(2020-01-18). 'I thought it was a terrorist attack': California teachers sue Delta after plane showers school children with jet fuel. rt.com 
Four southern California teachers have filed a lawsuit against Delta Airlines after a Boeing 777 jettisoned its fuel over several schools near Los Angeles, drenching staff and scores of children with the volatile liquid. | Filed on Friday by attorney Gloria Allred, the suit alleges that the crew of Delta Flight 89 was negligent in dumping the fuel when and where it did, arguing the toxic substance led teachers and students to become "sick, dizzy and nauseated," producing "a lasting and severe irritation and a lasting and noxious taste and smell." | "A Delta Airlines pilot flying at a relatively low altitude an…
(2020-01-18). AFL-CIO to the nation: Make King's dream America's reality. peoplesworld.org 
WASHINGTON—Faced with the renewed and rising right-wing onslaught against women, workers, immigrants and people of color, unionists at the AFL-CIO's annual Martin Luther King Civil and Human Rights Conference spent their two days in D.C. focusing on reclaiming voting rights, battling voter suppression and educating and empowering workers to ensure they can vote this year …
(2020-01-18). Hunger Striker Nearing Death in ICE Custody: "I Just Want Freedom" truthout.org Doctors and advocates for incarcerated immigrants are demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) release five South Asian asylum seekers on hunger strike at a remote ICE jail in Louisiana, where at least three strikers are being force-hydrated and at least two are being force-fed after refusing to eat and drink for over 75 days. | When a hunger striker's health fails, ICE may obtain a court order to restrain the striker and force fluids and nutrients into their body with tubes, a process hum…
(2020-01-18). 20th Anniversary of Rosa Parks Day. indybay.org 20 years later the struggle continues in the City of Sacramento to honor the "Patron Saint" of the Women's Political Council who later became the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement." Thankfully, Attorney Fred Gray, Esq. is still on the case and preparing to join us MLK 50 Anniversary – Sacramento Public Library.
(2020-01-18). What Would Martin Luther King Jr. Do? indybay.org Chief Andy Mills is pushing a series of cruel civil rights violations against those without housing and is sponsoring the MLK March in Santa Cruz.
(2020-01-18). Dilma Rousseff: "Torture is about pain and death. They want you to lose your dignity" peoplesdispatch.org Fifty years ago today, on Jan. 16, 1970, the 22-year-old militant Dilma Rousseff was arrested by agents of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 and 1985, a period when the country faced a crack down on civil liberties and freedom of speech. The regime persecuted political activists and anyone whose behavior was deemed to deviate from the norm. | "Torture is an extremely complex thing. I think that everyone who went through prison will always bear that mark. I don't like to watch movies where there is torture, for example. It's not that I don't like them. I just don't watch them. I don't want to w…
(2020-01-18). Detroit, Michigan man declared innocent and released after nearly 30 years of wrongful imprisonment. wsws.org Gerry Thomas, exonerated after spending close to three decades in prison, is one of thousands who have and are currently spending time in US prisons for crimes they did not commit.
(2020-01-18). Lawsuit Challenges Trump Plan to Frack, Drill 1 Million Acres of California Public Lands, Minerals. indybay.org LOS ANGELES, January 14, 2020 — Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today challenging the last step in the administration's plan to allow oil drilling and fracking on more than 1 million acres of public lands and minerals in Central California.
(2020-01-17). The Cruelty of US Justice System Exposed in a Single Video. therealnews.com 
A 19-year-old girl was punished with 9 months in a men's jail for spitting at an officer during a mental health crisis. Video reveals the extreme treatment she received and her exclusive interview reveals how law enforcement officers are badly equipped to treat the mentally ill.
(2020-01-17). 'Most brazen anti-competitive scheme in a generation': 4 tech firms sue Facebook to force Zuckerberg to sell his stake. rt.com 
Four tech companies are suing Facebook, accusing the Silicon Valley titan of running the worst "anti-competitive scheme" in a generation and demanding that CEO Mark Zuckerberg give up his stake in the company. | The four companies are Beehive Biometric, an identity-verification website; Cir.cl, an online marketplace and social media platform; Lenddo, a Singapore-based financial services provider; and Reveal Chat, a messaging service. | In a federal lawsuit filed in San Francisco on…
(2020-01-17). The Supreme Court Takes Up the Issue of Birth Control Coverage — Again. aclu.org The Supreme Court just announced that it will hear | yet another case about the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) birth control coverage | requirement. If you are experiencing déjà vu, you are not alone. Court battles | over the birth control coverage requirement have been raging for almost a | decade. How did we get here? | 2012: | The Birth Control Benefit is Established | Congress passed the Women's Health Amendment to the | ACA to try to close the disparity in health care costs that women have | historically experienced. In 2012, the independent, nonpartisan Institute of | Medicine was tasked with determining wh…
(2020-01-17). 2019 Proved We Can Stop Face Recognition Surveillance. aclu.org This piece originally appeared on Fast Company. | In 2019, we proved face recognition surveillance isn't | inevitable. Now, it's time for Congress to rein in the technology once and for | all. | Last year, communities banded together to prove that they | can — and will — defend their privacy rights. As part of ACLU-led campaigns, three | California cities — San | Francisco,…
(2020-01-17). Israel profited 54,000 Shekels from imprisoned children in December 2019. imemc.org The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs has stated that the Israeli occupation state has made 54,000 Shekel profit off the Palestinian children who were imprisoned in Ofer jail last December, Quds News Network reported. The Committee said in a report issued on Sunday that 38 Palestinian children were sent …
(2020-01-17). Parnas Spins Tales of Trumpian Corruption — and We Know Most of Them Are True. truthout.org Following the rules of an anachronistic 18th-century ritual, the House managers walked in formation to the Senate to deliver the articles of impeachment on Thursday. The sergeant at arms informed the senators that if they speak during the trial they could be imprisoned, and then the chief justice arrived in his robes accompanied by four senators. He then administered the constitutionally prescribed oath to deliver impartial justice to the assembled senators, after which, one by one, they signe…
(2020-01-17). Protest forces Israel to relocate adult overseers with Palestinian minor prisoners. peoplesdispatch.org 33 minor prisoners who had been transferred from the Ofer military camp and prison to solitary confinement in the Damon prison will be reunited with their adult caretakers…
(2020-01-17). TC Energy Files Pre-Construction Plan for KXL Despite Ongoing Lawsuits. commondreams.org TC Energy Files Pre-Construction Plan for KXL Despite Ongoing Lawsuits | jenna | Fri, 01/17/2020 – 14: 58…
(2020-01-16). Headlines for January 16, 2020. democracynow.org House Lawmakers Deliver Articles of Impeachment to Senate, Ex-Giuliani Associate Says Trump Knew of Ukraine Pressure Campaign, U.S. Troops Resume Iraq Operations Despite Parliament's Expulsion Order, Afghan Reconstruction Watchdog Tells Congress of U.S. "Mendacity" and "Lies", Trump Signs "Phase 1" Agreement with China, Easing Trade War, Russian Government Resigns as Vladimir Putin Seeks to Retain Power Beyond 2024, At Least 21 Killed in Idlib Amid Syrian, Russian Airstrikes, Court Blocks Trump Order Allowing Local Leaders to Refuse Refugees, ACLU Sues to End Trump's Policy of Sending Asylum Seekers to Guatemala,…
(2020-01-16). Arkansas Legislators' Attack on Abortion is Unconstitutional. aclu.org The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled time and again that | reproductive privacy is "central to personal dignity and autonomy, [which] are | central to the liberty protected by" the Constitution. The Court has made | eminently clear that under the Constitution, the right of a pregnant person to | terminate a pregnancy prior to viability is a right so essential to our freedom | that our government cannot ban or impose an undue burden on its exercise. But | despite the long-standing clarity of this principle, reproductive health and rights | continue to come under blistering, unrelenting attack. | Nowhere is this cl…
(2020-01-16). The White House's Dangerously Expansive Views on Trump's Powers That You Can't See. aclu.org A basic legal consensus about our democracy is that the Constitution assigns the " power of the purse" to Congress. Turning this edict on its head, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) lawyers reportedly concocted a legal theory that President Trump can override Congress's foreign policy spending decisions enshrined in law. If such a dangerously expansive proposal exists as a full legal opinion, it…
(2020-01-16). Detainees Committee: "Political Prisoners In Nafha Prison Face Dire Living Conditions" imemc.org The Palestinian Detainees Committee has reported, Thursday, that the political prisoners who were transferred from Ramon prison to Nafha are facing extremely dire living conditions. In a statement, the Committee said that the prison administration in Ramon has transferred around 100 detainees from Ramon prison to sections three and four …
(2020-01-16). PPS: "Israeli Soldiers Abduct Eleven Palestinians In West Bank" imemc.org Israeli soldiers abducted, on Thursday at dawn, eleven Palestinians, including an elderly man, from their homes in Jenin, Jerusalem and Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) has reported. The PPS said the soldiers invaded and searched many homes in Jenin, in northern West Bank, and …
(2020-01-15). Why Israel's So-Called "Occupation" of "Palestinian Territories" is a Farce. mintpressnews.com 
The root cause of oppression and violence that Palestinians experience is not "the occupation" of 1967 as many people claim it to be. It is something much older and seemingly more benign.
(2020-01-15). The DWP agreed a man needed money until his benefits were sorted and then offered him 8p. thecanary.co A man who needed money until his benefits were sorted was offered a loan of 8p by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). This is Lancashire reported that Carl Poynton ended up in court for shoplifting after the DWP's decision. | "Nowhere else to turn": | Poynton was released from prison on Christmas Eve with a grant of £46. He applied for benefits. But due to the time taken to process the application, he was left with no money. He applied to the DWP for a loan available to peo…
(2020-01-15). Headlines for January 15, 2020. democracynow.org House to Vote to Send Impeachment Articles to Senate, WaPo: Threatening Text Messages Show Yovanovitch Was Under Surveillance, War Powers Resolution Limiting Trump on Iran Could Pass Senate | , Six Democratic Candidates Took Stage in Des Moines, Iowa, 5,000 Puerto Ricans Still Homeless After 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake, HRW Blasts China for Human Rights Violations Against Uyghurs & Protesters | , 15 Women Murdered in Honduras in First 2 Weeks of This Year, American Citizen Moustafa Kassem Dies in Egyptian Prison After Hunger Strike, Seattle Bans Foreign-Influenced Companies from Political Spending, "Jeopardy!" Apolo…
(2020-01-15). Pennsylvania prisoners resist media censorship. workers.org 
When Vol. 61 No. 48 of Workers World newspaper came across the desk of the prison staff at State Correctional Institution Frackville in December, censors seized on an article that criticized the Pennsylvania facility's administration for a variety of offenses. In direct violation of the inmates' First Amendment rights, staff . . . | Continue reading Pennsylvania prisoners resist media censorship at Workers.org
(2020-01-14). The Trump Administration Weakens Standards for ICE Detention Facilities. aclu.org Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officially released a new version of its National Detention Standards (NDS), which govern the treatment of immigrant detainees held in almost 140 facilities in 44 states. These facilities include local and state jails and prisons — some operated by private prison companies — under contract with ICE. Despite being considered "civil detention," almost 20 percent of ICE detainees are held in these jails and prisons, many of which are located in remote, rural locations. | ICE describes its…
(2020-01-13). Coercive Plea Bargaining Has Poisoned the Criminal Justice System. It's Time to Suck the Venom Out. aclu.org In 2006, George Alvarez was charged with assaulting a prison guard while awaiting trial on public intoxication. He knew he didn't do it — the guards actually jumped him — but the ten year mandatory minimum sentence at trial scared him so much that he pled guilty. Little did he know that the government had a video proving his innocence, but they buried it long enough for prosecutors to extract the plea first. George spent almost four yea…
(2020-01-10). The Critical Role Auditing Plays in the Battle Against Police Surveillance. therealnews.com 
Auditors across the country are turning the tables on police surveillance. The Police Accountability Report spoke to an auditor who was arrested to understand how filming cops ultimately preserves our civil rights.
(2020-01-10). Pregnant Workers Are Still Fighting for the Right to Work. aclu.org In 2015, | Michelle Durham, an ACLU client, was faced with an impossible choice: | continue working and risk the health of her pregnancy or give up her paycheck. | She was working | as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for Rural/Metro Corporation, a company | in Alabama that provides emergency medical care to people living in areas that | lack basic medical services. Shortly after joining Rural/Metro Corporation in | Alabama, Michelle learned she was pregnant with her first child and was advised | by her health professional not to lift more than 50 pounds. She was confident | the company would grant her a…
(2020-01-10). Weekend Read: SPLC sues Trump administration over family separation policy. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration policy that has separated and traumatized thousands of migrant families.
(2020-01-09). Despite horrific prison stay, a mother comes to understand her addiction. splcenter.org When Shanna Rainey was a mother to two young children, she began using methamphetamine.
(2020-01-06). Venezuelan Government and Opposition Fraction Announce Release of 14 'Political Prisoners'. venezuelanalysis.com The National Roundtable for Peaceful Dialogue also offered its backing to the new National Assembly president, Luis Parra.
(2020-01-06). Former Head of Identity Evropa Taken Into Custody for Contempt of Court. splcenter.org Elliott Kline, the onetime leader of Identity Evropa, is in federal custody after being found in contempt of court for failing to cooperate in a civil lawsuit stemming from the violent "Unite the Right" rally.
(2020-01-03). Boston anti-prison organizers oppose $50 million project. liberationnews.org 
Liberation News reports from the final 2019 meeting of the Panel on Justice-Involved Women in Boston.
(2019-12-28). Prison gave me a greater will to fight. zcomm.org Interview on the reality that Brazil is experiencing and the social protests that have occurred in several Latin American countries…
(2019-12-16). He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free. splcenter.org It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.
(2019-12-13). Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard. splcenter.org For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
(2019-12-02). Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term. zcomm.org Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.