North America
Alcoa lays off 15,000, US economy moves toward depression
By Tom Eley, January 7, 2009
As layoffs mount, including 15,000 by aluminum maker Alcoa, new economic data indicate the US will not quickly rebound from the crash of 2008.
Obama stimulus plan to include major corporate tax cuts
By Jerry White, January 6, 2009
US president-elect Barack Obama announced on Monday that he favors an economic “stimulus” plan of about $775 billion, a large proportion of which will consist in corporate tax cuts.
US: New reports of police spying on activist groups
By Hiram Lee, January 6, 2009
New reports detail the activities of an FBI informant during the 2008 Republican National Convention and the police infiltration of activist groups in the Maryland area.
Most job losses in US last year since 1945, with more to come
By David Walsh, January 5, 2009
Economists are estimating that the US lost 2.4 million jobs in 2008, which would be the most lost in any year since the end of World War II. Other analysts are predicting the elimination of as many or...
Thousands march through New York City as Israel invades Gaza
By a reporting team, January 5, 2009
Thousands marched Saturday through New York City, rallying outside the Israeli consulate just as the ground assault on Gaza began.
Six die in New Year’s Day house fire in Washington DC
By Kate Randall, January 3, 2009
Six people died in a New Year’s Day house fire in Washington DC. Authorities suspect “a catastrophic electrical failure” as the cause of the blaze.
Canada’s ‘newspaper of record’ calls for Canada to wage Afghan war beyond 2011
By John Mackay, December 31, 2008
The Globe and Mail is mounting a campaign for the country’s political elite to once again defy public sentiment and extend the Canadian Armed Forces’ intervention in Afghanistan beyond the current...
Protest in Dearborn, Michigan denounces Israeli attack on Gaza
By Tom Eley, December 31, 2008
A protest against the Israeli attack on Gaza attracted approximately 5,000 people in Dearborn, Michigan. The demonstration marked a spontaneous and largely independent outpouring of anger against the ...
US: Economic stress drives rise in child abuse and domestic violence
By Kate Randall, December 30, 2008
Social service agencies across the US are seeing growing numbers of domestic violence and child abuse cases as the economic crisis deepens.
US: Homelessness on the rise in San Francisco
By Marge Holland, December 29, 2008
Local charities in the San Francisco Bay Area are seeing a sharp increase in those without shelter or food, as well as a change in the composition of the needy.
House fire in Philadelphia kills seven
By Naomi Spencer, December 29, 2008
An intense house blaze has claimed seven lives in a working class neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rates of hospital-acquired infection rising in Canada
By John MacKay, December 29, 2008
A study, based on a survey of Canadian hospitals, has found that hospital-acquired infection rates continue to rise and that for want of funding, infection-control programs continue to fall well short...
