Obama Taps Petraeus as Afghan Commander After Firing McChrystal
President Obama has fired Afghan war commander General Stanley McChrystal after McChrystal and his aides made disparaging remarks about top administration officials in an article published this week. Obama announced the firing shortly after meeting with McChrystal at the White House.
President Obama: "As difficult as it is to lose General McChrystal, I believe that it is the right decision for our national security. The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general. It undermines the civilian control of the military that is at the core of our democratic system, and it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan."

Obama has named General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, as McChrystal's replacement. Petraeus oversaw the so-called surge in Iraq.


Witnesses Recant Testimony at Hearing for Georgia Death Row Prisoner Troy Anthony Davis
The Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis has

Troy Davis

finally gotten his day in court after nearly two decades behind bars. On June 23, Davis's attorneys presented their case that Davis was wrongly convicted for the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer. Multiple witnesses took the stand to recant their testimony in Davis's original trial, saying police coercion and intimidation had led them to lie about Davis. One witness said he had made up parts of his original testimony in return for receiving a lighter sentence in his own case. Two witnesses also said that another man has since confessed to the killing. The Supreme Court ordered the evidentiary hearing last year to allow the defense to present evidence that could establish his innocence. The prosecution is presenting its case today.


Ex-Chicago Police Commander Denies Overseeing Torture of African Americans at Trial
A former police commander accused of overseeing the torture of more than 100 African American men has taken the stand at his trial in Chicago. Former Lieutenant Jon Burge is accused of lying when he denied in a civil lawsuit that he and other detectives had tortured anyone. For nearly two decades beginning in 1971, Burge was at the epicenter of what's been described as the systematic torture of dozens of Black men to coerce confessions. The victims suffered alleged abuses including having guns forced into their mouths, suffocation with bags placed over their heads, and electric shocks inflicted on their genitals. Burge denied on the witness stand ever abusing anyone into giving confessions. His testimony at the trial follows that of five witnesses who say Burge and his subordinate officers tortured them to elicit confessions to crimes, including murder.


Jamaica Arrests Alleged Drug Lord
Jamaican authorities have arrested the alleged drug lord Christopher Coke after a manhunt that left dozens of people dead last month. Coke surrendered on June 22, nearly one month after at least 76 people died when Jamaican forces launched an assault on a poor neighborhood loyal to Coke. The US is seeking Coke's extradition on drugs and drug-running charges.


$712 Million Settlement Reached for Sick Ground Zero Workers
The City of New York has reached a new settlement with around 10,000 rescue and cleanup workers who were exposed to dangerous toxic chemicals at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 attacks. Under the deal, the city will pay out up to $712 million. Individual workers must decide now whether to accept the settlement or wait for a federal bill that could reopen the the 9/11 victim compensation fund to cleanup workers who got sick.


Study Ranks US Last on Healthcare
A new comparative study on healthcare has ranked the US last behind six other industrialized countries. The Commonwealth Fund evaluated the US along with Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand on "quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives." The study says the US has the least equitable system, while ranking near the bottom in quality of services. The US system is also the most expensive, with Americans paying more than double for healthcare per capita than any other country on the list. The Netherlands ranked first overall. Noting the 15 percent of Americans who lack insurance, the study concludes, "The lower the performance score for equity, the lower the performance on other measures. This suggests that, when a country fails to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, it also fails to meet the needs of the average citizen."


Study: Blacks, Latinos Hardest Hit by Foreclosures
A new study says people of color have been disproportionately affected by the nation's foreclosure crisis. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, recent African American and Latino home-loan borrowers were much more likely to be foreclosed on than recent White borrowers. Overall, a Black family is 76 percent more likely, and a Latino family is 71 percent more likely, to lose their home to foreclosure than a White family. The likelihood of foreclosure compared to White homeowners even grows the higher the income bracket, with the highest-paid Blacks and Latinos 81 percent and 94 percent more likely to face foreclosure than Whites with similar incomes.


Seattle Police Officer Punches Woman in Face Following Jaywalk
A Seattle police officer has been videotaped punching a young African American woman in the face. The woman had been stopped along with another for jaywalking. The woman is seen placing her hands on the officer as he confronts another woman before the officer strikes her directly in the face. The Seattle Police Department says it's reviewing the case.


GAO Report Clears ACORN of Mishandling Funding
A preliminary government probe has provided further exoneration for the embattled community organizing group ACORN. The Government Accountability Office says it's found no evidence ACORN or related groups mishandled the $40 million in federal money they received in recent years. Long targeted for its work on behalf of the poor, ACORN disbanded as a national organization earlier this year following months of legal and financial difficulty stemming from the release of undercover videos taken inside its offices.


Clinton: Obama Admin to Sue Arizona over Anti-Immigrant Law
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has disclosed the Obama administration will sue Arizona over its anti-immigrant law. The measure requires police officers to stop and interrogate anyone they suspect is an undocumented immigrant. There has been heavy speculation of a federal lawsuit since the measure's approval two months ago. Clinton discussed the administration's plan in an interview with an Ecuadorian television station that was conducted earlier this month but only came to public attention recently.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "President Obama has spoken out against the law, because he thinks that the federal government should be determining immigration policy. And the Justice Department, under his direction, will be bringing a lawsuit against the act."

The Justice Department has declined to confirm Clinton's remarks, saying only that it continues to review the law.


BP Agrees to $20B Fund for Oil Spill Compensation Claims
The oil giant BP has agreed to President Obama's demand to finance a $20 billion fund that will pay out claims for damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. President Obama announced the agreement after meeting top BP executives at the White House.

President Obama: "This $20 billion will provide substantial assurance that the claims people and businesses have will be honored. It's also important to emphasize this is not a cap. The people of the Gulf have my commitment that BP will meet its obligations to them. BP has publicly pledged to make good on the claims that it owes to the people in the Gulf. And so, the agreement we reached sets up a financial and legal framework to do it."

BP also agreed for the first time to suspend dividend payments to shareholders this year. In a statement apparently designed to reassure BP shareholders, President Obama also called BP "a strong and viable company," adding, "it is in all of our interests that it remain so."


Five New Orleans Officers Indicted in Post-Katrina Killing
A federal grand jury has indicted three current and two former New Orleans police officers in the death of an African American man shortly after Hurricane Katrina. For years, the New Orleans Police Department attempted to cover up the death of Henry Glover, but an article by investigative reporter A.C. Thompson in The Nation magazine and ProPublica prompted a federal investigation. A.C. Thompson appeared on Democracy Now! earlier this year and described the killing of Henry Glover.

A.C. Thompson: "And on September 2nd, 2005, somebody, we believe probably a New Orleans police officer, shot him a single time in the chest. He was rescued by a Good Samaritan who drove him, ironically, to a place where police were camped out, thinking that the police could help him, give him medical aid, and save his life. But according to three different witnesses that I've interviewed, the police didn't offer any assistance. What they instead did was they let Henry Glover bleed to death in the backseat of the car, and they physically assaulted the men that he was with, including the Good Samaritan."

Federal agents arrested former New Orleans police officer David Warren, who was charged with shooting Henry Glover with an assault rifle. Two other officers have been charged with burning Glover's body and assaulting the Good Samaritan who came to Glover's aid. The probe into Glover's death is one of at least eight ongoing federal civil rights investigations into the New Orleans Police Department, most involving police actions in the days after Hurricane Katrina.


Report: US Discovers $1 Trillion in Afghan Mineral Deposits
The New York Times is reporting the United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, including huge amounts of copper, cobalt, gold and lithium. US officials say the find could alter the Afghan war and make Afghanistan one of the most important mining centers in the world. An internal Pentagon memo states that Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and cell phones. The value of mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan's existing economy. Afghanistan's gross domestic product is only about $12 billion. American geologists have been studying the potential for mining since at least 2004. The timing of the New York Times article has been questioned by some because it is being published at a time when the Obama administration has little good news to report on Afghanistan. On Saturday the Times reported Afghan President Hamid Karzai had lost faith in the United States and NATO to prevail in Afghanistan. Karzai has reportedly been involved with secret negotiations with the Taliban outside the purview of American and NATO officials. Meanwhile, a new report from the London School of Economics includes new evidence that Pakistan's main spy agency, the ISI, continues to arm and train the Taliban. The report states, "Without a change in Pakistani behavior it will be difficult, if not impossible, for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency."


Unemployment Measure Stalls in Senate as Jobless Claims Rise
The Senate has failed to pass a measure to extend unemployment benefits to long-term jobless Americans and extend billions in aid to cash-strapped states for a second straight day. Democrats failed to secure the 60 votes needed to advance the approximately $120 billion package despite paring it down to win bipartisan support. An estimated 1.2 million people will stop receiving unemployment checks by the end of the month if the measure fails to pass. New figures released Thursday show jobless insurance claims have increased for the second consecutive week, from 460,000 to 472,000.


Oil Spill Worsens After Containment Cap Damaged
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico became dramatically worse on Wednesday after a robotic submarine accidentally crashed into the containment device that had been siphoning off gushing oil. Taking government estimates, the uncapped gusher could again be spewing up to 2.52 million gallons of oil a day. National Incident Commander Thad Allen announced the accident at a news conference.

Adm. Thad Allen: "We had an incident earlier today, where they noticed that there was some kind of a gas rising through the vent that carries the warm water down that prohibits hydrates from forming. Out of abundance of caution, the Discover Enterprise removed the containment cap from the riser pipe and moved away, until they could assess the condition. They've indicated that the problem was a remotely operated vehicle that had been around the lower marine riser package had bumped into one of those vents that allows the excess oil to come out."


Judge Rules UC Police Illegally Searched Journalist's Camera
A California judge has ruled the University of California police illegally searched the camera of a photojournalist arrested at a December protest against education budget cuts and tuition hikes. The journalist, David Morse, had his camera confiscated and was jailed overnight after demonstrators rallied outside the home of UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau. In issuing the ruling, the judge upheld a California law restricting police searches of journalists' unpublished material.


Both Sides Claim Victory in Supreme Court Ruling on Monsanto Crop
Both sides of a case challenging the agribusiness giant Monsanto's genetically modified alfalfa seed are claiming victory following a Supreme Court ruling. In a seven-to-one decision, the high court overturned a ban on Monsanto's alfalfa until the US government further analyzes the crop's dangers. But the court also ruled the seed can remain illegal until the Agricultural Department deregulates it, a move that can be thwarted by public challenge. In a statement, the lead group challenging Monsanto, the Center for Food Safety, said, "The Court's decision affirmed that the threat of genetic contamination of natural plants posed by biotech crops is an issue of significant environmental concern now and in the future."


Following Community Protests, Bank of America Backs Down from Foreclosing on Disabled Bronx Homeowner
Democracy Now! co-host and New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez reported on the case of Edda Lopez-Lennards, who faced the loss of her Bronx home after the bailed-out Bank of America drastically raised her monthly mortgage payments. Bank of America backed down after coming under heavy community protest.


Rep. Clyburn Calls for Probe of Bizarre SC Election Primaries
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina has called for a US attorney investigation into whether the Republican Party or another organization planted three candidates in the Democratic primary in South Carolina. In the Senate primary, a previously unknown 32-year-old unemployed veteran named Alvin Greene shocked the state by beating a four-term state legislator without raising money or even campaigning. Greene was interviewed on the South Carolina station WCSC.

Reporter: "What was it like when you first heard the news that you are the nominee?"

Alvin Greene: "Well, I wasn't surprised much. I mean, I worked hard. I knew that I've earned it and—but I'm ready to..."

Reporter: "What kind of work did you do, because, you know, I've been talking to folks, and nobody has really heard your name?"

Alvin Greene: "Well, I worked with my friends and friends of my friends, and we campaigned hard. You know, we worked hard."

Reporter: "What kind of campaigning did you do?"

Alvin Greene: "OK, could—OK, could I end this now?"

Reporter: "Huh?"

Alvin Greene: "What kind of campaign did we do?"

Reporter: "Yeah."

Alvin Greene: "OK. We campaigned all across the state, yes."

Less than 24 hours after Alvin Greene won the primary, the state Democratic Party in South Carolina asked him to withdraw from the race because of a pending felony charge.


Video Shows Israeli Commandos Executing Flotilla Passenger
Video has been posted on the internet that apparently shows Israeli commandos executing a passenger aboard the Mavi Marmara. In the video, Israeli commandos are seen kicking a passenger while he lies on the deck of the boat. The commandos are then seen firing one and possibly two point-blank shots from above into the victim. The video was first aired on Turkish TV. It has been claimed the video shows the 19-year-old US citizen Furkan Dogan being killed, but it has not been possible to verify the identity of the victim.


University of Puerto Rico Students Vote to End Strike
Students at the University of Puerto Rico have voted to end their two-month strike against massive budget cuts at their school. On Monday, students approved a national assembly vote to back an agreement with administrators reached last week. The deal includes an extension of tuition waivers, the cancellation of a fee that would have drastically raised education costs, a commitment not to arbitrarily punish strike participants, and rejection of school privatization plans. The students also voted to approve another strike for January should the administration renege on its commitments.


Aid Groups Warn 10M West Africans Face Starvation
The aid groups Oxfam and Save the Children have launched emergency appeals to assist up to ten million people in West Africa at risk of starvation. The groups say Niger and Chad face conditions of the 1984 Ethiopia famine because of a crippling drought.


India to Renew Extradition Request for Ex-Union Carbide CEO
The Indian government says it will renew its request that the US extradite the former head of the company responsible for the 1984 Bhopal industrial gas disaster that left an estimated 15,000 people dead. Warren Anderson is the former chief executive of Union Carbide, now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical. Anderson was arrested shortly after the disaster but later fled India. The US has turned down repeated Indian requests for Anderson's extradition, most recently in 2004.


Pro Basketball Player, Activist Manute Bol Dies at 47
And the former professional basketball player and African activist Manute Bol has died at the age of 47. One of the National Basketball Association's tallest players at seven foot six, Bol spent much of his time off the court campaigning for peace and reconciliation in his native Sudan. He is said to have spent most of his $6 million in career earnings on various Sudanese causes.

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