Average job growth over the past three months has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade. Core sectors of the economy—manufacturing, government, retail and mining—are hemorrhaging jobs. Without modest gains in the health care and social assistance sectors, we’d be facing three straight months of net job loss. And yet, in the midst of this instability, the administration has pushed through what will likely be the largest health care cut in American history. And this data doesn’t yet capture the ripple effects of mass federal layoffs or the full force of recent budget cuts.

Over the past two months, the Black unemployment rate has jumped by a full percentage point and now stands at more than 7%, nearly double the national rate of 4.2%. For Black workers, the picture is not only a reflection of persistent racial bias—it may also be a harbinger of something more ominous. This disparity isn’t new—it’s a long-standing feature of a racialized economy. But historically, sharp economic distress in Black communities has often preceded broader downturns. If that pattern holds, we’re not just looking at a crisis for Black workers—we’re staring down a warning for the entire economy.

This isn’t a neutral stagnation. It’s the product of policy choices: disinvestment in public infrastructure, attacks on the safety net and a governing strategy that protects concentrated wealth while leaving working people increasingly vulnerable.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

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This email I received in my gmail box. With the following typical letter to me, my email, but who knows if he sent it to the editor, I may already be banned by the editor, and I will never know because these fellows never answer direct emails back.

Here, from that person who shall be unnamed, telling me …

All you do is criticize this country and the president, as if you are a spoil sport, mad that your guy didn’t win. My advice is leave. Go to Cuba, go to your great communist country of your choice. You do nothing for our community writing these screeds from your high horse. Love it or leave it is something I think everytime I read your junk. I’m shocked that some local patriot hasn’t read-ended your shitty mini-van or taken a swing at your smug face. Leave, and DO let the door hit you on your fucking anti-AmMerican ass.

Oh, well, my feelings aren’t hurt, but again, I’ve said this time and time again: I get people texting me thanking for my radio shows and my op-eds, but they just will not go on public record, i.e., a letter to the editor in support or agreement with me and my short “screeds.”

Today, with my Meals on Wheels gig and with my volunteer work at the senior center here, amazing social workers and folks with federal grants for their AmeriCorps workers lamenting about the Trumpism in the Senior Center — old flagging people, again, eating taxpayer paid for Meals on Wheels, and a Senior Center not just funded by local taxes, and these  octogenarians no less, vaunting Trump, going on and on about, “well Obama and Clinton never served in the military either.”

That comment came after I had entertained them, made these people laugh, served them food and drinks and gave them to-go boxes, and then, well, someone mentioned cuts in the Meals on Wheels program here and nationwide, and then I stated that Trump is laughing at that, that he’s a mean gene, and wants my butt gone, and he’s especially laughing at “you older folk relying on Medicare and Meals on Wheels and who voted for him.”

I mentioned that Trump’s a felon and criminal and just a faker, among other things, and he is a wimp, who declared bone spurs as his out for military service. Yep, me, atheist and communist AND someone who spent time in the Army, man, sure, less than honorable discharge I got,  but still, that, and then working with homeless veterans and even teaching college courses for various military outfits in my part-time faculty gigs.

These old people couldn’t square all those corners to the guy (me) who had just done all this service to the community work FOR them.

The social workers are tired. They are tired of people. They have family, and one I talked with, she even has a father who supports Trump Hands Down, like the freaks that in do. And, alas, I asked — Why no estrangement from these toxic folk in your life? These people, your fucking father, want you fired, essentially, because your AmeriCorps folk are being sacked because the grants have ended, and you too will be on the chopping block.

The system is winning when social workers hate people — not all, but most people, she told me — and when teachers hate their kiddos and the parents. This is what the design is all about — losing confidence in EVERYTHING except the price of toilet paper bundles at Costco.

More than just the Reagan way of getting people to believe government is too big, too cumbersome and too much an impediment in the American Way of Free-for-All Markets.

Chip chip chip those rotten democrats and republicans have enforced for decades.

Schizophrenia here by the Pew Research group:

Americans remain deeply distrustful of and dissatisfied with their government. Just 20% say they trust the government in Washington to do the right thing just about always or most of the time – a sentiment that has changed very little since former President George W. Bush’s second term in office.

The public’s criticisms of the federal government are many and varied. Some are familiar: Just 6% say the phrase “careful with taxpayer money” describes the federal government extremely or very well; another 21% say this describes the government somewhat well. A comparably small share (only 8%) describes the government as being responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans.

The federal government gets mixed ratings for its handling of specific issues. Evaluations are highly positive in some respects, including for responding to natural disasters (70% say the government does a good job of this) and keeping the country safe from terrorism (68%). However, only about a quarter of Americans say the government has done a good job managing the immigration system and helping people get out of poverty (24% each). And the share giving the government a positive rating for strengthening the economy has declined 17 percentage points since 2020, from 54% to 37%.

Yet Americans’ unhappiness with government has long coexisted with their continued support for government having a substantial role in many realms. And when asked how much the federal government does to address the concerns of various groups in the United States, there is a widespread belief that it does too little on issues affecting many of the groups asked about, including middle-income people (69%), those with lower incomes (66%) and retired people (65%).

*****

When participatory democracy never flourished, and when mutual aid is gone, and when people are doggedly dog-eat-dog and “I’ve got mine, so good luck getting yours” is the prevailing attitude, we are a disconnected “nation.”

Will this resonate?

For a decade, scholars, pundits and other analysts have been searching deep in the American political experience to understand why democracy seems so stressed. Now a new UC Berkeley report based on extensive surveys finds that Americans are confused about the meaning of democracy and frustrated with the leaders and institutions responsible for guiding the country — but also open to hope for repair.

In an interview, lead author David C. Wilson detailed the findings of this plunge into our political psyche, surveying a tangle of concerning trends. Americans are struggling with epidemic mistrust, but they’re also eager for solutions. For democracy to flourish, the report finds, its people must be flourishing, too.

Wilson, a political psychologist, offered a potentially innovative course of therapy: Just as the nation has economic and health policy, local, state and federal leaders need a commitment to democracy policy to strengthen the system and nurture commitment to democratic values and practices.

Wilson is the dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at Berkeley and a professor of public policy and political science. The report, “Delivering on the Promises of ‘We the People’,” is based on surveys of more than 2,400 Americans conducted before and after the November 2024 election.

The report was produced by the Goldman School’s Democracy Policy Lab.

*****

Snake Oil, PT Barnum and Postmortem for July 4

I remember telling my daughter, who never got to meet my old man, her grandfather, that I was diametrically opposed to his 32 years in the US military. I told her that I even ended up in Viet Nam two years before she was born to work with a science team from England.

I visited all parts of Viet Nam, after doing intensive biodiversity studies along the Laotian border.

She has some of my large prints of kiddos on motorcycles piled high with live chickens. She has a photo I took of a female Buddhist monk near where a more famous monk self-immolated in protest of the US and French-backed repressive South Vietnamese president.

That is Ho Chi Minh City, called Saigon back then.

It was just before 10 in the morning on June 11, 1963, when 300 monks and nuns marched down a busy Saigon street. This 73-year-old monk named Thich Quang Duc emerged from a car at this crowded intersection and sat down in the lotus position on a cushion. Two fellow monks poured gasoline from a five-gallon can. As the fuel was emptied over his head, Duc chanted, “Nam mo amita Buddha,” — “return to eternal Buddha.”

Sixty years later a similar event was repeated here in the USA, although in this intentionally amnesiac and superficial society, it seems like a distant memory. But my friend from Wisconsin talks of this hero much.

That distant memory occurred just over a year ago—February 25, 2024. Remember? Twenty-five-year-old Air Force serviceman Aaron Bushnell died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington in an act of protest against the Gaza genocide.

Less than two years ago, and I have students who are afraid of calling “it” a genocide. I have fellow faculty in many parts of the country who are not just chastised for supporting innocent Palestinians but are fired.

Is this newspaper going to get the “hammer” or “ax” for republishing Aaron’s words before he set himself on fire?

“I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers—it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

The last words of his life were ‘Free Palestine.’

Recall my professional soldier — CW4 — father. He was a 19-year-old in the so-called Korean Conflict, wounded there. He was then made a chief warrant officer in the Army and took his family to Paris, France, and Hamburg as part of his work.

He was shot in the chest in a Huey helicopter in Viet Nam with his blackbox of codes handcuffed to his wrist. He was 36 years old, and he survived.

I went to Viet Nam at age 36, leaving my home of El Paso behind. I visited villages near where my old man’s team set up communication towers and signal corps facilities.

I was against that illegal war when I was still in junior high school.

My father was a smart guy with graduate degrees in history and education. He always wanted me to go to college, and he supported my journalism and science studies at the University of Arizona. He read my newspaper articles.

What he was for —  as a first-generation American whose father was a WWI pilot in the Kaiser’s Navy —  included expanded services for the poor, safety nets for the elderly, massive cheap public services to include health care for all, seven-day-a-week libraries, a post office that handled payroll and served as a credit union.

He wanted more state and national parks. He was a Republican, and I was a Ralph Nader independent who was deeply leftist. As left as the liberators of Viet Nam under Ho Chi Minh.

Oh, if CW4 Marvin Haeder was alive today, man oh man. He knew European history and the history of the world, so having this perfume salesperson as his commander in chief would have chaffed him. Bone spur deferment from military service, Donald professed?

PT Barnum may have said: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Trump is that purveyor and protector of rip-off artists.

My old man supported expanded prosecution of grifters ripping off old people in all industries and services. He was for expanded consumer rights and expanded rights to unionize.

These were his Republican values, with his two bronze stars, purple hearts and 32 years in combined AF and Army service.

He was once an airman too, as we lived on Terceira Island in the Azores outside 65th Air Base Wing at Lajes Field.

Now, POTUS is selling perfume.  Trump’s perfume is called “Victory 45-47” because “they’re all about Winning, Strength, Success.”

Everywhere in Lincoln County the silence —  as I stated in a previous Op-Ed —  is deafening. Active genocide of the Holocaust variety, and people just go on with their rah-rah Fourth of July lives. We’ve been sold a bill of goods. Amnesia? Dis-education? Worse?

I recommend David Swanson’s website where you can peruse collected sources on how much snake oil we’ve consumed. You won’t like this last paragraph on David’s website, so try studying it:

“Since World War II, during a supposed golden age of peace, the United States military has killed or helped kill some 20 million people, overthrown at least 36 governments, interfered in at least 86 foreign elections, attempted to assassinate over 50 foreign leaders, and dropped bombs on people in over 30 countries. The United States is responsible for the deaths of 5 million people in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and over 1 million just since 2003 in Iraq.”

***** The End *****

The U.S. government provides weapons, military training, and/or military funding to almost every dictatorship and oppressive government on earth. See my 2020 book 20 Dictators Currently Supported by the U.S.

U.S. weapons are used on both sides of many wars.

In an attempt to quantify U.S. warmaking, I’ve copied below lists from these sources:
David Vine: The United States of War
William Blum: America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy
Dr. Zoltan Grossman: A Century of U.S. Military Interventions
James Lucas: U.S. Has Killed More Than 20 Million People
William Appleman Williams: Empire As a Way of Life

I can link to some others first. Here is a PDF from 2022 from the U.S. Congressional Research Service admitting to hundreds of U.S. military interventions abroad between 1798 and 2022.

And here is a PDF of a journal article about something called the Military Intervention Project, which can also be found here and here and here. The authors claim to have a list of 392 U.S. military interventions between 1776 and 2019, but do not seem to actually produce the list. There are, however, extensive descriptions of it at those links, including:

“The United States has carried out 34 percent of its 392 interventions against countries in Latin America and the Caribbean; 23 percent in East Asia and the Pacific region; 14 percent in the Middle East and North Africa; and just 13 percent in Europe and Central Asia, according to a newly refined version of the Military Intervention Project (MIP) dataset — a venture of the Center for Strategic Studies at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.”

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Paul Haeder.

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• Common Cause blasts Texas, California congressional redistricting plans, saying “you can’t fight gerrymandering with more gerrymandering“;
• Deported Palestinian peace activist and filmmaker killed by Israeli settler in Occupied West Bank;
• Fresno activists hold “Unheard Echoes, Silencing Due Process” on immigration policies in central valley;
• Britain will recognize Palestinian State unless Israel addresses Gaza humanitarian crisis;
• EPA to repeal “endangerment finding” that underpins federal climate regulations

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Soon after their detention, members of the Santa Marta community accompanied by environmental organizations denounced that these detentions were not intended to bring justice to victims of the war. Instead, the attorney general was pursuing spurious charges against ex-guerrilla combatants who had become prominent water defenders that led the fight which prohibited metals mining in El Salvador in 2017.

In October 2024, after a long legal defense campaign that denounced a series of irregularities with the proceedings, a tribunal in the district of Sensuntepeque declared the five water defenders innocent. The ruling confirmed that the Attorney General had not provided evidence of the existence of a crime. However, the ruling was overturned a month later by a Criminal Appeals Chamber who ordered retrial.

International Allies Against Mining is a coalition of organizations from the US, Canada and Australia that have carried out research and advocacy with civil society organizations in El Salvador in their fight to protect their scarce water resources. Since January 2023, International Allies has provided accompaniment to the community of Santa Marta in their pursuit of justice for their water defenders.

For further information please contact:

John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies, johnc@ips-dc.org, (202) 297-4823
Olivia Alperstein, Institute for Policy Studies, olivia@ips-dc.org
Manuel Perez Rocha, Institute for Policy Studies, manuel@ips-dc.org

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The fun began on July 17 when the country celebrates the day that the last Somoza president fled the country as well as most of the feared Somoza National Guard. It was clear that day that the Sandinista revolution had triumphed.

July 18 is filled with vigils in every neighborhood and town to welcome in July 19. At midnight beautiful fireworks displays are seen brightening the sky. I went to the vigils with family and friends first downtown to the Simon Bolivar avenue – named after the famous Venezuelan revolutionary leader whose dream was for all of Latin America to unify in order to resist colonizers like the United States and European nations. At the south end of the boulevard is a roundabout with a huge depiction of another Venezuelan revolutionary leader – Hugo Chavez – who came and spoke at a number of July 19 celebrations. I was fortunate to see him in 2004.

The atmosphere was like a huge party with dancing and singing and people just hanging out with family and friends. Then we went to another vigil nearby in the popular barrio known as San Antonio. They always go all out and this year was no exception. The Venezuelan band best known for Las Casas del Carton (the houses made out of cardboard) and No Basta Rezar (it’s not enough to pray) called the Guaraguao played at this vigil to thousands of people in this tiny neighborhood, filled up to overflowing with others like us who come to participate. Once again, at midnight there were fireworks everywhere.

July 19 begins with people all over the country carrying out “Dianas” which are car parades with FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional) flags and signs and people chanting and singing. In every town and city there are festivities in commemoration of July 19 – the day celebrated as the culmination of the struggle against the Somoza (and US) dictatorship. The US supported 3 Somoza’s, a father and 2 sons, during 45 years of their governments’ imprisoning, torturing and killing anyone considered in opposition to their rule. My husband tells me that it was a crime to be a young man as the dictatorship assumed you were really a Sandinista.

As the 50,000 invited to the evening celebration are coming in by bus to the plaza down by lake Zolotlan, thousands of other people are lining roads – the roads that co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will pass to get to the Plaza del Fe. I drove down with my son and parked by a television station then walked about a half mile. We joined in the contagious anticipation. Daniel always drives himself – of course there are police cars in front and in back and police lining the road – but not getting in the way of onlookers who want to see their co-presidents. About six o’clock they slowly passed with windows down waving at everyone. I was particularly excited, like a kid on Christmas morning (even though I’m 70) and ran down about four blocks to get in front of the caravan in order to see them a second time – and I did (there is definitely a groupie atmosphere around Daniel – he started fighting for a free country at age 14, he was imprisoned and tortured for seven years and he’s won five elections, the last with more than 75% of the vote)!! Then families continue their parade and picnic-like evening accompanying the celebration and watching it on huge screens placed around the country. I was impressed that at every event I mainly saw families and friends – very few drunks!

Probably most Sandinistas spend the evening of the 19th at home with their families watching the incredible views of 50,000 mainly youth, dancing to the first 90 minutes of familiar revolutionary music. Then some of the special guests were introduced and given time to share a message. One of the things that Ana Kuznetsova the chairwoman of the Russian Duma said was “Under the leadership of our President Vladimir Putin, Russia fully supports those who defend their Freedom, their Values, their Children, their Future.” Then there was a joyful address by Ma Hui, Vice Minister of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He said “I would also like to convey the sincere greetings of all the 100 million members of the Communist Party of China to our Sandinista Compañeros and to the Heroic People of Nicaragua.” “In a world full of transformations and turbulence, the risks and challenges faced by all countries on the planet are growing. We are pleased to note that under the leadership of Co-Presidents Comandante Daniel Ortega and Compañera Rosario Murillo, the Nicaraguan people, closely grouped around the Sandinista National Liberation Front, firmly defend their Sovereignty and Dignity, and persist in following the path of development adapted to the realities of their own country, constantly reaching new achievements in your socio-economic development, for which we express our congratulations.” To read all the speeches, including those of the Co-presidents.

 Daniel spoke of many of the wars waged today by the US: “And that is no more nor less a plan, by [Israel], concocted with the Yankee government and with the complicity of the European governments to disappear the Palestinian State, as they have said it very clearly and openly. They are self-confessed criminals! There they are armed, given weapons by the Europeans, by the United States, because they want to take over the whole Region, and they are doing it….”

“They are murdering every day! Even media in the United States or in Europe are now beginning to report the crimes. And what does the United Nations do? The United Nations is nothing but an instrument of the imperialist countries which want to dominate the world, even if the World itself disappears with the risk of Humanity disappearing, because they have no qualms about bombing everywhere.”

“We have already seen how they launched the armed provocation, via a plan put together by the United States and Israel to bomb Iran on the pretext that what the Iranians were working on were atomic weapons. Iran is a huge nation, it used to be the Persian Empire, it has a population of 90 million inhabitants, it has great wealth, undertakes a great deal of work, with a lot of resources. And the Iranians, complying with the United Nations standards, had presented a plan so as to work the uranium and use it in peaceful activities as they have done so for some time and that’s why they have many plants generating nuclear energy with uranium, which are energy producing plants which are cheaper and safer than the plants that are installed via traditional networks.”

As always Co-President Ortega takes the opportunity to give a history lesson since so many attendees are teenagers. This time he talked about the Spaniards, the British and the United States; especially the invasion by William Walker and his men which was supported by the US government. Walker named himself president, reinstated slavery and made English the national language. Needless to say he was expelled with help from Nicaragua’s neighbors. Walker tried again a few years later and the Hondurans put him in front of a firing squad. This reminds me of a popular song written and sung often during the years of Reagan’s war against Nicaragua called El Yanqui se Va a Joder (the Yankees are going to get their butts kicked). In spite of US sanctions on Nicaragua which cut off much needed loans, the Nicaraguans overall support their government because it is the only one that has brought progress and development to the majority of the people with free education and healthcare; with 90% food security; with the best roads and infrastructure in the region, with one of the highest percentages of renewable energy in the world and 90.6% of the population have electricity; with parks and stadiums everywhere – a real emphasis on the right to recreation and sports and so much more. This country won’t be easy to beat through coup attempts like in 2018, hundreds of millions of dollars from US institutions like USAID, the NED, Freedom House going to the opposition to try to undermine the government. The Nicaraguan example will not easily be stopped and many countries will follow in its foot prints.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Nan McCurdy.

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• Democrats propose bills to make childcare affordable, in response to GOP funding cuts;
• Rep Tlaib, coalition call for removal of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as Palestinians killed seeking aid;
• Senators Sanders, Markey introduce bills to hike pay of teachers and school support staff;
• SF to pay $3 million, change policies after lawsuit over homeless encampment sweeps;
• Theologian criticizes right-wing Catholic policy agenda like Project 2025, opposition to gay marriage;
• July 24 is Earth Overshoot Day, when human consumption exceeds planet’s production – a sign that we are pushing well past nature’s limits

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• World Court rules countries that don’t act on climate crisis may be liable for violating human rights law;
• UN Security Council debates Gaza crisis amid questions over role of UN, humanitarian law;
• Civil disobedience at Wells Fargo offices in SF, NYC protest bank dropping DEI, climate goals;
• California AG asks judge to put LA juvenile detention facilities into receivership over poor conditions, abuse of power;
• Florida AG investigating restaurant that held LGBTQ pride event;
• UN says food deprivation, shattered health system leading to catastrophic birth outcomes for pregnant women and newborns

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Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

• Justice Department seeks to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts at Trump’s direction as controversy swirls.
• Gaza hospitals overwhelmed and under siege; Israel’s bombardments intensify as medical supplies dwindle.
• House narrowly approves Trump-backed rescission bill slashing foreign aid, public broadcasting.
• Republicans advance bill to push U.S. military spending above $1 trillion in fiscal 2026.
• Activists mark John Lewis Day of Action with rally for Black unity in Oakland.
• California presents $10 million state general fund check to California Indian Nations College to help with accreditation.
• San Francisco opens nation’s first publicly funded disability cultural center.
• Democratic Representative Licardo introduces bipartisan bill for ADUs.

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• Clock ticking for Trump bill clawing back funds for foreign aid and public media;
• House hearing on campus antisemitism targets UC Berkeley, Dem Ilhan Omar compares hearing to McCarthy witch-hunts;
• UN reports child nutrition in Gaza doubled under Israeli restrictions;
• UN says civilians in Ukraine coming under fire in record numbers as Russian strikes surge;
• Tariff-driven inflation begins to show in rising costs for furniture, clothing, large appliances

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A man hugs former Foreign Service employee Bob Gilchrist, of Washington, left, outside the State Department headquarters, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).

• State Department fires more than 1,300 in sweeping Trump administration reorganization.
• Senate Democrats clash with Forest Service chief over Trump’s proposed firefighting budget cuts.
• House Democrats kick off campaign to hold Republicans accountable for Medicaid cuts in GOP budget bill.
• California leaders warn of severe fallout from federal workforce and program cuts.
• Los Angeles officials condemn ICE raids staged from historic Terminal Island site.
• Los Angeles mayor signs an executive directive to protect immigrant residents of the city.
• Federal immigration raid at Camarillo cannabis farm sparks protest, 200 arrests.

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• Judge orders pause for Trump executive order ending birthright citizenship;
• Secretary of State Rubio describes Trump disappointment with Russia over Ukraine;
• Palestinians describe indiscriminate killings at aid distribution sites after Israel kicked UN aid program out of Gaza;
• US sanctions top UN human rights official on Occupied Palestinian Territory, UN calls it “dangerous precedent”;
• Conspiracy theories about Epstein sex trafficking come back to haunt Trump administration;
• Mahmoud Khalil files $20 million lawsuit after release from immigration jail, will share any settlement with other targeted activists

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We begin our July Fourth special broadcast with the words of Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, Douglass gave one of his most famous speeches, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” He was addressing the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. The late actor James Earl Jones read the historic address during a performance of Voices of a People’s History of the United States, which was co-edited by Howard Zinn.

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Over the last two and a half centuries people in the US have used July 4 to make their stand against injustice, inequality, and oppression, and demand their rights. From an infamous speech by Frederick Douglass to women suffragists demanding the right to vote, civil rights protests, and a historic farm workers’ march, today we look at moments of July 4 resistance.

This is episode 55 of Stories of Resistance—a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Independent investigative journalism, supported by Global Exchange’s Human Rights in Action program. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. 

And please consider signing up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed, either in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen.

Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, videos and interviews from these stories and follow Michael Fox’s work. 

Written and produced by Michael Fox.

Resources

Most of these stories were taken from the Zinn Education Project. We highly recommend you check it out.

• People’s History of Fourth of July
• Frederick Douglass: “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro”
• Danny Glover Reads Frederick Douglass
• Suffragists Protest on Independence Day
• Susan B. Anthony, Declaration of the Rights of the Woman of the U.S. July 4, 1876

This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.

• Trump’s Big Bill to be signed Friday after marathon vote and marathon speech by Dem leader Hakeem Jeffries;
• Democratic and labor leaders say Big Budget Bill will hurt workers and destroy the middle class;
• SF sues Trump over EPA termination of Environment Climate Justice grants;
• Advocates fear state cannabis tax proposals could unravel and hurt programs for children
• MALDEF planning million dollar lawsuit over US citizen arrested for filming ICE raid

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In the U.S., the Fourth of July comes with fireworks, parades, and an almost unquestioned belief in the righteousness of the revolution it commemorates. However, in Venezuela, July 5th evokes different thoughts. It is not just a break from colonial rule but the beginning of a long, unfinished struggle to define freedom on our own terms. It’s not something we inherited. It’s something we’re still fighting for.

And now, from where I stand, I can’t help but see the contradictions. One country celebrates independence while denying it to others. The other fights for sovereignty while being punished for it.

The story of Venezuela’s independence is part of a much longer, bloodier history. The entire region of Latin America and the Caribbean erupted into revolutionary movements more than two centuries ago, not out of ambition, but as a response to some of the worst atrocities in human history. Colonization, slavery, forced conversions to Catholicism, cultural erasure, and resource extraction didn’t just leave economic scars; they tore at the heart of our collective humanity. As Eduardo Galeano wrote, “Our wealth has always generated our poverty by nourishing the prosperity of others.” Independence wasn’t a beginning; it was a resistance and a demand to reclaim everything that had been stolen, silenced, and buried.

In Venezuela, the independence process was shaped by the ideas of the Enlightenment and the revolutions in France, the U.S., and Haiti. But Simón Bolívar, our “Liberator,” wanted something more than a flag or a change in rulers. He envisioned a republic built on justice, not just sovereignty. A society where slavery would be abolished, land would be redistributed, and governance would belong to the people. Speaking before the Congress of Angostura in 1819, Bolívar declared: “The most perfect system of government is that which produces the greatest possible amount of happiness, social security, and political stability.” This wasn’t about replacing a crown with a new president. It was about reimagining society itself, building a nation rooted in dignity, equality, and the well-being of all.

It was a vision far ahead of its time. And it came at a devastating cost. Venezuela lost half of its population during the wars of independence. But as Bolívar said, the other half would have given its life, too, to make freedom real.

Venezuela became free from Spain, but not from exploitation.

After the discovery of oil beginning in the 1920s, the country became a new kind of colony, one shaped by foreign corporations and U.S. geopolitical interests. While oil profits filled the pockets of multinational companies and domestic elites, the majority of Venezuelans lived in poverty, with no access to healthcare, education, or housing.

That began to change in 1998, when Hugo Chávez, invoking the legacy of Bolívar, won the presidency and launched what became known as the Bolivarian Revolution. He called on the people to reclaim democracy, not just through elections, but through participatory structures, economic justice, and sovereignty. For many who had long been shut out of the system, it was the first time they saw themselves reflected in their own government.

It was transformative. And it was deeply threatening to the powers that had always treated Venezuela as a resource, not a republic.

The Bolivarian Revolution was perceived as a threat to U.S. imperial interests from the outset. From the moment Hugo Chávez took office in 1999 and began redirecting Venezuela’s oil wealth toward social programs, land reform, and regional integration, the backlash began. He refused to follow the neoliberal script written in Washington, and for that, he was targeted.

In 2002, the U.S. backed a coup attempt against Chávez, which briefly removed him from power before a massive popular uprising brought him back. But the attacks didn’t stop. Economic sabotage, disinformation campaigns, and diplomatic isolation escalated over the years.

After he died in 2013, the campaign intensified. Under Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela was hit with the full spectrum of economic warfare: hundreds of unilateral coercive measures, the freezing of billions in international assets, restrictions on food and medicine imports, and open support for regime change—a war without bombs.

This is daily life for Venezuelans. And yet, we’re told these policies are meant to help us. You don’t help people by starving them. You don’t “defend democracy” by trying to force another country to its knees.

Here in the U.S., it’s easy to treat independence as something that was achieved once and for all in 1776. But if that were true, why is our country still trying to control the fate of others? Why do we claim to stand for freedom while undermining it abroad through sanctions, coups, and endless wars? And even more urgently: why are so many people in the U.S. still struggling just to survive?

Empire comes at a cost, not only to the people we target, but to the people right here at home. While the U.S. government spends trillions on foreign wars and military bases, our communities are told there’s “not enough” for universal healthcare, housing, or public education. The same officials who lecture the world about freedom are the ones lining up to vote for the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a package that bankrolls war and delivers massive tax breaks to billionaires while dismantling the programs that keep people housed, fed, and alive.

We’re told to celebrate freedom while immigrants are deported, unhoused people are criminalized, and Palestinian solidarity is silenced. We’re told we live in the greatest country on Earth, even as life expectancy drops and student debt skyrockets.

So when I hear U.S. leaders talk about spreading democracy, I can’t help but ask: Whose democracy? Whose freedom?

You can’t claim to support democracy and starve a population at the same time. You can’t celebrate independence while trying to overthrow other governments. And you can’t speak of justice if your policies enforce inequality on a global scale.

As a Venezuelan-American, I’m proud of the history that Venezuela has fought for. And I want to be proud of the United States, the country I also call home. But that will only be possible when the U.S. chooses respect over domination, when it ends the sanctions, when it stops weaponizing aid, democracy, and freedom to serve its own economic interests.

Venezuela’s July 5th is not about fireworks. It’s about survival, resistance, and the ongoing struggle to build a future rooted in dignity.

So while the U.S. celebrates its independence this week, I hope more people take a moment to ask: What are we really celebrating? And at what cost?

True independence isn’t about flags or anthems. It’s about the right to choose your own path without being punished for it. If we’re serious about “liberty and justice for all,” then we have to mean it. Not just here, but everywhere.

Real freedom doesn’t come wrapped in patriotic speeches or military parades; it comes through struggle, sacrifice, and the refusal to bow to empire, no matter what form it takes. Whether in Venezuela or the United States, the fight for dignity continues. Eduardo Blanco captured this truth in Venezuela Heroica, when he wrote: “To restrain the passions of people when they’ve been pushed beyond reason is harder than stopping the sea itself.”

And that’s exactly what we’re witnessing in every mobilization, every boycott, every refusal to accept injustice as normal.

Borders, bullets, or decrees can’t contain the tides of liberation. Not in Venezuela. Not in Gaza. Not in the United States. Not anywhere.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Michelle Ellner.

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The legendary actor James Earl Jones has died at the age of 93. Across a career that spanned film and stage, he won numerous acting awards and gave voice to iconic characters including Star Wars’ Darth Vader and The Lion King's Mufasa. In tribute to Jones, we play an excerpt of his reading of Frederick Douglass's speech “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” from a performance of Voices of a People’s History of the United States. He was introduced by the late historian Howard Zinn.

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Bangladesh was plunged into an unprecedented crisis with erstwhile Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ousted on August 5 after a month-long nationwide student protest. An interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus is expected to be sworn in on August 8.

Propaganda outlet Sudarshan News, which often shares and amplifies misinformation, posted the above-mentioned video on August 7 with a caption in Hindi that can be translated as: “Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh… In Laxmipur, the shop of a Hindu shopkeeper, Rajan Chandra, has been burnt to ashes… Rajan Chandra and his family are in agony and wailing as their shop, their only source of livelihood, burns to ashes…” The tweet has received more than 50,000 views and has been retweeted over 1,200 times. (Archive)

बांग्लादेश में हिंदुओं पर हमले…

लक्ष्मीपुर में हिंदू दुकानदार राजन चंद्रा की दुकान को जलाकर राख कर दिया गया है…

राजन चंद्रा और उनका परिवार तड़प रहा है, बिलख रहा है और उनकी रोटी का एकमात्र साधन उनकी दुकान धू-धूकर जल रही है…#bangladeshnews #dhaka #BangladeshCrisis… pic.twitter.com/qNwN1nTC0O

— Sudarshan News (@SudarshanNewsTV) August 7, 2024

Another X page called Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus (@VoiceofHindu71) also shared the same video with the claim that the shop on fire belonged to a Bangladeshi Hindu named Rajan Chandra. The tweet has received over 1.63 Lakh views and has been retweeted over 4,600 times. (Archive)

Shop of a Hindu owner (Rajan Chandra) in Lakshmipur.#SaveBangladeshiHindus #AllEyesOnBangladeshiHindus #HinduAreNotSafeInBangladesh #HinduGenocideInBangladesh pic.twitter.com/UeLOVVnbjM

— Voice of Bangladeshi Hindus (@VoiceofHindu71) August 7, 2024

Several other users such as @SaffronSunanda, @visegrad24, @ManishKasyapsob, @RealBababanaras,  shared the viral video with the same claim, amplifying it further.

News outlet ETV Bharat also carried the viral video in their report with the same claim.

Fact Check

To verify this claim we ran a relevant keyword search in Bengali which led us to several news reports from July that covered a fire in Lakshmipur that had burnt down around 15 shops. We came across a news report by Bangladesh Bulletin from July 11, 2024, titled: “15 shops were gutted by fire at Majuchaudhuri market in Lakshmipur” which carried an image with visuals similar to those in the viral video. Lakhsmipur is a district in Chittagong division of Bangladesh.

Below is a comparison:

This proves that the incident had taken place before the anti-government protests in Bangladesh turned violent on July 16.

As per the news report, locals noticed the fire in the Moju Chowdhury Hat after the Fajr prayers (Islamic prayers offered in the early morning) were over. The report also quoted Abdul Mannan, the assistant deputy director of Lakshmipur fire service, saying that they had received a call about the fire at 6:20 am. Since the area had several garment shops the flames spread quickly. The report did not mention anything about the cause of the fire.

Another news report by Shomoy Sangbad said that the fire department initially believed the cause of the fire was an electrical short-circuit. The report also mentioned the names and nature of the shops damaged in the fire — Abdul Mannan Motor Parts, Rakib Tyres, Sourav Store, Gas Cylinders, Electronics, etc.

Further, we ran a relevant keyword search (both in English and Bangla) with the name ‘Rajan Chandra’ to check if there were any news reports about the individual’s shop being burnt but we could not find anything.

Therefore, from the above findings, it is clear that the viral video is not related to the ongoing protests in Bangladesh. Nor does it show one particular Hindu-owned shop set afire.

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• UN Security Council meets amid rising Middle East tensions following airstrike that killed top Hamas leader.
• Accused 9-11 mastermind and accomplices agree to plea deal to avoid death penalty.
• Donald Trump claims Kamala Harris’ lied about racial heritage during contentious interview at black journalists convention.
• Recall of deli meat continues amid deadly listeria outbreak.
• Senate panel hold hearing over future of US electric car market.
• Immigrant and prisoner rights advocates demand ICE end contracts with private detention companies.

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• Harris campaigns in Georgia as part of a concentrated effort to win the state in November.
• Israel launches targeted strike on Hezbollah commander in Beirut believed responsible for weekend rocket attack that killed 12 children.
• Senate approves bill that would hold tech companies responsible for online content harmful to children.
• Firefighters gain some ground on the Park Fire as suspected arsonist enters not guilty plea.
• San Francisco activists mark 59th anniversary of the passage of Medicare and Medicaid.
• Anti-war activists protest jet fuel shipment headed to Israel.
• Sierra fires continue to burn mostly uncontained.
• Anti-war activists protest jet fuel shipment headed to Israel.

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• Biden proposes Supreme Court reforms amid recent fairness and ethics concerns on the high court.
• FBI to interview former President Trump about the July 13 attempt on his life.
• Member s of bipartisan House task force on the Trump assassination attempt named.
• Opposition and international voices decry Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro’s Presidential election victory claim.
• Fresno County considering homeless encampment clearance ordinance.
• Northern California firefighters gained some ground on Park Fire, which has scorched areas of 4 counties.
• Democratic leaders warn of consequences of possible second Trump term in press call.
• Fresno introduces homeless encampment clearance ordinance.
• San Francisco Supervisors considering first in the nation ban on rent-setting software.  

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• Former President and former First Lady Michelle Obama endorse Vice President Harris’ Democratic presidential nomination bid.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Trump at Mar-A-Lago.
• Paris holds its Olympic opening ceremony, attacks on the city’s high speed rail service strands thousands of travelers.
• California’s Park Fires scorches more than 178,000 acres and forces thousands from their homes.
• The UN Security Council discusses the Middle East War.
• Gazans struggle to find clean water amid war conditions.

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• Netanyahu meets with Biden-Harris to discuss Gaza war, ceasefire negotiations and release of hostages.
• Commerce Department economic numbers show economy grew nearly 3 percent last quarter.
• Biden signs law strengthening oversight of federal prisons.
• Northern California Park Fire continues to burn with limited containment.
• Newsom orders removal of homeless encampments on state owned land.
• UN report on climate induced heatwaves calls for government action worldwide to reduce fossil fuel use.
• California Supreme court upholds voter approved law classifying gig workers as independent contractors.
• Legal scholars call for reforms of Insurrection Act that allows deployment of military within US.

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• Netanyahu meets with Biden-Harris to discuss Gaza war, ceasefire negotiations and release of hostages.
• Commerce Department economic numbers show economy grew nearly 3 percent last quarter.
• Biden signs law strengthening oversight of federal prisons.
• Northern California Park Fire continues to burn with limited containment.
• Newsom orders removal of homeless encampments on state owned land.
• UN report on climate induced heatwaves calls for government action worldwide to reduce fossil fuel use.
• California Supreme court upholds voter approved law classifying gig workers as independent contractors.
• Legal scholars call for reforms of Insurrection Act that allows deployment of military within US.

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• Biden addresses nation in Oval Office address, explains decision to bow out of race.
• Harris campaigns today at black women’s sorority event in Indianapolis in attempt to mobilize support from women of color.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers fiery address to joint session of Congress.
• Thousands protest Netanyahu address to Congress, call for an end to the Gaza war.
• Northern California’s Plumas County wildfire burns out control, forces thousands to evacuate.
• Doctors treat Gazan children caught up in war.

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• Biden addresses nation in Oval Office address, explains decision to bow out of race.
• Harris campaigns today at black women’s sorority event in Indianapolis in attempt to mobilize support from women of color.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers fiery address to joint session of Congress.
• Thousands protest Netanyahu address to Congress, call for an end to the Gaza war.
• Northern California’s Plumas County wildfire burns out control, forces thousands to evacuate.
• Doctors treat Gazan children caught up in war.

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• Biden addresses nation in Oval Office address, explains decision to bow out of race.
• Harris campaigns today at black women’s sorority event in Indianapolis in attempt to mobilize support from women of color.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers fiery address to joint session of Congress.
• Thousands protest Netanyahu address to Congress, call for an end to the Gaza war.
• Northern California’s Plumas County wildfire burns out control, forces thousands to evacuate.
• Doctors treat Gazan children caught up in war.

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• Kamala Harris all but wraps up nomination as she holds first campaign rally.
• Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle steps down amid heavy criticism over handling of Trump rally security.
• Wildfires rage in Pacifica Northwest and Western Canada causing thousands to evacuate.
• UN health agency warns of possible polio outbreak in Gaza Strip.
• Unincorporated Alameda County tenants push for county renters protection laws.

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• Kamala Harris picks up key Democratic endorsements from Pelosi and others, Biden pledges to campaign for her.
• Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faces tough questioning from lawmakers over handling of Trump assassination attempt.
• Delta Airlines struggles to recover from impact of Crowdstrike computer glitch.
• EPA awards $4.3 billion to 30 states for climate emission and air pollution mitigation projects.
• Healthcare officials warn of deadly Listeria outbreak coming from deli meats.

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• Former President Donald Trump urged unity after an assassination attempt while proposing a sweeping populist agenda in the RNC finale.
• In the eyes of much of the media, Donald Trump failed to stick the landing with his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
• The International Court of Justice said today that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and so are the ever expanding number of settlements. Palestinian leaders urged other nations to comply with the part of the ruling that says no country should offer assistance to Israel in maintaining its occupation.
• Jennifer Quan, the NOAA’s recently appointed administrator for West Coast Fisheries, spoke this week about the challenges the agency is facing with the climate crisis and declining species.
• San Jose residents can now sell off detached homes on their properties after a new law went into effect yesterday, opening a new segment of the housing market that some observers call a “backyard revolution” for affordable homes.

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“I had already recorded the interview, but they told me it couldn’t be broadcast,” Di Giampaolo told CPJ, adding that it would have been the first radio interview with González since becoming the opposition’s front-runner.

Di Giampaolo believes the radio station, which is waiting for state regulator Conatel to renew its license, did not want to risk offending President Nicolás Maduro, who will face González at the polls on July 28 in a critical presidential election. 

In a video posted to his social media accounts, Di Giampaolo announced that he had abruptly quit Éxitos 93.1 with “sadness and deep indignation,” and he published his conversation with González on his Instagram page. Speaking by phone from the city of Maracay, Di Giampaolo told CPJ that he “preferred to leave the station while standing than to remain there on my knees.” 

The episode typifies how government control of the media and self-censorship has distorted election coverage in Venezuela and deprived voters of vital information about the presidential candidates, according to journalists and press freedom groups who spoke with CPJ,

They said that TV and radio stations that reach nearly every Venezuelan household provide a barrage of ruling party propaganda and Maduro campaign rallies while mostly ignoring the opposition. By contrast, news about González and his opposition partner María Corina Machado is largely confined to independent news websites, many of which are blocked in Venezuela, and to social media like X, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and WhatsApp.

Appearances by opposition politicians in the mainstream media are so rare that when González spoke to TV station Venevisión in April, the resulting commentary on social media ignored the candidates presidential plans and largely focused on the channel’s startling decision to broadcast the interview at all

“This was treated like an extraordinary event when, in reality, it should be the obligation of a TV station to cover the opposition,” said Marco Ruíz, secretary general of the National Union of Journalists. 

Yet for Ruíz and other veteran press watchers, none of this comes as a surprise. They point out that the Maduro government has spent its 11 years in power closing TV and radio stations, blocking news websites, confiscating newspapers and fomenting fear and self-censorship. 

The result is a kind of news desert. Indeed, the long-running attack on independent journalism has been so effective that the government has not felt the need to engage in a major media crackdown in the runup to this month’s election.

“The regime has closed 200 radio stations over the past two years, which means there are fewer stations that they need to close now,” Ruíz said.

According to a report by Venezuelan free press group Espacio Público, there have been at least 14 radio stations closed in the country this year. Additionally, at least 297 radio stations from 2003 to 2023 were forced to close for various reasons in connection with the renewal of their broadcast licenses.

Fredy Andrade, who founded Radio Minuto in 1989, in the western city of Barquisimeto, said he received no explanation when state regulator Conatel did not renew the station’s license, forcing it to shutter on April 26. But he pointed out that his daily news programs included reports about the opposition, including polls that showed González with a huge lead over Maduro.  

“González is going to win this election, and I think the government feared we would go on the air on July 28 and announce an opposition victory,” Andrade told CPJ. “They wanted to silence us. This was a preemptive strike.”

There was no response from Maduro’s press office nor from Conatel to CPJ’s requests for comment. 

Due to the closure of so many media outlets, budget problems for those that remain in operation, and the lack of visas for foreign correspondents, there are relatively few journalists covering this election, said Carlos Correa, director of Espacio Público.

Independent Venezuelan news sites such as Efecto Cocuyo and El Pitazo provide detailed coverage and analysis of both the Maduro and González campaigns. But these two sites and more than 40 others have been blocked in Venezuela by state and private internet service providers, according to the internet watchdog group Venezuela Sin Filtro.

Determined newshounds can circumvent the blocks and access these sites through virtual private networks (VPNs), but Ruíz said most internet users lack the know-how, patience, and money to set up VPNs. 

As a result, nearly all the news about the opposition comes from social media. These sites are flooded with video clips of speeches and campaign rallies by Machado, the popular opposition leader who has been banned by the Maduro government from running for president and by González who has replaced her on the ballot. 

“Social media does not compensate for government censorship but there is no other way to get news about the opposition,” said Ibis León, a former journalist who now works for the Caracas-based Venezuela Electoral Observatory.

But relying on social media brings a new set of challenges for accessing information in Venezuela. 

Power outages are common, internet connections are slow and often unavailable in rural areas, and the service is expensive in a country where poverty has jumped amid a deep economic crisis. Moreover, with Maduro facing a battle for reelection, his government is inundating X, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp groups with propaganda and fake news.

“For the government, this is war,” said Marianela Balbi, director of the Caracas-based Institute for Press and Society. “State TV, Conatel, the Communications Ministry, the ruling party and the military are all getting involved in slandering the opposition.”

Last month, Machado denounced false reports posted on X by military officials that claimed the Venezuelan Armed Forces would be eliminated should the opposition take power. 

In response to so much disinformation, Efecto Cocuyo has produced a chatbot to help readers weed out lies and distortions while they can also go to the factchecking website Cazadores de Fake News (Fake News Hunters).

Correa of Espacio Público warns that social media sites remain a poor substitute for curated election news that used to come from radio, TV, and newspapers, because most information is fragmented and lacking in context.

“What kind of a candidate proposals and debates can you have on WhatsApp?” he said. “These sites are just not the same as a national TV station dedicated to covering the election.”

Yet Correa admits that the flood of campaign information on X, Facebook, Instagram and other social media has helped the opposition offset the government’s dominance of traditional news media. Judging by Maduro’s poll numbers, it appears that fewer Venezuelans are being swayed by his propaganda.

“The government’s message is unconvincing,” Correa said. “But it remains unclear just how well-informed Venezuelan voters will be on election day.”

González, the opposition candidate, is promising to fully respect press freedom which has inspired new hope among Venezuelan journalists. Speaking of a possible González victory, Di Giampaolo, the former Éxitos 93.1 journalist, said: “I hope better times are coming for journalism and for Venezuela.”

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

• Donald Trump to speak at the final day of the Republican National Convention.
• Democrats are blasting what they see as Republican candidate Donald Trump’s agenda for a second term as president. Democratic lawmakers are taking aim at “Project 2025,” a plan for a second Trump term in the White House.
• The Biden administration is canceling an additional $1.2 billion in student loans for borrowers who work in public service through changes to an existing forgiveness program.
• Just as California finally began to cool off after baking under a record-breaking heat dome for more than a week, another spell of sweltering weather is set to hit the state in the coming week.
• The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors drummed up support for a new governance and ethics reform package for the November ballot. They said the package would create more representation for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in LA County.
• Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced motions for re-sentencing three death penalty cases following a review that revealed prosecutors excluded Black and other jurors from serving on such cases.

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• President Joe Biden is returning home to Delaware to self-isolate after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The White House has confirmed that Biden, who is fully vaccinated, is experiencing mild symptoms and is being treated with antivirals while doctors await the results of a confirmation test.
• The Biden campaign held an event in Milwaukee today to call out Donald Trump’s poor choice for vice president, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.
• A new shelter camp in Gaza is designed to support refugees with disabilities. After nine months of war, the needs and population of disabled individuals are growing.
• Five Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a man who was wielding two knives, Milwaukee’s police chief said.
• July 17, 2024, marks the fourth anniversary of the death of the late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis.
• The San Francisco Police Department was sued Tuesday over its use of facial recognition technology.
• Researchers with the University of California system and labor advocates rallied outside Genentech Hall on UC San Francisco’s campus today to call out the University of California Board of Regents for unfair labor practices. They also protested the UC’s handling of pro-Palestine student protests across the UC campuses.

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• A Georgia appeals court set a December hearing for arguments whether to allow Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the Trump election interference case.
• As the war in Gaza continues to grind on, health officials in the enclave are sounding the alarm about a concerning spike in skin diseases.
• President Joe Biden returned to the campaign trail for the first time since the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
• Donald Trump’s pick for his vice-presidential running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, was once a vocal critic of the former president and is now a staunch MAGA Republican. Meanwhile, Democrats sounded the alarm over Vance’s track record, with President Biden calling him ‘a clone of Trump.’
• Governor Gavin Newsom signed several new bills into law this week, including one aimed at easing the financial burden for Californians recovering from addiction and mental health treatment.
• The UC Berkeley Labor Center released an updated tool this week, compiling data on who gets paid low wages in California.
• Unhoused and formerly unhoused Oakland residents spoke out today across from Oakland City Hall, addressing Oakland’s rising homelessness crisis.

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• Florida judge dismisses Trump classified documents case.
• Republican Convention kicks off, Trump formally nominated, names Ohio Senator JD Vance running mate.
• Protestors gather in Milwaukee for GOP Convention.
• Zelenskyy calls for September peace talks, will invite Russians.
• California bans school rules requiring parental notification for student identity changes.
• Doctors in Gaza perform amputations in desperate conditions.

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• Biden campaigns in Detroit as debate rages over whether he should stay in the race.
• Millions still without power in Houston area following Hurricane Beryl, power could be out until next week.
• EU regulators say X may be breaking the bloc’s rules on transparency.
• Netroots Nation Conference winds down in Baltimore with the election top of mind for speakers and attendees.
• Federal judge dismisses Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case.

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