Amendment allows for freedom of speech.

A security guard for an LA synagogue shot a transgender woman in the leg when she began live-streaming the guard.

On February 24, Cubans will vote on a new constitution; its most recent draft eliminates references to freedom of conscience and significantly reduces protections for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). As a result, religious leaders across the island have demanded stronger protection of FoRB.

Muslim death-row inmate, Domineque Ray, requested to have an Imam, muslim religious leader, present during his execution instead of a Christian chaplain. Ray raised the issue with the warden and Ray’s lawyers brought the case to the Eleventh Circuit. Ray won at the Eleventh Circuit, but lost at the Supreme Court and was executed without his Imam present.

Maria Ressa, a Time Person of the Year, award-winning journalist and frequent critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested. Her arrest has renewed fears for the future of press freedom in the southeast Asian nation and around the region.

Florida sixth-grader arrested after dispute with teacher over Pledge of Allegiance.