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Court Strikes Down Federal Rule That Would Have Allowed ‘Bomb Trains’

January 22, 2025 Earthjustice. , , , , ,
A federal court today struck down a 2020 rule that would have allowed trains to travel the country filled with an unprecedented amount of explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG). The liquefied natural gas from just one rail tank car — without even considering a whole train — could be enough to destroy a city. “We’re pleased that the court saw the danger this rule posed to our nation’s communities,” said Earthjustice attorney Bradley Marshall. “As we pointed out, it would only take 22 tank cars to hold the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima bomb.” The federal effort to cut critical safeguards for liquefied natural gas started on April 10, 2019, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to initiate rulemaking to allow liquefied natural gas transport by rail.

Trump, Allies Sued Over DOGE Plans In Union-Backed Lawsuits

January 21, 2025 Courtney Rozen, Portside. , , , ,
The largest federal employee union and a national teachers union are among the first to file lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump‘s planned government efficiency organization effort. The groups seek to rein in the Department of Government Efficiency, an effort to cut government spending that will be led by billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk. DOGE will advise Trump on spending cuts and regulatory reform. Leading up to his inauguration, Trump promised to fire federal workers who don’t report to the office and drastically reshape the civilian public workforce of 2 million people.

Landmark Agreement Boosts Native Ecosystems On Point Reyes

January 18, 2025 Erik Molvar, Counter Punch. , , ,
A historic agreement has just been struck to settle a decades-long land-use conflict over the future of cattle and wildlife on Point Reyes National Seashore. Under the deal, most of the beef and dairy ranches on Point Reyes National Seashore will depart, and former ranch lands will be managed as a Scenic Landscape Zone according to a new General Management Plan approved by the National Park Service. Tule elk will have the freedom to roam unmolested throughout Point Reyes National Seashore, opportunities for public recreation will improve, and the land will have the opportunity to return to native coastal grassland.

Court Of Appeals Hears Arguments Against Line 5 Tunnel Project

January 16, 2025 Kyle Davidson, Michigan Advance. , , , ,
Attorneys representing Native American tribes and environmental organizations brought their case Tuesday before a three-judge panel in the Michigan Court of Appeals to challenge a 2023 permit from the Michigan Public Service Commission — one of three needed for Enbridge to proceed with its controversial Line 5 tunnel project. Enbridge’s Line 5 is a 645-mile pipeline stretching from Northwest Wisconsin through Michigan into Sarnia, Ontario, carrying 540,000 barrels of light crude oil, light synthetic crude and natural gas liquids daily through the Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Sixth Circuit Rules Against Net Neutrality; EFF Will Continue To Fight

January 15, 2025 Chao Liu and Katharine Trendacosta, Electronic Frontier Foundation. , , ,
Last week, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the FCC, rejecting its authority to classify broadband as a Title II “telecommunications service.” In doing so, the court removed net neutrality protections for all Americans and took away the FCC’s ability to meaningfully regulate internet service providers. This ruling fundamentally gets wrong the reality of internet service we all live with every day. Nearly 80% of Americans view broadband access to be as important as water and electricity. It is no longer an extra, non-necessary “information service,” as it was seen 40 years ago, but it is a vital medium of communication in everyday life.

After 23 Years, Prisoners Remain In Guantanamo Without Charges

January 14, 2025 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , , , ,
January 11 marked the twenty-third anniversary of the opening of the US military prison on occupied land in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Clearing the FOG speaks with Andy Worthington, an investigative journalist and author of The Guantanamo Files. Worthington explains that the United States opened the prison in Guantanamo to avoid legal restrictions. He describes the connections between Guantanamo and the CIA 'black sites' where prisoners were tortured and who the men are that were recently released as well as who remains. There are calls for Joe Biden to release all of the men and end the scandal of the prison at Guantanamo Bay before he leaves office.

US Transfers 11 Detainees Out Of Guantanamo Bay Prison

January 7, 2025 Middle East Eye. , , ,
The United States sent 11 Yemeni detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to Oman, the Pentagon said on Monday, leaving 15 people at the infamous detention centre. The transfer was initially slated for October 2023 but the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel and Israel's subsequent war on Gaza delayed the transfer, according to an admission from US officials in May last year. "The United States appreciates the willingness of the government of Oman and other partners to support ongoing US efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility," the US military said in a statement.

Asheville Blade Journalists Sue Over Illegal Arrests

January 7, 2025 Kevin Gosztola, The Dissenter. , , ,
A news co-op in North Carolina and two journalists convicted of trespassing offenses filed a federal lawsuit alleging that their constitutional rights were violated by Asheville Police Department officers. In December 2021, residents in the Asheville community gathered at Aston Park for five evenings to urge the City of Asheville to leave people without any shelter alone in the park after it closed at 10 p.m. They took a stand on Christmas, refusing to disperse. Police responded by sweeping the encampment and arresting six people. Two of the people arrested were reporters for the Asheville Blade—Matilda Bliss and Veronica Coit.

Kenya’s High Court Delivers Blow To Neoliberal University Funding Model

January 5, 2025 Nicholas Mwangi, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
The Kenya High Court delivered a landmark ruling on December 20, 2024, that declared the new funding model for higher education unconstitutional. The case, brought before the court by the Kenya Human Rights Commission and other organizations including the National Student Caucus, challenged the legality and fairness of the new model launched last year. In his ruling, Justice Mwita declared the new university funding model unconstitutional for several reasons. The high court noted that it violates Section 53 of the Universities Act by introducing policies that conflict with the law.

Taxpayers Suing Congressmembers For Funding Genocide Speak Out

January 4, 2025 Marjorie Cohn, Truthout. , , ,
On December 19, more than 500 federal taxpayers from 10 northern California counties filed an unprecedented class-action lawsuit against their congressional representatives. Seth Donnelly et. al. v. Mike Thompson, and Jared Huffman charges that the defendants — two Democratic congressmembers — illegally abused their tax and spend authority on April 20, 2024, when they voted for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which authorized $26.38 billion in military aid to Israel. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, alleges that Thompson and Huffman violated the U.S. Constitution, the Genocide Convention and several U.S. laws.

Journalist Could Face Prison For Refusing To Give Passwords To Police

January 3, 2025 Stefania Maurizi, Il Fatto Quotidiano. , , , ,
It is an unprecedented case. And it risks triggering an unprecedented threat to journalism. The UK police have repeatedly tried to obtain the passwords to the phones of the British independent journalist, Richard Medhurst, the first reporter arrested in London under Section 12: his analyses and comments on Israel’s bloodbath in Gaza – which Amnesty International has characterised as genocide – have been interpreted by the police as support for organisations banned from the UK, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The son of two UN peacekeepers, Medhurst was arrested last August at London’s Heathrow Airport

The ‘Ghost’ Of Guantanamo Is Freed

January 1, 2025 Andy Worthington. , , ,
In welcome news, the Pentagon has announced that it has repatriated from Guantánamo Ridah Al-Yazidi, 59, a Tunisian prisoner held without charge or trial since the very first day of the prison’s operations nearly 23 years ago, on January 11, 2002. Although almost completely unknown to the outside world, because of the mainstream media’s persistent lack of interest in investigating the mundane lawlessness of so much of the prison’s operations, Al-Yazidi’s case is one of the most outstanding cases of casual injustice at Guantánamo.

Luigi Mangione And The Dangers Of Terrorism Charges

December 28, 2024 Schuyler Mitchell, Consortium News. , , ,
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unveiled new charges on Dec. 17 against Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. While Mangione already faced second-degree murder and weapons charges, the unsealed indictment reveals an escalation: New York prosecutors have charged Mangione with first-degree murder “in furtherance of terrorism.” Bragg’s choice to invoke the big “T” word came as a surprise; it’s not often associated with a single, targeted killing. In fact, prosecutors are charging Mangione using a state law hatched after the 9/11 attacks “to combat the evils of terrorism.”

Palestine Action Activists Acquitted Over Preventing Genocide

December 22, 2024 The Canary. , , ,
Two Palestine Action activists have been acquitted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage charges in a trial at Leicester Crown Court for an action against a Leicester drone factory complicit in Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. The trial commenced on 2 December, concluding yesterday. The activists were arrested less than a month into the Genocide, on 18 October 2023, after a dynamic action which shut down the UAV Tactical Systems factory operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company The action took place less than 12 hours after at least 500 wounded, starving, and displaced Palestinians were massacred at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in a targeted missile strike.

The Biden Administration Fails To Win Imprisonment Of The Uhuru 3

December 17, 2024 The Black Alliance for Peace. , , , , , ,
Members of the Uhuru Movement, Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess, and Jesse Nevel – the “Uhuru 3” – were sentenced to three years probation and community service after being convicted in September 2024 of supposedly conspiring with the Russian government to interfere in U.S. elections. The Black Alliance for Peace recognizes that this sentence is confirmation that the charges against Uhuru members by the Biden Administration Justice Department were baseless. While any sentence handed down from imperialist courts for actions that are supposed to be legally protected are, in themselves, illegitimate, the refusal of the judge to incarcerate the Uhuru 3 is a victory in the fight against a repressive US regime, regardless of which wing of the finance capital bird leads it.
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