Washington, DC – According to a March 20 report from the Korean Central News Agency, the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has formed the Central Emergency Anti-Epidemic Headquarters to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The headquarters is also tasked with summing up experience and popularizing achievements in the fight against the illness.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemns the brutal government murder of the prominent Filipino communist Julius Giron, his wife Lourdes Tan Torres and their aide. We extend our condolences to his family, friends and our comrades of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Minneapolis, MN – Hennepin County union workers keep fighting for worker and community safety. AFSCME Local 2822 has led the charge, alongside sister Hennepin County AFSCME locals. AFSCME Local 2822 represents almost 1300 clerical workers, including service center representatives, office specialists and library specialists, who do work that cannot be done from home.

An in-depth look at two very different responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and China

Guangdong, China – There is chaos in America right now surrounding COVID-19. Americans are receiving conflicting information every day about the virus, with no direction from the Trump administration. The Trump administration has decided that the best course of action is to do nothing, with Trump himself declaring “I don’t take responsibility at all.” When the Center for Disease Control (CDC) releases a report, Trump will directly contradict their findings in an attempt to downplay COVID-19’s immediate threat and bolster his own image. The resulting pandemonium has left Americans without guidance on how they should protect themselves and their families against this very deadly disease.

Maracay, Venezuela – The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) labor delegation toured a large printing factory on March 13 in Maracay, Venezuela, about two hours outside Caracas. As the delegates bus pulled up to the factory gates, a huge sign welcomed them, “We don't speak ill of Chavez here!” The head of the factory and a group of workers excitedly gathered around to greet the American members of the Teamsters union.

Chicago, IL – In a statement delivered to Lori Lightfoot. March 13, 31 law professors from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University law schools are calling on the mayor to pass the Civilian Police Accountability Council, or CPAC, ordinance. CPAC would give communities in Chicago the democratic right to elect police accountability representatives with the power to control the Chicago Police Department (CPD), including having final say over discipline in misconduct cases and setting department policy.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech by Sarah Martin. Martin is a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Prison health is public health!

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 14 statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

St. Paul, MN – Schools were closed for three days this week as teachers and other educators, who are members of the St. Paul Federation of Educators, went on strike. Each day nearly 100% of the teachers spent from 7 to 11 a.m. on the picket lines in front of their schools, and held large rallies and marches in the afternoons in which thousands of educators, students, family members and community supporters turned out to show that they support the fight for access to good schools and mental health care for all students.

Mass pressure and a mayor’s own greed stall a planned power grab

Chicago, IL – In true Chicago fashion, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had expected to easily ramrod through a police reform bill this week that would have affirmed her grip on power. If passed, the “Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability” ordinance would have left the entire police accountability system in her control, rendering it at the discretion of the executive branch whether to hold itself accountable for abuses of power committed by its police department, rather than giving communities terrorized by police tyranny the power to defend their rights.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Italian communists.

Caracas, Venezuela – Over 600,000 people took to the streets in Caracas, March 10, marching to support President Maduro and the Bolivarian government. The small opposition called for a march on the Presidential Palace Miraflores and held small rallies in the wealthy neighborhoods. However, huge masses of people in central Caracas marched through several working-class neighborhoods to counter the opposition's call. The gigantic march went as far as the eye could see. There were banners, trucks and music. People were chanting, singing and dancing.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel.

Chicago, IL – 100 people attended the International Women’s Day celebration sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) in Chicago. The speakers, as well as the people in the room, were from the Black liberation movement – most notably the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression – labor unions, and anti-imperialist movements like the Filipino, Palestinian and Puerto Rican liberation movements, as well as electoral candidates and elected officials.

Caracas, Venezuela – The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) labor delegation met with Sures, a human rights NGO, March 9, to learn about the impact of U.S. sanctions on the Venezuelan people.

Los Angeles, CA – On March 7, Centro CSO: Community Service Organization hosted a celebration of el Día Internacional de la Mujer (International Women’s Day), filled with poetry, singing and political discussion at the Benjamin Franklin Branch Library in Boyle Heights. This year’s event, the third that Centro CSO has put on, honored the women of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles who have fought back against the privatization of public education, police terror, sexism and transphobia.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech delivered by Freedom Road Socialist Organization leader Jess Sundin, at the Twin Cities celebration of International Women’s Day.

Los Angeles, CA – The Boyle Heights group Centro Community Service Organization (Centro CSO) will host Día Internacional de la Mujer, International Women’s Day, Saturday, March 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Benjamin Franklin Library. CSO aims to honor and represent local women who are working for LGBT rights, fighting for socialism, defending public education, resisting police terror and brutality, and ending deportations.