2020-07-21: News Headlines

ACLU Foundation of Oregon (2020-07-21). ACLU Sues Federal Agents Over "Unconstitutional Nightmare" in Portland. indybay.org Organization Seeks to Block Federal Law Enforcement Attacks on Journalists, Legal Observers in Portland…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-21). 'Strike for Black Lives' targets racism, demands HEROES Act passage. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—Even with a recent raise, thanks to her union contract, Alberta Tapia doesn't make enough from her janitorial job to keep herself and three other adults well fed and with a roof over their heads. She winds up falling behind on house payments. And that's what brought her, along with dozens of other people of …

Al Neal (2020-07-21). 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Show Me $15' ring out at St. Louis strike. peoplesworld.org ST. LOUIS— The rally cries of "Black Lives Matter" and "Show me $15" rang out through the afternoon air in downtown St. Louis Monday. Over 75 fast-food workers, members of the local Fight for $15 campaign, union members representing various area unions, clergy, and community members flooded a local McDonald's restaurant as part of the …

Service Employees International Union (2020-07-21). Monday 7/20: Strike for Black Lives SEIU Livestream (online). indybay.org

The Canary (2020-07-21). Gun-toting St Louis couple charged. thecanary.co A St Louis couple who brandished guns outside their home as non-violent protesters marched against racial injustice nearby have been charged by prosecutors.Mark and Patricia McCloskey were charged on Monday with unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a protest outside their mansion last month.Footage of the white couple, who are both personal injury lawyers in their 60s, went viral amid worldwide Black Lives Matter protests.St Louis's top prosecutor, Kim Gardner, told the Associated Press the McCloskeys' actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise peaceful protest."It is illegal t…

Jonathan Nack (2020-07-21). Strike for Black Lives targets McDonald's. indybay.org Video of marchers going up Telegraph Avenue in Oakland, CA to the McDonald's restaurant at Telegraph and 45th Street. | July 20, 2020 | Video by Jonathan Nack | Oakland, CA…

Leon Kunstenaar (2020-07-21). Strike for Black Lives and Working People at McDonald's. indybay.org Oakland demonstration part of National Day of Reckoning…

patrick maynard (2020-07-21). State Dept-funded Transparency International goes silent on jailed transparency activist Julian Assange. thegrayzone.com For over a year, the West's top anti-corruption NGO, Transparency International, has not said a word about the world's most…

Chloé Caldasso (2020-07-21). The invisible oppression of the autistic female. peoplesworld.org When I was in the 3rd grade, I befriended a boy who joined our class halfway through the year. He had a difficult time fitting in, to say the least, but I had always been the type of kid to embrace others eagerly. We became fast friends, our favorite pastime being movie talk. At least …

Miko Peled (2020-07-21). As US Courts Release Inmates amid COVID-19, Palestinian Political Prisoners Are Still Persecuted. mintpressnews.com The now elderly Palestinian political prisoners involved in the Holy Land Foundation case have appealed to the courts for early release, yet despite the looming threat to their fragile health from COVID-19, their motions continue to be denied with tenuous justifications.

RT (2020-07-21). 'Why didn't they help my son?' Mother of black teen slain in Seattle's disbanded CHOP zone to slap city with wrongful death suit. rt.com The family of a young black man shot dead in Seattle's former protest encampment, known as "CHOP," has filed a wrongful death claim against the city, arguing first responders failed to offer help as the 19-year-old bled to death. | The family of Lorzeno Anderson

RT (2020-07-21). Fox stars Tucker Carlson & Sean Hannity face sexual harassment allegations, as former host Ed Henry accused of rape in new lawsuit. rt.com America's ratings leader in cable news has been rocked by new allegations of sexual harassment, with the latest complaint against Fox News implicating its two biggest stars, in addition to accusing former host Ed Henry of rape. | A

RT (2020-07-21). Florida teachers union sues to stop state school reopening amid Covid-19 pandemic. rt.com Florida's largest teachers' union is suing Governor Ron DeSantis and the state education bureaucracy over their emergency order to reopen schools for the fall, insisting the mandate is "reckless" and "unconscionable." | The

Earth Justice (2020-07-21). Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration's Order to Open Public Lands to Coal Leasing. globalresearch.ca A coalition including states, conservation organizations, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe today launched a

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-21). Moroccan journalist Hamid el-Mahdaoui released from prison. peoplesdispatch.org Moroccan journalist Hamid El-Mahdaoui was released on July 20, Monday, after spending four years in a prison in Rabat. He was sentenced to a three years prison term in 2018 for "failing to report an attempt to undermine state security." He was welcomed by his family outside the prison. | Mahdaoui was the editor-in-chief of Badil.info news outlet which has been critical to the state's policies. He was arrested in July 2017 for his alleged participation in the Hirak-Rif movement in Morocco's northern al-Hoceima province. He was kept in prison pending his trial and conviction in June 2018. | He was finally sentenced…

_____ (2020-07-21). As COVID-19 Stalks Florida's Inmates, So Does Another Plague. popularresistance.org "They are dying in the heat," said the distraught mother of an inmate at Dade Correctional Institution south of Miami. "What have we done to deserve this. … How is it possible, knowing how hot it is here?" | "We have gone an entire week without a set of showers ‚Å — two were turned off last week because one of them wouldn't turn off, so they just turned the water off and have not been back to fix it," wrote an inmate at Avon Park Correctional Institution, a prison in Highlands County, in an email shared with the Miami Herald. | "Plus the water temp is too hot to stand under and they won't turn…

Robert Norse (2020-07-21). Direct Action to Defund the Out-of-Control Cops Tonight 9 PM Town Clock. indybay.org Marty M, also known as Pirate, brutally seized by police, jailed, and charged with felonies for defending a friend's vehiclehome, has reportedly been released after friends paid the ransom ($2500 for a $25,000 bail). To discourage future such anti-homeless abuses and restore real security in our community, come to the Direct Action protest tonight 7-20 Monday at 9 PM at the Town Clock.

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-20). Tributes pour in for civil rights icon John Lewis. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON—From Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson to Richard Trumka and Black Lives Matter, tributes poured in over the weekend of July 18-19 for Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the longtime civil rights leader and "conscience of the Congress" who died late at night on July 17 of pancreatic cancer. He was 80, and had represented Atlanta …

Tim Wheeler (2020-07-20). A personal remembrance of two civil rights giants. peoplesworld.org Two giants of the struggle for equality and human rights died this weekend, Rep. John Lewis who represented Atlanta for 17 terms in Congress and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, both lifelong fighters for voting rights. I met and interviewed both of these mass leaders on March 11, 2005, when my wife Joyce and I were …

Sari Beth Rosenberg (2020-07-20). Living Monuments: John Lewis and C.T. Vivian. progressive.org We lost two great civil rights leaders on the same day, but their legacy of service, challenging inequality, and advocating for voting rights lives on.

WSWS (2020-07-20). John Lewis, civil rights militant turned big-business politician, dies at 80. wsws.org The outpouring of tributes from reactionaries and war criminals demonstrates the class role that Lewis came to play, despite his youthful part in asserting the democratic rights of African Americans.

Staff (2020-07-20). "I Felt Like I Was Going to Die": The Late John Lewis on Selma's "Bloody Sunday" truthout.org Image Credit: Getty Images | As the United States mourns the loss of civil rights icon and 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, we feature his 2012 in-studio interview, when he tears up remembering the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery march he helped lead in 1965 as a 25-year-old man, when he was almost beaten to death by police in what came to be called "Bloody Sunday" and helped push the country toward adopting the Voting Rights Act. "They came toward us, beating us with nightsticks an…

Staff (2020-07-20). Headlines for July 20, 2020. democracynow.org Coronavirus on the Rise Around the World, with the U.S. Leading the Charge, Trump Seeks to Block Billions in Federal Funds for Testing as He Continues to Downplay Virus, Civil Rights Icon and Long-Standing Congressmember John Lewis Dies, C. T. Vivian, Civil Rights Legend, Dubbed "Greatest Preacher to Ever Live" by MLK, Dies at 95, Protesters Rail Against Federal Officers' Violent and Covert Attacks in Portland, Charges Dropped Against BLM Protesters as New Info Emerges About Police Killing of Breonna Taylor, Police in Chicago Punch Black Teenage Activist in Face, Knocking Out Her Teeth, Two Men Charged over Racis…

Staff (2020-07-20). Rep. John Lewis on the Freedom Rides, Surviving KKK Attacks, 1963 March on Washington & Malcolm X. democracynow.org Civil rights movement icon and 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, who died July 17 at the age of 80, helped found SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and was the youngest of the so-called Big Six who addressed the March on Washington in 1963. Before that, he was among the 13 original Freedom Riders who rode buses across the South to challenge segregation laws. He spoke to Democracy Now! in 2012 about his activism and that historic campaign, during which they were beaten and attacked by white mobs and the Klu Klux Klan, including by Klansman Elwin Wilson, who apologized to Lewis decades…

Staff (2020-07-20). Remembering C. T. Vivian, Civil Rights Icon MLK Called "Greatest Preacher to Ever Live" democracynow.org Reverend C. T. Vivian, whom Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once described as "the greatest preacher to ever live," died July 17 at age 95. Vivian was a giant of the civil rights movement and a leading proponent of nonviolent struggle against injustice. He spoke to Democracy Now! in 2015 outside the historic Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama, on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in 1965. Vivian describes how he was assaulted on the steps of the courthouse as he tried to escort a group of African Americans inside to register to vote. "There is nothing we haven't done for this nation," Vivian said of the civ…

Staff (2020-07-20). "I Felt Like I Was Going to Die": Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Recalls 1965 "Bloody Sunday" in Selma. democracynow.org As the United States mourns the loss of civil rights icon and 17-term Democratic Congressmember John Lewis, we feature his 2012 in-studio interview, when he tears up remembering the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery march he helped lead in 1965 as a 25-year-old man, when he was almost beaten to death by police in what came to be called "Bloody Sunday" and helped push the country toward adopting the Voting Rights Act. "They came toward us, beating us with nightsticks and bullwhips, trampling us with horses," he told Democracy Now! "All these many years later, I don't recall how I made it back across that bridge to…

Jim Dickson (2020-07-20). Let Me Vote: My Voting Rights as a Blind Man are the Same as Everybody Else's. aclu.org The first time I voted was in 1968. As a blind man, I needed the assistance of a poll worker to cast my ballot. I'll never forget the moment the poll worker looked at my ballot and said loudly, for everybody to hear, "You want to vote for who?", , The poll worker's comment left me shocked, embarrassed, and wondering whether she marked the ballot the way I wanted. Years later, I would ask my wife to mark my ballot. She would joke with me, "I know you love me, but now I know you really trust me." I knew my wife would mark my ballot the right way., , I'm lucky to have the help of someone I trust, but I shouldn'

Nicole Regalado (2020-07-20). McDonald's is Hiding Policies That Perpetuate Systemic Racism Behind Woke-Washing. aclu.org Corporate anti-racism is all the rage these days. We've exposed the hypocrisy of companies from

commondreams (2020-07-20). ACLU Comment on Reported DHS Plans to Deploy Federal Forces to Chicago. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Juan Cole (2020-07-20). Trump's Cynical and Deeply Dangerous Reelection Ploy: Sow Chaos in US Cities. commondreams.org Police arrest demonstrators as Black Lives Matter supporters demonstrate in Portland, Oregon on July 4, 2020 for the thirty-eighth day in a row at Portland's Justice Center and throughout Portland, with a riot declared about 12.20 am on July 5. CS tear gas and less-lethal weapons were used, and multiple arrests were made. (Photo by John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/portland.jpg

Aaron Morrison (2020-07-20). Tens of thousands walk off job in 'Strike for Black Lives'. peoplesworld.org NEW YORK (AP)—Organizers of a national workers strike say tens of thousands are walking off the job today in more than two dozen U.S. cities to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Dubbed the "Strike for Black Lives," labor unions, along with social and racial justice organizations …

Jeffrey C. Isaac (2020-07-20). In Praise of a Young Black Lives Matter Leader With His Eyes on the Prize. commondreams.org Travon Brown, with megaphone, leads the Black Lives Matter Protest march through Marion, Virginia on Friday, July 3, 2020. (Earl Neikirk for The Washington Post via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/brown.jpg

commondreams (2020-07-20). 350.org on Today's SEIU-led Strike for Black Lives. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Fight Back (2020-07-20). Historic day in Florida: Black Lives Matter actions in Gadsden, Wakulla and Leon Counties. fightbacknews.org Tallahassee, FL – Coinciding with a National Day of Protest initiated by the National Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression (NAARPR), independently-organized actions took place on Saturday, July 18 in Quincy, Crawfordville and Tallahassee, Florida, representing Gadsden, Wakulla and Leon counties respectively. | In Quincy, which recently saw the removal of a Confederate monument, around 30 people attended a "Peace and Prayer for our Community" march in response to recent local gun violence, with the heading, "Black Lives Matter To Us." | In Crawfordville, Kendra Smith was the lead organizer of a 100-plu…

_____ (2020-07-20). Inside The Battle For Portland. popularresistance.org On the night of July 11, as hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters amassed around the Justice Center in Portland, Oregon, federal Homeland Security officers opened fire with "crowd control" munitions. They shot a teargas canister directly at the head of Donavan LaBella, a peaceful protester who had been standing across the street holding a sign. The video that captured the protester — unconscious, bleeding and being carried to safety by other demonstrators and street medics — went viral almost immediately, pushing state officials to make public statements and demand that federal law enforcement pul…

RT (2020-07-20). St. Louis couple charged with illegal use of arms for 'threatening peaceful protesters' who crashed their private community. rt.com The St. Louis couple who confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with firearms after they breached a gated community have been hit with weapons charges, with a city attorney insisting the demonstration was peaceful. | The two residents, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, were charged on Monday following an incident late last month in which the couple met protesters outside their upscale home wielding firearms after demonstrators entered their private community to protest at the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson. | 1/ Statement from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner – Today my office filed charges against Mark and Patri…

RT (2020-07-20). St. Louis couple charged with illegal use of arms for 'threatening peaceful protesters' who crashed into their private community. rt.com The St. Louis couple who confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with firearms after they breached a gated community have been hit with weapons charges, with a city attorney insisting the demonstration was peaceful. | The two residents, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, were charged on Monday following an incident late last month in which the couple met protesters outside their upscale home wielding firearms after demonstrators entered their private community to protest at the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson. | 1/ Statement from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner – Today my office filed charges against Mark and Patri…

Peoples Dispatch (2020-07-20). Outrage against Trump administration for violent crackdown on Portland protesters. peoplesdispatch.org The deployment of armed security forces to quell protests in the city of Portland, Oregon, has attracted widespread outrage across the United States. On Sunday, July 19, the attorney general of Oregon state, Ellen Rosenblum, filed a lawsuit against the federal administration led by president Donald Trump over "unlawful detention" of protesters. | The lawsuit is the among the many responses by state politicians against the violent crackdown by federal forces from the state. On the same day, the mayor of Portland had renewed calls for the removal of all federal forces from the city, calling their actions "abhorrent…

Kollibri terre Sonnenblume (2020-07-20). "How Trump Stole 2020‚Ä≥— An Interview With Greg Palast. counterpunch.org Voter suppression is simply class war by other means." —Greg Palast What do timber interests, nuclear power, and off-shore drilling have in common with voter-suppression in Georgia? Greg Palast lays it out, following the money and naming the names, in his new book, "How Trump Stole 2020: The hunt for America's Vanished Voters," which was

commondreams (2020-07-20). Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration's Order to Open Public Lands to Coal Leasing. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Paul Craig Roberts (2020-07-20). Lincoln Was A Racist and the "Civil War" Was NOT About Slavery. thealtworld.com Some black Americans have created a black version of the KKK. They have even adopted similar terminology. The leader is called "Grand Master Jay." The job of the organization, NFAC, is "to protect the black community" from white people. | The KKK's job was to protect the white Southern community, which was under attack by Reconstruction. | The NFAC sees the plight of the American black exactly as the white liberal elites want blacks to see it—oppression and abuse by whites. This keeps the American people divided and power safe in the hands of the corrupt elites. | Grand Master Jay wants black people to sece…

splcenter (2020-07-20). Aryan Strikeforce Leader Gets 20 Years in Prison as Neo-Nazi Gang Falters. splcenter.org The head of the racist skinhead Aryan Strikeforce group is going to prison for 20 years for his role in a drug distribution conspiracy.

Sylvia A. Harvey (2020-07-20). How a Trip to Prison Cost Kenneth Clark His Right to Be a Parent. thenation.com How a Trip to Prison Cost Kenneth Clark His Right to Be a Parent…

sputniknews (2020-07-20). Iranian Government Releases About 36,000 Prisoners as Part of Fight Against COVID-19. sputniknews.com TEHRAN (Sputnik) – The Iranian authorities have released about 36,000 inmates as part of a new phase of the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in the country's prisons, Iranian prison service chief Mohammad Mehdi Haj-Mohammadi said on Monday.

sputniknews (2020-07-20). Henry, Hannity Among Top Fox News Anchors Accused of Rape, Sexual Misconduct in Lawsuit. sputniknews.com Plaintiffs Jennifer Eckhart and Cathy Areu have filed a lawsuit against the Fox News Network as well as several hosts, including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Howard Kurtz and the recently fired Ed Henry, accusing the network and anchors of creating and supporting an environment of sexual harassment and misconduct.

sputniknews (2020-07-20). Lebanese National Jailed for More Than 3 Years Over Illegal Drone Part Sales. sputniknews.com WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – A US court has sentenced a Lebanese national to three-and-a-half years in prison for conspiring to illegally export unmanned aerial vehicle technology out of the United States, the Department of Justice announced in a news release.

RT (2020-07-19). 'Do we name Fort Bragg after Rev Al Sharpton?' Trump says he may veto renaming of military bases honoring Confederate generals. rt.com US President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act over the proposed purge of military base names that honor Confederate figures, telling Fox News, "Yeah, I might." | Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Trump told anchor Chris Wallace that renaming bases wouldn't go down well. "Go to the community, say, 'How do you like the idea of renaming Fort Bragg, and then what are we going to name it?' And 'We're going to name it after the Reverend Al Sharpton'?" he said, referring to the black civil rights activist and minister. | Renaming Confederate-honoring military installations is part…

teleSUR (2020-07-19). Portland Mayor Urges Trump to Remove Federal Agents From City. telesurenglish.net Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler urged U.S. President Donald Trump to remove the federal agents used by Washington to suppress the protests of the Black Lives Matter movement in that city in Oregon. | RELATED: | Videos released on social networks show how masked officers corner protesters in unidentified vehicles and arrest them without identifying themselves or explaining the cause of the detention. | "These actions shock everyone. We will no…

Fight Back (2020-07-19). Black lives matter victories at University of Texas-Arlington. fightbacknews.org Arlington, TX – July 10, marked the culmination of the Progressive Student Union's call-in campaigns, email-ins, and callouts against Teik C. Lim's administration for not doing enough for Black students at the University of Texas-Arlington. Through both private email and public statements, UTA had conceded to several demands made by PSU in regards to doing specific actions to make "Black lives matter" truly mean something at UTA as opposed to simply being a simple statement made by the administration at the height of the movement calling for justice for George Floyd. | In response to these recent victories, PSU h…

Shabbir Manjee (2020-07-19). Black, Indigenous solidarity rally met with violent police force in Chicago. liberationnews.org On July 17, protesters gathered at Buckingham Fountain in Chicago to denounce colonialism and call for the abolishment of the police and the redistribution of funds back to the people of Chicago. The rally, which drew more than 1,500 people, was organized by Chi-Nations Youth Council, Black Lives Matter Chicago, BYP1000 and several other organizations. …