South and Central America
Devastating tornado kills dozens in Oklahoma City
By Niles Williamson, 21 May 2013
On Monday afternoon, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, leaving a mile-wide swath of devastation.
Washington’s hacking charges escalate pressure on China
By Alex Lantier, 21 May 2013
The New York Times on Monday published a front-page article reiterating unsubstantiated allegations that the Chinese military is carrying out cyberwarfare against US corporations.
New revelations of US government spying on the press
By Ed Hightower, 21 May 2013
The FBI followed and obtained emails from Fox News chief Washington correspondent James Rosen as part of an investigation of a 2009 leak of information from the State Department.
Employers to offer bare-bones coverage under health care law
By Kate Randall, 21 May 2013
US employers will be able to avoid penalties under the Obama-backed health care legislation, while offering token plans to their workforces.
Obama to college graduates: “No room for excuses”
By Andre Damon, 21 May 2013
US President Barack Obama used his commencement speech at Morehouse College on Sunday to insist that if young people are poor or unemployed, it’s their own fault.
Guatemala’s high court overturns dictator Rios Montt’s genocide conviction
By Rafael Azul, 21 May 2013
Guatemala’s Constitutional Court has overturned former dictator José Efraín Rios Montt’s 80-year sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity.
The crisis of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian” revolution and the political independence of the working class
By Bill Van Auken, 21 May 2013
Venezuelan workers can rely only on their own independent strength to defend social gains won over the past period and defeat the threat of a right-wing coup.
Hedge funds eye Detroit for “hostile takeover”
By Zac Corrigan, 20 May 2013
Detroit’s $8.6 billion in junk bond debt is being eyed by hedge funds eager to play their part in the looting of the city.
House hearing whitewashes US government seizure of AP phone records
By Barry Grey, 16 May 2013
A House committee that heard testimony from Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday initiated a bipartisan whitewash of the virtually unprecedented assault on press freedom carried out by the Obama administration.
US Defense Department to furlough 650,000 civilian workers
By Naomi Spencer, 16 May 2013
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday announced plans to impose 11 days of unpaid leave for most of the Pentagon’s 800,000 civilian employees beginning in July.
Union seeks sellout deal at South Milwaukee Caterpillar plant
By Niles Williamson, 16 May 2013
A week after the collapse of negotiations between Caterpillar and the United Steelworkers in South Milwaukee, the union is determined to push through a concessions contract.
Schools in Buena Vista, Michigan may reopen after board approves cuts
By Shannon Jones, 16 May 2013
The state of Michigan restored funding to the district after the school board agreed to a drastic deficit reduction plan.
Detroit’s emergency manager outlines slash and burn “restructuring” plan
By Jerry White, 14 May 2013
Kevyn Orr released a report on Monday, outlining a “comprehensive restructuring plan” for the city involving savage cuts to city workers’ jobs, wages and pensions and the elimination of services to a large section of the population.
Mother’s Day shooting in New Orleans injures 19 people
By Fred Mazelis, 14 May 2013
Eight years after Hurricane Katrina, poor and working class sections of the city remain devastated by unemployment and poverty.
Pontiac, Michigan school crisis provokes outcry from parents, teachers
By a WSWS reporting team, 14 May 2013
The district has agreed to massive budget cuts as a condition for receiving state aid.
Philadelphia mayor threatens elimination of school programs, staff
By Nick Barrickman, 14 May 2013
City officials have seized upon the school system’s $300 million budget deficit to demand further cutbacks in education.
Twenty-four dead in Mexican truck explosion
By Rafael Azul, 14 May 2013
A tanker truck carrying pressurized LP gas careened off a highway near Mexico City killing 24 people.
Congressional hearing confirms
FBI, Homeland Security withheld information on Boston bombing suspects from local, state police
By Barry Grey, 11 May 2013
The Boston police commissioner and a top Massachusetts Homeland Security official told Congress Thursday that the local and state police were never informed by the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security of multiple warnings about Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Ontario: NDP preparing to support another Liberal austerity budget
By Keith Jones, 11 May 2013
With strong backing from the trade unions, the New Democratic Party is again preparing to enable Ontario’s minority Liberal government to impose a big business austerity budget.
Unions, ministers organize protest in Detroit over fast-food worker pay
By Shannon Jones, 11 May 2013
The Detroit protests held Friday at locations across the city shut down several fast-food restaurants.
Video: Detroit tenants denounce mass evictions
By Jerome White and James Brewer, 11 May 2013
Hundreds of low-income Detroit residents are being forced from their homes as part of a plan by Detroit officials to gentrify the downtown area.
Massachusetts high school student charged as terrorist for Facebook post
By Tom Carter, 11 May 2013
In a prosecution that has all the hallmarks of a calculated test case, teenager Cameron D’Ambrosio faces up to 20 years in prison on “terror” charges for making reference to the Boston Marathon bombings in a Facebook post.
Seattle transit agency proposes deep cuts in service
By Angelo Bosworth, 11 May 2013
Seattle’s Metro Transit plans to slash service by one third to address a $75 million funding shortfall.
Obama warns against “cynicism” at Ohio State commencement address
By Andre Damon, 7 May 2013
The US president, whose tenure in office has underscored the corporate control of both political parties, counseled students not to be “cynical” about government.
US preexisting conditions health plan closed for enrollment
By Kate Randall, 7 May 2013
An estimated 40,000 people with serious medical conditions will be turned away from a federal insurance plan that is running out of funds.
Guatemala imposes state of siege against mine protests
By Bill Van Auken, 7 May 2013
The Guatemalan government has imposed a 30-day state of siege to repress protests against a Canadian-owned mining operation.
Obama education secretary, Michigan governor promote school “reform”
By Jerry White, 7 May 2013
Obama administration Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder on Monday to promote the attack on teachers and public education.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
7 May 2013
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
US moves to expand Internet wiretaps
By Andre Damon, 30 April 2013
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking to force companies such as Google, Dropbox and Facebook to create backdoors for wiretapping users’ communications.
Explosion at Detroit oil refinery raises danger of wider disaster
By Bryan Dyne, 30 April 2013
The explosion of a diesel fuel tank at the Marathon Detroit Refinery raises the specter of a larger industrial disaster in the Detroit area.
Study finds nearly half of New Yorkers living in or near poverty
By Philip Guelpa, 30 April 2013
A new report by the New York City Commission on Economic Opportunity finds that over 20 percent of the residents in America’s most populous city live in poverty.
US student loan interest rates expected to double
By Trent Novak, 30 April 2013
Beginning on July 1, interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for college undergraduates are expected to double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent.
Teachers’ struggles escalate across Mexico
By Rafael Azul, 30 April 2013
Tens of thousands of Mexican teachers are mobilizing against education reforms that attack job security and subordinate public education to corporate interests.
University of California’s medical workers to hold strike vote
By Thomas Gaist, 30 April 2013
Thirteen-thousand patient care workers in the University of California’s medical system will vote on a possible strike starting April 30.
The Boston bombings and the roots of terror
By Bill Van Auken, 24 April 2013
Of all the possible explanations for the bombings in Boston, the least plausible is the official claim that the main suspect in the case had fallen beneath the FBI’s radar.
Canadian government unveils “terror plot” as it adopts draconian new law
By Keith Jones, 24 April 2013
Canadian authorities announced Monday afternoon they had broken up a terrorist conspiracy, just as the country’s parliament was to debate new anti-terrorism legislation that would give the state draconian new powers.
Snyder administration plot to privatize Michigan schools exposed
By Jerry White, 24 April 2013
Officials in Governor Rick Snyder’s administration have been holding secret meetings to map out a strategy to finance corporate-run schools with public funds.
350 working without a contract at Master Lock in Milwaukee
By Niles Williamson, 23 April 2013
Workers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) at the Master Lock facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin have been working without a contract since April 3.
US sequester furloughs delay flights, threaten airport safety
By Kate Randall, 23 April 2013
Unpaid furloughs imposed on air traffic controllers will result in flight delays and cancellations at airports across the US.
A tale of two cities
By Barry Grey, 23 April 2013
The Boston bombings continue to dominate the American media, while the Texas fertilizer plant explosion has virtually dropped out of the news.
Boston bombing suspect gets death penalty charge
By Bill Van Auken, 23 April 2013
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, was formally charged Monday before a federal judge, who was brought to his hospital bed.
Detroit emergency manager proclaims power to end collective bargaining
By James Brewer, 23 April 2013
Emergency manager Kevyn Orr claims he is under no legal obligation to participate in bargaining with public safety employees, including police, firefighters and emergency medical responders.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
23 April 2013
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Ontario Liberals to keep raising post-secondary tuition fees
By Dylan Lubao, 19 April 2013
Ontario’s NDP-backed minority Liberal government has announced plans to raise university tuition fees to $8,000 by 2016.
Child poverty in US among the highest in developed world
By Nick Barrickman, 18 April 2013
A new report by the United Nations details the growing levels of poverty facing children in the major capitalist countries, with the US ranking near the bottom on all metrics.
Media hysteria grows over Boston bombing
By Barry Grey, 18 April 2013
While the nation, including the people of Boston, have remained calm, deeply saddened and shocked by the bombings as they are, the media and their leading personnel present a picture of disorientation and panic.
Sequestration cuts hit Michigan
By Lawrence Porter, 18 April 2013
As a result of the sequester cuts signed by President Obama, $150 million will be cut from programs that particularly affect the poor in Michigan.
Floods devastate Argentina
By Rafael Azul, 18 April 2013
Torrential storms and floods affected 450,000 people and killed 58 in Argentina.
New York stop-and-frisk trial bares massive police abuse
By Sandy English, 18 April 2013
Plaintiffs in an ongoing federal trial have alleged that New York’s Police Department has violated the constitutional rights of millions of people in its decade-long stop-and-frisk program.
Homeless in San Diego, California
Life on the street in “America’s Finest City”
By Jake Dean and Toby Reese, 18 April 2013
San Diego, California ranks third in the nation for the number of homeless, with estimates of 10,000.
Mass layoffs in Illinois
By Shane Feratu and Jeff Lusanne, 18 April 2013
A large number of companies in Illinois have announced closures and job cuts.
The US Justice Department brief for the assassination of US citizens
Part one
By Tom Carter and Eric London, 18 April 2013
Since the publication of the white paper, leading figures in the US political establishment have declared that the asserted power to assassinate includes the power to kill US citizens on US soil.
Media rush to judgment in Boston Marathon bombing
By Barry Grey, 16 April 2013
At least three people were killed and 144 wounded, including 15 with critical injuries, by two bomb explosions in downtown Boston.
Emergency manager to impose contract on Detroit firefighters
By WSWS reporting team, 16 April 2013
Detroit firefighters will have a new contract imposed on them by emergency manager Kevyn Orr starting July 1.
US Head Start preschool program hit with sequester cuts
By Danielle DeSaxe, 16 April 2013
The Obama administration has announced that Head Start, a federally funded program that provides preschool for low-income families, will face cuts.
Narrow victory for Maduro in Venezuelan elections
By Rafael Azul, 16 April 2013
Nicolás Maduro won Sunday’s presidential election in Venezuela by a razor-thin margin that reflected mounting social discontent.
US Postal Service announces new attacks on workers
By James Brewer, 16 April 2013
The USPS Board of Governors announced its intention to reopen the contracts of postal workers in order to impose new wage and benefit concessions.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
16 April 2013
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Obama budget slashes Social Security, Medicare
By Andre Damon, 11 April 2013
US President Barack Obama unveiled his budget proposal Wednesday, calling for a historic attack on Medicare and Social Security.
Newark, New Jersey students protest education cuts
By Dan Brennan, 11 April 2013
Hundreds of high school students in Newark, New Jersey walked out of class Tuesday to protest millions of dollars in education cuts.
Brazil’s economy beset by inflation, lagging production
By Bill Van Auken, 11 April 2013
The inflation spike has been driven by a sharp rise in the price of food and other consumer items, with the impact felt acutely by Brazil’s working class and poor.
What is the Common Core US education initiative?
By Allison Smith and Phyllis Scherrer, 11 April 2013
Common Core standards are being implemented in K-12 classrooms across the US this year. They have been promoted by the Obama administration, corporations and teachers’ unions.
Common Core: A California kindergarten teacher’s experience
By our reporter, 11 April 2013
A kindergarten teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District in Southern California spoke with the WSWS about the impact of the Common Core curriculum.
US states de-fund public education through expanded voucher schemes
By Zac Corrigan, 11 April 2013
Various state programs divert an ever-increasing amount of funding from the public education system to private schools.
Detroit area gas explosion reveals deadly state of pipeline infrastructure
By James Brewer, 11 April 2013
Utility company Consumers Energy released an interim report that covers up its responsibility in a recent lethal explosion.
General Motors in drive to cut skilled trades jobs in US plants
By Shannon Jones, 11 April 2013
GM is seeking to eliminate skilled and high seniority workers in order to slash costs.
Obama defends plan to cut Medicare and Social Security
By Andre Damon, 9 April 2013
After media reports that the Obama administration plans to slash Medicare and Social Security in its latest budget proposal due to be released Wednesday, government officials have been seeking to diffuse popular opposition to the cuts.
Communities across US feel impact of sequestration cuts
By Kate Randall, 9 April 2013
The effects of the sequestration order signed by President Obama on March 1 began to be felt in earnest beginning April 1.
Thousands of scientists protest US cuts to medical research
By Nick Barrickman, 9 April 2013
Up to 15,000 scientists from around the country attended Monday’s rally, which was called by the American Association for Cancer Research.
AT&T workers reject contract, face déjà vu betrayal by union
By Juan Verala Luz and Marc Wells, 9 April 2013
AT&T West workers resoundingly rejected a proposed contract that would have capped wages at $22 an hour and offered paltry health care plans.
California union supports Democratic-sponsored attack on teachers
By Juan Verala Luz and Marc Wells, 9 April 2013
Proposed California Assembly Bill 375, sponsored by Democrats and supported by the union, expedites the firing of teachers.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
9 April 2013
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
California governor seeks end to federal prison oversight
By Norisa Diaz, 4 April 2013
California is seeking to regain oversight of its vast prison system, arguing that it has made adequate improvements in mental health care and overcrowding.
Canada’s government suppresses scientific reporting
By Carl Bronski, 4 April 2013
Canada’s Conservative government has muzzled government scientists as part of a systematic campaign to manipulate and suppress scientific information.
Atlanta testing scandal exposes fraud of anti-public school “reform”
By Andre Damon and Barry Grey, 3 April 2013
The types of practices exposed in Atlanta are the inevitable outcome of the reactionary drive to dismantle public education in the name of “reform.”
Approval of Stockton, California bankruptcy paves way for new assault on workers’ pensions
By Gabriel Black, 2 April 2013
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled on Monday that the city of Stockton, California could proceed with the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history.
Venezuela’s Maduro runs right-wing campaign in preparation for austerity
By Alexander Fangmann, 2 April 2013
Nicolás Maduro, Hugo Chávez’s handpicked successor, has run a right-wing campaign with overtures to the military and Catholic Church in preparation for cutbacks and austerity.
Tenants angry over New York Housing Authority’s plans to sell to developers
By Alan Whyte, 2 April 2013
Tenants in New York City public housing voiced opposition to plans to lease public land to private developers.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
2 April 2013
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Obama, Republicans plot sweeping attack on Medicare
By Fred Mazelis, 30 March 2013
The plan that is being discussed would restructure Medicare to impose major increases in deductible payments on millions of beneficiaries.
Stock markets and food stamps at record highs
The two sides of the US economic “recovery”
By Kate Randall, 30 March 2013
The growth of social inequality since the 2008 financial crash is the product of definite policies pursued first under Bush and then under the Obama administration.
US Supreme Court hears arguments on gay marriage
By Barry Grey, 30 March 2013
There is a clear issue of democratic rights in the same-sex marriage question. Having said that, claims that recognition of same-sex marriage signifies a new flowering of democratic rights lack any credibility.
Convicted Ponzi schemer Madoff accuses US government of stonewalling on bank prosecutions
By Andre Damon, 30 March 2013
Bernard Madoff, who admitted in 2009 to running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, has charged that the government-appointed trustee for his firm’s investors is ignoring evidence of major banks’ complicity in his activities.
Detroit’s emergency manager keeps mayor, city council on payroll
By Bryan Dyne and Shannon Jones, 30 March 2013
Kevyn Orr’s first act as Detroit’s emergency financial manager was to restore the wages of the mayor and the city council.
Quebec’s Option Nationale: An aspiring party of big business
By Richard Dufour, 30 March 2013
At its first full convention, Option Nationale—a party courted by the ostensibly leftwing Québec Solidaire— paraded its support for capitalism and indifference to poverty.
Illinois House approves pension cuts
By Alexander Fangmann, 30 March 2013
The Illinois House of Representatives has approved a bill all but eliminating cost-of-living increases and raising the retirement age for state workers.
New Jersey governor announces state takeover of Camden schools
By Elliott Vernon, 30 March 2013
Camden, among the poorest cities in the US, became the fourth city in New Jersey to see its public schools fall under state control.
The trade unions and Michigan’s “right to work” law
By Joseph Kishore, 28 March 2013
The actions taken by the trade unions in response to the passage of Michigan’s reactionary “right to work” law expose the anti-working class character of these organizations.
Plans to vastly expand drones in US
By Fred Mazelis, 28 March 2013
After a decade of the use of drones as part of its “war on terror” abroad, the US government is preparing the American people for the routine use of drones inside the US.
Tensions high at Chrysler Warren Stamping in wake of victimization
By Shannon Jones, 28 March 2013
Skilled trades worker Alex Wassell was fired for opposing the Alternative Work Schedule, recently implemented at the plant.
Workers Struggles, the Americas
26 March 2013
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
On eve of emergency manager take-over
Unions move to ram through concessions against Detroit workers
By Jerry White and Bryan Dyne, 21 March 2013
The sweeping concessions demanded from teachers and the city’s municipal employees give a picture of the draconian measures planned for the entire working class.
US Senate budget bill makes sequester cuts permanent
By Andre Damon, 21 March 2013
The US Senate passed a “continuing resolution” bill to fund the US government through September, while paving the way for the implementation of furloughs for about 1 million federal government employees.
D.C. Fire Department investigation highlights underfunding
By Adam Sagitov and Nick Barrickman, 21 March 2013
An audit by the emergency worker’s union exposed yet another attempt by the city government to undercut safety funding.
Los Angeles election results in May runoff between pro-business candidates
By Dan Conway and Thomas Gaist, 21 March 2013
Regardless of which candidate wins the May election, they will play an instrumental role in crafting the next austerity budget, as they have been in implementing brutal cost-cutting measures in the past.
US funding bill to make sequester cuts permanent
Hundreds of thousands face unpaid furloughs
By Andre Damon, 19 March 2013
As the US government prepares to furlough hundreds of thousands of federal employees, Congress is moving to make $1.2 trillion in spending cuts implemented under the sequester process permanent.
The managed bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler: A model for the assault on Detroit
By Jerry White, 19 March 2013
Detroit’s new Emergency Financial Manager is considering a “managed bankruptcy” to slash jobs, wages and pensions.
Plans for military surveillance of Americans’ financial records
By Ed Hightower, 19 March 2013
The Treasury’s proposal represents yet another front in the escalating attack on democratic rights, especially the rights to privacy and freedom of association.
Head of Canada’s NDP auditions before US elite
By Graham Beverley, 19 March 2013
Official Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair made a trip to Washington and New York last week to assure US business and political leaders that an NDP government would be a dependable ally of American imperialism.
Fifth West Virginia miner killed in as many weeks
By Naomi Spencer, 19 March 2013
The latest fatality comes in the wake of a statewide “safety standdown” called by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and the eruption of a fire in another mine.
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