Is a Billionaire-Funded Coup to Rewrite the Constitution upon Us?

All eyes are fixed on Capitol Hill as Republicans attempt to pass an American Health Care Bill that's still being revised as of this writing. The recklessness of the party's leadership can't be overstated—14 million Americans' insurance and countless essential health benefits hang in the balance—and yet a meeting scheduled next week in the Wisconsin legislature may possess even more terrifying ramifications for the future of the country.

Coal giant to receive award for bankruptcy deal that screwed over its workers

It’s been a wild year for Arch Coal, the country’s second-largest producer of coal. In January, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; less than a year later, they won approval for a restructuring deal that allowed them to cut millions in debt from their books and emerge relatively unscathed. On Thursday night, as part of the 2017 Distressed Investing Event, Arch Coal will receive an award for that deal, despite the fact that the restructuring benefited company executives while leaving workers and the environment worse off.

Ramona Africa Talks MOVE, Liberation and Surviving 1985 Bombing

Former U.S. political prisoner, Ramona Africa, is the Minister of Communication for the MOVE Organization and a Philadelphia-based organizer with the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. She is also the only living survivor of the 1985 MOVE bombing, when the FBI and Philadelphia police dropped two C-4 bombs on her organization's Philadelphia home, killing 11 people.

Lamont Lilly: Ramona, for those who may be unfamiliar, what is the MOVE Organization? Who founded MOVE, and what is the organization about?

Ramona Africa: The MOVE Organization is a revolutionary organization founded by a Black man named John Africa. He brought people together from all different backgrounds, nationalities, religions, etc., and gave us one common revolutionary belief. That belief is in the sanctity, and all importance of life, on all levels, without exception. And it is that uncompromising belief commitment to life that has put us in direct conflict with the system that we're living under, a system that doesn't care anything about life -- whether it's the air, the water, the soil that feeds us, they don't care. But as members of MOVE, we are committed to life.

Community fights back against Parkdale's rooming house crisis

When 40 Beaty went on the market last summer, the building of bachelorettes was described in real estate parlance as an "upgraded investment property in gentrifying South Parkdale" that earned "moderate rents with upside potential."

Today an "executive micro-smart bachelor" in the now "styling boutique building" goes on Craigslist for $1,297 a month. At 225 square feet, it's micro, all right.

Suspect Arrested In Connection With Jewish Community Bomb Threats

A teenager has been arrested in Israel on suspicion of making the majority of threats to Jewish community centers across the U.S. since January.

The suspect, a 19-year-old U.S.-Israeli citizen who currently lives in Israel, was apprehended Thursday, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told The Huffington Post. He said a motive is not yet known and that the FBI helped Israeli police with the investigation.

Are Israel and Hezbollah Preparing for War?

Lebanon-Israel border—Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are on the rise again, and according to a Hezbollah commander based in southern Lebanon, the nature of their next conflict will be shaped by his organization’s gains in the Syrian civil war.

Meeting in the rugged, mountainous Lebanese interior near the southern border, where occupying Israeli forces were driven out by Hezbollah in 2000 and suffered a second setback in the 2006 war, the commander feels emboldened by his Syrian spoils. “Commander Samir,” who declines to use his real name because he is not authorized to speak to the press, contends that his organization has moved new Russian anti-aircraft weapons and long-range missiles from Syria to this border region.

Alabama Legislature May Give Fundamentalist Church Its Own Police Force: What Could Go Wrong?

Donald Trump’s election didn’t just empower the alt-right troops with their #MAGA hats and Pepe the Frog avatars. The religious right is also more quietly making moves to consolidate power on a state and local level, aided by Trump’s promises to appoint conservative-friendly judges and to strike down legal limits on church-based politicking.

But even in the current environment, it’s startling to learn that the Alabama legislature is considering a bill to give a Birmingham-based church its own police force. The bill, Senate Bill 193, would specifically authorize the Briarwood Presbyterian Church, which has more than 4,000 members, to hire its own police force that would be “invested with all of the powers of law enforcement officers in this state.”

Denis Voronenkov: ex-Russian MP who fled to Ukraine killed in Kiev

A former Russian MP who had fled to Ukraine was shot dead on a busy street in central Kiev on Thursday.

Denis Voronenkov, who had spoken out against Vladimir Putin and Kremlin policies, was shot three times outside the upmarket Premier Palace hotel.

Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, quickly pointed the finger at Russian authorities, calling the killing an act of “state terrorism”.

Wisconsin Republican urges cuts to college aid to keep poor students from buying ‘goodies and electronics’

A Wisconsin Republican called for cuts to federal student aid because he doesn’t approve of the way some beneficiaries spend their money.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) complained Tuesday during a congressional hearing that low-income students are spending their Pell Grant funds on commercial goods that he deems unnecessary, reported Inside Higher Ed.

Yukon Supreme Court case will set a key precedent for all First Nations

This Wednesday, while Ottawa will be focused on the annual ritual of the federal budget, the Supreme Court will hear a case that explains a lot about why Indigenous people cannot trust Canada’s settler governments.

The case concerns a classic white-man-speaks-with-forked-tongue situation, this one in the Yukon. It concerns the future of the vast Peel River watershed, which some environmentalists call the last intact watershed in Canada.