East Bay News

On September 10, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot by a sniper while speaking in Utah. The event was the first stop of TPUSA's "American Comeback Tour." On November 10, Turning Point concluded their tour at UC Berkeley. The campus was locked down beforehand by a phalanx of riot police. Despite the show of force, hundreds of demonstrators turned out to denounce TPUSA. Several arrests were made.

On October 24, youth from 50 middle schools, high schools, and colleges in California walked out of class in a coordinated statewide action demanding that oil and gas corporations be held financially accountable for the damage caused by their pollution. Students called on lawmakers to pass the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, SB 684/AB 1243. While not passed this legislative session, students and climate advocates are working to pass it next year.

Events were organized across northern California to commemorate two years of resistance to the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Calls were widely made for an end to the forced starvation of the Gazan population, and for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. In Oakland, community members marched to demand an arms embargo; at UC Berkeley, students organized a mass walkout; in Petaluma, activists conducted their long-time weekly picket.

On September 18, a press conference and march were held at Oakland Airport Terminal 1 as part of the first convening of the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo campaign. Recent research has uncovered the airport's role in transporting military cargo to Israel. Since January 2025, at least 280 shipments have left the Oakland Airport destined for Israel's military, which included bomb release units and surveillance systems for F-35 jets.

The racist mural on 41st Street and Piedmont Avenue in Oakland was finally fixed. Neighbors hugged with joy as they celebrated the artistic amendment that included depictions of Indigenous resistance to colonial violence. Titled "The Capture of the Solid, Escape of the Soul,” the mural was originally painted by non-native artist Rocky Rische-Baird in 2006 to the loud and persistent protest of the local Indigenous community.

Activists on the West Coast from Bellingham, WA to San Diego, CA organized highway banner drops on August 29 to amp up the Global Chevron Boycott, which has been initiated as a priority campaign by Palestine's Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Chevron operates and co-owns fossil gas fields off the coast of occupied Palestinian land that Israel has illegally claimed, and also manages a pipeline that runs from Israel to Egypt.

Israeli settlers have murdered beloved Palestinian human rights defender Awdah Hathaleen, from the Umm Al-Khair community in Masafer Yatta of occupied Palestine. Awdah, who had flown to San Francisco International Airport in June 2025 for a humanitarian visit in order to share his story and experiences of living under Israeli occupation, was detained and deported back to Palestine, where he was murdered only weeks later.

On July 19, hundreds of people showed up in Dublin to oppose the establishment of new detention centers in Northern California and across the U.S. ICE has signaled serious interest in reopening the notorious FCI Dublin prison as an immigration detention center. FCI Dublin was closed in 2024 due to powerful survivor-led organizing following years of horrific staff sexual abuse, retaliation, and medical neglect.

Despite being sued by Trader Joe's, activists with the grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) continue to protest at their stores. On July 19, the group held a 40-minute funeral for the chickens being sold inside an Oakland store. They mourned the countless chickens who suffer and die at Trader Joe's "free-range," "organic" chicken supplier. DxE investigators have documented systemic animal abuse at Petaluma Poultry.

Scientists have confirmed a dead gray whale that washed up in Richmond died as a result of blunt force trauma due to a suspected vessel strike. The news comes as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a revised population estimate showing continued decline in eastern north Pacific gray whale numbers, some 13,000 individuals, the lowest since the 1970’s.