Karl Leffme is a socialist in New York CIty.
The Cincinnati Southern Railway is the last municipally owned interstate railroad in the US. Despite being a consistent moneymaker, the city may soon sell it to the private corporation responsible for the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this year.
Israel’s war in Gaza has been portrayed as a gift for Moscow, helping it rally the Global South against the West. But Kremlin policy in the region has long relied on a tacit deal with Israel — and its unraveling is causing splits within Russia’s elite.
US officials are right to condemn the killing and hostage-taking of Israeli Americans by Hamas. If only they displayed the same indignation at Israel’s killing of Palestinian Americans.
Rather than bolster Benjamin Netanyahu in a “rally around the flag” effect, the October 7 attack on Israel has destroyed his standing with voters. Netanyahu’s political career, which has fundamentally reshaped Israeli society, may be effectively finished.
Former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried is now on trial for massively defrauding his company’s customers and lenders. The lurid web of lies the trial is uncovering strengthens the case that crypto is a giant scam.
Forty-one days into its strike against the Big Three automakers, the UAW has reached a tentative agreement with Ford. Union leaders are calling it a major victory, but workers will have the final say about whether to accept the deal.
The broad opposition won Poland’s recent election, ousting the far-right incumbents. Left-wing alliance Lewica expects a junior role in the next government — but it must use its influence to avoid the failures of past neoliberal administrations.
A Canadian legislator, Sarah Jama, is embroiled in controversy for advocating a cease-fire in Israel’s war on Gaza. Absurd accusations of antisemitism and a political firestorm have ensued, culminating in Jama’s expulsion from her own party’s caucus.
Weapons and tech contractors are skirting Washington Metro advertising rules to hawk war machinery directly to policymakers.
Florida has outsourced Medicaid decisions on children’s therapy to a private company, depriving kids from low-income families of vital care. The company, Health Network One, could now expand to other states.
After Israel occupied large swaths of Palestine in 1967, European and American conservatives began to charge critics of the occupation with antisemitism. Recently, politicians have taken advantage of this redefinition to criminalize solidarity with Palestine.
In the past year, we’ve seen large, militant strikes by autoworkers, Hollywood writers, and others. It’s a promising sign that, after decades of weakness, the US labor movement is ready to take the fight to the boss.
After an inconclusive election, Spain’s broad-left coalition can only stay in power with Catalan parties’ help. It’s ready to negotiate an amnesty for Catalan nationalists — but the idea is creating an intense backlash from right-wing activist judges.
Faced with Israel’s collective punishment of Gaza, European leaders have offered unqualified support. Their disinterest in defending international law shows there’s no such thing as “a rules-based order” — just imperial powers, and their chosen allies.
A church-run charter school is on track to open in Oklahoma — publicly funded but run by the archdiocese. The arrival of religious charter schools is one more piece of evidence that public charter schools are not so public after all.
Gaza is a nightmare of Israel’s creation, with thousands of civilians killed, children buried under rubble, and food, water, and medicine rapidly disappearing. Yet Joe Biden still refuses to call for a cease-fire to halt this calamitous war.
New data on wealth distribution in the US confirms what we already knew: within all major demographic groups, whether by age, race, or education, wealth is concentrated at the top. The US is a deeply unequal society.
This morning, the United Auto Workers added GM’s largest plant to its strike, just one day after calling on workers at Stellantis’s most profitable plant to walk out. The UAW is turning up the pressure, with 45,000 autoworkers now on strike.
As Israel’s murderous onslaught on Gaza continues, the cause of Palestinian freedom is attracting support in countries throughout the world, across race, religion, and nationality.
The war in Gaza has emboldened settlers in the West Bank. In five accounts from the occupied territory, Palestinians speak of terrifying, ever-present settler violence — beatings, killings, house raids — backed up by the Israeli military.