United States
The missile alert in Hawaii
Thirty-eight minutes of chaos
By Patrick Martin, 15 January 2018
A false warning of impending nuclear attack terrorized millions on Saturday.
After Trump’s racist outburst, Democrats plead for anti-immigrant “compromise” with White House
By Niles Niemuth and Barry Grey, 15 January 2018
Trump has responded to the Democrats’ mixture of servility and phony outrage by doubling down on his demands for curbs on immigration.
Kentucky water crisis outrage: Another US worker arrested for criticizing government officials
By Sheila Brehm, 15 January 2018
A former coal miner was stopped from complaining about the persistent shutoff of drinking water to families in Martin County.
“Keep fighting, we have to come together”
Educators denounce attack on Louisiana school teacher Deyshia Hargrave
By Nancy Hanover, 15 January 2018
WSWS Teacher Newsletter readers explain their support for the Louisiana teacher who was arrested for speaking out at a school board meeting last week.
Cold-related deaths in Wisconsin expose abysmal social conditions
By Christopher Davion and Matthew Verhoven, 15 January 2018
Nine people died in Wisconsin due to exposure to freezing temperatures that began in the final week of 2017.
US AFRICOM blacklists reporter Nick Turse as “not a legitimate journalist”
By Eddie Haywood, 15 January 2018
The move is of a piece with the global effort to censor oppositional and alternative viewpoints on the Internet.
Trump’s racist comments trigger international condemnation
By James Cogan, 13 January 2018
Officials of the Trump administration have been left to make desperate attempts to contain the diplomatic fallout.
The deadly impact of Hurricane María extends to US hospitals
Power outages set off IV bag shortages
By Genevieve Leigh, 13 January 2018
Ongoing power outages in Puerto Rico have set off a severe crisis of IV bag shortages on the US mainland, exacerbated by a sharp increase in flu cases nationwide.
House Democrats supply votes to block limits on NSA spying
By Niles Niemuth, 13 January 2018
The Democratic Party’s support ensures the illegal surveillance program that began under George W. Bush and was expanded by Obama will pass unscathed into the hands of Donald Trump.
Walmart closes 63 Sam’s Club locations, lays off thousands of employees
By Trévon Austin, 13 January 2018
The closures and mass layoffs expose the media hype surrounding Walmart’s announced raising of wages.
Deadly mudslides in Southern California expose inadequate infrastructure
By Dan Conway, 13 January 2018
Four days after 3-foot-high mudslides raged through the California coastal community of Montecito, rescuers continue to search for survivors.
Washington Post columnist goes after Woody Allen’s “lechery”
By David Walsh, 13 January 2018
In peculiarly American fashion, layers of the well-heeled middle class have suddenly discovered piety and morality, at least in public. An absurd and repulsive prudishness has overtaken the media and official circles.
Trump’s racist diatribe against “shithole countries” exposes bipartisan conspiracy against immigrants
By Barry Grey, 12 January 2018
Trump’s outburst came as an embarrassment to the Democrats, who over the past week have rushed to reach a deal with the White House that would further militarize the border and expand the crackdown on immigrants.
Teacher’s arrest in Louisiana: Another day, another outrage
By Jerry White, 12 January 2018
There is something “American” about the treatment of Deyshia Hargrave, who had the temerity to protest pay raises for school officials while teachers and students are starved of resources.
Washington prepares to deploy “usable” nuclear weapons
By Bill Van Auken, 12 January 2018
A policy review to be released later this month calls for the development of new low-yield nuclear weapons for use against Russia.
Activist detained and 18 arrested at Manhattan immigrant rights protest
By Isaac Finn, 12 January 2018
Prominent immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir was taken into custody on Thursday morning during a regularly scheduled appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“This is an outrage! The marshal should be arrested for assault”
Massive outpouring of support for victimized Louisiana teacher
By Nancy Hanover, 12 January 2018
The arrest and jailing of Louisiana teacher Deyshia Hargrave has prompted outrage throughout the US and internationally.
Trump officials say states can impose Medicaid work requirements
By Kate Randall, 12 January 2018
The administration’s aim in imposing work requirements is to gut the health care program for the poor, which currently covers about 74 million people.
US coal mining fatalities nearly doubled in 2017
By Clement Daly, 12 January 2018
The surge in mining deaths reflects the deterioration of working conditions in the US coal industry.
Huntsville, Alabama Toyota-Mazda plant announcement highlights shift in auto production to southeastern US
By Ed Hightower, 12 January 2018
The planned facility is the latest expansion of “transplants” in the US South and will employ some 4,000 workers.
Democrats bray for immigration deal with Trump as judge halts DACA rescission
By Niles Niemuth, 11 January 2018
The first year of the Trump administration starkly illustrates the fact that neither the courts nor the Democratic Party can be trusted to protect immigrants.
El Salvador’s government bows to Washington over threat to deport 262,000
By Andrea Lobo, 11 January 2018
In response to the threat of mass deportations, the Salvadoran FMLN government has sought to curry favor with the Trump administration.
Death toll in Southern California mudslides rises to 17
By Dan Conway, 11 January 2018
Rescuers continued to search for survivors in the upscale community of Montecito, California Wednesday after rivers of mud and debris had raged through the area a day earlier.
US Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to Mississippi’s discriminatory “religious freedom” law
By Matthew Taylor and Ed Hightower, 11 January 2018
The effect of the Supreme Court’s inaction is to encourage blatant discrimination against LGBT persons and all except Biblical literalists.
Rental costs rising beyond reach in Nashville
By Warren Duzak, 11 January 2018
Hedge funds and other big investors are transforming private homes into rental properties, driving housing costs beyond the reach of working class and lower-middle class families.
Freedom for Julian Assange!
By Bill Van Auken, 11 January 2018
The “untenable” conditions under which the WikiLeaks founder remains confined are the product of an unrelenting drive by the US and British governments to punish him for exposing the crimes of imperialism.
“Sexual misconduct” witch-hunt targets conductor Charles Dutoit, director Max Stafford-Clarke and actor Ed Westwick
By Paul Bond, 11 January 2018
Just before Christmas, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra announced that it had cancelled appearances by its artistic director, 81-year-old conductor Charles Dutoit.
Louisiana teacher jailed for speaking out at school board meeting
By Nancy Hanover, 10 January 2018
Deyshia Hargrave was removed from a meeting, handcuffed and taken to jail for opposing a large pay hike for the school superintendent while employees have had no raise in a decade.
An interview with Javier Luengo-Garrido, Coordinator at ACLU-Massachusetts’ Immigrant Protection Project
By Julian James, 10 January 2018
Luengo-Garrido is a coordinator at the ACLU’s Immigrant Protection Project in Northampton, Massachusetts. He spoke to the WSWS about the recent announcement by the Trump Administration to deport over 200,00 Salvadorans over the next 18 months.
At least 13 dead as rainfall in Southern California triggers mudslides and flooding
By Dan Conway, 10 January 2018
The deaths were primarily due to mudslides triggered by heavy rains in areas largely denuded by massive wildfires only a few weeks before.
As workers seek higher wages
Billionaire warns of growing class conflict in US
By Jerry White, 9 January 2018
After decades of declining real wages, hundreds of thousands of workers face contract struggles this year in the trucking, warehouse, health care, telecom and entertainment industries.
A crime against humanity
US to deport 262,000 Salvadoran immigrants
By Patrick Martin, 9 January 2018
This barbaric action will split up tens of thousands of families and threaten countless deaths among those forced to return to the killing fields of Central America.
Deadly influenza outbreak spreads throughout US, most severe in California
By Dan Conway, 9 January 2018
Over the past few weeks, cases of influenza and influenza-related illnesses have skyrocketed, reaching near epidemic level proportions.
San Diego homelessness crisis remains after hepatitis A outbreak
By Emanuele Saccarelli, 9 January 2018
Official reports indicate that more than 9,000 homeless people live on the streets of San Diego, with over a thousand of them being concentrated in the downtown area.
Ten-year-old child among the victims
American Civil Liberties Union sues DC police for attacking inauguration protests
By Harvey Simpkins and Nick Barrickman, 9 January 2018
A civil lawsuit filed by the ACLU alleges protesters were assaulted and deprived of their constitutional rights.
Notes on police violence
US police kill 29 during first week of 2018
By George Gallanis, 9 January 2018
Almost all of the killings follow a general logic: police kill anyone they suspect to be a threat, regardless of how severe or even real the threat.
The havoc at New York’s JFK Airport and the decay of US infrastructure
By Bill Van Auken, 9 January 2018
The chaos produced by a one-day snow storm has laid bare the disastrous state of social infrastructure in the capital of America’s financial oligarchy.
The campaign over the “unfitness” of Donald Trump
By Patrick Martin, 8 January 2018
The Democrats, once again, avoid any appeal to popular opposition to the right-wing policies of Trump and the Republicans.
Puerto Rico, more than 100 days after Hurricane Maria: The class issues
By Genevieve Leigh, 8 January 2018
The absence of planning for the hurricane and the lack of any significant response to the devastation by the local and federal governments has had deadly consequences.
Motel 6 sued for passing on guest information to ICE immigration officials
By Norisa Diaz, 8 January 2018
The lawsuit addresses widespread practices at numerous locations where Motel 6 handed over the names, birthdates, driver's license numbers, license-plate numbers and room numbers of at least 9,000 guests to immigration officials without warrants.
Rising rents put low income US renters in severe jeopardy
By Debra Watson, 8 January 2018
Rent burdens have increased in the US over the past 15 years, putting workers at the lower end of the pay scale in severe housing jeopardy.
Trump “defends” the right to protest in Iran, criminalizes protest in Washington
By E.P. Milligan, 8 January 2018
Even as Trump was bloviating about the right to protest in Iran, his Justice Department was carrying out a political trial against peaceful protesters in a brazen attack on the freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed by the US Constitution.
Tell-all book on Trump White House intensifies US political crisis
By Barry Grey, 6 January 2018
The book has received nonstop media coverage and provided new ammunition for those factions within the ruling class that are pushing for Trump’s removal from office.
Gentrification fueling eviction crisis in New York City
By Steve Light, 6 January 2018
The rise in eviction cases demonstrates the increasing unaffordability of housing in working class neighborhoods in New York City.
Over 20 dead in winter storm as US cold wave continues
By Kathleen Martin, 6 January 2018
While media reports are conflicting, the winter storm emerging from the ‘bomb cyclone’ on the eastern coast of the US has directly claimed at least 22 lives, with the number expected to rise over the weekend.
December US jobs report reveals weaker than expected growth
By Trévon Austin, 6 January 2018
The modest improvement in the unemployment rate and number of jobs added over the last year are not reflective of the real situation confronting millions of workers.
Foxconn tax subsidies to build Wisconsin plant reach over $4 billion
By George Gallanis, 6 January 2018
Decades of deindustrialization have created unprecedented levels of social inequality, poverty and unemployment, which corporations like Foxconn can exploit.
Daphne Merkin’s “Publicly, We Say #MeToo. Privately, We Have Misgivings”
The New York Times’ reactionary sexual harassment campaign runs into opposition
By David Walsh, 6 January 2018
In a column Friday, critic and novelist Daphne Merkin acknowledges there is considerable hostility to the current sexual misconduct witch-hunt even within its target demographic.
As teachers face new battles against Trump
Lessons of the fight against Obama’s “school reform”—Part 2
By Nancy Hanover and Jerry White, 6 January 2018
Taken together, the seminal struggles of teachers and other public sector workers in Wisconsin (2011), Chicago (2012) and Detroit (2015-16) contain powerful political lessons for the defense of education and workers’ rights.
America’s poor and homeless freeze in winter storm
By Kate Randall, 5 January 2018
As in all weather-related disasters, society’s most vulnerable are the worst affected, with the poor and homeless bearing the brunt.
Bannon attack on Trump White House fuels Washington political warfare
By Patrick Martin, 5 January 2018
A new book based largely on interviews with former Trump counselor Stephen Bannon is being used to reignite the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
UC Berkeley student arrested by border patrol
By David Brown, 5 January 2018
Luis Mora, a junior transfer to the UC, was arrested Saturday night at an internal checkpoint for overstaying his visa.
“The government got to do whatever it wanted to do”
An interview with Mark Flessner, attorney for Davino Watson, US citizen illegally imprisoned by ICE for more than three years
By Nick Barrickman, 5 January 2018
Watson was denied damages from the US government on the grounds that a two-year statute of limitation for suing the government had elapsed while he had been detained.
Trump administration to roll back regulations on offshore drilling
By Matthew Taylor, 5 January 2018
The Trump administration is repealing restrictions adopted after the 2010 well blowout that polluted much of the Gulf of Mexico.
AT&T; and other US telecoms begin wave of layoffs
By Mark Witkowski, 5 January 2018
Flush with billions in cash and counting on the complicity of the unions, the telecom giants are preparing more job-cutting mergers.
Sulzbergers pass gilded baton at the New York Times
By Bill Van Auken, 5 January 2018
In assuming the post of Times publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, 37, inherits his father’s $5.1 million annual paycheck.
Trump threatens North Korea with nuclear war
By Peter Symonds, 4 January 2018
Trump’s “nuclear button” remark is aimed not just at North Korea, but any country that poses a challenge to American global hegemony.
Deaths continue to mount amid freezing temperatures across much of the US
By Trévon Austin, 4 January 2018
The rising number of deaths from cold at the beginning of this year has exposed the severity of the affordable housing crisis in the United States.
As teachers face new battles against Trump
Lessons of the fight against Obama’s “school reform”—Part 1
By Nancy Hanover and Jerry White, 4 January 2018
Taken together, the seminal struggles of teachers and other public-sector workers in Wisconsin (2011), Chicago (2012) and Detroit (2015-16) have powerful political lessons for the defense of education and workers’ rights.
As US Congress reconvenes
Democrats looking for deal with Trump on social cuts, increased military spending
By Patrick Martin, 3 January 2018
Bipartisan meetings will discuss the congressional agenda in the two weeks remaining before the January 19 expiration of the federal funding authorization.
Record low temperatures kill at least nine people in US
By Trévon Austin, 3 January 2018
The wave of cold weather has exposed the disastrous state of social conditions in the US, affecting the most vulnerable: the homeless, impoverished elderly and youth.
Second Bronx fire in less than a week injures 23
By Philip Guelpa, 3 January 2018
New York City officials have tried to obscure inadequate fire prevention measures by blaming the victims.
Kansas police kill unarmed man after false emergency call
By Niles Niemuth, 3 January 2018
Andrew Finch was shot by a heavily armed SWAT team December 28 after police were dispatched to his family’s home by a prank “swatting” call over an unrelated dispute.
More low-income Michigan workers set to lose food assistance
By Debra Watson, 3 January 2018
Some 16,000 Michigan food stamp recipients could lose benefits this year due to the imposition of work requirements.
Seattle councilperson Kshama Sawant targeted by defamation lawsuit for calling police “murderers”
By Eric London, 3 January 2018
The Socialist Equality Party’s long-documented differences with Socialist Alternative do not lessen our opposition to attempts by the political establishment to silence criticism of the police.
Deadly Bronx fire: A tragic product of inequality and social crisis in America
By Fred Mazelis and A. Woodson, 30 December 2017
In every sphere of life, New York remains what newly reelected Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio hypocritically promised to change four years ago: two worlds in one city.
New York prepares military-style occupation for New Year’s celebration in Times Square
By Philip Guelpa, 30 December 2017
Thousands of heavily armed, uniformed personnel, including police snipers, are being deployed to impose a military-style occupation of Times Square in connection with the annual New Year’s Eve celebration.
Drexel University professor resigns amid death threats from right-wing forces
By Trévon Austin, 30 December 2017
Ciccariello-Maher, a professor of politics and global studies, was harassed and threatened after several tweets he made were criticized on various right-wing outlets.
Trump administration rolls back fines against nursing homes as violations mount
By Kate Randall, 30 December 2017
By one government estimate, a staggering 380,000 deaths a year may be the result of health care-associated infections in facilities for the elderly.
It’s the most exhausting time of the year: Amazon, UPS workers denounce grueling holiday conditions
By our reporters, 30 December 2017
Amid reports of deaths at Amazon and UPS, workers at Amazon, UPS, FedEx, US Postal Service, and other logistics and delivery companies have been under immense pressure to meet increased demand during the Christmas holiday.
Cold wave, house fires prove lethal for US homeless, poor
By Patrick Martin, 29 December 2017
The current bout of severe weather has created conditions for an upsurge in fatal house fires, accidents and deaths due to exposure.
Erie, Pennsylvania buried by more than five feet of snow
By Samuel Davidson, 29 December 2017
Tens of thousands of people are unable to get to work, homeless shelters have filled up, and area hospitals are feeling the impact.
Hepatitis A outbreak continues to impact Southeast Michigan
By Muhammad Khan, 29 December 2017
Michigan had the highest per capita rate of hepatitis A infections in the United States with more than 500 cases recorded in 2017.
Massachusetts public transportation workers’ wages, benefits, and safety under attack
By John Marion, 29 December 2017
A report by the transport authority’s Fiscal and Management Control Board hints at plans to continue privatizing the nation’s fifth-largest public transportation system.
Russia charges Pentagon with training ex-ISIS fighters
By Bill Van Auken, 28 December 2017
The report that the US is training former ISIS militants is one more indication that Washington is preparing a new phase of the war in Syria.
“The government has done nothing”
Months after hurricane, Puerto Rican workers face worsening jobs crisis
By Genevieve Leigh and Zac Corrigan, 28 December 2017
The economic devastation of Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria continues to escalate three months after the storm made landfall in late September.
Up to three times more immigrants die crossing US-Mexico border than previously reported
By Trévon Austin, 28 December 2017
A USA Today investigation reveals that up to 27,000 may have died in the desert between the US and Mexico over the past 20 years.
No decline in Michigan poverty since the Great Recession
By Debra Watson, 28 December 2017
Despite a drastic fall in the official unemployment rate since the Great Recession, the same percentage of households in Michigan are living below the poverty line.
The petition against Matt Damon and the “erasing” of Kevin Spacey: The fiercely antidemocratic character of the sexual misconduct campaign
By David Walsh, 28 December 2017
The New York Times is at the forefront of the reactionary witch-hunt, defending various efforts at censorship and repression.
Health care threatened for nine million low-income US children
By Patrick Martin, 27 December 2017
The temporary “fix” to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, applied by Congress in legislation passed December 21, could actually speed the program’s collapse.
Holidays painful for family of young Ford worker killed in Detroit area plant
By Jerry White, 27 December 2017
December 27 would have been the 22nd birthday of Jacoby Marquis Hennings, who tragically died at Ford’s Woodhaven Stamping Plant on October 20.
US police kill over a thousand for fourth year in a row
By George Gallanis, 27 December 2017
The killing of thousands in the span of a few years is an indication of growing fear and hatred of the working class in ruling class circles.
Court quashes subpoena of reporter who uncovered Chicago police murder coverup
By George Marlowe, 27 December 2017
An anti-press subpoena against independent journalist Jamie Kalven would have forced him to disclose his confidential sources.
Democratic Party witch-hunters target Green Party candidate Jill Stein
By Statement of the Political Committee of the Socialist Equality Party (US), 23 December 2017
The Socialist Equality Party condemns the targeting of Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate in the 2016 election, by Democrats in the Senate Intelligence Committee.
US considers splitting immigrant children from parents in immigration jails
By Eric London, 23 December 2017
The proposal comes at the end of a week marked by ruthless attacks against immigrants.
As AT&T announces holiday layoff of hundreds of workers
Corporate America begins campaign to sell Trump tax bonanza
By Patrick Martin, 23 December 2017
The bonuses announced by a handful of big companies are a cynical attempt to deflect attention from the billions in added profits they will receive.
Notes on police violence
Bexar County, Texas police shoot and kill six-year-old boy
By Trévon Austin, 23 December 2017
Sheriff’s deputies, firing at a fleeing woman, shot and killed six-year-old Kameron Prescott when at least one round pierced through the wall of his San Antonio-area mobile home.
UN imposes harsh new sanctions on North Korea
By Peter Symonds, 23 December 2017
The latest measures, drawn up by Washington, represent a last-ditch attempt to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal.
Amazon worker dies after vomiting blood at Sacramento, California fulfillment center
By Kristina Betinis, 23 December 2017
This is at least the third death in recent months for the world’s largest online retailer, and the company has nearly doubled its workforce for holiday sales.
“If finding out what happened could save another life at least something good would come from our son’s death”
Family, co-workers want truth about Kentucky Ford worker’s death
By Jerry White, 23 December 2017
Two weeks after the death of 41-year-old electrician Ivan Bridgewater, company, union and government officials have not explained how the fatal accident occurred.
Nashville, Tennessee: Homelessness at record levels despite pledges from politicians and business leaders
By Warren Duzak, 23 December 2017
On an average night in January 2015 there were 2,365 homeless in Nashville, with 1,124 in emergency shelters, 560 in transitional housing and 470 living on the street.
US fire death toll in 2017 reaches 2,152
By Steve Filips, 23 December 2017
A heart wrenching increase in the deaths of children in fatal house fires highlights the substandard housing conditions and poverty widespread within the US.
Jury acquits all six defendants in first trial of Inauguration Day protesters
By Patrick Martin, 22 December 2017
The verdict is a significant blow to efforts by the Trump Justice Department to criminalize anti-Trump protests.
UN General Assembly repudiates Trump over Jerusalem announcement
By Jordan Shilton, 22 December 2017
The 128-9 vote, with 35 abstentions, reflects the extreme isolation of the United States and increases the prospect of a violent clash in the Middle East.
“They are going to cover-up everything like they always do”
Ford, UAW downplay finding of Legionella bacteria at Kansas City assembly plant
By Shannon Jones, 22 December 2017
Ford and the UAW are keeping workers in the dark following the discovery of deadly Legionella bacteria at the facility in the wake of the diagnosis of a plant worker with Legionnaires’ disease.
DACA deal put off to 2018 leaving 800,000 under deportation threat
By Norisa Diaz, 22 December 2017
While a deal is still being worked out, there is no doubt that the Democrats are negotiating some of the most reactionary anti-immigrant legislation since Japanese internment.
Power outage at Atlanta airport causes chaos
By Kranti Kumara, 22 December 2017
What is particularly striking about the latest catastrophe caused by America’s decaying infrastructure was the absence of any sort of help from officials to stranded passengers.
Drug deaths drive down US life expectancy for second year
By Eric London, 22 December 2017
The fall in US life expectancy reflects the social devastation wrought on the lives of millions of people by decades of bipartisan policies aimed at enriching the wealthy.
Over token Democratic opposition
US Congress passes tax windfall for corporations and the rich
By Barry Grey, 21 December 2017
The Democrats support tax cuts for corporations and did nothing to seriously oppose this naked piece of class legislation.
Alabama announces freeze on children’s health program
By Shelley Connor, 21 December 2017
On Monday, Alabama became the first state to announce an enrollment freeze for its Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as plans to end the program altogether by February 1.
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