(2019-05-14). Pesticide Lawsuits and the Threat Hiding in the Perfect Lawn. commondreams.org The court battles over glyphosate highlight a much larger issue: the ability of ordinary people to hold large corporations accountable. (Photo: vincentvds2/OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/grass.jpeg…
(2019-05-14). New Report — Johns Hopkins Hounding Thousands of Patients With Medical Debt Lawsuits, Seizing Wages. commondreams.org ______________________________…
(2019-05-14). Pesticide Lawsuits and the Threat Hiding in the Perfect Lawn. progressive.org More than 13,400 consumer lawsuits against Monsanto and Bayer AG, which manufacture the weed-killer Roundup, allege it is the cause of various cancers. Now, a new judgment has awarded one couple $2 billion in damages.
(2019-05-14). Monsanto ordered to pay $2 billion in Roundup cancer lawsuit. nationofchange.org "We've been fighting cancer for more than nine years now and we can't do any of the things we wanted to do. We really resent Monsanto for that."
(2019-05-14). U.S. Soccer Federation denies sex discrimination, blames lack of revenue for pay disparity. peoplesworld.org 
(2019-05-14). Haunted House: the Legacy of Residential Schools for Aboriginal Children. counterpunch.org 
"We are standing on the grounds of what once was Carcross Residential School (also known as Choutla Residential School). Here, concrete stairs that lead nowhere. There, a truck with the windows busted out. Beyond are some scattered buildings, sagging and decrepit. The site where the actual school stood is empty, save for trash and broken glass. There is heaviness here, and deep sadness. I have brought tobacco with me, but it doesn't feel right to offer it to the ground. The space is empty, and not in a triumphant way. Not like a racist monument falling, not like a wall that divides being apart stone by stone. Emp…
(2019-05-14). Farm workers win big over Darigold. workers.org 
The United Farm Workers union just scored a big victory over 500-farm dairy producer Darigold in the Pacific Northwest. For years farm workers have been struggling at Darigold against racist and sexist harassment, along with brutal and unsafe working conditions. The "Darigold Dozen" — 12 dairy farm workers — filed . . . | Continue reading Farm workers win big over Darigold at Workers.org
(2019-05-14). Denouncing Fox News as a 'Hate-for-Profit Racket,' Warren Turns Down Town Hall Invite. commondreams.org Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in a Twitter thread Tuesday morning, announced that she turned down a town hall invitation from Fox News because the network "is a hate-for-profit racket that gives a megaphone to racists and conspiracists." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-818988306_1.jpg…
(2019-05-14). "The Socialist Equality Party views the defence of Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning as the spearhead of an emerging global struggle against imperialism." wsws.org We are publishing here the speech of Socialist Equality Party (UK) National Secretary Chris Marsden to the May 12 meeting in London in defence of jailed WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange and whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
(2019-05-14). Sitting on a pavement just landed a homeless person 20 weeks in jail. thecanary.co Sitting on the pavement in Somerset "without reasonable excuse" landed a homeless man with a 20-week jail sentence. According to County Gazette, the man was also convicted of two other similar offences. | 'A high risk of begging': | A Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banned the man from sitting on the pavement. He was sentenced…
(2019-05-13). I've Been to Guantanamo. It's No Place for Kids. aclu.org The Administration's proposal of sending immigrant children to Guantanamo Bay is dangerous and inhumane. | Over the last year, the country has been shocked by reports of the inhumane treatment of children and families in immigrant detention. Now, the Trump administration appears to be increasing the scope and severity of its immigrant detention scheme by potentially detaining immigrants at Guantanamo Bay. | News broke last week that the Defense Department awarded a $23 million dollar contract to construct a "Contingency Mass Migra…
(2019-05-13). Following SPLC lawsuit, judge grants New Orleans students the chance to walk on graduation day. splcenter.org A state court in Louisiana issued an injunction today that allowed six high school seniors to participate in graduation ceremonies at their New Orleans charter school after they were banned from doing so following a minor senior prank last month.
(2019-05-13). Anti-monopoly App Store lawsuit against Apple gets go-ahead from US Supreme Court. rt.com 
The US Supreme Court is letting a group of consumers proceed with their antitrust lawsuit against Apple after rejecting the tech behemoth's argument that iOS App Store users aren't really its customers.
(2019-05-13). Public Safety, Civil Rights Groups Battle Over Face ID Tech. truthdig.com San Francisco is on track to become the first U.S. city to ban the use of facial recognition by police and other city agencies.
(2019-05-13). SPLC launches voting rights legal team, testifies before U.S. House panel in Alabama. splcenter.org Ever since state and local law enforcement officers attacked peaceful civil rights marchers with billy clubs and tear gas on "Bloody Sunday" in 1965, Alabama has been at the epicenter of the fight for voting rights.
(2019-05-13). What's Trending: Black News Recap. naacp.org 
Blavity: Civil Rights Organizations Are Fighting For Crystal Mason, Who Was Imprisoned For Voting, To Be Released From Prison Crystal Mason, a Texas woman who was sent to prison for voting, is fighting for her freedom with the help of new additions to her legal team.The Texas Civil Rights Project, American …
(2019-05-13). Arundhati Roy on Why She Admires WikiLeaks & Opposes Assange's Extradition to the U.S. democracynow.org 
In Sweden, prosecutors are reopening an investigation into sexual assault allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and are seeking his extradition to face charges in Sweden. Prosecutors had dropped the investigation in 2017 because they said the case could not proceed while Assange was holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lived for seven years before being forcibly removed by British police last month. Assange has since been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail in Britain for skipping bail in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Assange has denied the sexual assault accusations. Assange pr…
(2019-05-13). Ending Abdullah àñcalan's Isolation. consortiumnews.com Giorgio Cafiero explores Ankara's various reasons for granting the imprisoned leader of the PKK access to his lawyers for the first time since 2011. By Giorgio Cafiero Special to Consortium News Since his capture in Kenya 20 years ago, Abdullah… Read more →
(2019-05-12). 'Green' Beto O'Rourke joins the swamp, hires fossil fuel and private prisons lobbyist. rt.com 
Beto O'Rourke's hiring of a former oil industry lobbyist is a puzzling move for a Democrat who touts his green credentials. But such contradictions are par for the course in the Washington DC swamp. |
(2019-05-11). US govt overclassifies docs to prevent public learning about crimes — whistleblower. rt.com 
The government is trying to prevent whistleblowing and investigative journalism, a former FBI agent told RT speaking on the case of an ex-intelligence analyst facing 50 years in prison for leaking files about the US drone program.
(2019-05-11). Newest Beto O'Rourke Hire Lobbied for Keystone XL, Seaworld, and Private Prisons. theintercept.com Beto O'Rourke's hiring of Jeff Berman is the latest step his presidential campaign has taken away from the insurgent energy of his Senate run.
(2019-05-10). Iraqi Immigrants Deserve Their Day in Court. aclu.org My dad was almost deported without a fair hearing. But a new bill could ensure that doesn't happen again. | This week, two of my home-state congressmen introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that approximately 1,000 Iraqis who are now at risk of deportation or detention are given two years to have their immigration cases heard. I'm so grateful to Congressman Andy Levin (D-Mich.) and Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) for their action because no other family should h…
(2019-05-10). WW commentary: When the state executes a white supremacist. workers.org 
Three white supremacists dragged James Byrd Jr., an African-American man, to his death in 1998 in Jasper, Texas, after they chained him to the back of their pickup truck. This lynching was one of the most horrific racist crimes in modern U.S. history and shocked people worldwide. Three men were . . . | Continue reading WW commentary: When the state executes a white supremacist at Workers.org
(2019-05-10). The Mueller Report Isn't The Only Thing That William Barr Is Hiding. aclu.org Barr's attempt to block a report detailing how often the government seeks to spy on Twitter's users is inappropriate and dangerous. | Attorney General William Barr recently invoked a powerful, rarely used privilege to withhold information from the public, marking a dramatic turn of events in a battle over the release of a highly contested report. | Only this time, we're talking about a report that would provide much-needed information on the government's spying activities. | For the past five years, Twitter has been trying to make public a transparency report with detailed statistics about how often the U.S. gove…
(2019-05-10). House Funding Bill Shows How Far We've Come in the Fight for Reproductive Freedom—And How Far We Have to Go. aclu.org A key bill makes important strides for reproductive health, and shows why we need presidential candidates to show leadership on abortion coverage. | This week the House Appropriations Committee advanced the Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations bill, the annual bill that funds federal health and education programs. It makes important strides forward on reproductive health and rights–and it also shines a light on the need for presidential leadership on abortion coverage…
(2019-05-10). Headlines for May 10, 2019. democracynow.org Trump Increases Tariffs on $200 Billion of Chinese Goods, Trump Nominates Patrick Shanahan as Pentagon Chief, Former U.S. Intel Analyst Charged Over Whistleblowing About Drone Program, Chelsea Manning Freed from Jail After 62 Days as WikiLeaks Grand Jury Expires, Dozens of Civilians Die as Syrian and Russian Warplanes Pound Idlib, Baghdad Suicide Bomb Claimed by ISIS Kills 8, French Activists Contest Saudi Arms Shipment, Citing Civilian Deaths in Yemen, U.S. Seizes North Korean Ship, Accusing it of Violating Sanctions, Water and Power Cut to Venezuelan Embassy in D.C. as Activists Continue Occupation, Alabama Sen…
(2019-05-10). "Black Mama's Bail Out Day": Movement Grows to Free Black Women From Jail for Mother's Day. democracynow.org 
Racial justice groups around the country are bailing black women out of jail so they can spend Mother's Day with their families. For the third year in a row, "Black Mama's Bail Out Day" is raising money to bail out as many black women from jail as possible. The effort is taking place in dozens of cities to call attention to the injustice of cash bail. We speak to Mary Hooks, the co-director of Southerners On New Ground, which is part of the National Bail Out Collective.
(2019-05-10). Chelsea Manning Released From Jail But Received Another Subpoena To Testify Before WikiLeaks Grand Jury. shadowproof.com Chelsea Manning was released from a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 9, but according to her defense attorneys, she received another subpoena to testify before the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks prior to her release.
(2019-05-10). "We Have No Reason to Trust the Police": Sandra Bland Arrest Video Reignites Anger Over Her Death. democracynow.org 
The family of Sandra Bland is calling for authorities to reopen the investigation into her death. The 28-year-old African-American woman died in a Texas jail cell in 2015, three days after she was arrested for allegedly failing to signal a lane change. Authorities have claimed Sandra Bland committed suicide while in jail by hanging herself with a garbage bag, but her family has long rejected this claim. On Monday, the Dallas TV station WFAA aired cellphone video filmed by Bland capturing the moment when she was pulled over. In the 39-second video you can see the officer — Brian Encinia — drawing his s…
(2019-05-10). Another Whistleblower Bites the Dust as The Intercept Adds a Third Notch to Its Burn Belt. mintpressnews.com 
The Intercept, which has long been associated with the documents shared by whistleblower Edward Snowden, has yet to fire any of the reporters responsible for these breaches that have seen two whistleblowers already imprisoned and third, Daniel Hale, likely to be imprisoned.
(2019-05-10). SPLC Action Fund: Alabama House Bill 380 would limit paroles, increase prison overcrowding. splcenter.org The Alabama House of Representatives this week passed House Bill 380 (HB 380), which would give the governor more control over the state parole board and set minimum sentences that incarcerated people must serve before they can be released on parole.
(2019-05-10). Trump Steps up War on Whistleblowers: Air Force Vet Daniel Hale Arrested For Leaking Drone War Info. democracynow.org 
A former U.S. intelligence analyst was arrested Thursday and charged with violating the Espionage Act for allegedly leaking documents about the secretive U.S. drone program. | Daniel Hale, 31, was arrested in Nashville. He faces up to 50 years in prison. Hale is accused of disclosing 11 top secret or secret documents to a reporter. The indictment does not name the reporter but unnamed government sources have told media outlets that the reporter is investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill of The Intercept. In 2015, The Intercept published a special report called the Drone Papers exposing the inner workings of the U…
(2019-05-10). NAACP to Hold People's Hearing for Voting Rights in Birmingham. naacp.org On May 13, the NAACP, a member of the W.K. Kellogg Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative, will hold a People's Hearing on voting rights in Birmingham, Alabama. At the hearing, Birmingham-area residents will publicly share their personal experiences facing voting rights interference and barriers at the polls — which disproportionately impact historically disenfranchised voters and communities …
(2019-05-09). Trump ratchets up anti-immigrant campaign. greenleft.org.au 
While much of the media continues to focus on the Mueller report and the squabbles between the White House and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, US President Donald Trump's real crimes are scarcely addressed or are ignored altogether. | This column will take up one of these crimes, Trump's intensification of his racist war on immigrants. He is not alone on this — the ultra-right throughout Europe and elsewhere have similar anti-immigrant policies. | In recent weeks Trump has appointed new officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
(2019-05-09). After Judge's Ruling, Charlottesville May Be Stuck With Statues of Confederate Generals Lee, Jackson. splcenter.org A judge has ruled that a civil rights-era law forbidding the removal of "war memorials" applies to Confederate statues that became flashpoints during a deadly Virginia gathering of white nationalists and neo-Nazis.
(2019-05-09). Congress, Laws Suppressing Boycotts of Israel Are Unconstitutional. Sincerely, Three Federal Courts. aclu.org Congress has a constitutional duty to protect the rights of the American people, including the First Amendment right to participate in boycotts. | Congress just got yet another reminder that the First Amendment right to political boycotts is alive and well in the United States, and any legislative attempt to infringe on that right puts them squarely against the Constitution. | Last week a federal district court in Texas blocked as unconstitutional a state law that required government contractors to certify that they d…
(2019-05-09). No One Should be Forced to Give Birth Alone in a Jail Cell. aclu.org A mentally ill woman gave birth in a county jail in Florida. Incredibly, she is not the first. | At 3 a.m., inside her solitary jail cell in Broward County, Florida, Tammy Jackson began having contractions. It took hours for corrections officers to reach a doctor, who said he'd check on Jackson when he came into work…
(2019-05-09). Wisconsin: The Perfect Place to Address America's Apartheid. progressive.org Behind the stats about incarceration rates, lies a basic structure of law that accommodates white people. What better place to host the 2020 Dem convention?
(2019-05-09). 'Free Clarrie O'Shea': When unions broke the rules to change them. greenleft.org.au 
Fifty years ago, an industrial penal powers dispute provoked the biggest strike wave in Australia's post-war history. | On May 15, 1969, Clarrie O'Shea, Victorian secretary Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees' Association (ATMOEA), was jailed for refusing to pay fines imposed under the anti-union penal powers of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act. | Over the next week, more than 1 million workers went on strike to demand freedom for O'Shea and the repeal of the penal powers. | Tribune, the newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia at the time, reported on May 21, 1969: "The long struggle…
(2019-05-09). Statement on the Indictment of Alleged Drone Strike Whistleblower. theintercept.com The Intercept does not comment on matters relating to the identity of anonymous sources. | In an indictment unsealed on May 9, the government alleges that documents on the U.S. drone program were leaked to a news organization. These documents detailed a secret, unaccountable process for targeting and killing people around the world, including U.S. citizens, through drone strikes. They are of vital public importance, and activity related to their disclosure is protected by the First Amendment. The alleged whistleblower faces up to 50 years in prison. No one has ever been held accountable for killing civilians in d…
(2019-05-08). Wednesday's Daily Brief: updates from the Near East and Libya, Ebola in DR Congo, World War remembrance. un.org On Wednesday, we cover: chronic hunger in the Middle East; the toll of war on Gazans; the one-year-long detention of an academic in Iran; Syrian health facilities under attack; Ebola casualties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo hitting the 1,000 mark; and a two-day remembrance effort for those who died during the Second World War.
(2019-05-08). Chelsea Manning: Despite Heartbreak And Hardship, Cooperation With WikiLeaks Grand Jury Not An Option. shadowproof.com Editor's Note: The following declaration from Chelsea Manning was filed in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 6. It is part of her defense attorneys' ongoing efforts to free her from the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center. Shadowproof is republishing the statement to help bring further attention to what Manning has endured. | Throughout her declaration, Manning makes it abundantly clear she will never testify before the grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. "I can either go to jail or betray my…
(2019-05-08). Saying 'No' to Immigrant Detention. progressive.org Private companies want to build new immigrant detention facilities, but communities around Chicago are stopping them in their tracks.
(2019-05-08). Lawsuit challenges massive overuse of solitary in Florida prisons. splcenter.org Admire Harvard has spent nearly 10 years locked up in solitary confinement in the Florida prison system.
(2019-05-08). Supermajority: Cecile Richards Teams With Alicia Garza & Ai-jen Poo to Mobilize Women Voters in 2020. democracynow.org 
As the 2020 primary and general election season heats up, we speak with former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards about Supermajority, the new political action group she helped launch that aims to train a new generation of women activists to take on grassroots campaigns and electoral politics. "Women are the majority of voters … the volunteers, we're increasingly the donors, increasingly the candidates, and it's time for political equity," says Richards. "We want to build a multi-racial, intergenerational movement to increase women's power." Supermajority was co-founded by Black Lives Matter co-founde…
(2019-05-08). NAACP Statement on House Hearings Regarding Domestic Terrorism. naacp.org The NAACP, the nation's foremost civil rights organization, released the following statement in response to the House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on domestic terrorism today: "We welcome this vital and necessary hearing. The hatred and venom that has already harmed our nation needs to be addressed at the highest levels of government. Nothing is …
(2019-05-08). Remembering the Woman Who Renovated the House that RBG Built. aclu.org Lenora Lapidus led the ACLU's Women's Right Project for nearly two decades. She died on Sunday, May 5. | On the 50th anniversary of Selma's Bloody Sunday, one of the darkest stains in our nation's civil rights history, President Obama spoke with hope and confidence about Americans who were "unencumbered by what is, because you're ready to seize what ought to be." Lenora Lapidus lived her life by this principle. | Public servants come in many forms. They're elected officials, politicians, activists, lawyers, organizers, students, ordinary citizens, and steadfast patriots. Our beloved Lenora represen…
(2019-05-08). Cecile Richards: Georgia's New "Fetal Heartbeat" Bill Criminalizes Women Who Seek Abortions. democracynow.org 
Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp signed into law Tuesday a six-week abortion ban, or so-called "fetal heartbeat law" that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—something that typically happens just six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women realize they're pregnant. It is now one of the country's most restrictive abortion laws. "It doesn't just make abortion illegal," says | Cecile Richards, former head of Planned Parenthood. "It basically would allow women to be convicted and either sentenced to death or to life imprisonment in Georgia." She notes the real medical crisis for w…
(2019-05-08). Support needed for prison reform activist Jock Palfreeman on hunger strike. greenleft.org.au 
Jock Palfreeman, an Australian serving a 20-year jail sentence in Bulgaria on trumped-up murder charges, has been on a hunger strike since April 21. | There has been little news about Palfreeman because the Bulgarian prison authorities have gone to great lengths to cut off any communication he had with the outside world. | While Palfreeman is no newcomer to protest, including in prison, the lack of information about his condition is worrying. His family have been able to get updates through his lawyer Kalin Angelov, who has received sporadic phone calls from Palfreeman. Angelov says the hunger strike is serious a…
(2019-05-07). Mistakenly Jailed Pretrial, an Ohio Mother Lost Her Job and Kids. aclu.org When you're incarcerated pretrial in America, it doesn't take long for life to fall apart. And that's without a conviction. | On April 11, Hamilton County police in Cincinnati, Ohio arrested Ashley Foster in a Target parking lot on charges of trafficking heroin. Foster was with her two young sons, one of whom…