US News

In a rare breach of US Supreme Court secrecy, a draft majority opinion written by justice Samuel Alito has been leaked. The would-be ruling makes a case for completely overturning Roe v Wade, allowing states to outlaw all abortions without exceptions for rape and incest. Women in half of the states will lose access to safe and legal reproductive services. Protests immediately broke out across the country and are ongoing. Read more for updates.

Protesters disrupted mass at St. Mary's on February 27 in costumes recreating those worn in the dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale. A tiny group of anti-abortion activists challenged the disrupters, but were overwhelmed by pro-choice demonstrators. The St. Mary's protest was part of a buildup of activity in advance of mass protests to be held on March 8 International Women’s Day nationwide. In the Bay Area, an abortion rights demo will be held at UC Berkeley.

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion. Advocates for reproductive justice showed up on the forty-ninth anniversary of the decision to reignite the movement to control their bodies. Activists provided a counter-presence to the annual anti-abortion “Walk for Life” in San Francisco. Reproductive justice supporters rallied at the Federal Building/U.S. Courthouse, then marched to where Walk for Life was holding their opening event.

On January 6, cities and towns throughout the Bay Area and across the country held remembrance vigils and protest rallies on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol building. Demonstrators identified former President Trump and the Republican Party as responsible for assaulting democracy in an attempt to reverse the outcome of a free and fair election. Many observers view the country as never having been so divided since the civil war and fear a recurrence.

As the US Supreme Court stood poised on December 1 to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, demonstrators across the US took to the streets. A new organization on the reproductive justice movement scene, Strike for Choice, said the date, which coincided with World AIDS Day, "is fitting because we owe so much to the Act Up movement that moved the needle on the government’s attitude towards powerless AIDS patients."

International Human Rights Day was marked on December 10 by a diverse protest at San Francisco's Federal Building, calling out worldwide crimes against humanity. Countries and policies targeted were the US-supported Saudi war in Yemen, fascists in Myanmar, Israeli colonization of Palestine, attacks against the free press, police brutality, and the US Supreme Court's attack on women. Protesters later marched to a second rally at Powell and Market Streets.

On October 17, a caravan of 20 autos parked in front of Mark Zuckerberg's Palo Alto home so protesters could honk loudly and deliver a pink slip to the Facebook CEO while chanting, "Mark, You’re Fired!" The protest came on the heals of whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee. Haugen, a former Facebook employee, told senators the social media giant's products "harm children, stoke division, and weaken our democracy."

Members of the Yemeni-American community and world peace activists grieved on the third anniversary of the loss of 40 children whose lives were taken by a 500 pound US-made, Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led bomb. On August 8 in San Francisco, demonstrators laid down 40 pairs of shoes and 40 backpacks to memorialize each child's life. Speakers at the rally co-hosted by Yemini Alliance Committee said that the US government is complicit in the devastation to life and land as it continues to arm Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Responding to legal pressure from the Center for Biological Diversity, the federal government finalized a new rule on July 30 expanding critical habitat protection along the West Coast for critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales. The population of Southern Residents stands at just 74 orcas. The National Marine Fisheries Service designated 15,910 square miles of new critical habitat, expanding current protections in Washington’s Salish Sea south along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California to Point Sur.

Line 3 is a tar sands oil pipeline that violates the treaty rights of Minnesota tribes. On July 16, five activists were cited at a demonstration at the federal building in San Francisco that was organized to draw attention to President Biden's inaction on the issue. The Line 3 pipeline is a project of Canadian fossil fuel company Enbridge, to increase their exports of tar sands oil. Climate and Indigenous rights activists in the Bay Area again stood up to stop the construction of Line 3 in solidarity with a National Day of Action on August 13.

Alan Clements has been on a quest for freedom that’s taken him to Myanmar, Yugoslavia, Australia, Bali, and even to Santa Cruz. He’s been a Buddhist monk, a performer, and an investigative journalist in areas of war and extreme conflict. Clements’ books, stage performances, and World Dharma meditation retreats have always grappled with the challenge of living open-hearted and authentic in a world of suffering and violence. His latest book — Extinction X-Rated — is part autobiography and partly a “dark satire about good and evil.”

On May 25, Bay Area activists held a range of actions to mark the one year anniversary of George Floyd's death and the subsequent global uprisings against racial injustice and police brutality. In Oakland, the Anti Police-Terror Project and the Defund Police Coalition held a press conference calling on City Council members to follow through on their agreement to defund the Oakland Police Department and reinvest in community services. In Mill Valley, demonstrators laid tributes of flowers and candles in the downtown plaza.

On March 20, there was a demonstration in San Francisco next to the Recology plant. The protest was specifically in opposition to Amazon's plan to build another giant warehouse on the site, and generally to support the Alabama Amazon workers trying to form a union. That afternoon, Oakland saw a large car caravan and rally. These were some of the many expressions of support throughout California and the nation for the Bessemer, Alabama Amazon workers who are fighting to form a recognized labor union.

As Mumia Abu-Jamal has aged behind bars, inadequate medical care has led to several scares when his health deteriorated rapidly. In February, Mumia believed he was infected with COVID-19 and suffering skin lesions. After public pressure, authorities transferred Mumia to a hospital for emergency treatment. He was diagnosed with coronavirus. While Mumia's health remains a concern, he is stable now and has been returned to general population. Reopened legal appeals are currently being litigated.

The UN has repeatedly called Yemen the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, and people around the world responded with a a Day of Action on January 25. In San Francisco, activists participated in COVID-safe in-person rallies and held a large caravan protest. An international online rally included American academic Cornel West. Activists called on President Biden to honor his campaign promise and end the war by ending US support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

An anonymous communiqué reads: On January 18, as strong winds raged, 30+ anti-racists attacked the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Francisco. We thoroughly painted the walls, smashed the windows, and breached the building to wreak havoc inside.... We join all prisoners and ICE detainees who continue to fight by way of hunger strikes, escapes, and riots against repression and neglect from the State. We see you, we hear you, until every prison door and border wall is open. Solidarity means attack!

Pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6. Hundreds of Trump’s supporters encountered little resistance as they broke into the Capitol in Washington D.C., encouraged by the Trump's continuous false claims that the election was stolen from him and his calls for "wild" demonstrations. Five people were killed during the incursion. Reaction was swift in San Francisco with the first counter-protest happening by 3:30pm PST.