The Wren Collective has identified 10 significant attacks on democracy and civil rights in the US in 2025, including mass deportation, increased use of the death penalty, dismantling of civil rights enforcement, and attacks on health care, academic freedom, and press freedom.
The United States has seen a surge in executions nationwide, driven by a “federal and state-level thirst for blood” as President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi expand executions, with 41 executions occurring so far this year, the highest number in over a decade.
AB 690, a bill authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, has passed through the Assembly Public Safety Committee and the Appropriations Committee, aiming to eliminate flat-fee contracts for indigent defense in California and provide greater oversight, transparency, and fairness to the state’s fragmented public defense system.
AB 690, a bill introduced by Assemblymember Nick Schultz, aims to ban flat-fee contracts for indigent defense and establish statewide standards for counties that contract out public defense services, in order to provide fair compensation, manageable caseloads, and adequate representation to those who cannot afford legal counsel.