Here's the latest round-up of what we've been reading and watching this week, from the news and around the web:

VFAI Gear is here! Get it in time for Veterans Day and don’t forget to tag us on social media in your new digs. Also, please continue liking and sharing  VFAI’s Starbucks Upstanders Challenge video—tweet it out and help VFAI win a $25,000 grant!

As numerous women come forward about being sexually assaulted and harassed by men in power, we applaud their courage and candor. In a New York Times op-ed, Army veteran Supriya Venkatesan shares her own #MeToo story, detailing her encounters with sexual harassment during her military service. Thank you, Surpriya, for speaking out and reminding us that there is much work to be done. We stand with you.

On Tuesday a federal judge in Maryland granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against President Trump’s latest travel ban, pointing to his tweets as indication the administration had "not shown that national security cannot be maintained without an unprecedented eight-country travel ban." This decision follows a similar move by U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson, who heard the case in Honolulu.

The administration is finalizing plans for additional “security enhancement recommendations” as part of a 120-day review of refugee vetting procedures, including increased security checks for women and children. These additional checks could slow down a resettlement process that can already take up to two years. According to the State Department, three-quarters of refugees admitted were women or children in the last year alone.

When calls for closeminded, nationalist policies seem constant, it’s refreshing to hear what true patriotism sounds like. Take a moment and watch these two inspiring speeches from John McCain, receiving the 2017 Liberty Medal, and George W. Bush at his institute’s event in New York yesterday.

Last week a dynamic trio—Rabbi Bob Alper of Vermont, New York-based Baptist Rev. Susan Spark, and Muslim writer and performer Gibran Saleem (a veteran of MTV and TV Land who writes for “Saturday Night Live”)—came together in New Haven for some much-needed comic relief. Proceeds from the evening benefitted the Immigrant Bail Fund, a nonprofit that raises money for immigrant detainees facing pre-trial detention. “Not only do we struggle together. We laugh together,” Rabbi Herbert Brockman said. “It is part of our common humanity. We need to find in each other these common joyful experiences.”

Refugee Spotlight of the Week: After fleeing Damascus, Syrian refugee Mona Merstany faced an uncertain future. But using her language skills and outgoing personality, she found hope. Along with 60 other Syrian refugees in Beirut, Mona teaches Arabic to learners around the world through NaTakkalam (which means “we speak” in Arabic). The service provides Syrian refugees with employment, simultaneously facilitating a cross-cultural exchange and “changing people’s preconceptions about refugees.” Check it out!