United States
Corruption probe at City College of New York points to decline of public higher education
By Fred Mazelis, 4 March 2107
The president of CCNY was forced to resign last October after she was targeted in a corruption probe which continues to expand.
As attack on jobs escalates, AFL-CIO chief pledges to “partner” with Trump administration
By Jerry White, 4 March 2017
The unions are joining Trump’s efforts to divide the working class and block a unified response to his class war policies at home and imperialist militarism abroad.
“They’re laying people off and scattering them to the winds to find employment”
GM layoffs of 1,300 workers at Detroit assembly plant
By a reporting team, 4 March 2017
The layoffs are a major blow to workers and to the city, which is already the poorest big city in America with an official unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent.
Video: Daughters of Rómulo Avelica-González, detained for deportation in Los Angeles, speak out
By Genevieve Leigh and Andrea Ramos, 4 March 2017
Rómulo Avelica-González, long-time resident and father of four, was detained by Los Angeles ICE officials on Tuesday morning while dropping his daughters off at school.
Australian government flags “foreign policy reset” in response to Trump
By James Cogan, 4 March 2017
The Trump administration’s “America First” agenda has produced consternation within the political and strategic establishment.
New York University professor Bertell Ollman supports IYSSE fight for club status
By Isaac Finn, 4 March 2017
An IYSSE representative recently sat down with NYU professor Bertell Ollman to discuss the issues around the club application process at NYU.
As officials end subsidies and resume water cutoffs
Michigan blames Flint water crisis on racism: Part two
By James Brewer, 4 March 2017
A 138-page report on the Flint water crisis delivered on February 7 covers up the class issues in the poisoning of the city.
The Snap IPO: Trump agenda fuels an orgy of speculation
By Nick Beams, 3 March 2017
The massive rise in Snap Inc. stock took place amidst a surge in US markets, which has seen $3 trillion added to share values since the election of Trump.
ICE detains immigration activists in New York, Mississippi
By our reporters, 3 March 2017
US immigration officials have begun targeting immigration rights activists across the country to punish them for the “crime” of speaking out in defense of democratic rights.
Student walkouts oppose Trump’s vicious immigration policies
By Nancy Hanover, 3 March 2017
Young people across the US, opposing the Trump administration’s raids, roundups and arrests, have become outspoken in their defense of the democratic rights of all ethnicities and nationalities.
“They are just here trying to make a living for themselves and their families”
US auto workers speak out in defense of immigrants
By a WSWS reporting team, 3 March 2017
While the unions are aligning with Trump and his “America First” nationalism, workers are reacting against attempts of the administration to whip up anti-immigrant hysteria.
Illinois state workers vote overwhelmingly to strike
By Alexander Fangmann, 3 March 2017
AFSCME leaders are desperately hoping to avoid a strike, while Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has ruled out further negotiations and is preparing to use scabs and the National Guard against workers.
As officials end subsidies and resume water cutoffs
Michigan blames Flint water crisis on racism: Part one
By James Brewer, 3 March 2017
A 138-page report on the Flint water crisis delivered on February 7 covers up the class issues in the poisoning of the city.
Washington accuses Russia of bombing US-backed forces in Syria
By Jordan Shilton, 2 March 2017
The incident underscores the explosive character of the Syria conflict, which could rapidly escalate into a direct clash between nuclear-armed powers.
Wall Street, media celebrate Trump’s address to Congress
By Patrick Martin, 2 March 2017
Wall Street soared to record highs as media commentators praised Trump’s speech, which promised tax cuts for businesses, the slashing of workplace and anti-pollution regulations, and a massive military build-up.
US, South Korea mount massive joint military exercises
By Peter Symonds, 2 March 2017
This year’s war games take place amid an already tense stand-off with North Korea over its nuclear and missile testing and alleged assassination of Kim Jong-nam.
US immigration authorities expand dragnet raids
By Zaida Green, 2 March 2017
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, encouraged by the Trump administration, are sweeping up growing numbers of undocumented workers in “collateral” arrests.
Immigration under capitalism: Life and death along the US-Mexico border
Part Two
By Eric London, 2 March 2017
11,000 immigrants have died crossing to the US as a direct result of anti-immigrant policies implemented by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. Those that survive face hyper-exploitation in the US.
US private prison industry thrives under Trump
By Shelley Connor, 2 March 2017
The policies of the Trump administration benefit the private prison industry at the expense of inmates and their health.
The Obamas sign reported $65 million book deal
By David Walsh, 2 March 2017
The Financial Times revealed that Penguin Random House had won a record-breaking auction between publishing houses and will buy the two books for more than $65 million.
UAW orders thousands of Caterpillar workers to stay on the job as contract expires
By Marcus Day, 2 March 2017
The UAW and Caterpillar have maintained a media blackout in the current negotiations as they prepare to demand further concessions from workers.
Boil advisory issued in Detroit following water system malfunction
By Kathleen Martin, 2 March 2017
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department issued a boil water advisory Tuesday due to concerns over bacterial contamination affecting a large section of the city.
A revealing episode: Sanders applauds Trump during speech before Congress
By Jerry White, 2 March 2017
Sanders’ calculated applause for Trump’s economic nationalist policies during the speech on Tuesday night says much about Sanders’ politics and the role assigned to him.
Behind the anti-Semitic and racist attacks in the US
By Patrick Martin, 1 March 2017
The coming to power of the Trump administration has encouraged the most reactionary, racist and backward forces in American society.
Trump’s speech outlines plans for class war at home and war abroad
By Andre Damon, 1 March 2017
In addressing Congress, Trump reaffirmed his core goals: economic nationalism, the scapegoating of immigrants, the expansion of the military and the elimination of restraints on corporations.
Popular outcry against murder of Indian immigrant in US
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 1 March 2017
Working people in India and America are drawing the connection between last week’s killing of an Indian immigrant and the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant witch hunt.
Michigan father receives unusual waiver from deportation
By Lawrence Porter, 1 March 2017
Several hundred people gathered outside the federal building in Detroit on Tuesday to protest as Yousef Ajin faced his deportation hearing.
Nine-month lockout of Honeywell workers ends as UAW pushes through company’s demands
By Jessica Goldstein, 1 March 2017
The betrayal of Honeywell workers in South Bend, Indiana underscores the anti-working class character of the United Auto Workers union.
Thousands flee as US artillery and air strikes intensify in Mosul offensive
By Jordan Shilton, 1 March 2017
The brutal offensive on Iraq’s second-largest city has already displaced upwards of 200,000 civilians, including 8,000 over the past week.
Stop censorship at Loyola University-Chicago
Students have the right to form political organizations on campus!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US), 1 March 2017
The IYSSE calls on Loyola University Chicago to reverse its decision barring the International Socialist Organization from forming a student club.
The Trump administration and the crisis of American capitalism
By Joseph Kishore, 28 February 2017
It is impossible to separate the fight against the Trump administration from the fight against the social and economic order that has produced it: capitalism.
Jewish cemetery vandalized in Philadelphia, bomb threats target community centers and schools
By Niles Niemuth, 28 February 2017
A fifth wave of bomb threats resulted in the evacuation of more than dozen Jewish Community Centers Monday, just a day after a second Jewish burial ground was desecrated.
UAW shuts down strike at Kansas City auto parts supplier plant
By Shannon Jones and Nick Rodriguez, 28 February 2017
The settlement maintains a low-wage regime at the factory that makes parts for the General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant.
Nashville, Tennessee hands out millions in tax breaks for luxury water park
By Warren Duzak, 28 February 2017
While the Nashville is spending millions to promote a water park for the well-to-do, a majority of children in the city are at risk of drowning because of little or no swimming skills.
Dockworkers’ union threatens one-day strike on US East Coast
By Daniel de Vries, 27 February 2017
Tens of thousands of longshoremen are poised to shut down ports from Maine to Texas.
CWA forces 21,000 AT&T Mobility workers to stay on job as contract expires
By Mark Witkowski, 27 February 2017
Nearly two weeks after the contract expired the Communications Workers of America continues to force its members to work although it admits it “remains miles apart on all major issues.”
US Congress proposes governance changes for dysfunctional DC Metro system
By Harvey Simpkins, 27 February 2017
The federal government is seeking to punish workers employed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority for problems caused by the chronic underfunding of the DC area transit system.
Trump attacks media in diatribe to Conservative Political Action Conference
By Joseph Kishore, 25 February 2017
Trump’s remarks before the ultra-right gathering of Republican Party activists reprised many of the “America First” themes in his inaugural address delivered one month ago.
Capitalism and America’s addiction epidemic
By Andre Damon, 25 February 2017
The precipitous rise in drug overdoses is among the sharpest expressions of the profound social crisis gripping the United States.
One dead, two injured in anti-immigrant shooting in Kansas
By Shelley Connor, 25 February 2017
On Wednesday night, 51-year-old Adam Purinton shot two Indian immigrants in an Olathe, Kansas bar after harassing them with racial slurs and shouting at them, “Get out of my country!”
“They are leaving us basically to fend for ourselves”
Detroit GM workers speak on layoffs as deadline draws near
By Shannon Jones, 25 February 2017
The layoffs will add to the already high unemployment rate in Detroit, which stands at close to 10 percent.
US retail chain J.C. Penney announces over 130 store closures
By Niles Niemuth, 25 February 2017
The department store chain is only the latest retailer to announce major store closures in the US this year, including Macy’s, Sears and Kmart.
Chicago: Seven fatal shootings in one day, Trump threatens federal intervention
By Alexander Fangmann, 25 February 2017
Trump wants to unleash is a violent and ruthless crackdown on working class and impoverished communities, along with a clampdown on protests against police violence,
Tens of thousands evacuated from floods in Northern California
By Ben McGrath, 25 February 2017
While the Oroville Dam crisis highlighted the crumbling nature of US dams, levees around the country are also in deteriorating conditions.
Amid Mexico talks, Trump calls deportations a “military operation”
By Bill Van Auken, 24 February 2017
The president’s provocative statement came as his secretaries of State and Homeland Security were in Mexico attempting to secure the collaboration of the Peña Nieto government.
Man deported from US jumps to death at Mexican border crossing
By Toby Reese, 24 February 2017
Guadalupe Olivas Valencia was deported for a third time after attempting to cross back into the US, where he had previously worked.
US anti-immigrant witch-hunt leads asylum seekers to make perilous trek to Canada
By Roger Jordan, 24 February 2017
The Canadian government’s response to the spike in asylum-seekers has been a combination of callous indifference and outright hostility.
Democratic National Committee convenes to pick a new leader
By Niles Niemuth, 24 February 2017
Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison and Tom Perez, Labor Secretary in the Obama administration, lead a field of five candidates.
Off-duty police officer pulls gun and fires at youths, sparking protests in Anaheim, California
By John Andrews, 24 February 2017
Videos show an off-duty Los Angeles police officer drawing a pistol and shooting it during a minor confrontation with a group of young people.
The International Socialist Organization and the CIA-led anti-Russia campaign
By E.P. Milligan, 24 February 2017
The ISO has been virtually silent on the raging conflict between the Trump White House and the intelligence agencies over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Violent arrests as police begin evacuating Dakota Access Pipeline protest camp
By Zaida Green, 23 February 2017
The eviction orders from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the North Dakota governor come as developers rush to complete the pipeline.
As the media hails Lt. General McMaster, the military strengthens its grip on the government
By Patrick Martin, 23 February 2017
The extravagant praise for Trump’s choice as national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, exposes the complete abandonment of such basic democratic principles as civilian control of the military.
Supreme Court hears arguments in murder of Mexican teen by US Border Patrol
By Barry Grey, 23 February 2017
The slaying of Sergio Hernandez was part of a pervasive pattern of wanton violence carried out on the Mexican border by US border police.
Trump administration revokes transgender rights guidance issued by Obama administration
By Shelley Connor, 23 February 2017
Guidelines for public schools that allowed transgender students to choose bathrooms matching their gender identity were rescinded on Wednesday.
“The UAW smooths everything out for the company”
One week to GM layoffs in Detroit
By Shannon Jones, 23 February 2017
The auto sales boom of the last six years is winding down as the threat to jobs mounts both in the US and internationally.
Tenants of Detroit’s Russell Industrial Center subject to mass eviction
By Kathleen Martin, 23 February 2017
Artist tenants at the century-old Russell Industrial Center are scrambling to find new work and gallery spaces due to a last-minute eviction notice from the city of Detroit.
“If you don’t have an education, you don’t have a life”
Teachers speak out on the schools crisis and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos
By Nancy Hanover, 23 February 2017
Teachers spoke to the WSWS on the Trump administration and the attack on public education.
US unions back Trump’s ultra-right “America First” program
By Jerry White, 23 February 2017
It was the socialists who opposed nativism and racism and waged a struggle to unify all workers, black and white, native-born and immigrant, against the divide-and-conquer strategy of the employers.
Trump administration adopts ruthless new immigration protocol
By Eric London, 22 February 2017
Press Secretary Sean Spicer made clear that immigrants with criminal histories are only the first targets of Trump’s anti-immigrant plan.
Appointment of “Warrior-Scholar” McMaster signals intensification of anti-Russia confrontation
By Bill Van Auken, 22 February 2017
The appointment of McMaster exposes the utterly reactionary and undemocratic character of the official debate surrounding the Trump administration.
Mounting anti-Semitic attacks in US draw half-hearted response from Trump
By Niles Niemuth, 22 February 2017
Since January, there have been 68 bomb threats at 53 community centers in 26 states and one in Canada, and some 200 headstones toppled at a Jewish cemetery in Missouri.
US defense chief arrives in Iraq amid renewed assault on Mosul
By Jordan Shilton, 22 February 2017
Secretary of Defense James Mattis will soon recommend an escalation of US military involvement in both Iraq and Syria.
Southern California hit by massive rainfall
By Glenn Mulwray, 22 February 2017
Rainstorms wreaked havoc over Southern California last weekend, causing mass power outages and flooding.
Ohio couple arrested after eight-year-old son overdoses on heroin
By Naomi Spencer, 22 February 2017
The genuinely tragic outcomes of so many children caught up in the drug crisis are compounded by official indifference.
New York police kill Brooklyn teen for pointing a fake gun
By Steve Light, 22 February 2017
A string of shootings by police of people with fake guns has occurred in recent years, including the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Talk show host Bill Maher: Intelligence agencies “our last line of defense”
By David Walsh, 22 February 2017
In an extraordinarily foul outburst February 17, HBO’s Maher referred approvingly to Egypt and Turkey as countries where intelligence agencies had intervened against a “crazy” dictator.
Trump names Iraq war general and militarist as national security adviser
By Patrick Martin, 21 February 2017
The selection of McMaster is seen as a concession to the anti-Russian campaign waged by the intelligence agencies, the Democratic Party and sections of the Republican Party.
North Dakota Senate passes bills criminalizing Dakota Access Pipeline protests
By Shelley Connor, 21 February 2017
As construction moves forward to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline, the bills subject protesters to prosecution and up to 20 years in prison.
California and federal government ignored numerous warnings about Oroville Dam
By Ben McGrath, 21 February 2017
The Department of Water Resources is engaged in a cover-up of its failure to address basic safety issues that imperiled the lives of thousands of people.
Plans to expand US Navy highlight vulnerable conditions of shipyard workers
By Toby Reese and Genevieve Leigh, 21 February 2017
In the decade spanning from 2005 through 2015, a total of 76 workers in the private shipbuilding and repair industry were killed on the job.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf proposes austerity budget
By Douglas Lyons, 21 February 2017
Wolf has proposed a budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year that does nothing to resolve the state’s education crisis and continues attacks on state workers.
How many people would die in a war between the US and Russia?
By Andre Damon, 21 February 2017
Amidst the non-stop anti-Russian hysteria from the media and the Democratic Party, no one is posing the question: What will be the consequences of a war with Russia?
Trump White House under mounting pressure from anti-Russia campaign
By Patrick Martin, 20 February 2017
Seven congressional committees are now engaged in investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections, including contacts with the Trump campaign.
Thousands protest in Boston against Trump’s threats to science
By Mike Ingram, 20 February 2017
The rally coincided with the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences (AAAS) at the nearby Hynes Convention Center in downtown Boston.
Federal reserve report reveals exploding levels of US household debt
By Tom Hall, 20 February 2017
Total US household debt is expected to surpass levels reached just prior to the subprime mortgage crisis that triggered the 2008 Recession.
“If you attack one school, you attack them all”
Anger grows over Michigan school closures
By Shannon Jones, 20 February 2017
As opposition mounts to the threat by state officials to close dozens of schools in Detroit and other cities, the unions and Democrats are stepping in to smother it.
Baltimore public schools face $129 million budget deficit, plan mass layoffs
By Ron Barzel and Brad Dixon, 20 February 2017
The current deficit amounts to 10 percent of the entire budget for the Baltimore City school system, which has an enrollment of around 82,000 students.
Indiana governor declares disaster in East Chicago over lead contamination
By Jessica Goldstein, 20 February 2017
Although lead contamination in the area has been known of for decades, no substantial efforts were made to address the toxin until recently.
Arizona invites lawyers for death row inmates to provide execution drugs
By Brad Dixon, 20 February 2017
Unable to procure the drugs needed for lethal injections, the Arizona department of corrections is inviting lawyers for death row inmates to provide the drugs to be used to kill their clients.
Iowa makes massive mid-year budget cuts targeting public education
By George Marlowe, 20 February 2017
Republican Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa signed a bill that would entail mid-year budget cuts of over $118 million, the bulk of which hit public schools and higher education.
Seventy-five years after FDR’s Japanese internment order, Trump prepares mass immigrant roundup
By Eric London, 20 February 2017
The attack on immigrants has been prepared by both the Democratic and Republican parties, which have jointly cultivated a climate of anti-immigrant xenophobia to advance their policies of war and social counterrevolution.
New York transit union pushes through concessions contract
By Alan Whyte, 20 February 2017
Less than one-third of those eligible to vote actually ratified the 28-month-long contract, which does nothing to improve wages, health and pension benefits and work conditions.
US Senate confirms industry stooge to head Environmental Protection Agency
By Daniel de Vries, 18 February 2017
Former Oklahoma attorney general and anti-regulation zealot Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday.
The popular movement against Trump vs. the corporate media’s anti-Russia witch-hunt
By Andre Damon, 18 February 2017
Following Donald Trump’s extraordinary news conference, the ferocious battle over imperialist policy between contending factions of the ruling class is intensifying.
US Homeland Security memo: Deploy 100,000 National Guard troops to round up immigrants
By Eric London, 18 February 2017
The proposals outlined in a memo obtained by the AP would require the imposition of de facto martial law across broad swaths of the United States.
As Trump promotes America First nationalism at South Carolina Boeing plant
UAW to launch “Buy American” campaign
By Shannon Jones, 18 February 2017
The UAW is ramping up its promotion of economic nationalism in line with the reactionary America First demagogy of the Trump administration.
Republican health care plan guts Medicaid, shifts funds from poor to rich
By Kate Randall, 18 February 2017
The proposals would roll back Medicaid expansion under Obamacare and convert the program to either a per capita cap or a block grant to the states.
Iowa governor signs bill limiting collective bargaining for state employees
By Marcus Day, 18 February 2017
Iowa’s Republican-controlled state government enacted legislation Friday gutting collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public workers.
US late-night comics fall into (anti-Russian) line
By David Walsh, 18 February 2017
Predictably, America’s late-night comics and television talk show hosts have joined the right-wing campaign to depict Trump as an ally or even pawn of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The Trump press conference: A ferocious conflict within the ruling elite
By Patrick Martin, 17 February 2017
The press conference was unlike anything seen in modern American history, as the US president traded insults with journalists and engaged in a bitter battle with his nemeses in the media.
Thousands participate in nation-wide “A day without immigrants” protest
By Genevieve Leigh, 17 February 2017
The protests including work stoppages, marches and student sick-outs, and were directed against the Trump administration’s actions against immigrants and refugees.
Stunning rebuke to machinists’ union at South Carolina Boeing plant
By Jerry White, 17 February 2017
The IAM’s record of collaboration with Boeing’s attack on jobs and living standards did far more to repel workers than the campaign against the union by the aerospace giant.
As Michigan cuts off water bill credits, Flint officials announce shutoffs
By James Brewer, 17 February 2017
An improvement in water lead levels is the pretext for cutting off water bill subsidies to Flint residents and resuming water shutoffs.
Video exposes official lies about police killing in Nashville, Tennessee
By Warren Duzak, 17 February 2017
Police claims that Jocques Scott Clemmons had assaulted the officer who eventually killed him as he left his car during a traffic stop have been shown to be demonstrably false.
Woman forced to give birth on floor of Macomb County, Michigan jail cell
By Nick Rodriguez, 17 February 2017
The disturbing incident, which took place last year but was only recently made public, sheds a stark light on the harsh realities of life confronting the working class.
On eve of GM Detroit layoffs
Jeep announces partial shutdown of Toledo, Ohio complex
By Shannon Jones, 17 February 2017
The UAW is collaborating with GM to lay off some 1,300 workers at the GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant while trying to divert anger with a reactionary “Buy American” campaign.
Heroin overdoses spike in Louisville, Kentucky
By Naomi Spencer, 17 February 2017
Last week, Louisville reported 151 overdoses over four days, 52 of them within a 32-hour period.
Intelligence agencies clash with Trump over Russia allegations
By Tom Eley, 16 February 2017
The warfare within the ruling class is being waged along a front that extends from the intelligence agencies through the Republican Party and into the Trump White House itself.
Democrats seek to channel opposition to Trump behind anti-Russia offensive
By Joseph Kishore, 16 February 2017
Trump’s critics in the media and political establishment are seeking to disorient the opposition of workers and youth to Trump and corral it behind the war plans of the CIA.
Fast-food mogul Andrew Puzder withdraws as Trump labor nominee
By a reporter, 16 February 2017
Puzder faced opposition from both the right wing of the Republican Party and all Senate Democrats.
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