Coal-sorting building collapses in Kentucky, 1 dead and 1 trapped. “The collapse happened around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Martin Mine Prep Plant in Martin County, according to Kentucky Emergency Management. An 11-story coal sorting structure, located in a sparsely populated area of steep hills near Middlefork Wolfe Creek Road, collapsed, leaving two workers trapped underneath multiple floors of concrete and steel. The workers were preparing the structure for demolition when it collapsed. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet said the facility had been closed for years prior to Tuesday’s incident.” https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article281285118.html
Portland, OR public school teachers go on strike. “Thousands of teachers walked picket lines in front of their schools on the first day of [the Portland Association of Teachers’] strike today, increasing visibility of their cause. Sending the district’s 49,000 students home—with no widespread plan for learning or child care and no end in sight—is weighing heavily on [Superintendent Guadalupe] Guerrero…. ‘I want to make sure that they are safe, supervised and cared for today and that they have the means of receiving some nutrition.'” https://www.wweek.com/news/schools/2023/11/01/on-first-day-of-teachers-strike-school-district-looks-to-salem-for-money-to-settle/
Atmore, AL newspaper publisher and a reporter arrested for publishing story on local grand jury investigation. “On Oct. 25, the paper published article saying the school system had received a subpoena seeking information about bonuses paid from pandemic relief funds. Another piece said authorities seized the phones of school board members, including Digmon, who voted against renewing the school superintendent’s contract. ….In over 40 years of handling media law matters, [Alabama Press Association general counsel Dennis] Bailey said he had ‘never seen a reporter arrested for publishing truthful information about the existence of a grand jury subpoena.’ ….One of the articles published said the school system’s bookkeeper and financial officer had received a subpoena to provide information about COVID-era bonuses paid to employees. Another cited an unnamed source saying [District Attorney Steve] Billy aimed to prove school board members had violated the state Open Meetings Act.” https://apnews.com/article/atmore-alabama-publisher-reporter-arrested-7be92929b415d668bec9c1141578725b
Texas police pursuit ends in fatal accident. “The pursuit began after a state trooper saw a gray Mazda car with a fake license plate speeding northbound on Sunland Park Drive in West El Paso, Texas [Dept. of Public Safety] said in a statement. When the trooper attempted to pull over the car, the driver refused to stop and continued eastbound into the Central El Paso area, where the car exited Interstate 10 at Chelsea Street and crashed into a concrete barrier, DPS stated. Several people in the car were thrown from the vehicle in the impact, DPS said. DPS troopers and special agents rendered aid until the arrival of paramedics. One person died at the scene and six others were taken to hospitals.” https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/el-paso/2023/10/30/el-paso-fatal-crash-texas-dps-i-10-gateway-chelsea-operation-lone-star/71382894007/
American Civil Liberties Union urges colleges/universities not to punish pro-Palestinian protesters. “The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law joined the [Anti-Defamation League] in asking schools to find out whether [Students for Justice in Palestine] is violating a federal law prohibiting support for ‘foreign terrorist’ organizations. ….the ACLU said, ‘We urge you to reject calls to investigate, disband, or penalize student groups on the basis of their exercise of free speech rights.’ The ACLU said that while it ‘in no way approves or endorses’ the ‘brutal mass murder of civilians’, it does ‘strongly oppose efforts to stifle free speech, free association, and academic freedom here at home. ….Such investigations chill speech, foster an atmosphere of mutual suspicion, and betray the spirit of free inquiry, which is based on the power to persuade rather than the power to punish.'” https://forward.com/fast-forward/567917/aclu-adl-students-justice-palestine-free-speech/
Winds from Hurricane Otis included gusts of up to 205 mph. “The wind gust reported by the National Tidal Service is preliminary but if confirmed it would rank in the top 10 wind gusts ever observed globally. Weather agencies such as the National Hurricane Center and the World Meteorological Organization typically confirm extreme observations through post-storm analysis. …[the hurricane’s] winds [jumped] 90 mph in just 12 hours, and 115 mph in 24 hours, before slamming into Acapulco with maximum sustained winds of 165 mph. ….The death toll from the storm reached at least 46 on Wednesday as dozens of people remained missing. ….Economic losses are expected to be in the billions.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/11/01/hurricane-otis-produced-205-mph-wind-gust-among-strongest-ever-measured/
Gaza death toll tops 9,000. “Gaza officials say 195 killed, 120 missing in Israel’s bombing of Jabalia refugee camp…. At least 9,061 Palestinians been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/2/israel-hamas-war-live-195-killed-120-missing-in-jabalia-strikes
New York state settles wage theft charges with Uber and Lyft. “Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft will pay $38 million. The state AG’s office said it’s the largest wage-theft settlement it’s won. ….The AG’s office alleged the companies incorrectly deducted charges from drivers’ wages that should have instead been charged to passengers. For example, the office said that from 2014 to 2017 Uber deducted sales taxes and Black Car Fund fees from drivers’ paychecks and misrepresented that it would do so in its terms of service. And Lyft, the AG alleged, deducted an 11.4% administrative charge that equaled the amount of the sales tax and Black Car Fund fees between 2015 and 2017. Both companies also failed to provide paid sick leave as required under state and New York City law, James alleged. Under the agreements, Uber and Lyft will be required to give drivers outside of New York City a guaranteed earning minimum of $26 per hour, which will be adjusted each year for inflation. The minimum rate would apply from ‘dispatch to completion of the ride’, according to a press release from the AG’s office. Drivers in New York City already receive guaranteed minimum earnings under local regulations.” https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/02/uber-lyft-pay-328-million-to-settle-new-york-wage-theft-allegations.html
Washington D.C.’s attorney general sues apartment rental software company and 14 landlords over alleged price fixing. “‘RealPage and the defendant landlords illegally colluded to artificially raise rents by participating in a centralized, anti-competitive scheme, causing District residents to pay millions of dollars above fair market prices,’ [A.G. Brian] Schwalb said in a release tied to the complaint. The collaboration ‘amounts to a District-wide housing cartel,’ Schwalb said, noting that ‘well over’ 30 percent of buildings with five or more units use RealPage’s software, along with 60 percent of 50-unit-plus buildings. Across a wider Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, more than 90 percent of units in large buildings are subject to RealPage pricing, according to Schwalb’s office.” https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/11/14-big-landlords-used-software-to-collude-on-rent-prices-dc-lawsuit-says/
Myanmar military bombs town on border with China, twice. “Myanmar’s military launched a second day of air strikes on Wednesday, bombing territory controlled by an ethnic armed group on the border with China, a rebel spokesman told AFP. The strikes come as the military battles an alliance of armed groups across a northern region that is home to Chinese investment and where the junta says it has lost ground. A military jet struck a site near the town of Laiza in Kachin state…. He said there were no details yet on casualties from the strike, adding that it came a day after a jet dropped three bombs on Laiza, killing one person and wounding twelve others.” https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/11/01/myanmar-bombs-china-border/
King Charles expresses his regrets for colonial excesses during visit to Kenya. “At a state dinner on Tuesday, Charles expressed his “deepest regret” for what he called abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans during the country’s independence struggle. ….During the 1952-1960 Mau Mau revolt in central Kenya, a period known as ‘the emergency’, some 90,000 Kenyans were killed or maimed and 160,000 detained, with many subjected to torture, according to the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC). British colonialists also committed gross human rights violations, including land expropriation, killings, and sexual violence, against hundreds of thousands of people in western Kenya over decades, United Nations investigators have said. ….Britain agreed to a 20 million pound ($24 million) out-of-court settlement in 2013 to more than 5,200 survivors of abuses during the emergency, but it has refused to issue an apology and has rebuffed claims by other communities.” https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-11-01/king-charles-regrets-for-colonial-abuses-in-kenya-not-enough-for-some-victims
Medicare for All campaigner Ady Barkan dies, was 39. “Following his terminal [ALS] diagnosis in 2016—just months after the birth of his son, Carl—Barkan campaigned tirelessly for Medicare for All and other progressive causes, frequently taking part in Capitol Hill protests, congressional hearings, and conversations with prominent political figures even as he lost the ability to stand, walk, and speak on his own. ….’Like so many of you, I have experienced the ways our healthcare system is fundamentally broken. Enormous costs, denied claims, dehumanizing treatment when we are most in need,’ Barkan said. ‘Since my shocking diagnosis, I have traveled the country meeting countless patients like me, demanding more of our representatives and our democracy.’ ….’Before he co-founded Be a Hero in 2018, Ady spent years fighting to advance worker rights and economic justice at social justice organizations, including Make the Road New York and the Center for Popular Democracy…‘” https://www.commondreams.org/news/ady-barkan-dies
Donors sue LDS church claiming misleading solicitations. “A class of individuals who made donations to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed a complaint in federal court in Utah Tuesday accusing the institution of using ‘false pretenses’ to obtain such contributions for decades. The Corporation of the President of the Church, which was entrusted with the funds to use them for charitable works, instead ‘secreted donations away’ to a company called Ensign Peak Advisors, according to the complaint, and ‘used them for purposes never contemplated by donors and contrary to representations’ of the church. ….’Once funds are transferred to Ensign, they are continually reinvested and never used to fund any Church organizations or efforts,’ the plaintiffs said in the complaint.” https://www.courthousenews.com/mormon-church-accused-of-misusing-billions-in-contributions/
Progressive News Service 