'Heartbreakingly Devastating': US Reportedly Plans to Approve $680 Million in Arms to Israel

By Jessica Corbett

"The Biden administration seems to be ready and willing to keep piling more and more, despite Gaza descending into what President Biden just yesterday described as 'hell,'" said Amnesty International USA.

Just hours after a cease-fire between the Israeli government and Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect, the Financial Times revealed that "U.S. President Joe Biden has provisionally approved a $680 million weapons sale to Israel," which has also spent the past nearly 14 months decimating the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.

Landlords are using AI to raise rents — and California cities are leading the pushback

By Wendy Fry

California and federal prosecutors have accused software company RealPage of enriching itself ”at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices.”

If you’ve hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you’re not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company’s software — which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information — to help set rent prices.

Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to “an unlawful information-sharing scheme” and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego’s city council president is the latest to do so, proposing to prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing software, which he maintains is driving up housing costs.

People of Sahel inspire global movement against imperialism

By the Peoples Dispatch

From November 19-21, hundreds gathered in Niamey for the Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel and heard first hand from people who have been on the frontlines of the struggle against French colonialism.

Shouts of “Free, Free Palestine” and “Down with Imperialism” rang through the streets of Niamey as anti-imperialists from Niger and around the world marched together against Israel’s genocide on Thursday, November 21. The march culminating in the landmark Thomas Sanakra Memorial came at the conclusion of the three-day Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel, organized by the Pan-Africanism Today Secretariat and the West African People’s Organization.

Unlikely Trump can actually eliminate Education Department, experts say

By Shauneen Miranda

The Trump administration could, however, manage to ‘shrink its footprint,’ says University of South Carolina law professor

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education will be far easier said than done.  As Trump seeks to redefine U.S. education policy, the complex logistics, bipartisan congressional approval and redirection of federal programs required make dismantling the department a challenging — not impossible — feat.

It’s an effort that experts say is unlikely to gain traction in Congress and, if enacted, would create roadblocks for how Trump seeks to implement the rest of his wide-ranging education agenda.

History Will Not Be Kind to Biden's Complicity in Gaza

By James Zogby

History will not be kind to the presidency of Joseph Biden when it evaluates his administration’s handling of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. At best, his response will be judged weak and feckless. At worst, he will be seen as enabling of or even complicitous in the crimes committed.

Trump's Nomination of Project 2025 Architect Means Social Security, Medicare 'Are At Risk'

By Jake Johnson

"Vought's nomination makes it crystal clear that Trump lied to the American people," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro. "Trump's agenda is the Project 2025 manifesto."

President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect, to lead the White House budget office was seen as further evidence of the threat the incoming administration poses to Social Security, Medicare, and other critical government programs.

Vought, who currently heads the far-right think tank Center for Renewing America think tank, served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) during Trump's first term, and he's set to return to the post after playing a central role in crafting the Project 2025 agenda that the Republican president-elect attempted to disavow on the campaign trail.

Trump still has not signed critical transition agreements allowing access to agencies

By Ashley Murray

WASHINGTON — Less than two months before being sworn into office, President-elect Donald Trump has yet to sign the presidential transition paperwork that unlocks critical clearances, information and access to White House resources for his transition team.

Political experts say this is worrisome because history shows the period early in a presidency can be a vulnerable time for a new administration, and the point of easing the transition is so a new president’s staff can access government offices early and avoid problems.

Trump, who has rapidly announced senior staff and Cabinet picks over the last 15 days, has still not finalized multiple agreements that are foundational for his team to begin receiving confidential information and briefings across all federal agencies, as well as millions of dollars in transition resources, including office space and staff assistance.

Prison telecom companies, reform advocates debate lower phone fees for incarcerated people

 By Bobbi-Jeanne Misack 

The state’s utilities regulator this week heard arguments on whether to adopt lower in-custody phone call rates to comply with a new FCC rule. The rule has faced industry pushback and legal challenges.

The Louisiana Public Service Commission on Wednesday (Nov. 20) reviewed the rates that prisons and jails charge inmates to make phone calls, following a directive from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year mandating lower fees than are currently charged at Louisiana state prisons and most jails.

At the meeting, held in Baton Rouge, commissioners heard testimony from both prison and jail telecommunications companies and advocates pushing for free calls. 

The second struggle for African independence has begun in the Sahel

By Pavan Kulkani 

 

“Before the arrival of the white people, we had no borders in Africa. They were drawn by colonizers. We should erase these borders and regain our freedom of movement,” said Nigerien leader Aboubakar Alassane of West Africa People’s Organization (WAPO), addressing a panel discussion on the emergence of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) on the second day of the three-day Conference in Solidarity with the Peoples of the Sahel.

“The US has 50 states united. Why can’t Africa,” he asked. Kwame Nkrumah, Pan-Africanist leader and the first president of independent Ghana, “had warned that Africa should unite or perish.” And Africa, disunited, was consequently “being killed.”

Are the 2024 elections building a false sense of comfort?

words by Charles Brooks

President Biden struggles began within the first few months of winning the presidency, and continued right up to the June debate. News reporting and polling results consistently showed his struggle with Black voters and younger voters while questions about his age and cognitive capacity, escalated over time. The broken campaign promises on criminal justice and voting rights while personal economies took the hit from the rising costs of living.  For months, Gaza protests stretched from the streets to college campuses across the country, inviting deeper scrutiny and criticism on the Biden presidency.

Then the 90-minute debate debacle between Biden and former president Trump took place, as Biden’s poor performance triggered a public display of panic inside the Democratic Party.

The internal turmoil set in motion an incredible sequence of events culminating in the installation of the Vice President to the top of the ticket.