South and Central America

Devastating tornado kills dozens in Oklahoma City

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

On Monday afternoon, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, leaving a mile-wide swath of devastation.

Washington’s hacking charges escalate pressure on China

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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”

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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.

The crisis of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian” revolution and the political independence of the working class

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Guatemala’s high court overturns dictator Rios Montt’s genocide conviction

Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Guatemala’s Constitutional Court has overturned former dictator José Efraín Rios Montt’s 80-year sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Hedge funds eye Detroit for “hostile takeover”

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The district has agreed to massive budget cuts as a condition for receiving state aid.

Philadelphia mayor threatens elimination of school programs, staff

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

A tanker truck carrying pressurized LP gas careened off a highway near Mexico City killing 24 people.

FBI, Homeland Security withheld information on Boston bombing suspects from local, state police

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The Detroit protests held Friday at locations across the city shut down several fast-food restaurants.

Video: Detroit tenants denounce mass evictions

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 11 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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”

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

US moves to expand Internet wiretaps

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Unpaid furloughs imposed on air traffic controllers will result in flight delays and cancellations at airports across the US.

A tale of two cities

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Torrential storms and floods affected 450,000 people and killed 58 in Argentina.

New York stop-and-frisk trial bares massive police abuse

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

San Diego, California ranks third in the nation for the number of homeless, with estimates of 10,000.

Mass layoffs in Illinois

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

A large number of companies in Illinois have announced closures and job cuts.

The US Justice Department brief for the assassination of US citizens

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Obama budget slashes Social Security, Medicare

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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?

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

GM is seeking to eliminate skilled and high seniority workers in order to slash costs.

Obama defends plan to cut Medicare and Social Security

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Proposed California Assembly Bill 375, sponsored by Democrats and supported by the union, expedites the firing of teachers.

Workers Struggles: The Americas

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

California governor seeks end to federal prison oversight

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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”

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Workers Struggles: The Americas

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Tenants angry over New York Housing Authority’s plans to sell to developers

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Tenants in New York City public housing voiced opposition to plans to lease public land to private developers.

Obama, Republicans plot sweeping attack on Medicare

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The plan that is being discussed would restructure Medicare to impose major increases in deductible payments on millions of beneficiaries.

The two sides of the US economic “recovery”

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Skilled trades worker Alex Wassell was fired for opposing the Alternative Work Schedule, recently implemented at the plant.

Workers Struggles, the Americas

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Unions move to ram through concessions against Detroit workers

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

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.