Quid Pro Quo: Did Trump Help Kill Anti-Corruption Probe in Guatemala to Aid Reelection Bid?
Iván Velásquez is a Colombian prosecutor who headed the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala from 2013 to 2019, a powerful U.N.-backed commission formed to investigate corruption in the country and supported by the Obama administration. But Velásquez and other investigators were expelled from the country after the Trump administration agreed to withdraw support for […]
Infection and Repression
The coronavirus pandemic touches every corner of the earth. In two hundred thirteen countries, more than eight hundred thousand people have died, and there have been nearly twenty-five million cases confirmed. Everywhere, the public health crisis has brought economic suffering; the need for political response is urgent; journalism has an essential role to play. The […]
Over a Dozen Black and Latino Men Accused a Cop of Humiliating, Invasive Strip Searches. The NYPD Kept Promoting Him.
Christopher McCormack is one of the New York Police Department’s highest-ranking officers. As an assistant chief, he helps oversee drug enforcement and organized crime investigations throughout the city. He was hand-picked for the promotion two years ago by his old friend James O’Neill, who was police commissioner. But his ascension started three decades earlier, when […]
The House Is About to Pass Marijuana Decriminalization. What Will the Senate Do?
If President Trump and Senate Republicans were willing to work with Democrats on just one issue, a bill ending federal marijuana prohibition could finally become law. That’s probably not going to happen unless Trump’s racist, scorched-earth reelection campaign drastically changes course, but Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris can still challenge the president on a long […]
‘Every City Council Should Follow Suit’: Portland, Oregon Becomes First US City to Ban Corporate Use of Facial Recognition Surveillance
In a historic move that privacy advocates said must be replicated nationwide, the Portland, Oregon city council on Wednesday unanimously approved a sweeping ban on the use of facial recognition surveillance by public agencies as well as private businesses “in places of public accommodation.” Though other major cities across the U.S. have enacted bans on law enforcement […]
Cable news profits from its obsession with Trump. Viewers are the only victims.
IN A PREVIOUS STORY, I demonstrated that the quantity of coverage devoted by the print media to Donald Trump is without historical precedent. In 2018, “Trump” was the fourth-most-used word in the New York Times. On average, Trump was directly mentioned two to three times in every article, and indirectly mentioned an additional once or twice. This average included […]
The Long-Term Dangers of Joe Biden’s Terrible Campaigning for President
In the sprawling New Yorker profile of Joe Biden that appeared earlier this month, an unnamed Barack Obama administration official dropped an assessment of the presidential campaign that will resonate with liberals everywhere: “This country needs to just chill the fuck out and have a boring President.” Indeed, four years in the Trump gyre, suspended in a state […]
Leaked Documents Reveal What TikTok Shares With Authorities — In The U.S.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S executive order banning Americans from using TikTok is driven by concerns that the company might hand over user data to Chinese authorities. Recently hacked police documents reveal the nature of the company’s relationship to law enforcement — not in China but in the United States. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing, where the government censors […]
Corporations Like Amazon Hire Union-Busting Labor Spies All the Time
Yesterday, VICE reported that Amazon had posted two online job listings for intelligence analysts to monitor threats that included labor organizing. The company immediately yanked the listings, claiming they were made in error, but screenshots show Amazon explicitly looking for experts to collect “actionable intelligence” on “organized labor, activist groups, hostile political leaders” among others. Amazon’s workforce […]
Tenants Just Won a Nationwide Eviction Ban. They’re Still Fighting to Cancel Rent.
As another month of rent came due September 1, tenant organizers were greeted with a rare bit of good news. The Trump administration announced a sweeping moratorium on residential evictions through the end of the year, providing an unexpected 11th-hour reprieve to millions of renters who had run out of options. It is a stunning move from a president who began […]