Skip to content

United States

Harvard Refuses To Comply With Trump Administration

After Columbia University fully capitulated to the Trump administration’s demands of disciplinary measures against pro-Palestine students and censorship against academic departments, the Trump administration set its sights on other institutions of higher education, one of these being Harvard University. On April 11, Trump officials sent Harvard a similar demand letter to the one Columbia received on March 13. But Harvard’s response to Trump’s demands has been markedly different to Columbia’s – on April 14, Harvard’s President Alan M. Garber issued a bold response: Harvard would “not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

Executive Orders And The Illusion Of Democracy

In theory, the U.S. Constitution provides for a delicate balance of powers: the president executes the law, Congress writes it, and the judiciary interprets it. But under the stress of national security, this tripartite structure can be undermined by the strategic exploitation of Presidential Actions. Of these Presidential Actions: Executive Orders, Presidential Memoranda, and Proclamations were never intended to be instruments of unchecked authority. They are meant to coordinate, not dominate. Yet as Congress stalls and the Supreme Court oscillates between political allegiances, presidents have learned to wield these Presidential Actions not as facilitators of governance, but as instruments of domination in a battlefield where the rule of law is subjugated by the rule of precedent, untethered to the balance of powers.

Report: America’s Ten Most Endangered Rivers

According to the 40th annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report by American Rivers, half the rivers in the United States contain unsafe pollution levels, with freshwater species becoming extinct faster than land or ocean species. The Mississippi River topped the list, with federal flood management changes putting the health of the river at risk, jeopardizing the safety and clean water of those who depend upon it. Flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster within the Mississippi River Basin, according to the report. More severe and frequent floods have damaged homes, agriculture and businesses.

Chris Hedges: American Concentration Camps

Our offshore concentration camps, for now, are in El Salvador and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. But don’t expect them to remain there. Once they are normalized, not only for U.S.-deported immigrants and residents, but U.S. citizens, they will migrate to the homeland. It is a very short leap from our prisons, already rife with abuse and mistreatment, to concentration camps, where those held are cut off from the outside world — “disappeared” — denied legal representation and crammed into fetid, overcrowded cells. Prisoners in the camps in El Salvador are forced to sleep on the floor or in solitary confinement in the dark. Many suffer from tuberculosis, fungal infections, scabies, severe malnutrition and chronic digestive illnesses.

Timber From Illegal Logging In Amazon Discovered In US, European Markets

A new investigative report, Tricks, Traders and Trees, by international NGO the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reveals widespread illegal logging, corruption and fraud in the Brazilian Amazon. The investigation traced illegal timber that had originated from five logging sites in Pará state to the United States and European Union, despite laws that prohibit the importing of illegal timber and require due diligence from companies. “Our investigation shows how illegal Amazon timber is flooding EU and U.S. markets, fueling unfair competition for legitimate companies despite laws banning the trade in illicit wood.

Yemen Is Acting Responsibly To Stop Genocide; The US Is Bombing Them For It

The U.S. is bombing Yemen because Yemen is acting, as required by international law, to stop the genocide and unlawful siege in Palestine. This is not an editorial opinion. It is a statement of both law and fact. Neither of these facts has been featured in the reporting or commentary of Western media corporations, let alone in the statements of perpetrator governments like the U.S. Because to perpetrate a genocide in plain sight requires the suppression of the truth and the obscuring of the law. But international law is clear.

Film On Gaza Solidarity Encampments Launched Amid Crackdown On Activism

A new documentary chronicling the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University will premier at the CPH:DOX Film Festival in Copenhagen on March 25, 2025. “The Encampments,” a film produced by BreakThrough News and Watermelon Pictures, “challenges the dominant media narrative by revealing the true spirit of the encampments—what it felt like to be there, the emotions that fueled the students, and what motivated their drastic action,” said directors Kei Pritsker and Michael T Workman. The film was produced by nonprofit media organization BreakThrough News, Grammy-award winning musician Macklemore, and Watermelon Pictures, a production company focusing on Palestinian-centered films.

Dr. Oz’s Nomination Fuels Fears For Crucial Health Programs

Health workers and patients are mobilizing against the appointment of Dr. Mehmet Oz as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), one of several controversial health-related nominations submitted by the Trump presidency. Many have expressed concern over what Dr. Oz’s leadership would mean for the largest US healthcare programs and, consequently, access to healthcare across the country. If confirmed, Oz would be in charge of over USD 1 trillion and overall coverage administration. While he is a recognized surgeon, he is better known for promoting dubious nutrition advice through his public platforms.

USA Is #1 Arms Dealer, Exporting 43% Of World’s Weapons

The United States is by far the biggest arms dealer on Earth, responsible for 43% of all weapons exports from 2020 to 2024. The US transferred 7.3 times more weapons than China, and 5.5 times more than Russia. In fact, Russia’s global arms exports declined by 64% from 2020 to 2024, and China’s fell by 5.4%, whereas those of the US grew by 21%. There were also large increases in weapons exports during this five-year period in Italy (+138%), Spain (+29%), France (+11%), and South Korea (+4.9%). This is according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Movements Worldwide Call For End To US Military Exercises In Koreas

Pressure continues to grow against the ongoing Freedom Shield 25, a joint military exercise between the US and South Korea. The International People’s Assembly (IPA) and International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS) joined Nodutdol, an anti-imperialist Korean diaspora group, in launching a joint statement calling for the Freedom Shield military exercises to be cancelled, claiming it is drumming up threats of war on the Korean peninsula. The anti-imperialist and anti-war platforms bring together hundreds of people’s movements and organizations across the world.

Trump Denies Student Loan Relief To Nonprofit Workers

Trump signed an executive order on Friday, March 7, which directs the Education Department to exclude student loan forgiveness for workers at certain organizations which “engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose,” appearing to target some nonprofit groups at odds with his political agenda. Under the new order, workers would be disqualified from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program if the Trump administration deems that their employers violated federal immigration laws, supported “terrorism”, or engaged in so-called “child abuse,” which includes “the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children or the trafficking of children to so-called transgender sanctuary States for purposes of emancipation from their lawful parents” – a clear attack on organizations that may support transgender rights.

Trump’s Trade War Escalates, Canada Responds With Retaliatory Tariffs

Trump’s trade war against the US’s neighbors Mexico and Canada, as well as China, continues with sweeping tariffs on the three countries going into effect just after midnight on Tuesday, March 4. A 25% tariff was added on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. On March 5, Trump granted a one-month exemption on imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers, following a conversation with the three largest auto manufacturers in the country: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, according to an announcement by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Other levies remain in place.

Is Trump ‘Making America Affordable Again’?

US President Trump ran his campaign on a pledge to “make America affordable again,” following the inflationary crisis during Biden’s administration. But since the beginning of his presidency, the cost of living crisis, including the cost of staple grocery items and rent, has persisted. Peoples Dispatch spoke to economist Richard Wolff, who outlined that “prices are shaped by many factors, and only a few of those are under the control of any president.” “Trump did what American politicians usually do, which is take a cheap shot at his political enemies by blaming them for something bad going on in this case, inflation,” Wolff said.

As US Authorities Crack Down On Immigrants, ICE Seeks To Expand

As Trump’s mass deportation efforts continue to terrorize immigrant communities across the US, Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE)’s vast network of primarily for-profit detention centers have exceeded their capacity. Earlier in February, ICE was forced to release some migrants from their facilities after reaching 109% capacity. Due to limited detention capacity, Trump’s administration has utilized a strategy dubbed “catch and release”, which Trump himself had criticized Biden for employing. Through “catch and release”, migrants that are considered “nonviolent” by immigration authorities are released after agreeing to return for their hearings in immigration court.

Black Prisoners Organize For Dignity In Angola

This Black History Month, Peoples Dispatch is exploring the history of the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary, the site of centuries of Black struggle—first against slavery, then convict leasing, and now the US prison system, which some label as slavery in the modern day. At the helm of the US’s notorious system of mass incarceration sits Louisiana State Penitentiary. Apart from being the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, this prison, nicknamed “Angola” after the former plantation site that it sits on, is an example of the conditions of modern-day slavery that the US prison system inflicts upon its disproportionately Black incarcerated population.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.