INTERNACIONAL
NYC kitten rescue defends ‘NO F—ING MAGA’ adoption policy as PETA calls for it to be abolished
After posting an explicit warning that MAGA supporters, conservatives and apolitical applicants need not apply, a New York City kitten rescue is defending its screening process against mounting criticism, including from PETA, which called on the group to scrap the ideological ban.
«Homeless animals don’t care which side of abortion you are on or whether you believe in global warming or support Palestine or Israel or if you don’t vote at all, ever. They care if you love them and will give them a good home,» PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk told Digital.
«We hope this policy, which is humancentric, is reconsidered and abolished.»
The dispute centers on Itty Bitty City Kitties, a Rockaway Beach-based rescue that describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit specializing in orphaned and neonatal kittens, feral cat welfare and adoptions. The organization is also listed among New York state’s registered pet rescues.
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In a social media post reviewed by Digital, the rescue laid out a series of political positions it said could disqualify prospective adopters.
«MAGA? Nope.»
«Conservative? Nope.»
«‘I’m not political’? Nice loophole. Still nope.»
An accompanying image of a kitten bore the message, «NO. F—ING. MAGA.»
The post drew wider attention after Libs of TikTok posted it on X, prompting questions about whether the language represented the rescue’s actual adoption practices.
Digital contacted Itty Bitty City Kitties and asked whether an applicant could be rejected for identifying as MAGA, conservative or apolitical.
Samantha Knox, who has publicly identified herself as the director of Itty Bitty City Kitties, defended the organization’s screening approach by saying its overriding responsibility is the welfare of the animals in its care.
«As an animal welfare rescue, our primary responsibility is ensuring the animals in our care go to safe, compassionate homes,» Knox told Digital.
She said the organization considers «public conduct and demonstrated values» and argued that a record of «celebrat[ing] cruelty» can raise concerns about an applicant’s suitability to care for an animal.
«A history of celebrating harm or abuse, be it toward people or animals, is one of the biggest red flags in animal rescue,» Knox said. «We stand by our mission and will never place a vulnerable animal with anyone, ever, who we feel is a danger to the welfare of the animal.»
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Digital followed up with a narrower question, asking whether a person who identifies as MAGA or conservative, but has no documented history of animal cruelty, threats, neglect or violence, would be eligible to adopt.
«Itty Bitty City Kitties does not screen or reject applicants based on registered political party affiliation,» Knox responded. «MAGA is a political movement and ideology, not a recognized political party.»
Knox said adoption evaluations instead concern «conduct, ethical alignment and animal safety.»
«We reserve the right to reject any application where an applicant’s expressed values, public statements or actions demonstrate a failure to meet our safety and welfare standards,» she said.
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Asked again whether a MAGA or conservative applicant without a history of cruelty, threats, neglect or violence could adopt from the organization, Knox did not provide a yes-or-no answer.
«Media-driven requests to force complex animal welfare evaluations into a binary ‘yes or no’ premise fundamentally misrepresent how responsible adoption screenings operate,» she said.
Knox added that «active support for or alignment with social movements» the rescue believes normalizes or promotes cruelty can be treated as «actionable conduct» and said adoption decisions are made «holistically under these welfare and safety standards.»
Knox also provided Digital with screenshots she said showed explicit, hostile messages directed at the rescue after its political posts.
Knox said messages of that nature illustrated the kind of conduct the rescue considers relevant when evaluating prospective homes. PETA, however, drew a different line.
«Political affiliation is not a reliable measure of whether someone will be a good guardian,» the organization told Digital, adding that a person’s actions and statements, along with demonstrated treatment of people and animals, can be relevant to an adoption decision.
PETA said rescues should focus on «objective animal welfare factors,» including an applicant’s history of animal care, ability to meet an animal’s needs and evidence of cruelty, neglect or violence.
«Shelters and rescues exist to protect animals, not to serve as political gatekeepers,» PETA said.
Itty Bitty City Kitties’ public adoption page describes what the organization calls a «Fully Supported Adoption Model,» under which prospective owners submit an application, references, employment and living information, participate in a phone interview and complete a FaceTime or Zoom interview in lieu of a home visit.
The rescue’s published «MUST LIST» says adopters must keep animals up to date on veterinary care; keep them indoors or leashed outside; never declaw them; maintain a plan for travel, illness or death; not simply give away an animal they can no longer care for; and be financially able to provide for its welfare.
The public-facing requirements reviewed by Digital do not mention MAGA, conservatism, political affiliation or political ideology.
The organization has also used its social media account for other political messaging.
On Sept. 10, Itty Bitty City Kitties posted an image of a kitten carrying the words, «Kittens. Don’t. Mourn. Nazis.»
«For absolutely no reason at all on this day one year later…» text on the image stated.
«Just a little kitten making sure we all know where we stand,» the accompanying caption read, followed by hashtags including «#kitten,» «#cat,» «#politics» and «#iykyk.»
While the post did not name late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, it was published exactly one year after his assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
Knox also invoked the rescue’s nonprofit status in defending its ability to take positions on political and social issues, saying 501(c)(3) organizations are permitted to maintain issue-based standards aligned with their missions as long as they do not engage in partisan political campaigning.
PETA, while objecting to the use of political affiliation as a measure of adoption suitability, said an applicant’s actual behavior toward animals can, and should, matter regardless of ideology.
«More broadly, anyone who condones, celebrates or participates in harming animals demonstrates a troubling lack of empathy,» PETA said.
politics, controversies state and local, pets, charity
INTERNACIONAL
Kamala Harris faces Democratic doubts over 2028 as allies push back on claims she’s squandered her chance
As former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs another White House run in 2028, a longtime advisor is firing back at Democratic strategists and donors who argue she has squandered an opportunity to politically reinvent herself following her 2024 election defeat.
Veteran Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, an outside advisor to Harris, pushed back against the criticism highlighted in a new Politico report, defending Harris’ policy proposals and campaign activity as Democrats debate whether the former vice president deserves another shot at the White House. Cardona argued the story was «infuriating in its silliness.»
The report, based on interviews with nearly 20 California-based Democratic donors and strategists, highlighted growing skepticism among some party insiders about Harris’ political future and whether she has done enough to distinguish herself from her unsuccessful 2024 campaign.
Longtime Democratic strategist Doug Herman, a veteran of former President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, told Politico that Harris «totally blew it… She hasn’t gotten into the mix.»
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Former Gov. Jim Hodges of South Carolina, the lead off state in the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nominating calendar, told Politico, «I don’t see anything different myself. It seems like more of the same to me.»
But Cardona, a veteran of the Bill Clinton administration, the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama presidential campaigns who currently serves as a member of the Democratic National Committee, disagreed that Harris had failed to spell out what she would offer Democrats anxious for change.
«How can you state that she hasn’t done anything new or groundbreaking or talked about new initiatives or policies and then layout exactly those policies – like proposing an expanded Supreme Court, lowering the voting age to 16, making DC and Puerto Rico states. Those are pretty groundbreaking policies!» Cardona told Digital, as she pointed to some of Harris’ moves since the end of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Harris, the nation’s first Black vice president, has also said that Black people should be «transactional voters,» instead of automatically supporting Democratic candidates.
«She’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t,» Cardona argued, adding that Harris «is still the most qualified person to be president of the United States that is mentioned as a possible candidate for 2028.»
Harris has been crisscrossing the country this year, first on a book tour for her best-selling campaign memoir «107 Days» and currently to support fellow Democrats running in the midterm elections.
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While Harris has teamed up with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and congressional nominees in her home state, some Democratic nominees running in red states made headlines in recent weeks by asking the former vice president not to campaign with them.
But Cardona said, «Harris has been out there nonstop talking to young voters, women voters, black voters, Latino voters, and she has been asked by many candidates to come and campaign with them. She has focused her energies on winning the midterm elections. Can you imagine the backlash if she was out there focusing on herself and how she can remake the Democratic Party?»
Harris replaced Biden as the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee after he ended his re-election bid following a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump. Her truncated three-month presidential campaign ended in defeat, with Trump narrowly sweeping all the key battleground states as he won back the White House.
If she runs a third time for president, Harris will enjoy instant name ID and plenty of goodwill from within her party. But she would also face a Democratic base trying to move past the 2024 election setbacks, and she would likely be part of a very crowded and competitive 2028 primary field.
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A Democratic consultant, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, told Digital that «voters feel like they haven’t heard much from Harris, which means bad memories from her 2024 election loss remain fresh in their minds.»
But longtime Democratic strategist Michael Ceraso said that consultants «are not voters.»
«I just don’t trust that the consulting class really has a finger on the electorate,» he told Digital. «To listen to consultants saying Harris has blown it – presidential politics hasn’t really even started yet.. These consultants are just getting soundbites.»
Ceraso noted that it took Biden three runs to win the White House.
«The third time was the charm and everybody said to Biden when he ran the third time, ‘why are you running.’ Well guess what, he ended up becoming the nominee and the president,» he said. «Why can’t Harris look at that template and say ‘that can apply to me too.’»
politics, kamala harris, joe biden, donald trump, democrats elections, presidential primaries, elections
INTERNACIONAL
Protestas en Francia: los estudiantes volvieron a las calles y hubo enfrentamientos entre manifestantes y policías
Decenas de miles de personas, entre ellas la activista sueca Greta Thunberg, protestaron de nuevo este martes en Francia para exigir mejores condiciones en los liceos, al considerar insuficiente la respuesta del gobierno a sus reclamos desde finales de septiembre.
Esta semana de movilizaciones se anuncia crucial. Precede a los 15 días de vacaciones de otoño (boreal), pero podría sumarse a las protestas del sábado contra la carestía de la vida, en este convulso último año de mandato del presidente centroderechista, Emmanuel Macron.
Al inicio de la marcha en París hubo enfrentamientos entre la policía y miembros de grupos radicales conocidos como “black bloc”. El líder de la organización estudiantil USL, Ryad Rani, llamó a unirse a las protestas del sábado: “No bajaremos los brazos”.
Entre 161.500 y 480.000 personas marcharon este martes por las calles, según el gobierno y los organizadores respectivamente. Las tendencias difieren respecto a la semana anterior, cuando sindicatos y universitarios también se sumaron a las marchas.
Entonces, los organizadores anunciaron 450.000, una cifra que las autoridades rebajaron a 266.000 manifestantes, en una de las mayores protestas estudiantiles desde mayo de 1968.
La nueva jornada de movilización comenzó con el bloqueo de liceos. Las autoridades cerraron preventivamente unos 200 de los 3700 que cuenta el país, indicó el ministro de Educación Nacional, Édouard Geffray.
Greta Thunberg se muestra “orgullosa”
En uno de los epicentros de la movilización, el liceo Paul Éluard de Saint-Denis, al norte de París, los estudiantes contaron desde primera hora de la mañana con el apoyo de Greta Thunberg, quien se dijo “enormemente orgullosa” de su lucha.
“Nos están robando nuestro futuro y, como hemos podido comprobar aquí, las escuelas no reciben las inversiones que necesitan. Esto envía un mensaje a los jóvenes: ‘En nuestra sociedad, ustedes no son una prioridad’“, aseguró.
Los alumnos que protestan tienen en su mayoría entre 15 y 18 años, y estudian el último ciclo de secundaria. Su educación obligatoria estuvo marcada por los confinamientos del covid en 2020.
Sus reclamos son variados: la falta de reemplazo de profesores ausentes, horarios de clase de hasta diez horas por día con huecos, aulas deterioradas e inadaptadas al cambio climático y un sistema de acceso a la universidad ,(Parcoursup), visto como poco transparente.
AFP)
Francia
INTERNACIONAL
Rusia lanzó un nuevo ataque con misiles y drones contra Ucrania: al menos 6 muertos y 20 heridos
Al menos seis personas murieron durante la noche del martes y la madrugada de este miércoles por ataques rusos contra distintas regiones de Ucrania, mientras los bombardeos con misiles balísticos provocaron cortes de electricidad en amplias zonas de la capital ucraniana. Las autoridades regionales informaron de tres muertos en Kiev, dos en la región central de Dniproy uno en la región suroriental de Zaporizhzhia.
El alcalde de la capital, Vitali Klitschko, indicó que los ataques alcanzaron infraestructura energética de la ciudad y sus alrededores. “Las instalaciones energéticas de Kiev y de la región circundante han sufrido un ataque masivo con misiles balísticos. Hay interrupciones del suministro eléctrico”, escribió Klitschko vía Telegram.
DTEK, el mayor proveedor privado de electricidad de Ucrania, informó que la ofensiva provocó cortes de emergencia en cinco distritos de Kiev. La compañía indicó que las interrupciones del suministro afectaron a los distritos de Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Pecherskyi y Solomianskyi, además de una parte de Holosiivskyi.
Respecto a los ataques contra edificios residenciales, el alcalde reportó: “Un edificio de 9 plantas fue alcanzado por un incendio en el distrito de Desnyanskyi. Los servicios de emergencia se dirigen al lugar”.
Además, 20 resultaron heridas en Kiev durante esta última oleada de bombardeos rusos contra instalaciones energéticas y edificios residenciales. La Fuerza Aérea de Ucrania alertó durante la madrugada sobre el avance de varios misiles hacia la capital.
Medios ucranianos también informaron de detonaciones en Kharkiv, en el noreste del país, y en Dnipro, en el centro-este. Otros bombardeos alcanzaron Sumy y Chernígov.
El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, señaló poco antes de la medianoche que un ataque balístico ruso alcanzó una central eléctrica de Kiev, una de las más importantes de la capital. Zelensky denunció que Ucrania no recibió por segunda vez en cerca de 24 horas información anticipada de sus socios sobre el lanzamiento de los misiles desde territorio ruso. Según explicó, esa falta de alertas dificulta la respuesta del Ejército ucraniano. “Nuestros sistemas detectaron estos misiles cuando estaban prácticamente en Kiev”, afirmó el mandatario, que confirmó el impacto contra la instalación energética.
El presidente no identificó al país aliado que dejó de proporcionar la información de inteligencia. Ucrania quedó sin esos datos después de que Estados Unidos advirtiera a Kiev que podía suspender el intercambio de inteligencia si mantenía los ataques contra refinerías rusas, a los que Washington se opone por su posible impacto en el mercado internacional de combustibles.
“Esto es absolutamente injusto: están destruyendo nuestra infraestructura y Ucrania ni siquiera recibe alertas tempranas sobre lanzamientos de misiles balísticos”, añadió.
En Rusia, el gobernador de la región de Saratov informó, con base en datos preliminares, que un ataque con drones ucranianos mató a una persona en la ciudad de Balakovo.
El alcalde de Moscú, Serguéi Sobianin, aseguró que las defensas aéreas rusas derribaron cerca de 500 drones que se dirigían hacia la ciudad durante la noche. Las autoridades rusas añadieron que alrededor de 160 drones fueron derribados sobre la región de Rostov, mientras otros aparatos tenían como objetivo la capital rusa.
Los residentes de Kiev escucharon explosiones provocadas por bombardeos rusos antes de la activación de las sirenas antiaéreas durante la noche del lunes al martes, una secuencia poco frecuente desde el inicio de la guerra.
El episodio ocurrió después de que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunciara el domingo en Truth Social un supuesto “alto el fuego energético” entre Rusia y Ucrania. Trump afirmó que ambos países habían aceptado detener los ataques de largo alcance contra instalaciones eléctricas.
Zelensky expresó sorpresa por ese anuncio y sostuvo que los ataques posteriores contra la infraestructura energética de Ucrania representaron la “respuesta” del mandatario ruso, Vladimir Putin, a las declaraciones de Trump. Trump criticó en varias oportunidades a Zelensky por los ataques ucranianos contra refinerías de petróleo rusas. El sábado, además, planteó que era “hora de que Ucrania tuviera un nuevo presidente”. El mandatario estadounidense también recibió críticas de Zelensky y de sectores políticos dentro de Estados Unidos después de anunciar la semana pasada que planea comprar diésel a Rusia, pese a las sanciones vigentes contra Moscú por la guerra.
(Con información de AFP)
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